Is Today’s Yoga Culture Selfish or Selfless?

araltasher.com

I started my own personal yoga journey back in 2008. Nowhere in the yogic texts does it mention the need to accumulate fancy yoga ‘stuff’ as a means of developing a personal practice or gaining self-realization. Yoga is a personal practice and today’s yoga culture makes it hard to discern if our yoga culture is selfish or selfless.

Here’s a personal take on this interesting paradox.
 

Looking for a Yoga Program to Learn the Foundations?

Learning Yoga is a comprehensive workshop-style program that breaks down over 30 of the most common, foundational yoga poses. This program on YA Classes is good for: beginners ready to dive into the physical asana practice, more experienced practitioners looking for a refresher, and yoga teachers who want to brush up on their knowledge.
 
 

Today’s Yoga Culture: My Personal Exploration

As a brand new yoga student, my yogic knowledge was limited to what I had seen or heard on movies and television. My mat was a basic $15 version from Target, and I wore exercise clothes purchased at the second hand thrift shop. My introduction to yoga came in the form of donation-based classes held in a church basement.
 

Nothing about the dawn of my yoga career was glamorous.

 
But it was this humble practice that I fell in love with, and that has kept me coming back the past eight years. But it was not the asana (physical postures) that had me returning to my mat day after day. The subtle energetic experiences ignited my desire to take my practice deeper, study meditation, yogic philosophy and ultimately pursue Yoga Teacher Training at the Yoga Center of Minneapolis in 2015.

Suggested Read: How Yoga Teacher Training Changed My Life
 

 
 
As my yogic journey progressed, I could not help but notice the stark contrast between the yoga that I loved and practiced and the yoga of the ‘mainstream’ yoga community and culture. When I was practicing on a $15 piece of rubber, my fellow students were on $90 mats.

While I was wearing a thrifted outfit costing at a max $40, other yogis were sporting $100 yoga pants, custom crystal prayer beads and taking fabulously expensive retreats to Bali in the name of enlightenment and self-realization.

In fact, the foremost yogic texts like The Yoga Sutras by Sri Patanjali and Hatha Yoga Pradipika by Yogi Hari evoke the idea of losing ones ego, simple living and selflessness.

Looking for more articles on yoga? Check out our full library of Yoga articles here
 

What’s Wrong With Our Yoga Community Today?

Yogic culture is ‘cool’ – I get it. That’s why I teach upwards of 12 yoga classes a week . . . But at what cost? Making the yogic culture a commodity to be consumed only by those with disposable income and time to kill makes the practice exclusionary – the opposite of the intent of the founders and wise masters.

Western yoga and wellness culture has unfortunately become elitist, where, seemingly, the degree of your ‘awakening’ is determined on the dollar amount you’re willing to shell out.

The practice of yoga is intended to give rise to personal liberation through movement, breathwork and meditation. This personal liberation is attained when mind and body are one, and the soul is reawakened to the idea that all beings are inherently spiritual and interconnected.
 

Yoga asks that the seeker freely lose the sense of ego; the sense of self.

 
Another underlying principle of yogic philosophy is the idea of impermanence. This life and all the worldly things included in it are impermanent – they won’t last. They are not eternal; they are not ‘divine.’

What is eternal is the soul, the spirit, or in other words – your actions, your good deeds. The impressions and impacts you create in the world will last long after you are gone, long after your ‘stuff’ disappears.

Don’t get me wrong – I love me a good pair of yoga pants, a cute Lululemon top (only if it is severely on sale), and if I had the disposable income, a yoga retreat somewhere beautiful and tropical would be ah-mazing.
 

But face it yogis, our current yoga culture is paradoxical. A practice that is aimed at giving rise to selflessness produces a lot of selfishness.

 
A community that is conveyed as peace-full and loving can be seen as competitive and exclusionary. I know because I have personally experienced this.

Suggested Read: Stop Acting Enlightened. This Yoga Teacher is Calling You Out
 
 

The Added Issue of White Privilege

I need to mention this, and honestly I could dedicate an entire article about this topic, but the inherent white privilege that is in the yoga community is alarming. This elitist yogic culture of the West is rooted in white privilege. Yoga is seemingly identified as a ‘white-centric’ practice.

Let me acknowledge my own white privilege. I grew up in a wealthy suburb where white privilege runs deep. Thankfully I woke up through some fantastic social justice classes, and fabulous professors at Hamline University.

We need to recognize the flaws within our community before we can evoke change and shift the yoga culture. And change needs to happen. I love yoga, it is my passion, my profession and my life, but I can’t stay silent.
 

So, What Can We Do About Today’s Yoga Culture?

For starters, as yoga teachers it is imperative to create a safe and welcoming environment in your classes for EVERYONE. The teacher sets the tone for the class, so be mindful of your words, environment and the culture you are creating by your energy, intention, clothing, etc.

Yoga is a personal practice. It is not a contest, nor a competition. Consider creating classes that are open to your community, and can reach a wider demographic. For example, try offering a donation-based class. Not only will this provide a positive service in your community, but it will also give you a larger reach to grow your own yoga business.

Actively engage in your community and be knowledgeable about current events. Yoga teachers are just that – teachers! And as teachers it is imperative that we are knowledgeable and informed, not just about poses and anatomy, but about the current climate in our communities and how these events may impact our classes and students.

Let’s collect moments and experiences – not things. Let’s make our practice about ourselves, and about the practice itself, and not about the ‘scene,’ the outfit, or the ego. Together, we can honor the power behind the practice and positively-change the yoga culture. Namaste.