I’ve worked in the yoga “business” for about fifteen years. In addition to being a teacher, I’ve managed teachers, administrated studios, and run teacher trainings. So I’ve seen a lot of personalities.
And some yogis are assholes.
Sweet as pie at the front of the classroom, dark as an eastern storm behind the scenes. And not just young yogis, but veteran yogis who you’d think would have reached enlightenment if their scorpion pose were any indication. To the point where I’d look at them and think, “hey, isn’t this stuff working on you?”
Here’s the deal.
Yogis are human. Now some of you are going, yes, duh, we knew that, but I think that there is still a bit of mystical reverence for yoga, as if the practice can’t help but make you more spiritually awakened. Surely these yogis who have been refining their practice for twenty years must know something a bit more than Joe, who just showed up in the class wearing socks. And yoga is better spiritually than jogging or doing Crossfit, right?
No, people, no.
It’s not just doing yoga that is important. It’s how you do it that counts.
Yoga is different from jogging and Crossfit in that self-reflection is built into the practice (that said, I think it’s perfectly valid to “jog as a yogi” and practice mindfulness in any manner of other disciplines). But as I have learned on the farm, you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink. Just because self-reflection is built into the yoga practice doesn’t mean that everyone who does yoga – including these teachers – is self-reflective.
Are you doing yoga so that you can arrive in the moment, soften your heart, quiet your mind, and feel your feelings? Awesome. Afterwards, you will probably feel squishy inside and you might stop to help the little old lady cross the street. Are you doing yoga so that you can instagram your handstand? Well, you might be in so much of a hurry to put that puppy online that don’t see the old lady in the first place.
Let’s talk about fancy poses. Fancy poses are awesome. You try them, they kick your ass, and your consistent efforts eventually lead you to an achievement. You feel good and proud and you are a living demonstration of human potential. Awesome, I love you, I want to give you kisses and high fives. Yes, my darling, Instagram that shit and share your light.
But where I see the fruits of your practice is really with that little ol’ lady.
How are you in the world after you practice? How do you feel in yourself after you practice?
This is an internal reality check, my dear, that only you can do. To truly know if your practice is working, look to how you act in the world. As one of my dear (non-Instagram famous) yoga teachers said, “What’s the point of yoga if it doesn’t make you a kinder person?”
