This is another example of what I was writing about in the blog that immediately precedes this one. As a culture, we somehow, mostly unconsciously, decide on common targets that become in some respects acceptable recepticals for our venom and poison. A co-worker recently commented to my wife that she is “so granola.” My wife laughed it off, and in the context of the relationship she has with that particular co-worker, it was understood as a term of endearment. That is definitely not how the term is being used in Kimberley Fowler’s book or at her studio. The way she uses it, it becomes a term of bigotry.

Lets look at what calling someone ”Granola” means. My wife was talking about our lifestyle when the term was used to label her. We live in a suburban neighborhood, but we have a bog raised bed garden in our back yard and a compost pile too. We have been improving our house by doing things like adding a tankless hot water system. We eat organic food, shop at a farmer’s market and we do yoga. I’d guess this is starting to sound like a Jeff Foxworthy rant: You might be granola if… So, anyway, Granola is being used to label those of us who care enough about the world to put our values into practice in our lives. If this is what Kimberly Fowler explicitly excludes from her business, one has to wonder what she includes. Is her gym no-steroids, no-human growth hormones, no-chemical-based supplements? I’d doubt that very much. Why? Because she also rejects those things about yoga that communicate reverence for the process of yoga and for our human bodies. You don’t have to religious or hold to any particular spiritual beliefs to appreciate deep emotions like reverence or to benefit from them. Without a reverent attitude toward your own body, why avoid practices that would send it seriously out of balance?

So, it isn’t lost to me that this is an intentional marketing ploy to sell her business. It does make me curious about who she thinks she is marketing to. To have a positive reaction to the “yoga of no” that she promotes, it sure seems to me that at minimum. you would have to be insensitive to the aggressive bigotry in her advertising. I’m glad I am not among her targeted audience.

If it isn’t clear yet that what Fowler is peddling is not yoga, this should do it: If she bans Sanskrit from her practice, she can’t use the term “Yoga” which after all, is probably the most well-known and widely understood Sanskrit term world wide. Oh the irony.

In American culture, we are not taught to be very introspective so our negative feelings often get projected onto others. This process accounts for the high levels of violence in our society in general. This process of using a poison container for our rejected self in itself can be uncomfortable if the target of the projection is too close. Child abuse is sometimes a result if a family member serves as poison container. In common language, this process is noted in the phrase, “you always hurt the ones you love.”

Nevertheless, all groups of humans tend to identify consensually validated targets that are appropriate to demonize. This process is never so evident as during wartime when there is a genuine threat. In that situation, a country is able to align its venom toward a single external target. We are never so peaceful and cooperative at home as when we have a common enemy. When that enemy is no longer available, we still have the negative feelings and without an agreed upon target, those feelings can go haywire and turn in upon ourselves. As a culture, we create a poison container as an acceptable target for our projected self loathing. In fact, some of our politicians make a living by pointing the country at new targets to hate. When the poison container we used for so long (ethnic minorities) became untenable we turned to Gays and as that option fades (a majority of the country now believes that Gay Marriage is acceptable), we are being herded into other options such as the political opposition, immigrants (this is actually ethnic minorities revisited) and in the case of Yoga, lately, it has been Yogis who appear to make/have money, and thus own studios (how dare you charge 18 dollars for a class) or wear expensive yoga clothes (you are automatically shallow and identify with your pants). To my understanding, there is little awareness within the Yoga community about the ego-based, unconscious process whereby we demonize certain elements within the Yoga community. For instance, Elephant Journal recently responded to some unjustifiably hostile comments by announcing a new “no douche bags” comment policy. Even offered in jest, this policy reflects the same underlying process that it attempts to rectify. By labeling those who make hostile comments as “douche bags”, they automatically represent the aspects of self that are rejected and suppressed, thus continuing the cycle.

So, as always the first step out of this loop is to allow yourself to become aware of your own poison containers and what you put there. One way to do this is to practice the gates to communication. Before you break the silence ask yourself if what you have to say is true, necessary and kind. If you are stopped by any of these, you are then looking directly at your own issue. Take some time to sit with it. Meditate on this. Owning those rejected aspects of self can be difficult, so remember to take time to actively sooth yourself while digging around in such unpleasant matters.

Once you become aware enough to stop yourself before immediately repeating the same thoughtless process, there are some tools you can use. Be careful who you choose as your enemy in the first place (because you will become like them), maybe releasing the idea of enemies completely. As a community, we can also help each other by sharing with each other how we are doing in that part of our quest.

Namaste’

Scott

Another association with being grounded is committment. Pete Seeger says that he believes that the earth will be saved by people who settle in one place and save that land. When you find something you love enough to fight for its survival, to nurture it and ensure that it thrives for generations to come, that is home. Without that, what use is deep knowledge, inspiration or boundless energy? Without a home, there is no starting point for your journey. Committment is required to parent a child, develop a career, keep a marriage, build a home, develop a personal practice and to know yourself. Committment requires being grounded. Without grounding, there is nothing to be committed to.

Also during meditation today, I let my mind rest on fatherhood, father energy and parenting. As a father, I have tried to be grounded in a handful of ideas. First among these is that a father provides grounding for the child. This means providing both the boundaries needed for the child to contain the elements within himself, and the nourishment and space necessary for the child to grow. This same energy is seen in all good yoga teachers. It is certainly not exclusive to men any more than nurturing is exclusive to women.  

So, I guess there are no great epifanies to be revealed in my meditations today. It is no secret that some men (ok women too) have difficulty with committment though, so I guess it never hurts to be reminded of the fruits of groundedness, committment and integration.

Namaste’ to all those who share their Father Energy with others.

Scott

We also know that how we deliver the message is at least as important as the knowledge we have to offer. If we hold our beliefs about a client or student too tightly, we don’t give them room to grow. If we hold our clients or students in our open hands, support them and nourish them with the gentleness and and vital energy of our own breath, they grow according to their own nature and in their own time, which is really the best we can hope for.  

We are human though and sometimes we don’t live up to our own best intentions or highest self.  Maybe through our own frustration, a momentary slip, an overwhelming desire to get though, right a wrong, or a genuine lack of understanding, our delivery becomes sharp as a scalpel or hard as a fist. When that happens, even our best intentions are not enough to soften the blow and the delivery destroys any good we hoped to achieve. Whether we were right or wrong simply doesn’t matter at that point. The recipient becomes defensive and rejects the message because they no longer trust the person who delivered it. Union dissolves, or in psychological language, the therapeutic relationship is lost or damaged. This happens to experienced psychologists, it happens in our personal lives and it can certainly happen to Yogis and yoga teachers as well. Repairing such damage is so difficult, we must do what we can to avoid falling to that point to begin with.

This is one of the main reasons it is important for Yogis and psychologists alike to practice what we preach. We need to take care of ourselves first so that we can be a reliable conduit for the wisdom we have inherited from others. Self-care and a personal practice is important. Ongoing study is important. Applying our values – Ahimsa, doing no harm most of all, is important. We strive to do good and many days we can. On those days we don’t have it, we must, must, must, at the least, do no harm.

So, what to do when you burn to speak or push your students past their edge? When the urge to change, to force the situation, to make something happen is straining at your last reserve? Remember these rules. Remember to ask yourself these three things. Is what I have to offer necessary? Is what I have to offer true? And, above all, Is what I have to offer kind? Failing any of these three tests, your only option is to sacrifice your own desires on the altar of silence. Even as it burns within, know that this is also the fire that burns away your own weaknesses and purifies your soul. This test is waiting for all those on the path of the healer. You will take it many times. This is your offering to your practice. This is your vow. This is your promise and your hope.

In Silence:

Namaste’

Scott

Namaste’

Scott

So, a few weeks ago, I heard that a large Yoga business in Austin had complained to the Texas Workforce Commission that other yoga organizations around Texas were offering Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) without being approved as vocational schools. The company that complained was already approved by the TWC to offer the teacher training and evidently, through their effforts, several yoga teacher training programs in Austin had already been forced to close their doors because they couldn’t sustain the ongoing costs and burdens of being regulated by the state. A quick check at the time revealed that there were only two  YTT programs in Austin that had been approved by the TWC. Of course there were rumors about which one it was, but since I had no evidence other than rumor, I wasn’t going to gossip. It would be a fairly damning accusation to make against a yoga program and with no evidence it seemed wrong to spread information that might not be true.

Well, this weekend, I attended the Texas Yoga Conference, a production of the Texas Yoga Association. Part of that conference included an open meeting with the TWC with a question and answer session. At that meeting, XXX made it clear that he supported the efforts of the government to regulate yoga teacher training programs and criticised all of the other members of the Texas Yoga Association who were unanimously opposed to the regulation. I guess that removed all doubt from my mind about whether the rumors about XXX involvement in these events were true. I found XXX behavior disappointing on a personal level. I’ve met him a couple of times and taken a class from him at XXX in Austin. I’ve enjoyed most of the classes I’ve taken at XXX and I’m having a hard time reconciling the XXX I met before, with one who would do what he has evidently done.

To be clear, XXX is entitled to his own ideas about how to run his own business and more power to him. My objection is the choice to involve multiple other businesses without consulting them and without considering what harm might be done to them. OK – that is just naive huh?  I think we have to conclude that the harm was well-considered and inflicted intentionally. A government agency was used as a tool in this striving for dominance in the business of yoga. Yoga is about union – coming together as one to create a better world of mind, body and spirit. What was done has driven a wedge between XXX, XXX and virtually all of the other yoga studios in Texas.  I can’t imagine ever taking another class from XXX. I can’t ever imagine wanting to work for an organization like that either. I wonder how the yoga teachers who work there now will feel when they find out what their business has become? How sad.

If I was going to end with a pithy, snarky remark, it would be something like:  ”If you believe what you preach, Karma is real dude.” Or “Maybe, it really is only Riches that matter.” Instead, I have a wish for XXX. I hope XXX and the others at XXX who made this decision will take some time to meditate on the consequences of what they have done to the Yoga community. Was it what they intended? How do they really feel about it now?  Did it create light, love, happiness? Was it just more competitive cruelty? What does the world need more of?

Namaste’

Scott

Update: Questions about this post have been submitted back channel. Here are some answers:

Q. Will regulation by the state affect the quality of the trainers of Yoga Teachers in Texas? 

A. No, the regulations have no standards for such teachers. Since programs of 24 hours or less are not included in the regulations, the type of program that the Yoga Alliance was established to protect against will be at a competitive advantage compared with those who voluntarily trained students according to the YA standards. Lax programs with low standards may continue to train teachers while those with higher standards may have to close, as several already have in Austin.

Q. Will regulation affect the curriculum of Yoga Teacher Training Programs.

A. No. The TWC hasn’t the slightest clue about what should be included in YTT curricula.

Q. Does it regulate yoga teachers?

A. No. Anyone can call themselves a yoga teacher.

Q. Is it possible that XXX was just trying to protect the quality of teacher training programs in Texas?

A. No. XXX teacher training programs use the same Yoga Alliance standards for their training programs as every program they identified to the TWC. Yoga Yoga had other alternatives, such as working with other studios if they had these kinds of concerns. They failed to utilize those options. This was not a move with or for others in the yoga community, it was a move against others in the yoga community.

Q. Is there any data on the comparative effectiveness of YTT programs offered by different programs?

A. No. Assumptions that any organization has superior programs are unfounded. Such claims are biased and uninformed.

Q What is it about the regulations that Yoga Studios find so onerous?

A. The cost is comparatively high for smaller programs. Regulations call for extensive, repetitive, ongoing paperwork, audits and financial statements that will require significant time and money to produce. Training programs must have regular site visits from regulators and every location where students learn or engage in practica must be evaluated individually and each one requires a full application, including fees and ongoing renewal fees. Regulations also allow for TWC to hire outside “experts” to evaluate curricula and trainer’s qualifications. There are over 20 different major types of yoga practiced in the United States and there is much variation within each school. YTT programs are rightly concerned about the possibility of being regulated by unqualified bureaucrats.

Q. Do the regulations favor one type of program over others?

A. Yes. Because each director and teacher in a program must be approved and they each must pay initial and ongoing renewal fees, large programs with high teacher/student ratios and low-wage support staff find the regulations far more affordable. Yoga Teachers have traditionally been trained in small groups or individually with a lot of personal and individualized attention. Because yoga is practiced in many different types of environments, high quality programs have arranged practica in a variety of community-based, public and private locations. Programs with individualized approaches, tailored to the needs of their students are at a distinct disadvantage. Large, cookie-cutter programs that provide the same training regardless of the actual needs of their students fit very well with the current regulatory scheme.

Q. If teaching yoga is a career and career schools are regulated, why shouldn’t yoga be regulated too?

A. The vast majority of yoga teachers teach yoga as an avocation and have other full-time jobs and/or other sources of support, such as a spouse or partner. Many students who complete the training only do so to deepen their own practice and never have any intention to teach. YTT programs do not train people to make a living teaching yoga. They deepen a yogi’s understanding of Yoga and help them develop leadership skills. What the yogi does with the training is up to the yogi. Few ever make a living at it. It is also true that many similar types of programs are exempted – not by the law, but by internal TWC decisions. The list of informally exempted programs includes aerobics instructors, dance instructors, martial arts instructors and personal trainers. Why would yoga teacher training be regulated when these are not?

Q. Doesn’t making everyone fit into the same box benefit yoga anyway?

A. Only if you like Walmart Yoga.

1) Yoga is independent of race, color, creed, or gender. It is essentially international in character, with no artificial boundaries. This makes Yoga essentially a unifying factor among diverse races and creeds.

2) Yoga knowledge is public knowledge, not the exclusive prerogative of any group. Free and frank exchange of information among yogis is valued and open to review by other yogis.

3) Yoga is not influenced by any ego-driven ideology, or manipulated to serve for personal profit. Yoga is honest, objective (methods and results can be observed by others), and impersonal (in the sense of the methods and results being available to all and not under private ownership).

4) Yoga statements are not accepted based only on the word of authority. There is freedom to question such statements. According to Yoga, the test of validity of any statement is experience or observational verification. In other words, just because a Guru says it, it ain’t necessarily so. Yogis are free to find out what works for them through their own  experience and observations, and they are free to share those experiences and observations with others.

In my experience, Yoga fits pretty well with the first and second. As for the third and fourth, I would say that it is possible to practice Yoga according to these values, though some don’t.  I am not proposing that these form a sufficient value base for yoga, though I think they could be recognized as compatible with a practice of Yoga. I wonder if you see value in practicing Yoga based on these values and whether they actually violate any necessary conditions for doing Yoga?

Where did these values come from? They represent four basic values of science: Universalism (scientific knowledge and methods are independent of artificial separations or boundaries), Communalism (scientific knowledge and methods are shared), Disinterestedness (scientific knowledge and methods are unbiased), Scepticism (scientific knowledge and methods are open to question and verification).

Namaste’

Scott

Is anyone doing hatha yoga to become more spiritual/enlightened?  

I prefer the term “evolved.” If that term qualifies, then yes. As a non-dualist, I see improving in any area as effecting positive change in my entire being.

Does[sic] you feel more spiritual doing asanas?  

I have had many emotional breakthroughs as well as “ah-ha” type enlightening moments while practicing yoga asana. Asana is meditative for me.

Do you find spirituality in a yoga studio?  

The studio where I practice is intentionally made to be a sacred space. When I am there, I experience the sacred more directly than anywhere else I go. As a non-dualist, I don’t distinguish between the spiritual and physical worlds. They are the same, and since the physical world is manifest, that is where I sense the sacred.

Do you think that one day during your practice you are going to become enlightened?  

Enlightenment is a process, not an end state. It isn’t something to reach or become.

Do you feel that if you achieve perfection in an asana you are somehow more spiritual?  

Perfection is only experiencing ones ultimate expression of self in the moment. We are all perfect, always.

Thanks for asking.

Namaste’

Scott

I read somewhere a long time ago that the Greek or latin root of the word we now know as competition once meant “To strive together.” It was said that in the original Greek Olympics, this was also the underlying ideal; to strive together to reach the highest expression of the physical activity being engaged in.  This is very different than the focus of many sports now days where one person or team beats the other, creating winners and losers.

A lot has been said about how sports are a metaphor for life, and to some extent I agree. However, it is also clear that which metaphors we choose also structure how we create meaning in life. When we choose the competitive metaphor, it has consequences as does our choice of the cooperative metaphor. We can obviously see this played out on the world stage (that may be adressed in a different post) as well as in our individual lives.

Part of my cousin’s dilemma involved how to engage her world within the cooperative mindset when so many others around her are trying to compete with her.  Indeed, if the cooperative mindset is placed in opposition to the competitive mindset, does it not become competitive? Perhaps not. What I told my cousin was that she had the choice whether to adopt the competitive mindset or not. I asked her, in the event that she chooses the competitive mindset, will she begrudge those she defeats their angst and sorrow as she begrudges those who defeat her their successes? I pointed out that choosing to see herself and her cohort as each striving for the untimate expression of their most genuine self had the potential to transform her, her interactions with her “competitors” and perhaps open the door to transformation within the wider community in which she lives.

My Yoga teacher defines Yoga in part as a non-competitive activity and that philosophy pervades everything we do in the studio. While we are each encourged to find our own ultimate expression of the poses in that moment, there is no comparing ourselves to others in the class. Sometimes when a fellow yogi achieves a particularly awesome expression of a pose, the class claps, but there is no envy.  For me, the cooperative metaphor is the very essence of Yoga.  No one is a better yogi or worse yogi. Those who have gone before offer paths for those who follow, sometimes we walk side by side. The path is wide. There is room for us all.

Namaste’

Scott