"Lofty Ideas"
Yoga Loft News
and thoughts from Chris
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"Lofty Ideas" Yoga Loft News and thoughts from Chris
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February 1, 2012 Continuing Dialog Click on this linkto read the ongoing conversation about the NY Times article on Yoga. There is a video of Leslie Kaminoff speaking that I thought was particularly interesting. January 27, 2012 That's more like it The link below will take you to an interview with yoga teacher, Glenn Black, who was quoted in the New York Times article "How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body." I was glad to see that he has had an opportunity to clarify some of his views. The only thing he says in this interview that I don't agree with, is that "ego is a good thing because it gets you through life." I don't think so, but still, I suggest you read what he has to say about yoga, asana practice, his own injury, and responses to his statements quoted in the article. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eden-g-fromberg-do/yoga_b_1202465.html January 22, 2012 Controversy or Wake-up Call?
William J. Broad’s New York Times article of January 5, 2012, entitled “How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body” is stimulating responses from members across the yoga community. The article quotes a yoga instructor with almost 40 years experience as saying that the vast majority of people should give up yoga altogether. It’s simply too likely to cause harm. It also brings into question the methods, motives and training of yoga teachers who push students toward the goal of achieving more advanced postures. The risks mentioned go far beyond muscle strain, bone or joint injury. Cerebral damage, stroke, retinal tears, and arterial occlusion command the reader’s attention. Is this a surprise that the type of exercise now generally referred to as “yoga” can potentially be harmful? I don’t know why it would be. Do we know of any type of exercise that does not have some risk involved or some contraindication for someone? We have a medical specialty called “Sports Medicine” that keeps doctors busy with people who have injured themselves through athletics and/or exercise. Why do we see so many disclaimers associated with exercise equipment, videos, and accessories stating that we’d better talk to our doctors before beginning a new program? We have been warned about exercise. Do we think that pertains to the proverbial ‘other guy’? What naiveté has made us believe that an exercise called “yoga” could do no harm while offering the possibility of healing us of ailments ranging from plantar fasciitis to cancer. I believe the content of the article is true, if it’s read as referring to “exercise” when it says “yoga.” I think the whole article would be more accurate and truthful if the word "exercise" were substituted everywhere it says "yoga," and the term "exerciser" put in the place of "yogi" and "yogini." But then it might not have caught so much attention if not associated with the fad of yoga. The word yoga is becoming assimilated into the Collective Ego like it's been captured by the Borg. Look at how widely so-called yoga postures are used in advertising and film now and how the mockery of chanting makes for a good joke. Notice how the N.Y. Times chose to illustrate Broad’s article, (at least the online version) with Broadway stars clowning around. Hmmm….of all the pictorial choices they could have made for a serious article! At the 2006 Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research, well-known yoga teacher and author, Gary Kraftsow, said that he was able to build his house on Maui from the money he earned teaching therapeutic yoga to injured yoga students and teachers decades ago. Therapeutic yoga is not a different kind of yoga. It is the proper application of appropriate practices to the specific needs of an individual. This is the essence of a true hatha yoga practice. This could involve the use of postures, breathing exercises, relaxation techniques and meditation, as well as evaluating one’s diet, occupation, personal relationships, ethical values, and attitudes toward life. In fall of 2010 a book was published called Yoga Body, by Mark Singleton, followed by an article in the November issue of Yoga Journal entitled, “Yoga’s Greater Truth.” Singleton’s research indicates that the exercises we call “yoga postures” did not originate in India. He traced a system of physical culture that began in Scandinavia in the late 19th century and spread with great popularity across the continent and into India, where it resonated with yogi’s who loved it and made it their own. In the early 20th century Yoga came to America in mutated form. Now, in the 21st century, we have something commonly referred to as “yoga” or “yoga poses” by the average American. To think that this Americanized yoga exercise with a dab of meditation slapped on at the end of class is true Yoga, is like thinking that learning to read means you can understand everything that is written. Yoga is a vast study with many branches available to those who seek. Most of it has nothing to do with exercise. Failure to distinguish between these two yogas creates confusion and misunderstanding. Nevertheless, our mutated, Americanized system of hatha yoga is a practice that thousands, if not millions of people, have come to value as a source of numerous boons, including improved strength and flexibility, healthy digestion, pain relief, relaxation, stress relief, mental composure, and emotional balance. Many have experienced the reversal of symptoms and the healing of disease. The first ethical practice of yoga is ahimsa ~ do no harm. That includes to one’s self. Have I ever injured myself practicing postures? Yes, at times, when I was trying to get somewhere other than the present moment, or to create a version of myself that I thought would be better than the one I had. But fortunately they were only minor injuries, nothing that wasn’t resolved in a week or two. These were learning experiences and I am still in the process of some. I have had other injuries and chronic problems that were caused by everyday activities. There have been times, even years, when I was unable to do certain yoga poses without pain. Things change. Yoga teaches acceptance, patience and openness. It cultivates the ability to perceive from a place of inner truth, what is right for each of us and how much is needed. There are many lessons to be learned from yoga, that can be taken beyond the exercise mat, and that bear no risk of bodily harm. This was not told in the New York Times article. If you choose to practice yoga, it is wise to remember that your yoga teacher is not your yoga teacher. The real teacher is the body. The body overrides anything your yoga teacher might instruct. If it feels that to do something would not be helpful, don’t do it. Remember how to listen to the body. Priority one. Listen to the body. Then, honor that voice. Do not ignore. This is one’s ‘response-ability,’ to find what is right for one’s self. We are protected and nourished by natural energies within us and around us. These are just some of the blessings of a yoga practice.
Wisdom of the I Ching ~ Online One of my favorite teachers, Carol Anthony, co-author of I Ching, Oracle of the Cosmic Way, is now available to watch on You Tube. She has recorded 10 short videos, each about 5 or 6 minutes long, sharing her own experiences, from her first encounter with the book to the path of meditation experiences that have followed for over forty years. Yoga teachings takes many forms, I Ching being one of them. It is a beautiful accompaniment to the path of yoga outlined by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutra. The link below will take you to the first video. The rest can be accessed from there and they are all numbered. There is also a related video posted by her co-author, Hanna Moog, describing how to form a hexagram to consult I Ching. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmONPODKj0Q&feature=related January 19, 2012 Current Controversy As soon as I arrived at the Yoga Journal Conference in San Francisco last week, someone asked me if I had read the recent New York Times article entitled, "How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body," by William J. Broad. I had not, and didn't actually have a chance to read it until I returned home.It is thought provoking, so please read it for yourself: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/magazine/how-yoga-can-wreck-your-body.html?_r=3&pagewanted=1&hp I have received three responses in my personal email from yoga practitioners who felt compelled to make their own comments about the article, and I want to talk about it too. The meaning of yoga is abundantly misunderstood and therefore the word is frequently being misused. I will publish more of my own opinions regarding the ideas presented in the article soon. Stay tuned...
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