The Challenge of a Consistent Practice

September 10, 2015, rachlsully, Uncategorized,

There has been a lot of discussion recently among the yoga community about body image, diversity, and of course, the “yoga selfie.” A lot of this conversation is centered around how yoga is portrayed on social media, especially Instagram. This is where we get the stereotype of modern yoga practitioners as thin, white, females with the financial means to pay for studio classes and high-end yoga gear and apparel.

I think the concerns surrounding this issue of an elitist branding of yoga are legitimate, but those who fit the profile should in no way feel ashamed. As yoga has become more popular in our society, we have become more aware of the growing need to provide access to yoga to those with a different body type, race, gender, or socioeconomic status.

Unfortunately, the images we see online largely shape our view of yoga in the Western hemisphere. In particular, celebrity yogis have created a perhaps unattainable standard of perfection through their commercialization of yoga.

One of the recent online trends is “yoga challenges” in which participants can sign up online to get access to videos and tutorials, often from celebrity yogis or through internationally-known yoga schools. In the past, this sort of content marketing has been used to increase sign-ups for in-person yoga workshops, retreats, and teacher training programs. But now there is a greater push for paid access to similar online content with limited interaction with the teacher. Some challenges claim to hold true to the spiritual tradition of yoga, yet participants are encouraged to post photos of themselves doing the poses suggesting this isn’t quite true.

The paradox is that as yoga becomes more available online, it really becomes less accessible and less personal. Students place these celebrity yogis on a pedestal as they abandon the community of their local yoga studios. Those who are interested in starting a yoga practice are misled on a false path where the physical poses are given more emphasis than the ethical and spiritual limbs of yoga.

Let me be clear: there is no 21-day-fix for yoga. If you are new to the practice and think that signing up for an online yoga challenge is going to kick start your new fitness routine, you have already missed the point. Yoga is not about sculpted abs, toned arms, and a rock hard ass. There are physical and health benefits of the practice, but first and foremost yoga is a spiritually disciplined way of life.

The practice of Ashtanga yoga, or 8-limbed yoga, includes ethical guidelines, introspection, breathing techniques, and meditation practice in addition to the physical postures. These limbs do not all manifest at once in a person’s yoga practice, but we should keep in mind that the real yoga is more than the mat and goes deeper than mastering crazy arm balances and inversions.

Secondly, we all need a teacher, someone who knows us personally and can guide us on the yoga path. For some, a well-known teacher or guru might be realistic, but not everyone can afford to study in-person with these yoga greats. We also may tend to idolize these figures, forsaking our own inner teacher and failing to recognize that everyone around us has something to teach us.

Instead of seeing yoga as a challenge and the poses as things we can master, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali teach that we must take a humble approach. With our hearts in the right place, we can begin to develop a solid yoga practice.

Sutra 1.14 states:

Practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time, without break, and with enthusiasm.

Our challenge then is not so much in the physical postures, but in reaching solid ground through consistent practice with the right intention and right attitude. If you take a yoga selfie along the way, know that that is just one snapshot of your own yoga journey. Each of us will experience yoga differently and there is no one right “look” for a yogi.

As a yoga teacher, I am first and foremost a student of yoga. My teacher Marjorie Jean Anderson reminds her students that “Practice does not make perfect, practice makes permanent. Perfect practice makes perfect.” I carry those words with me and know that no matter how far along I think I’ve come, I still need the guidance of my teachers and that personal connection we share through the practice.

My teacher Amber Gean says to “Practice what you teach, and teach what you practice.” This is one of the things that drew me to the Rocket System of Yoga. It is a long practice and a very personal practice. It is also really fun, and I am always learning something about myself as I practice or teach the Rocket sequences. It does include challenging poses, but the real challenge is calming the mind and opening the heart and then allowing that to permeate other areas of one’s life.

There is a story about Larry Schultz, Ashtanga yoga student and founder of Rocket Yoga, that illustrates this perfectly.

Pattabi Jois said there were three kinds of students: good students, medium students and bad students. Good students all is coming 7 years. Pattabi looked around at his students and looked at a young lady and said, “you good lady, you practice every day, very strong lady, all is coming 7 years.” Pattabi continued to look around the Shala and he began to speak to a male yogi and he said, “you are doing good, practice is coming along, you medium student, all is coming 10 years.” 

Then Pattabi looked at Larry and he said “you bad man, all is coming 25 years.” Larry’s eyes got big and he thought to himself, I’m 30 years old now, when I’m 55, I’ll know what he’s talking about,” and what Larry found out was late in life you could have love, health, and happiness late in life no matter what. He also realized how long this practice is!! It’s a very long practice and if you’re good, medium, or bad student, all is coming, just keep practicing.

8limbs, Ashtanga, Larry, Rocket, YogaSutras

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