Sanity. ( a response to message 9308)

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Iyengar, Jois, and a number of other advanced

practicioners of yoga, emphatically warn that practicing yoga,

and in particular pranayama, without the guidence of

a grounded teacher is a recipe for mental

instability and insanity. I've met other people who have gone

off the deep end while ostensibly on a spiritual

quest. <br><br>Many of these western pilgrims in search

of enlightenment visit Bali, where I live much of

the year, and bring their toxic spiritual baggage

along with them.<br><br> There was one fellow from the

USA, a guy who practiced pranayama for long periods,

who eventually came to the conclusion that he was

qualified to perform religious rituals in Bali Hindu

temples. (this in spite of the fact he could not speak

Indonesian, Balinese, or Kawi, (Balinese Sanskrit). After he

got kicked out of the temple, his path of destruction

continued and ended after he drugged a Balinese girl with

extacsy and date-raped her.<br>He fled the island not

long after, and apparently now works as a "healer" in

Northern California.<br><br>Remarkably, he did not present

himself as a buffoon, in spite of his amazing

wrongheadedness. He was quite charismatic, outwardly humble, and

very articulate. He had a command of spiritual

nomenclature that was sufficiently obtuse to impress tourists

- particularily the young and those of the "New

Age" persuasion. And he continues to get away with it.

<br><br>I haven't met people like that in the upper

echelons of Astanga. Aside from the practice itself, what

attracted me most to Astanga was the high quality of people

who were practicing it 10 years ago in NYC. John

Cambell was my first teacher - he's gone on to the

Doctoral program in theology at Columbia under Robert

Thurman. Eddie Stern was my next teacher, and you are not

going to find a more rigorous intellect or grounded

personality. It is difficult for me to say whether I am more

impressed by Guruji or by his senior students.

<br><br>Omboy (AKA nandilove, raptureosis, yogadyke, khustanga,

akoshbgosh, sunfunmoonjune, wayvinny, ripped5pct,

ompremadonna) clearly does NOT practice astanga and never has.

You can identify his posts (in spite of the various

aliases - a practice he once condemned) by the underlying

anger and hostility that has yet to exhaust itself.

Omboy's endless posts and multiple personalities exist on

this list as a cautionary tale. Run, don't walk, away

from anyone who eroticizes yoga (gay or straight),

offers "tantric ritual" workshops, or wants to help you

to raise your kundalini energy.<br><br>Eventually,

I'll put all these words of wisdom in my memoirs,

which will be available at Amazon.com for a mere

$49.95. Pre order your copy today!<br><br>Cheers,

<br>DMcG