Yoga's just a way to get flat abs, right?
I forget sometimes that to many people yoga is just a workout. It’s a way to stretch, to get a tight butt, to flatten the belly.
I forget that Prana doesn’t necessarily even exist for many people.
Spirituality, energy, connection, divinity and all that kind of spiritual woo woo is pretty far out in most corners of NZ society.
Most people aren’t interested in any kind of spiritual enlightenment, or spiritual path when they go to a yoga class. They’ve got a wedding to go to next weekend and a boss that’s always on their case and a father who’s never around and a best friend who ran off with their husband.
Yoga’s just an hour out of their busy day to catch their breath and feel a little better about fitting into a sundress, dealing with their boss, forgiving their father and finding a new best friend.
Which is why I shouldn’t be surprised to read the following on a yoga studio’s website.
The studio offer includes yoga, Pilates, and other programmes and events that strengthen both the body and mind. Our programmes maintain the integrity of these long-standing practices, but leave the mysticism behind.
Ouch.
That kinda hurt.
Leave the mysticism behind? Then why are you even bothering to call it yoga? Why not call it Stretching?
That was my initial reaction anyway. Before I got too judgmental and all holier than thou, I thought I’d better go and check on exactly what mysticism means.
Here’s how Wikipedia defines it:
Mysticism (from the Greek μυστικός, mystikos, an initiate of a mystery religion) is the pursuit of communion with, identity with, or conscious awareness of an ultimate reality, divinity, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, instinct or insight. Mysticism usually centers on a practice or practices intended to nurture those experiences or awareness.
Yep, just what I thought. A practice that gives us a direct experience of truth, or the divine. ie. Yoga.
How can it be Yoga if there’s no mysticism? It’s not Yoga anymore, it’s just physical exercise.
But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Yoga is just going to class once a week and getting ya stretch on. Just ‘cos it’s been different in my life, doesn’t mean I’m right does it?
I mean, Yoga’s seeped off my mat and permeated every particle of my life.
I live, breathe, write, practice and exist in yoga, with yoga, for yoga, and by yoga. Yoga is a way of being for me, there is no moment in my life when I am not yoga.
A big reason why yoga become so all-encompassing for me was that the alternative was Hell. Yep, Hell with a Capital H. Crashing and burning big time meant I was scrambling for answers, searching furiously for relief from all the pain that was drowning me. Yoga threw me a life-line. It gave me an opportunity to catch my breath, connect to peace, calm my fears.
So I threw myself headfirst into yoga, diving into the sweet relief and sucking it all up with the thirst of a woman who’s been walking the desert.
And in the sneaky way that it has, yoga hooked me in. It started with that feeling of clarity after class. A sinking down into myself where everything felt ok, at least for ten or so minutes. I started wanting more and more of that goodness. I started reading books on yoga, and seeking out teachers who knew more than I did.
Suddenly I wasn’t there to fix my sore back anymore, I was there to understand life in it’s deepest sense. There was no turning back.
I’d been Yogafied. But it’s not that way for everybody – even when they do hear that Call.
On Sunday, the day after I taught an afternoon workshop at Studio Sangha in Queenstown, I did a private yoga session with a student whose back was playing up. As a result she’d been unable to come to the workshop. We went through some tuning-in, simple movements designed to connect her to her spine and allow her to just become aware of the tension. As we finished up she commented ruefully:
I can feel that I need to do this every morning – but I don’t. Why do you think that is – that we know what we need, but we just don’t do it?
See she knew. She knew that if she was to dive whole-heartedly into what she knows she needs, she could never go back. Her life would irrevocably change, and usually that means it gets worse well before it gets better. And when our life is still fairly comfortable the way it is… we can avoid the Call.
Because it takes courage and determination to leave the comfort zone of everything we know inside out and venture out into the unknown. We don’t know what demons we may face, nor what we will be asked to let go of and leave behind. And nothing is certain – there are no promises we will ever get to a place of contentment or happiness.
Remembering too that the great paradox is that there is nowhere to get to. Contentment is not found, nor arrived at. It arises in the space that’s left when we get rid of attachments, expectations, past & future. When we accept whatever it is that’s in front of us.
And that’s hard. Because we don’t want to. We want what we want and damn it if we’re not going to go out and get it! And if we don’t feel like we’re worth what we want, or capable of getting it, then we’ll bloody well find our pleasures where we can and bury those desires deep under a mountain of booze, drugs, sex, tv, and other countless distractions.
Of which exercise is one.
Hence a yoga studio offering Yoga minus the mysticism.
This studio’s smart – they know their market, and they have no intention of scaring anybody off.
The number of people who want to do Yoga Stretching to Feel Good and not be personally challenged in any kind of way is far higher than the number of people who are ready to practice yoga as a path to enlightenment/awakening/liberation/freedom, having the courage to face their truths and shadows along the way.
Besides, who’s qualified to teach that kind of Yoga? Not your average 200 hr RYT. Hell, most of those teachers haven’t even begun to do the kind of personal work that’s required to be able to offer true guidance along the way. They’re still figuring out their Yamas from their Niyamas.
But the clients of that studio won’t care. They just want to feel good. They want their yoga buzz yo.
Me, I’m still shaking my head over that phrase.
Leaving the mysticism behind.
Behind what? Closed doors? Closed hearts? Closed minds? Oh I know, you don’t want to scare people off. I get it. Then can you explain to me why your website also says:
Through … re-awakening, we aim to steer our students to greater health, increased …….. spiritual energy.
Re-awakening and increased spiritual energy? While leaving the mysticism behind?
Right.
Mixed messages people.
Fire your copywriter.
You can’t have it both ways.
That’s what I call bullshit.
EDITOR’S NOTE: I’m not sure if the studio fired their copywriter, but they did change their website. Wonderful to see! Especially since, having taken a couple of classes at their studio, I know that what their teachers are teaching is… Yoga. Mysticism intact.
I love this post KL! So much I just had to Tweet it out to the universe. Leave the mysticism behind what indeed? That’s really the question, and the truth is that it can’t be left behind. If you align your body for space, breath into softness and allow prana to flow (which can happen without anyone saying a WORD about it) then connection is going to happen, whether you asked for it or not. That’s my experience anyway…
Hey Marianne,
Well as you can see by the number of comments, the universe has responded 😉
Thank you!
KL
This is so timely for me. I’ve been doing “yoga as exercise” for years now. But, recently, I’ve been on a spiritual path involving meditation and suddenly yoga has a whole new meaning for me. I am on fire for it, I can’t get enough. I’ve been searching for someone who can teach me how to Incorporate it into my spiritual path, but can’t find anyone in my area. I’ve tried to do it myself but have no idea what to do. Anyway, sorry for the rant, you just touched a chord! Great post!
@ Shannon
Good luck on your search for the right teacher – the internet has opened up so many options with web seminars and distance classes, you may find the teacher you need in that way.
@ Christine
Hey if you love the DVD, it must be working for you. And so interesting that you have those feelings – knowing you want to go down this path, but afraid of where it might lead.
Blessings,
KL
This post really hit home with me.
I have a Crunch Yoga ‘Fat-Burning’ DVD that I love to do, but I hate that it’s called ‘Yoga’ because trying to fit ‘fat-burning’ and yoga into the same mindset is baffling for me. Why couldn’t they just call it Super-Stretch or something like that and just say it was based on yoga? I actually have trouble doing it because it feels sort of false to me, you know?
I love doing yoga, and I like that I am connecting with something more universal when I do it. I haven’t fully committed yet, I don’t have a daily practice or anything, and I admit that I am afraid to because of where it will lead.
Thank you for writing this, it has brought me to some interesting things today.
I can be a completely irreverent instructor who refuses to do chanting (except in workshops) and who rarely uses sanskrit; I laugh in classes, tell silly stories to get people to relax and welcome ‘ish’ versions of many asanas but I wouldn’t ever try and drop the mystical out of yoga. Add breathing, alignment, quietening of the chatterbox in the head (or the head of the class) and something is bound to happen that meets the dictionary definition of mystical. Even my hardened fitness yogis (they try and tell me it’s all about improving their performance) admit to the tranquility they feel after a class and have moments of looking decidedly woo-woo. If they just wanted a stretch they would have joined the gym programmes ages ago. They have, at least the beginning, of the yoga bug. I agree that saying you are mysticism free says you are teaching stretching…and trying to raise spiritual energy and not be mystical…you can’t eat that cake and shun it at the same time. I’m off to read my website to make sure I’m not putting my foot in my mouth.
Hey Nat,
It’s kinda the distraction model isn’t it – let the students think they’re getting one thing while knowing that’s it’s going to have another effect as well. I love irreverent teachers! We can take ourselves oh-so-seriously in the yoga world at times.
Blessings,
KL
Hello Kara-Leah,
Thank you for the post – it resonates strongly with what I used to feel – and I’ve been (over a few years) examining my objections and resistances – simply because I don’t like to object and resist 🙂
In my mind most of what’s happening under the “Yoga” brand has very little to do with Yoga. Yet …
I have great faith in spirituality. I believe it can’t be hidden behind anything. A woman looking to feel good in a sundress is a woman who isn’t comfortable in one now … and the odds are that neither Yoga-Stretching, nor any other purely physical practices are going to change that. They will all promise to – but that’s just business marketing – it rarely happens. The only way to feel good in a sundress is to learn what feeling good is. Yoga is one way to go about it (but there is also a good chance she will go through years of superficial sprituality teachings which won’t help either).
I have great faith in people (though sometimes it’s hard to hold on to). I believe that everyone is making their way towards something better. We are all in an endless pursuit of improvement and refinement. Sometimes we stray off the path (we all do) and move in the wrong direction. But thankfully there is something working in us pulling us in the right direction.
You say “besides who is qualified to teach that kind of Yoga?” – to which I would add “besides who is qualified to study that kind of Yoga?”. It works both ways.
So in a roundabout way I have come to believe that the business of Yoga is serving a higher purpose. Look at how many people are now aware of the existence of something called Yoga. I first met Yoga in similar superficial circumstances. I wanted something better and kept looking and looking (including a long break from Yoga) until I was finally blessed by meeting my teachers.
There is definite room for improvement in the Yoga system. The purpose of studios is to do business – so I don’t expect anything from them. The purpose of people is to feel better – to each his own – so I don’t expect anything from them. I believe that the greatest point of leverage for change is in the hands of the people who regulate Yoga teaching standards – they need to step up their game. The biggest problem is the misperception that a a Yoga teacher can be trained in 200 hours. My extended thoughts on this final point are here: http://iamronen.com/2010/08/yoga-therapy-degeneracy-and-yoga/
Mysticism is a tricky word – I am not sure it is clear enough to carry spirituality forward. Mysticism can carry with it outdated notions that don’t resonate well with modern knowledge nor with the modern state of mind. There are philosophical and meta-physical backgrounds in Yoga – very elaborate, deep and inspiring. We live an intellectual age – and the intellect needs to be addressed and fed for there to be openness to spirituality. Intellect meets mysticism with objection – which essentially reduced the potential for learning … and becomes an obstacle for getting better.
“It” isn’t bullshit – it’s a very degenerated form of Yoga – but it continues to carry a seed of Yoga in it … and for some people that seed will grow and blossom 🙂
All Things Good
🙂
Ronen
Hey Ronen,
Oh I LOVED your comment – gives that other aspect to the article that was needed. I’m with you all the way – the more awareness of yoga the better, and no matter how we start or what we do, eventually something mystical and magical happens regardless.
I do wonder though, is the purpose of studios to do business? And what is “business”? I like to see things from the Creator Model, whereby all business is about creating a specific kind of experience, and as a result, money naturally flows because there is demand for that experience. Oh… which in a roundabout way comes right back to what you’re saying – that there’ll be more demand for a watered-down yoga so that’s where the market will move to. Hmmm….
And yeah, totally with you on teacher training. Although I’m a teacher with no “paper” qualifications as of yet.
My take on “bullshit” was the conflict between leaving the mysticism behind but promising increased spiritual energy. That’s BS. One or the other. Although I don’t know if you can promise increased spiritual energy regardless…
And yeah, seeds of yoga are there for sure!
Thanks for taking the time to share – loved it!
KL
I totally agree with you…it is ALL about the mysticism…
I started a yoga practice a few weeks ago after many years of no practice and have noticed I am experiencing more divinity, conscious awareness,insight and feel very nurtured both during and long after my practice. These people are entitled to their opinion after all but I am experiencing so much more….Namaste
Hey Yvonne,
Oh is sounds like you are on to the good-good-goodness!
Blessings,
KL
Hey KL…love it! You know when I started yoga I went for the simple reason I wanted a body like Madonna…thats all…well thats what I had thought….Ashtanga was indeed tough and challenging but I also felt another sensation that grew through the duration of the class…a warm rising from the root chakra. It felt like I had been totally lifted off the floor in savasana, so much so I think I lifted my head to see what my body was doing. This was my first indication that the ‘Kundalini’ was indeed rising. I had no idea what that was, back them, but it felt good. I guess I am trying to say that in some cases these studios may only have teachers who only teach from a physical level (because that is where they are themselves)… and perhaps they think others will indeed find the mystisicm scary, as do they(and as you know it can be!) so they dont attract that sort of practitioner. Then there is the opposite end of the spectrum who speak loud and proud of the spiritual content of the classes which, may or may not be fit well with a small demographic. The studio & teachers I had were something quite different. I have always rememeber them both with love at the amazing gift they both have….they teach their thoughtful, mindful reality. So beautiful and serene and safe…..They bring out the best in you, in your spirit and in your practise. If you are there for the physical you will still be pretty much draw to their enlightening energy and feel changes at this level….its contagious!
Hey Bron,
I bet Madonna’s the inspiration for many a yogi… and that energy will come when she’s ready to come, regardless.
Blessings,
KL
kara-leah, i think the answer is within your post :
“And in the sneaky way that it has, yoga hooked me in. It started with that feeling of clarity after class. A sinking down into myself where everything felt ok, at least for ten or so minutes. I started wanting more and more of that goodness….”
it’s been decades since my first meditation and yoga classes in the late 60’s and early 70’s; and i wandered away and into jogging (identifying with the terrain around me), college (discovering humanities studies), art (finding peace in letting color link the outside with the inside), dance (feeling movement in a complete flow, alone and with others), significant others (we are not alone, ever), self paced stretching, yoga, and meditation (via the new technologies, incl dvd’s), new knowledge (western advances in anatomy, energy systems, etc), and now find myself seeking and finding sites like yours 😉
so if all is really one, inescapeably, then non-mystical or not, like you above, like me now, there’ll be no escaping that “…wanting more and more of that goodness….”
love your work, best of all to you
Hey Adan,
Ha! I like that, no escaping the goodness. Bring it on!
Blessings,
KL
Brilliant article! thanks so much for saying what a lot, if not enough :), of us think. My favourite article yet – so refreshing!
Hey Barbara,
Gotta admit, there were flutters of nervousness about publishing this one – who am I to say this? But in the end, I just thought, that’s what I see, so that’s what I see.
Blessings,
KL
Hi KL
Well let me be the one to tell the ugly truth to all poeple who go with the thought to practise yoga to get the flat belly and above that I am the true example for that…That all is a big lie :-))))))) I love this…I guess i even got a bigger one :-000000 I love food ,but I love yoga as well …How about that?! I know there will be a lot of people who will hate my comment but hey I can take it…Oh and I know it hurts listening ,pardon reading such a advertising somewhere or anyhwere….And it is hard to find a reall teacher who feels yoga the same way as you do and the world would be a better place with them like you…But the truth is as well there are more of them, like you dicribed in your artical, and so many people will never be able to be quided in the wonderful place cald yoga and live with that and that hurts…And it hurts that some teachers even they know that place and would like to give it to the students don’t feel safe to present to them, because they are not there to listen some high spirited crap …They are there to get flat belly…Well guess what you will not,,,,So go rather to spinning class (hey I like that to ,but still having a belly :-0 ) or whatever
With all respect to yoga lovers and yoga livers ( new name for wikipedia)
Zanet
Hey Zanet,
Well… practicing yoga daily might give you a flat belly, or it might not. A true yogi belly is softly rounded anyway… that’s the irony of it.
Blessings,
KL
Hi Kara-Leah,
Wonderful article as always. As a teacher, in the past I really didn’t like the way people would say to me that they practiced yoga but in my opinion they knew next to nothing about yoga and were just doing stretching classes at the gym. Time after time after meeting good hearted people who in my veiw practiced yoga on a superficial level I came to the conclusion that it takes more than just one lifetime of study to become a yogi. To me obviously you have studied yoga in a past life/s but for some people well maybe this is their first lifetime and like anything you have to start at the beginning. So although I don’t teach yoga/stretch no mysticism yoga classes, I’m all for all types of classes for all types of people and I wish them all well on their yogic journey of many lifetimes.
Helen
Hey Helen,
Great perspective! It’s easy to forget that we have many lifetimes of accumulated experience and karma behind us.
Thanks for stopping by,
KL
Very interesting post, though I disagree with your conclusions. There’s no reason to assume that one is either head-over-heels into the spiritual aspect of yoga, or forsakes it altogether. In my case, I was raised Catholic, though I have long since left religion and consider myself an atheist.
I recently completed my 200-hour teacher training program. I plan to teach a version of “rational yoga”, not unlike Leslie Kaminoff at http://www.yogaanatomy.org. Yoga has lead me to a deeper integration of mind and body that I was never aware of in Catholic school. Meditation has been a big part of that, as I’ve learned to become more aware of, and in control of, how my brain works. It’s unfair to suggest that my version of yoga must be some kind of shallow “work-out” class just because I don’t partake of the spiritual elements, or that my experience of yoga must be less real than yours. There are a lot of classes out there that you and I would both look down upon, but I think it has less to do with spirituality that intentionally. One can seek self-awareness without also seeking mysticism.
Hey Saul,
Great to hear from you. I suspect you and I share a similar perspective and are splitting hairs over language use. I would say seeking self-awareness IS mysticism, but your last sentence suggest you see these as two separate things. I would also say that mysticism has nothing to do with religion or God or even the “divine” but with a direct experience of reality as it is. Sometimes that direct experience is dressed up in language that sounds similar to religious language, or to God, or to the Divine. If you’re teaching something that is about integration of body and mind – I would say that is spiritual. But you say it’s not.
In the end, it doesn’t matter – your word choice or my word choice. Neither is right or wrong as such. Or rather, I see that both can be true at the same time.
THe thing I say can not be true is ‘Yoga without the mysticism” because by definition, the practice of yoga takes us to a direct experience of the moment. ie. Mysticism.
After getting lured into a yoga cult, I am now happy to leave the mysticism behind. Yoga can be a dangerous thing.