Teaching yoga is an extension of a yoga teacher’s practice.
So it is not surprising that many teachers focus mainly on yoga poses (asana). Many teachers come to yoga because of the physical practice. When they end up teaching other teachers, asana becomes even more firmly grounded in the American yoga. It’s a positive feedback loop.
As for the fortune cookie spirituality, Americans love this. Look at all of the self-help books that water down complex topics of Buddhism, Jungian archetypes, and Christian doctrine to the “Top 5 things you click to read on Twitter.” During my teacher training, the instructors actually told us that we should sprinkle some spirituality at the beginning of class to “set the mood.”
This is what Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche — of the Shambhala Buddhist tradition — calls spiritual materialism. We think that by acting or dressing (think Lululemon) in a certain way, we can become more spiritual. This is the trap of ego. “Look at me! I’m enlightened!” you scream to the world with your butt-hugging stretchy pants and Yoga Sutra quotations.
What’s the solution? First, let’s stop moaning about the sad state of yoga in America. As Ira Israel mentions in his article, “The Future of Yoga in America,” you won’t be able to rip the asana out of American yoga. So let’s move on from that.
As for injuries, yes, eventually someone will be severely injured in a yoga class. Insurance, though, is a numbers game; if people are injured, my insurance rates will rise to cover that. Yoga injuries are actually very few. More frequent injuries have not shut down more dangerous sports, such as horseback riding or hockey.
There are actually many yoga teachers in America who teach in more traditional styles. Very rarely do you read about them in the New York Times or on the Huffington Post. No one wants to read about a class of people focusing on an object. “I surveyed the room, and the tension was palpable. Rows of average people sat silently, their minds bent on one goal: letting go of the thoughts that streamed through their minds like a Twitter feed.”
Stop obsessing about the future of yoga. The future takes care of itself. Instead, do what you should be doing in yoga class, bringing your attention back to the present. That is where you find what you are looking for.
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Photo by Sergiu Alistar (Some rights reserved)
