"We use the practice of Yoga, not to correct or punish ourselves for who we are not, but to see who we actually are." -Donna Farhi
I've been practicing Yoga for 20 years now and teaching it for 12. While I am glad that it has become so popular, it helps with the bills, there is this little part of me that is awaiting this wave to pass, as everything does.
Yoga has become a marketing tool and in that way does the practice of Yoga little good. Marketing is meant to sell you something, to let you know that you are not okay as you are and that this thing, whatever it is, will help make you better. It is the antithesis of Yoga.
When I talk to people who are not familiar with Yoga I feel like I have to first explain what Yoga is not. It is not about being skinny and hyperflexible- like all the advertising would have us believe. It is not about being able to put you feet behind you head. It is not sitting in lotus pose and levitating. It is not about leaving your family and job to sit on a mountainside somewhere for the rest of your life (As appealing as that may sound some days).
All of those things might be a part of someone's yoga practice, but they are not in and of themselves Yoga. Yoga is about bringing balance, strength and flexibility to your life. It is about living a life where you feel more focused, energized and at peace. Where you rely not so much on what others around you tell you you should do or look like; you rely on your own inner wisdom.
Here's another notion that seems radical in this country: Yoga isn't really even about poses. And...You don't have to be flexible to practice Yoga! What we practice in this country, mostly, is Hatha Yoga. Hatha Yoga means understanding Yoga through the body. Yogis believe that the body is an extension of the mind. So we practice postures that work on strength, flexibility and balance so that we can have this in our minds. And with our minds we make decisions in our life from a place of strength, balance and flexibility. The changes to our physical body are secondary (wonderful as they are) and the measure of your practice is not how flexible, strong and balanced you are on the mat, but how flexible, strong and balanced you are in your life off the mat.
