Guest guest Posted May 14, 2004 Report Share Posted May 14, 2004 Divine Selves, I thought that these excerpts from essays by one of our graduates of the 2003-04 course at ICYER would interest you Yogacharini Devaki (Nadine Kerin) of Ireland is the World Women’s Kayak Surfing Champion. She is a schoolteacher who is in the process of immigrating to Australia. A first class sportswoman, she has fought to integrate her passion for water sports with her love of Yoga. Yogic Bhava And Competition: A Possible Harmony or Paradox? Nadine Kerin (Devaki) Ireland Competition Today: In the age of Kali Yuga has brought with it the advent of professional, paid athletes and media exposure. The ethical and moral code of behaviour from the days of Ancient Greece have been pushed aside and replaced with a steely determination to win at any cost Ego-driven athletes now abound the international competitive stage, obsessed with lucrative cash endorsements and the fame, glory and adulation the media and fans pour onto them. Football soccer matches provide the gathering grounds for angry masses to shout, scream and abuse players and afterwards hunt out the ‘enemy’ supporters to beat up. Television and newspapers seek out and give coverage to the blood and the gore that occurs within games or the high-risk adrenalin sports. Attributes like precision, skill, focus, concentration and determination, the founding reasons why competition was first created, are ignored and washed over in the medias hungry hunt for the ‘titillating scoop’. With sponsors providing an athletes ability to train and compete full-time, freedom and dignity are signed away in contracts and these skillful athletes jump through hoops and parrot ridiculous slogans to advertise these multi-national corporations that are only concerned with promotion of their product and not the true essence of the sport. Athletes and fans: In the days of old athletes were men and women of strength and idolized as ‘heroes’. Their strength did not just lie in the physical realm but existed mentally, emotionally and morally. Today, hero-worship still exists and has grown to an obsessive level but these athletes, these objects of adoration, are often emotionally and mentally unhinged and live immoral, unaware, hedonistic lifestyles under the public gaze. What kind of messages do young children absorb from these so-called ‘heroes’? Competitive athletes that shout and throw tantrums when they ‘lose’, experts in their field of competition that cheat and foul to win, muscle-honed individuals that take steroids to enhance their strength. How is an eight year old meant to discern between this kind of gross, narcissistic and egoistical behaviour and what they witness in the competition? Many can’t which is why more and more tantrums and outrageous cheating tactics are being witnessed amongst children and adolescents in games. It must also be noted that fans and their tactics to win recognition from their idol are also becoming more and more twisted and perverse. Interestingly, the word ‘fan’ originates from the meaning ‘fanatical’. Young girls flinging underwear at their ‘star’ tennis/soccer/rugby player or ‘streakers’ are considered the ‘norm’ at competitions. Soccer fans religiously follow their team and are often stirred to the point of violence at these matches. A fans obsession was taken to the ultimate when he stabbed tennis player Steffi Graf because his ‘heroine’ (Monica Seles) didn’t win at the Wimbledon Tennis Final. The importance of a Yogic Bhava in Competition: Gurumahariji Dr. Swami Gitananda and Kalaimamani Yogacharini Meenakshi Devi Bhavanani outline the multitude of benefits a Yogic lifestyle could bring to an athletes performance. Awareness and practice of the Yamas and Niyamas, basic “attitudes toward being’ would force competitors to re-evaluate their lifestyle and provide healthy, inspirational role models for our children to emulate. The basic dictum of Yoga, they point out, “Equal-mindedness in victory and failure” (Sthitha Prajna) and “non-attachment to the fruit of one’s labour” and Vairagya (detachment) ensures that a competitor is present and focused on the moment of competition free from anxiety over his success, confident that he was done his best and willingly to accept the verdict rendered on his performance as opposed to worrying and placing winning as a ‘life or death’ situation. A ‘quiet mind’ and a ‘controlled body’ can only possess real skill. Swamiji and Amma call this ‘grace under pressure’ whereby an athlete can remain fluid and calm under the tense strain of competition. -------- I also give below some excerpts from her account of the XII International Yoga Festival, Pondicherry, 2004 In the topic for discourse “The Validity or Non-Validity of Yogasana Competition” Shri Manohar Purohit of Bangalore presented several clear and logical arguments against the validity of Yogasana competitions; the purpose of Yoga Asanas are only to prepare the body for Raja Yoga. The benefits Asanas bring-steadiness, health and lightness of the body are used in order to transcend the body and enter into the spirit. Asanas are steeped in developing an awareness of posture, breath and concentration in order to become a vehicle by which the flow of Pranic energy can occur. Shri Manohar Purohit maintained that in a competitive circumstance the mind is directed outwards and the very essence of competition runs against the concept of developing the Yogic quality of Santosham in our lives. All of his arguments were true but he did not mention the role Yogasana competition plays for the majority of competitors, the youth. Our very own Shri Hariharan Nicora of Switzerland presented the positive and negative effects competiton can have. He made the valid point out that this negative competitive spirit is not exclusive to Yogasana competitions and can be found in many Yoga classes today. He concluded that it’s an issue of our attitude in a competition that needs to be examined. While his speech was one of the shorter speeches this point of attitude was probably one of the most salient points made in the whole discourse. In order to present a balanced discourse on the topic “The Validity or Non-Validity of Yogasana Competition” the chairman Dr. N. Mazumdar, requested Yogacharya Dr. Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani of ICYER to share with the audience his experience of Yogasana competition. Despite being called to give a speech on the spot, Dr. Ananda spoke with the authority and shared his experience of organizing and running Yogasana competitions for several years. Dr. Ananda explained that Yogasana competition is not regarded as Yoga but a tender young branch of the tree of Yoga. Yogasana competition is an effective carrot-and-stick approach to whetting the interest of the youth. As a teacher myself, I can vouch that all children have a sense of competitiveness. How it is directed and channeled is the delicate issue. Dr. Ananda pointed this out in that the main problem in Yoga is when children begin to question their teacher who is not capable or interested in the spiritual aspects of Yoga. Today, in India, there are several Yoga ‘coaches’ who specifically train children to compete in Yogasana competitions. Often their job depends on how many ‘champions’ they produce so when this pressure is there it invariably gets transferred to children. Dr. Ananda concluded by repeating the importance of remembering that Yogasana competition is only a small branch of Yoga and a tool to attract children into this way of living. By channeling their competitive drive in a healthy manner, children can learn many lessons by competing and that being a ‘champion’ is not the main goal of Yoga. As a person involved in competitive kayaking on an international level I was a bit ‘iffy’ about the value of Yogasana competition until I witnessed the Pondicherry State Yogasana competition held last October in Ananda Ashram. The theory exam ensures that every child must study and learn the theoretical and philosophical aspects of yoga and most of the questions would put many practicing ‘Yogi’s’ to shame! I was also inspired to see many children perform Asanas with grace and conscious awareness, particularly the older ones. When the champions were chosen they were congratulated but it was not blown out of proportion. More time was spent giving trophies to the young children who were winners or runner ups in their categories making every child feel like a champion when being presented on stage to applause! Yogacharya Dr.Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani MBBS, ADY, DSM, DPC, PGDFH Chairman Yoganjali Natyalayam and ICYER 25,2nd Cross,Iyyanar Nagar, Pondicherry-605 013 Tel: 0413 - 2622902 / 0413 -2241561 Website: www.icyer.com Protect your identity with Mail AddressGuard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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