Fed Up

[Guest guest]

I am a definite newbie..my astanga practice is

barely 2 months old..though I have practiced yoga for

many years and even qualified as a teacher(not astanga

obviously) I was fascinated by the Astanga..it seemed to be

not just a lovely form of yoga..but from the books I

read(yes BBB's books and others) and the tapes I saw..that

I would benefit from this practice as much as I did

from the Hatha yoga..well its really just hatha with

heat isnt it? The postures are the same..its the way

they are done..with energy etc. that is different.<br>

So here is me fascinated..and I was thrilled to even

find a club on ..where I would be able to read of

other peoples experiences..how they approached and

solved problems..what the benefits were for them

personally.<br> Well I have found some of this..and there are a

few very wise and open people here..but there are a

few who have made me decide there is no way I want to

practice astanga. I havent the heart to practice a form of

yoga that is so full of contention..know alls..and

snobs. I find it ludicrous that what is set out to be a

science to find oneness and self realisation..to reach

higher in this lifetime..has been allowed to degenerate

into this farce. I believe in the principles of

yoga..I try to follow the Yamas etc. I dont do yoga just

to be flexible or have a nice body..I do it because

I have the firm belief that I will one day reach

Samadhi..maybe not this lifetime or even the next..but I

will..and it is sad and disturbing to see what this pure

science has become.

[Guest guest]

Hey, there's nothing wrong with "this pure

science"!<br><br>During the Holy Crusades, when people were being killed

in the name of Christ, his teachings were still good

as gold.He said love each other and we killed each

other, there was nothing wrong with the teachings or the

teacher, just the disciples.<br><br>Just because we're

quarreling over this and that, it does not invalidate the

teachings.It just shows us how we still have a long way to

go.And how we have to practice outside the Yoga room.A

wise and peaceful man you will not become even if you

can do 6th series with the utmost ease...

[Guest guest]

Or you could look at it this way. As of today,

this club has 576 members. Probably alot more visit

now and then. And there are surely some who don't do

ashtanga on the computer, and will never be seen on this

site. i'm sure that for each person who has offended

you with their bickering and elitism, there are many

who wouldn't. It would be a shame if you were put off

of Ashanga by a few strong club personalities.

Especially by those who are actively trying to get your

goat. Some of the posts here make me wince too, but so

what....Sometimes there is great info and discussion and good

laughs too. <br><br>If you like the yoga, who cares

about what some silly people post online?

[Guest guest]

Squabbles between a handful of individuals in

this board aren't a fair reflection of anything

astanga has become. I can see why you might think they

are a good reason to stop reading here, but it would

be wrong to take them as a reason to write off

astanga vinyasa yoga.<br><br>The sort of elitism and

fundamentalism in yoga that a few people express here isn't new

or unique to astanga. Very early on in my astanga

career I heard that a teacher I know - who is a very

nice guy, a highly accomplished yoga practitioner and

an excellent teacher - had been kicked out of an

Iyengar teachers' association for starting to teach

astanga. I'm giving this example not to denigrate Iyengar

yoga - which is a form of practice I respect even

though I don't personally choose to do it - but to

illustrate that some amount of politicking and bitterness is

inevitable in any group of human beings, even(?) yoga

practitioners. What's new in the age of the Web is that some of

it is happening and being openly discussed in public

rather than going on behind closed doors. Which I think

is, on balance, probably more healthy.<br><br>Sure,

it isn't what newcomers who come here for advice and

encouragement are looking for. But to even think about

censoring anything on those grounds veers dangerously close

to a patronising, "not in front of the children"

attitude that also isn't so helpful. A lot of people new

to astanga may not know much about yoga, but I

believe most of them are otherwise intelligent adults who

are capable of hearing what is being said and forming

their own opinion of what is worth listening to and

what isn't. <br><br>I was astonished at the hundreds

of people who turned up at Guruji's workshop in New

York. I suppose when something grows the way astanga

currently seems to be mushrooming in the States, some

dilution and some clique-forming are inevitable. I enjoyed

seeing the big wide New York world but I'm content to be

back in the sleepy little astanga backwater that is

Germany, where the Mysore class I attend was busy this

week - there were five of us.<br><br>As you point out,

among all the noise there is still a lot of

constructive sharing of information and experience going on

here. I love the cosy little astanga scene where I

live. I also value this club as a way of getting some

sense of contact with a wider world with all its

imperfections.

[Guest guest]

Opurple and others disheartened by the tone of

this forum:<br><br>Maybe I am saying what has already

been said. There is a lot of didacticism, criticism,

and elitism in this electronic medium, but you can

choose to laugh at it or tune it out and find those gems

of information and help that occasionally crop up.

There are a lot of intelligent, experienced and kind

invdividuals who are a real resource in terms of valuable

info.<br><br>As someone else said, what really matters is what

happens to you, mentally, physically, spiritually, on the

mat in your practice. Maybe this forum is a good

thing to think of when focusing on sense withdrawal!

Just clear it all away.<br><br>Anyway, I wanted to

share something my teacher said recently. Before class

he said that if people knew how he was teaching

class, the astanga community would proabably run him out

of town. I looked at him, puzzled, and he clarified,

saying something like not Pattabhi Jois, but his more

ardent followers. I found it sad. It seems to me there

are many here who think they can speak for the

benevolent teacher of astanga vinyasa yoga, but from what I

have seen/read, they haven't gotten to the heart of

the matter.<br><br>B

[Guest guest]

Alan,<br><br>I don't really know whether that was

the case with the Iyengar teacher you're talking

about, but the Iyengar Association in the US (and I

guess in Europe too) does not allow certified teachers

to teach other styles or especially to mix it

up.Also if your studio uses the Iyengar name , you're

required to only teach Iyengar yoga in it.These are things

you agree to when you get certified.I know of a lot

of teachers who have given back their certificates

and have gone their own way, to teach whatever they

like.