Stress and Stretch
Politics and Yoga?
- Politics!
Yesterday: Endless, infinite amounts of sitting which continue to convince me that I'm doing structural damage to my reproductive organs. SAVED at the bell by a 7:30PM "Earthrise Yoga" class with Derek Beres at Equinox Soho. Here's what happened...
Derek opened class by saying he was angry. He then discussed the recent congressional non-vote on "Don't Ask Don't Tell," which he described as "problematic," and went on to cover Carl Paladino's position on abortion. (Paladino, Republican candidate for New York governor is opposed, even in cases of rape and incest.) After that, Derek read from Barbara Ehrenreich's new book about the dangers of positive thinking.
Here's my point: I'm sure I agree with Derek's general positions on these matters, but I'm not sure I want my 75 minutes of yoga kicked off with an assumptive, righteous gloss on the most divisive political issues of the moment. It tends to stress me out, and make me contrarian. I applaud Beres' passion, and his sense (no doubt) that to be a responsible citizen, he must speak up, BUT I suppose I'm not a fan of the *style* in which he made his points, i.e. "my position is so clearly right, and the fanatics running our country are so clearly wrong, and I'm sure you all agree with me — not that I'm asking — so I tell you I'm just pretty fed up, and you should be too...." Also, 90 seconds is not quite enough time to do justice to Ehrenreich's excellent book, and I'm afraid I didn't quite follow Derek's explanation of the passage he read.
The yoga, however, was fantastic. It was a really nice, original series, and wonderful music. (Beres runs a kind of indie yoga/world music label.) And the members of the class all seemed quite good and in synch. A calm older man was immediately next to me, and a gorgeous woman dressed all in purple faced me. It's quite powerful to be sun saluting a beautiful vision in purple for an hour and a half, and then, of course, to leave silently....
Dinner was GOBO on 6th Avenue to which I'd never been (at least not in years, and never for dinner), and it was wonderful. Lighting perfect, tables cozy, vegetarian food lovely and healthy, and German lager cold....
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Comments
Politics do NOT belong in yoga nor in group fitness where you do not know your audience. WRONG.
Submitted by michlny on 09.23.10 at 01:17.
While yoga class might be inappropriate for a liberal diatribe, I'm hesitant to jump on the "politics belong here and not here" wagon. Politics are everywhere! It's weird in yoga class, sure, but is it any weirder than legislation segregating the homosexual part of our population and deciding what women can do with their bodies? I would say no.
And while I think "I'm right and you're wrong" is generally a terrible approach to life and logic, I applaud any liberal that employs decisive rhetoric. This whole "I can see where you're coming from" softens what's ultimately a logical, moral, and necessary argument: gays should be allowed the freedom to be gay, women can do what they want with their bodies, etc.
Submitted by Mr. Mohawk on 09.23.10 at 01:52.
just a note on politics and yoga:
maybe this is not the forum to point this out, but Yoga isn't just a physical practice. maybe you get down and sweaty, maybe you clear your brain, maybe you stretch it all out... but at the end of the day, Yoga is more than just the asana. even though we may practice for health or fitness or "calm", that's just the reason that WE are in that yoga class, not not why that yoga class exists. and at the end of the day... yoga isn't always about feeling comfortable and safe and laid-back. sometimes yoga is about confronting moments that DO make you uncomfortable and learning how to accept the discomfort -- mental or physical.
honestly though, sharron gannon and david life put it best:
"... the aim of yoga, therefore, is not to change the world but to change our minds. That is a more profoundly political act than overthrowing any government.
Some people will say they don't want to be political. well, you can't help but be political. Every action, every choice you make affects us all. To say that you are political is to say that you care about the world we all live in. Caring for others will bring you closer to liberation sooner than anything else will. and yoga provides and wonderful template for responsible action."
Submitted by bec.em.gee on 09.23.10 at 05:23.
Am loving these comments.On 2.0 I just sort of vowed not to make more political comments on the site, so that's all I'm going to say, for now.
Except, well, yoga is different things to different people, and I have been in class time and again where it seems as if the instructor, trained in the physical, oversteps boundaries -- and expertise -- by venturing into talking too much about whatever. I think with Hatha Yoga (which I understand to be the yoga that most Americans think of as "Yoga") the power of change is in the physical poses, pure and simple.
Submitted by spindig on 09.23.10 at 07:09.
Being a yogi is political, but it is a fine line, as a teacher, to balance one's personal beliefs & passions with what best serves the class. If you know your students & can offer an idea in a non-didactic manner so that it provokes thought, that's a good thing. If you are ranting because you have a captive audience, that is problematic. If you can talk about the idea of jivan-mukti, freedom through the body or freedom TO embody, that might be an appropriate moment to add, as an example, the struggles that women & the gay community are continually facing. But that's different from a rant.
I do want to address spindig's comment that yoga teachers are "trained in the physical." This is definitely true for some, but many of us have years of study and training with top academics in yogic texts - the Gita, the Vedas, Tantra, the Upanisads, etc. Some of us are more scholarly than others, but many of us study continuously, and have a vast body of philosophical & academic knowledge. What we offer in class is a tiny glimpse into our years of study.
Submitted by Susanna Harwood... on 09.24.10 at 12:52.
Love Derek Beres, don't love that he did that in a class. Even though I wasn't there that sounds EXACTLY like the kind of class I don't want to be in. And I agree with his politics...but who wants to hear about that in Yoga? I get that some Yogi's have a more philosophical background and some are more into teaching just the asana. But there is something unnerving about wanting to push what you believe onto people, especially when you have them conviniently rounded up and ready to listen to your instructions already.
So there was that post a while ago about why your yoga teacher hates you? Well there should be one about why we hate yoga teachers! Bc so many are pushy like this! And I hate to say that about Derek...bc he is a cool dude. Maybe he went into the diatribe to get it out before class so that it wouldn't effect how he taught. I always hate when you can tell an instructor is in a weird mood by how they teach...
Submitted by Eis4Emily on 09.28.10 at 09:00.