Power to the yoga voice !

[Guest guest]

Personally I am a great fan of the" yoga voice".

It is a remnant from the times of the gentle hatha

yoga. The times when the teachers voice would help your

body and mind to relax into the posture. One could

really experience that feeling of “going back to the

source !”<br><br> I find that in these days of power

yoga / ashtanga yoga. Many instructors adopt the

"1,2,3, jump , come on now ! Do it !" reminiscent of an

aerobics class or being in the army.<br>What we do here is

yoga- a more authoritarian way of teaching is good for

creating obedience , energy and in the case of the

aerobics class good for getting people to burn those

calories but has negative effects on the pysche :<br>Yoga

is about stilling the mind , go into that feeling of

discomfort and let go- transcend it and the body deepens

into the posture.<br>Shout at someone and their

attitude towards the posture will harden and maybe they

will fight their way into the asana. Yes, This is true

I have seen it happen with my own eyes. Knee caps

popping all over the place.<br>The yoga voice reflects

the right attitude of respect and gentleness- just

because we are doing ashtanga yoga which is a hard

practice, there is no reason why we shouldn`t be nice on

ourselves. <br>I think that Swenson and Freeman have

understood this.<br>Power to the yoga voice !

[Guest guest]

I like Astanga Yoga primarily because it seems to

me to have the right mix of tough and soft elements;

it's neither too hard nor too weak. The danger that

Astanga degenerates into boot-camp exertion is there, I

agree. It should be said however that the "shouting" is

not confined to astanga yoga alone. B.K.S. Iyengar,

for example, is famous for his yelling at and even

beating of his students. Many have complained about this.

But some students say that receiving a stroke from

their Guru has helped them getting into the postures.

[Guest guest]

I don't mind the "yoga voice" as long as it doesn't sound totally

fake.<br><br>Robin M.

[Guest guest]

No way in hell would I allow ANYONE..guru or not to beat me. Jeez..sounds a bit

S&M-esque and I suppose if they are into that more power to them.<br><br>Robin

M.

[Guest guest]

I don't mind it as long as it's not in a Vienna

accent I can barely understand (Thomas, you know who I'm

talking about)<br><br>And the answer to the whole

question, of course, is to study properly in Mysore-style

classes where the teacher isn't talking the whole time -

or indeed any of it.

[Guest guest]

I can't imagine anybody beating me, yoga guru, husband, whatever. Anybody who

would allow that to be done to them needs a psychiatrist.

[Guest guest]

A teacher NOT talking the whole time..must not be around here..lol

[Guest guest]

Beautifully stated. Totally agree. Totally. What

I had said was:<br><br>"I like when a teacher is

"serious and ethereal," in SUBSTANCE. Hate when they put

on that stupid yoga voice."<br><br>The operative

phrase here is "put on." One whose teaching is not a

compartmentalized schtick need put on nothing. The teaching voice

then would be a natural extension of his or her

practice. Nothing sadder than somebody trying to fake yoga,

either in teaching or in practice.