Yoga and Politics
Or, Reason Number 365 to keep Politics out of the Studio
The other day a student at a studio where I practice went out of her way to make a comment about the clothes I was wearing to Yoga, asking if they came from “that” store. When I replied in the affirmative she proclaimed she would never shop there because of a political ad “that company” had run after the last election. I just laughed and told her it was the only place that had yoga clothes my size. Of course the ad didn’t bother me either because it reflected well on “my guy.” Still, I know how I would have felt if the shoe was on the other foot. I quit going to a local nursery for plants and such after they supported the other side in the national election before this one and chose to put a big sign on their front fence proclaiming it. Partisan politics and offering services to the public really don’t mix too well. Partisan politics and Yoga don’t either. I’m really glad I didn’t have that experience early on in my practice because conflict is the very last thing I look for in my yoga practice. I wouldn’t have shrugged it off as easily before I had a firm foundation in my yogic practice.
Yoga is about connections with people and universal values, not things that separate or divide people. Its easy enough to find examples of how partisan politics divides people from each other. I’ve come to understand that it can also divide people from their own values too. One example of this is how strong environmental protection has been lost as a major interest of many Republicans (thankfully not all of them feel this way). This was once the party that actually started the National Park system because they knew it was consistent with conservative values to conserve natural resources. Conserving natural resources so that the environment (and thus life itself) can thrive is a value that every person should be able to embrace fully. Conservation is a value that should be easy to put in front of money and power. It is a value that fits with every religious and ethical system of philosophy and which should transcend politics, yet partisan politics has has been able to use it to divide people not only from others, but from their own values and best interests.
Partisan politics as it is currently practiced obviously has the power to divide us from each other even in areas where we should be able to stand shouder to shoulder regardless of any other differences we might have. I don’t believe it always has to be that way – the term competition came from a Greek word that means “to strive together.” However, since politics in America needs some serious healing before it will be compatible with yogic values, it is surely the wise thing to do to keep partisan politics out of the studio. That doesn’t mean we can’t take Yoga to politics, but that is another blog all together.
One last thought before I go: I know Yogis with very different political views who think that the Yamas and Niyamas are consistent with their views, but not so much for “the other side,” kind of like both sides in a war believing that they have God on their side. Both sides are of course wrong. Both sides would undoubtedly benefit from studying Yoga though and in the end, no one really benefits from war between or within.
Peace, Om Shanti
Namaste’
Scott
