yogis, ahimsa and sheepskins

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam,

 

Thanks for all for the debate of whether or not to use sheepskin as

your yoga mat. I understand the energetic benefits that are described,

but I still must respectfully offer some other things to think about.

 

Regarding energy: what about the energy of farming animals and

killing them as a commodity for humans to use? If the sheep happen

to come from a factory farm, that energy will be particularly

violent and fearful. If not a factory farm, the animal is still

being killed and commodified. Are sheep not sentient beings who

feel pain and other emotions?

 

Regarding the belief that the skin is only a by-product of the

sheep meat: What makes 'raising' an animal economically feasible is

making money through each part of the carcass, and the animal's skin

is a significant source of income (thus leading toward many more

animals being slaughtered than would be otherwise if no money was

received for their skins).

 

It can be a very convenient argument that they were going to kill

the animal anyway, so I might as well use what I can of it.

However, would these people also do it in reverse if they were killing

the animal for the skins (for example, like they do for chinchillas,

foxes or kangaroos), would they eat the flesh b/c it was a by-

product?

 

At the end of the day, that yoga mat was once the skin of another

animal, no different that our skin. I would encourage anyone who

is vegetarian to fully reflect on this choice and see if they are

making this decision to purchase/use sheep skin out of true

reflection or out of convenience.

 

I believe strongly that as yogis and yoginis, we should practice

ahimsa, or non-harming, to the best of our ability. If it means a

simple choice like practicing on a fair-trade cotton or hemp

blanket to not support the animal exploitation industry, then why not

make that small sacrifice?

 

With love,

Sat Nam,

 

Jai Gopal Kaur

 

Andrea Kowalski

Online Editorial Director

YogaJournal.com

San Francisco, CA

[Guest guest]

Thank you for this post. Your words reflect my feelings on the subject and sum up why I will never practice yoga on the skin on another animal. Times have changed since this practice was devised so why not change our practice to accommodate for this change? Please re-read Jai Gopal Kaur's post and consider why we practice Kundalini yoga in the first place and if it really makes sense to sit on the skin of a dead animal. Sat Nam with love and respect, Sara

[Guest guest]

I wondered whether to buy a sheepskin and was finally convinced after

talking to some of our community old schoolers. Guru Ganesha told me

he found a skin from a company that said it found animals dead in the

mountains of new zealand from natural causes, exposure, etc. I thought

it was great that he had that consciousness about it. But then I asked

Guru Singh one time why he uses a mexican blanket, and he said " I'll

bless them in the pasture instead " , lol... I made my decision right

then, and I remember feeling my heart relax right after that (I'm way

too in my head sometimes!).

[Guest guest]

Instead of an animal skin, it is fine to use a wool blanket or small

rug. My husband and I have small thick rugs we picked up in Dehra Dun

(India) a number of years ago, and they are lovely.

 

Beyond the respect for life issues involved with sheepskins, we have

the environmental problems created by animal factories/industries.

Probably if we witnessed the process of making a sheepskin, from

slaughter to skin, we'd be less inclined to buy them.

 

 

Kundalini-Yoga , " jaigopalkaur " <akowalski

wrote:

>

> Sat Nam,

>

> Thanks for all for the debate of whether or not to use sheepskin as

> your yoga mat. I understand the energetic benefits that are

described,

> but I still must respectfully offer some other things to think

about.

>

> Regarding energy: what about the energy of farming animals and

> killing them as a commodity for humans to use? If the sheep happen

> to come from a factory farm, that energy will be particularly

> violent and fearful. If not a factory farm, the animal is still

> being killed and commodified. Are sheep not sentient beings who

> feel pain and other emotions?

>

> Regarding the belief that the skin is only a by-product of the

> sheep meat: What makes 'raising' an animal economically feasible is

> making money through each part of the carcass, and the animal's skin

> is a significant source of income (thus leading toward many more

> animals being slaughtered than would be otherwise if no money was

> received for their skins).

>

> It can be a very convenient argument that they were going to kill

> the animal anyway, so I might as well use what I can of it.

> However, would these people also do it in reverse if they were

killing

> the animal for the skins (for example, like they do for chinchillas,

> foxes or kangaroos), would they eat the flesh b/c it was a by-

> product?

>

> At the end of the day, that yoga mat was once the skin of another

> animal, no different that our skin. I would encourage anyone who

> is vegetarian to fully reflect on this choice and see if they are

> making this decision to purchase/use sheep skin out of true

> reflection or out of convenience.

>

> I believe strongly that as yogis and yoginis, we should practice

> ahimsa, or non-harming, to the best of our ability. If it means a

> simple choice like practicing on a fair-trade cotton or hemp

> blanket to not support the animal exploitation industry, then why

not

> make that small sacrifice?

>

> With love,

> Sat Nam,

>

> Jai Gopal Kaur

>

> Andrea Kowalski

> Online Editorial Director

> YogaJournal.com

> San Francisco, CA

>

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam, Jai Gopal Kaur --

I agree completely with the narrative you described, yet THAT strand

of thought is only one of many wise strands on this issue. Yoga is

indeed a multifaceted reality, and there is no ONE RIGHT ANSWER to

anything. THis doesn't make anyone wrong but it does mean that there

are also other valid points of view.

 

I'm a Kundalini yogi for 38 years, served in the military as a Sikh,

ate meat for the first 25 years of my life, stopped for ethical

reasons, reinforced by the health reasons. And I'm also a

permaculturalist, very involved with food systems re-localization, am

a councilor member of the Lane County Food Policy Council (in Eugene,

Oregon), and I haven't owned a sheepskin for almost 20 years. But I

wouldn't mind owning one either.

 

The primary need for a sheepskin, according to what Yogi Bhajan

taught, is to provide an insulating layer between the human magnetic

field and the electrically grounding force of Mother Earth. A yogi,

he illustrated, is something like an astronaut beginning to lift off

and find human sovereignty beyond the magnetic dominance of, well,

Mother Earth. Very much like the first day our own mothers dropped us

off at kindergarten. First the umbilical cord was cut, then the

emotional dependency gets cut, and finally the causal magnetic

dependency needs to be interrupted so the human can discover itself as

a complete microcosm/macrocosm in itself, via meditation. We gotta

orbit someday, or remain hanging around the hous tied to our mother's

apron like magenetic strings. When we come back into direct relation,

it can be like a true dialogue with Mother Earth, rather than that of

a co-dependent child who never moved off the block into the larger

world of life.

 

Fact checking: pigs, cattle and chickens especially are factory

farmed. But also range fed. Sheep, if you drive up I-5 to Seattle

some time from San Francisco (be sure to stop in Eugene for Yogi Tea),

you'll see many many fields with sheep grazing, freely. One main

difference is there's not as much demand for intensively raising

sheep. In addition, sheep are valuable eating and free ranging in the

field. They're good for fertilizing the open field, AND sheep don't

run away (which is why they'e, uh, called " sheep " ). In other words,

the description you raised about factory farming sheep really doesn't

exist to my knowledge. This is just a friendly information set, since

you're a journalist, to ensure that when you tell stories to edify the

public, you can be a little more country savvy because your country

cousin Krishna Singh shared realistic perspective.

 

Most importantly, the attitude of thoughtless exploitation of animals

isn't necessarily the way that conscious human beings relate to

animals. Even when eating them.

 

It is said that one important reason not to eat animal flesh is that

we take on the psyche and karma of that animal when we eat it. I can

recognize a profoundly different point of view from yours, in having

witnessed authentic Lamas and Rinpches (Tibetan) who eat chicken do so

with the full knowledge (and highly evolved spiritually skillful

means) to actually engage the karma of that chicken being, and work

for it's eventual human life and liberation from the cycles of

rebirth. That's a pretty wonderful yoga. Not one I practice, but I

can deeply honor and respect it.

 

I simply wanted to share some other facets of a much larger

discussion. Thank you for your post.

 

many Blessings,

Krishna Singh

 

Kundalini-Yoga , " jaigopalkaur " <akowalski

wrote:

>

> Sat Nam,

>

> Thanks for all for the debate of whether or not to use sheepskin as

> your yoga mat. I understand the energetic benefits that are described,

> but I still must respectfully offer some other things to think about.

>

> Regarding energy: what about the energy of farming animals and

> killing them as a commodity for humans to use? If the sheep happen

> to come from a factory farm, that energy will be particularly

> violent and fearful. If not a factory farm, the animal is still

> being killed and commodified. Are sheep not sentient beings who

> feel pain and other emotions?

>

> Regarding the belief that the skin is only a by-product of the

> sheep meat: What makes 'raising' an animal economically feasible is

> making money through each part of the carcass, and the animal's skin

> is a significant source of income (thus leading toward many more

> animals being slaughtered than would be otherwise if no money was

> received for their skins).

>

> It can be a very convenient argument that they were going to kill

> the animal anyway, so I might as well use what I can of it.

> However, would these people also do it in reverse if they were killing

> the animal for the skins (for example, like they do for chinchillas,

> foxes or kangaroos), would they eat the flesh b/c it was a by-

> product?

>

> At the end of the day, that yoga mat was once the skin of another

> animal, no different that our skin. I would encourage anyone who

> is vegetarian to fully reflect on this choice and see if they are

> making this decision to purchase/use sheep skin out of true

> reflection or out of convenience.

>

> I believe strongly that as yogis and yoginis, we should practice

> ahimsa, or non-harming, to the best of our ability. If it means a

> simple choice like practicing on a fair-trade cotton or hemp

> blanket to not support the animal exploitation industry, then why not

> make that small sacrifice?

>

> With love,

> Sat Nam,

>

> Jai Gopal Kaur

>

> Andrea Kowalski

> Online Editorial Director

> YogaJournal.com

> San Francisco, CA

>

[Guest guest]

A few years ago, I decided that perhaps there was a

better choice for yoga and meditation than an animal skin. I tried a yoga mat,

but the very inorganic nature of it didn’t allow me the freedom and

comfort I felt on a skin. Covering it with something like a sheet or towel or

a wool blanket didn’t work for me either. It was either too cold, or too

rough or too itchy.

I researched oriental rugs that would be light enough

for travel, but large enough to do yoga on, and sturdy enough not to slide. I

bought an old Muslim prayer rug that had been used as a wall hanging, thinking

how happy it would be to once again be used for meditation, and used it for a

while. For me it was a step out of the 3HO norm to sit as a WTY facilitator on

that rug. But I did it

However, sitting for 9-11 hours required special padding

underneath and somehow it just didn’t have the ‘give’ of a

skin, something that I could sort of melt in to. The truth is I wanted it to

work. I wanted it to be comfortable and for it to become a part of me

energetically as other skins and keepsakes and talismans in my mediation space.

I really wanted it to work, but it just didn’t.

Then one day I went to Costco and saw a Greek Flotaki

rug that was the size of a yoga mat. Perfect! Wool, shaggy like a skin, light

weight, easy to fold and man made. I used that for a while, but it never

smiled at me when I sat down on it. It seemed so neutral and if it had been

capable of thinking, it just didn’t get being used for meditation instead

of decoration.

So I took out my sheep skin, brushed it and with a lot

of love as when seeing an old friend, I sat down and finally I was meditating

and not thinking about what I was sitting on. For me it works. I am grateful

to whoever that animal was and perhaps my love and gratitude is finding a place

for that sheep somewhere in animal heaven!

Sheepskins were never required for practicing KY.

Animals skins are what yogis used for 5000 years. But we can change that for

ourselves or not. Challenge is not to legislate or try to be the blueprint

for others. Sharing is great. Thanks for giving me the opportunity by

starting this dialogue.

With love and prayers, satsimran

 

[Guest guest]

SatnamI'm new to this group and just wanted to thank Krishna Singh and Satsimran Kaur for sharing. Many blessings, Jot Singh It's not the life that matters-It's the courage you bring to it.The Three Laws of ProsperityBe kind to everyoneNever speak ill of anyoneNever speak ill of yourselfYogi Bhajanwww.khalsakirpans.comwww.lifeknives.com

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam Sat Simran Kaur,

Thanks for your input from a sincere effort to sort this question

out.

Below is some additional info I found online and in conversations with

a Vaishnava friend of mine last summer.

Bless,

Dharam Singh

Millis, MA

 

(from Kundaliniyoga/message/23670 )

There are certain natural forces which can either help or oppose your

efforts. Magnetic forces in the earth tend to pull one's energy down.

Certain natural fibers serve as an insulation against these forces

just as a rubber coating insulates an electrical wire. Traditionally,

yogis sat on a tiger or deer skin.

( from http://www.prajnanamission.org

)

 

We are instructed to sit on a grass mat over which we must spread an

animal skin, preferably that of a deer or tiger, and on top of that a

silk or cotton cloth.

 

If you don't have a tiger skin or deerskin mat (how many people do?)

just use a woolen blanket and fold it a few times. Some insist on

following these instructions to the letter. But many don't understand

the underlying metaphorical meaning of these instructions.

 

Let's look at them carefully. Kusha, the Sanskrit word for grass, also

means earth. In our body, the muladhara chakra represents the earth.

Wherever we sit, be it on the carpet, a blanket or a grass mat we are

sitting on our muladhara chakra or the earth. The asana or seat should

be a nonconductor because when one meditates energy is produced in the

body. Since earth is a conductor of electricity, we should try not to

sit directly on the ground.

 

There is another explanation for the skin. The Sanskrit word for dead

skin (a-jina) also means difficult to conquer. Within our body one of

the most difficult places to conquer is the sexual center. So we are

being instructed to go above that center during meditation.

 

Tiger skin: The tiger is the vehicle of Shakti, the goddess of power

and force. Shiva is beyond and above any kind of force. He is the

master of Shakti. The tiger skin that he wears symbolizes victory over

every force. Tigers also represent lust. Thus sitting on Tiger skin,

Shiva indicates that he has conquered lust. Finally, we have the silk

or cotton cloth or chela. The word chela in Sanskrit also means fire.

The center in the body whose element is fire is the navel center.

Again we are being told to rise above the first three chakras,

muladhara, swadhishthana and manipura, in order to meditate.

 

 

If you can't wrap your mind around any of the above concepts, just use

a pure wool blanket and fold it a few times. Then put some silk

material on top. This would help neutralize subtle currents that pull

life-energy down.

 

As I don't have a Deer or Tiger skin but have a Sheepskin, I could

most approximate the properties of the Tiger skin by placing silk

material over my sheepskin. Underneath these two a grass mat could be

placed.

 

I do have a beautiful Caribou skin but it sheds pretty bad so all I can

do is look at it.

 

Sat Nam,

Dharam