Thoughts on Yoga

The standardisation and commercialisation of yoga

I've been in HK for a year now and I must say that as far as Yoga goes me and the city largely disagree.

Yoga flies high in HK as in so many Asian cities now. However this being the first time I am working in a large city of highly materialistic people I am surprised to see how people sell their principles (assuming they had some to start with). How Yoga is a commercialised trend that adversities huge health benefits while selling itself out McDonalds style.

Now I am vastly generalising here but it appears that yoga is no more than a fitness trend. Most places strip Yoga down to 60 min classes, the large mainstream studios have classes with up to and sometimes more than 50 attendees, people are frequently late for class, Shavasana is a 2-3 min affair, Paranayama consists of 2 minutes breath focus, weird up beat music is playing that makes you think you have entered a Zumba class by mistake, teaching Hatha Vinyasa style, teaching vinyasa with ¾ of the attendees not being able to get a downward dog right, advertising Ashtanga as a 60 min class. What the heck? Is this what being a yoga teacher comes down to now? Being a glorified group exercise teacher? Do I have to sell my principles in order to be popular with the mainstream crowed of brainwashed people?

I was contemplating whether this is my future as I listened and moved to the dis-impassioned teachers instructions. Square your hip the teacher says and I see at least 10 students around me that most obviously have no clue what that might mean or possibly how to do this or actually just don't care.

Low lunge and now bend your back knee and bring your heel towards your bum and I see literally every one in front of me resting their entire weight on their kneecap! Does the teacher see this? Of cause not! Why? Because there are 30 more people closer to the front so the last two rows are forgotten about.

Move through the vinyasa of your choice (I am in a Hatha class may I add), as I see shoulders up at peoples ears and collapsed legs in Up-dog.

Now while training in India I have been in bigger classes of up to 30 people as well but in those classes there was a lead teacher and at least 2 more assistances to help with alignment verbally or physically getting back to a ratio of about 10 to 12 people per teacher, which is realistically all you can safely look after. Also most of these classes were Ashtanga classes, where the curriculum does not change, where the sequence stays the same so peoples bodies learn a pattern which makes it easier for them and their teacher over time.

Today Yoga appears to have become a commercial product bending itself around the demand of peoples uninformed notions.

Yoga used to be taught one on one. Teacher to disciple. And in this relationship I am fairly certain there was never a student teacher demand but the other way round as it should be.

When did we stop caring about what people need and let them decide what they think they want instead?

Sure yes Vinyasa sounds cool and it looks shiny as people flow in and out of poses but realistically is this a good start point when I have never done yoga? NO. That's like saying oh doing crazy inverts on the pole sign me up for that tonight without ever having taken a pole class before.

Yoga is for everyone. However not every type of yoga is for everyone (people may disagree). Flowing in and out of poses may look great and may even feel like an achievement but is it beneficial if each time one transits through downward dog there is pressure on the wrists, goes into chaturanga with the elbows flaying out, pushes into Up-dog with totally collapsed legs? People are getting injured in Yoga classes these days because they do what they think is cool or what they want to do not what they need to do. And yoga teachers and centres cater to that!

Do I want to be part of that? No. I am a great believer in catering to the needs not the wants of people. That does not mean I completely ignore the wishes of my students, specially on a one on one basis but it means not catering to expectations. It means to be unconventional and nonconforming. It means that in a group class when I see half the class is unable to perform a move to my satisfaction (safely and with control) I will take the time and break the move down even if it breaks the flow of the class. It means if I can't get my class to perform a move that lies within their capabilities I will find unconventional ways to get there. It also means to teach Hatha as I learnt it, meaning there may not be a downward dog at all in the class if I don't do Sun Salutations, which by the way do not need to be part of every Hatha class, and hold postures and repeat postures (whether in the exact same way or from a different body position (dancer in standing half bow in prone). It means omitting the vinyasa part in a flow class when the class overall starts to show that it's loosing form.

I have been so privileged to have had an amazing first yoga teacher, who stressed in every class non competitiveness with others and oneself, who emphasised the bodies needs and not the egos wants. It is something that I try to relate to all my students too. This does not mean not to push oneself but it means to respect body limitations, to acknowledge signs from our body when we go too far, to not beat ourselves up when we can't hold the pose as long as we managed last time and not to look to our neighbour with envy.

I have also been very lucky in the type of class, where I was mixed in between 60 year old ladies and gents as well as 18 year old university students. This taught me right from the start that flexibility, balance and strength can be achieved at any age as I was trying to balance in dancer and utterly failing while the white haired lady on the other side of the room looked serene and happy in the pose.

I learnt in a room without mirrors as it should be, where I had to draw my attention inside to figure out why I kept falling over (not that I got it then but now I do).

Focus in!

Feel the posture inside out!

Relax into the pose!

Breath into the pose!

Be the pose!

All utterly rubbish terms that sound pretty and are utterly meaningless unless you can make your students see what you mean by it!

Focus in = don't look about, check your points of reference to see that you are still working in the pose!

Feel the posture inside out = notice all the small muscle connections, feel how by stabilising through your feet and core the pose is held together, notice where the push and the pull is in your muscles, find the counter balance of muscles that make this pose work.

Relax into the pose = keep every single muscle engaged but don't tense up, soften and create space by keeping supportive muscle tension while simultaneously lengthening.

Breath into the pose = don't hold your breath or suck it in or hyper ventilate. Let tension go while holding supportive muscle engagement. Use the breath to lengthen and stretch further, to bring oxygen to the muscles at work.

Be the pose = Continuously cycle through your check points to keep the pose in place. Stabilisers = check, lengthening = check, supportive engagement = check, breath = check and repeat.

So really they are all the same telling you to analyse your own body, to make sure every single part is at work at all times.

It took me ages to figure this out but now I teach it as it is. I take the time and explain, to ask questions to take it slow. Understanding the meaning of these phrases, understanding your body again that is what I want to teach in asana class.

Asana is but a small part of yoga. I have heard it said it's the equivalent of brushing your teeth to your days endeavours. Or the tip of an iceberg.

I know not many are drawn to yoga for it's philosophical teachings to begin with but for the physical aspects because we can see them, they are tangible we can relate and comprehend. After all I was no different and even now it is still the easiest part to connect with. So I can accept that we really teach asana classes and not yoga classes in most places but that does not mean I have to agree on how it is largely done. It does not mean that we should just make asana a movement class where people follow along like it's a line dance.

Asana in and of itself is deeply connecting, it is a relearning of your body. Asana is being fully in your body. It is no replacement for meditation but when people call it a movement meditation it draws attention to the one pointed focus needed to do the poses properly. You need to be IN your body not just follow along hoping not to miss a step. Can we then really teach is in huge classes? Can we get people to listen inwards, to reconnect to their bodies as we flow inexperienced people from pose to pose?

If Asana class is no more then a movement class, a class for sweat and exercise is it still yoga?

I am not sure. All I can say is, it isn't to me. I know yoga is everything. Yoga is in making a cup of tea with full focus in the moment but to me Asana is not just movement and exercise. If I want to focus on an hour of movement and sweat I join a Barre class or a TRX class. Asana to me is to be reacquainted with our body. To help the body function better and more efficiently, to create body awareness and to move towards the goal of making motion and breath one again.

I hope we can move away form this commercialised form and stop making Yoga a competitive sport. I hope we can slow yoga down again instead of making it a hoot by holding beer bottles or cranking up hip hop or metal music. I hope we can teach the connection to our bodies again instead of just moving them along.

I am sure many might disagree with me on this but this is just some personal thoughts and observations I had and felt I ought to write them down.