Yoga for the white man

[Guest guest]

Shame on Vishva. Doesn`t he know that ashtanga is

for whites only ?<br> It says clearly in the

requirements for certification that only rich white people may

teach this form of yoga. ( excepting the direct Guruji

family).<br>Shame on Vishvanath that he charges 250 dollars a

month. I mean that is half the sum that guruji charges

but forget that- the average Indian earns 100 rps a

month so that means that he should charge his students

about 2 rps a month. <br> Him being slightly over

weight is surely a sign of his greed- look for example

at Pattabhi he is not over weight at all, is he

?<br>So many yoga criminals ; BNS Iyengar, Yoga Vishva -

Will they please understand that this yoga should only

be taught by the direct guruji family and

westerners.<br>A western yoga teacher charging 10 dollars a class

can earn 300 dollars just from one class but shame on

you Vishva you should only get a few rupees because

you are Indian.<br><br>Excuse my irony. Get the

message.

[Guest guest]

thank you for posting that. It bothers me

immensely that the opportunity to "legitimately" teach is

limited to those with five hundred bucks a month to blow,

repetitively, over ten years or whatnot. Its obscene and

incredibly classist (and, considering the financial status

of people in india, racist as well.) It bothers me

as it inherently goes against so many yogic

values...teaching opportunities should be based on ability, not

race or class or wealth. i may get bashed for

it....but its a poor comment on PJ (what he charges to be a

teacher),

[Guest guest]

Yes. I used to think the same like you not much

time ago. I thought: Sri Jois is on his best way to

become the guru for the white man (Americans, Europeans,

Australians) in search of eastern spirituality to give their

void western lives some sense & purpose. I must say

though that I have changed my mind since then.<br><br>In

my view, the relationship Guru - sisya has never

been 'democratic' in any way , so the terms 'racist',

'classist' etc. simply don't apply here. As I see it, the

Guru system is an autocratic one by nature. Sri Jois,

for example, uses to throw those students who dare to

complain or to contradict him out of his classes - this at

least is what I've read. He has the right to do so:

isn't Sri Jois the current guru of Astanga Yoga? So

it's up to him to have the last word concerning the

practice, the fees, the teacher certification etc. As an

Astanga practitioner, you must accept

this.<br><br>However, so far Sri Jois' fee system has not prevented

anyone who seriously wants to study with him to do so.

For all I know, certified Astanga-Yoga teachers like

John Scott, Lino Miele or Hamish Hendry don't come

from 'rich' backgrounds. More important to me is that

Sri Jois is not a charlatan - and there are plenty of

them in India who call themselves 'guru'. Sri Jois

certainly is not a charlatan.

[Guest guest]

It isn't just for rich white people. If you have

the desire to study there you find ways to do it,

that's all. I am white but far from rich, have a family

and all of that, but go to Mysore fairly often. It's

all just a matter of what your priorities are. Guruji

is absolutely the one to study with as far as

ashtanga goes---- period. He is worth much more than the

money he chages.

[Guest guest]

I would have to second that as another non rich person who goes as often as

possible. There are lots of us out there!

[Guest guest]

Funny, but nobody mentions or minds when

accomplished white western yoga teachers - Freeman, Miller,

etc... not to mention all the silly new-age charlatans

in Yoga Journal, charge significantly more than SPJ

for their weekend or week-long workshops and yogic

retreats. <br><br>People in the top of their field,

whatever their color or nationality, can charge whatever

they want. Too bad that you can't take advantage of

the economic inequities between the 1st and 3rd world

this time. <br><br>Cheers,<br>DMcG<br><br> Jessabelson

Wrote:<br><br>It bothers me immensely that the opportunity to

"legitimately" teach is limited to those with five hundred bucks

a month to blow, repetitively, over ten years or

whatnot. Its obscene and incredibly classist (and,

considering the financial status of people in india, racist

as well.) It bothers me as it inherently goes

against so many yogic values...teaching opportunities

should be based on ability, not race or class or wealth.

i may get bashed for it....but its a poor comment

on PJ (what he charges to be a teacher),