Issues in Modern Yoga

(1) "There was an obvious progression—pose to pose, Primary to Intermediate. I was used to the unpredicted sequences and loosey-goosey love fest of Vinyasa yoga, where cues are often a heady mix of ‘let go’ and ‘dig deep.' (When you are 23 years old, with a tendency to perform emotional autopsies after any interaction, misinterpretation is the only guarantee.)"(Sarah Lowe speaking about Ashtanga Vinyasa) ---WHAT DO YOU TAKE THIS TO MEAN?

(2) What is Vinyasa? Proposition: "Evenness of breath coupled with evenness of movement resulting in evenness of mind." Or should we start with "the mind"?

(3) I like to think of PROPS as "training wheels" rather than "crutches". What do you think this means and how might you apply it to teaching and practice?

(4) In the documentary Kumare' Vikram Ghandi notes, "I wanted to sort of tell a cautionary tale about spiritual leaders," he said. "We trick ourselves to believe them so we can be happier too, so this was just sort of trying to unveil the trick."--Why do we want to follow gurus? How will this influence the ay you present yourself and your teaching?

(5) Has SPIRITUAL-COMSUMERISM GOT YOU TRAPPED?

Now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy. ~ Guillaume Apollinaire

With so many mixed messages floating around the internet combined with the glamour of the spiritual products, it is easier for one to get trapped in the more “accepted” form of consumerism: spiritual consumerism. WELLNESS IS AN INDUSTRY JUST LIKE BIG PHARMA. Let the buyer beware both of the efficacy of these products and the motivations of people who sell them (this might be us)?

Here are 10 signs that the trends of spiritual consumerism have caught hold of you:

1) You Yoga Slay by the Bay for the Instant Gram

Yoga is the union of the mind, body, and soul. To derive the complete benefits of yoga, one has to move beyond the “Yoga Babe” and “Yoga Dude” phase. It's hard to imagine what instagram has to do with the rejection of ego.

2. You are trying to Spark the Kundalini the Consumdalini Way

The sacred energy sitting at the base of the spine (if you believe this is real) won’t categorically break open by indulging in Kundalini Yoga or by applying that sacred Kundalini oil. This is because for every human being the course of awakening can be an entirely different process and can occur in an entirely different moment. It is an amalgamation of the psyche, emotion, and the physical body. A painter may awaken his Kundalini by finally expressing his true emotion in a painting while a surgeon may awaken her Kundalini while trying to save a life of a human being, yoga is a mindset and a practice, not the execution of postures in a killer body.

3) You like the Sanskrit (fied) Version of Every Product

Knowing the Sanskrit word for every word is definitely not your gateway to being spiritual. Knowing a new language is of course, very special, and Sanskrit indeed is a very special language just like Hebrew, Arabic, Italian, Icelandic, etc. (Although it claims to be composed of "sacred sounds".) The appropriation of one particular language for profit, authenticity, and spiritual business is inherently confusing.

4) Your life holds no meaning without a spiritual tattoo

Tattoos are beautiful and are a unique expression of art. But imagine every part of your body covered with a tattoo to remind you of your value and connection to the universe and your superior spiritual awareness? It doesn’t have to be this way when you realize that your eternity isn’t confined to tattoos on your body.

5) You are Retreating yourself to escape the reality

Retreats and wellness hotels are a full-fledged profit-making industry now and they’re more about creating a space to escape than going deeper into your psyche to meet your true self.

Some retreat centers also advertise themselves as “Escape From Your Reality.” The automatic assumption is that a retreat is your direct ticket to the universe. (once you have ignored all your real issues) If you have anything like “Retreat Withdrawal Symptom” then you know, your retreat wasn’t really a retreat.

6) You are "sacralizing" (making sacred) meaningless goods

The true magic ritual lies in the innate power of your FOCUS. No magic candle, sacred incense or oil, image of the Dalai Lama, or mala beads are going to connect you to the source within yourself the way you and only, you can. The rampant production of products through sacralization of meaningless goods with holy texts is another version of branded spirituality.

7) You buy products corresponding to your zodiac sign

The trend of drinking power shots according to one’s zodiac sign isn’t something that makes sense to the cosmos. :)

Astrology may be powerful (if you believe it is so) but it isn’t a field that asks one to revel in one’s astrological sign in an obsessive manner. It is an aspect to understand ourselves from a planetary point of view, which is not the only point of view.  Also, here is a fact: we have all the sun and moon signs within us.

8) You go to any event that promises “tantric sex”

The commercialization of Tantra or Mantra is harming the same way the commercialization of Yoga and Meditation is, the true wisdom is getting lost in the process of glamorization. (Look up Sasha Cobra for the worst abuse of this, although looking at the culture of all "yoga festivals" can be embarrassing).

The “Tantra Massage” and “Mantra Magic” stalls at the so-called spiritual festivals devoid people of the real essence of spirituality.

9) You need Self-Help from all the Self-Help (guru, coach, inspirational "though leader")

The ultimate goal of self-help is to help you in developing a mindset where you know how to decode your OWN thoughts, feelings, and emotions. You learn to help yourself through your inner wisdom. Any sort of CO-DEPENDENCY to a book, speaker, or a teacher, is rewiring your brain for an addiction in a way no different than addiction to drugs. A real teacher wants their students to be independent as soon as possible (just like a good parent).

Any teacher that says their teachings are extremely special and that their teaching is a special piece of cake you have been waiting for your entire life and no other teacher is serving that cake, then you know you’ve gotten yourself into another marketing gimmick, and that cake is no good for you.

10) You feel crippled without crystals (or essential oils)

Crystals are beautiful and their presence may certainly be healing. Essential oils may also have legitimate uses. The new age culture is using crystals and oils as a crutch, while reinforcing the belief that all things good exist outside of us and not within us. So, re-examine your relationship with  crystals, oils, and other TALISMANS (fetishes- objects that you believe hold magical properties).