Everything can be compromised, including yoga. How your integrity helps real yoga persevere.
It can be disheartening to see anything of value being distorted and not reaching those who could benefit. But what can buoy us is recognizing that Nature is on our side.
Contents
Everything Can Be Compromised, including Yoga
Integrity & Perseverance
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Cultural Exchange vs. Cultural Appropriation and Presenting Yoga “Accurately, in all its Profound Depth and Fullness”
Bear in mind that the Western absorption of yoga is not exactly comparable to colonial invaders stealing a subjugated country’s resources and rewriting its history. India suffered mightily from such violations for hundreds of years, which makes Indian sensitivity to appropriation more than understandable. For the most part, however, yogic treasures were not swiped like artwork from pillaged temples. They came with gurus, swamis, and yoga masters bearing gifts, and those respected emissaries saw only good in the transaction. Moreover, they showed us how to adapt their teachings to the languages, values, and customs of the West. They trained Americans and Europeans to teach others and empowered them to represent their lineages. Most of the gurus took flak for this from traditionalists…. Look beyond the trendy yoga studios at the older lineages, and you’ll see that they’re represented — and in many cases, led — by Westerners who revere India, consider it their spiritual home, and do their best to treat its spiritual traditions with dignity and respect. All that having been said, it bears repeating that cultural appropriation is a real phenomenon; it’s offensive, hurtful, and in some instances destructive… To me, what matters most is that yoga is presented accurately, with dignity, in all its profound depth and fullness.
Everything Can Be Compromised, including Yoga
Yoga teachings are far more widespread, accepted, and accessible than any time in the past 2,000 years. (Deep gratitude to Swami Vivekenanda and Paramahansa Yogananda for their critical roles in spreading this wisdom beyond its birthplace and bringing the knowledge to the west.)
However, the true essence of the teachings is not always associated with what is sold as “yoga.” As with all empowering knowledge and techniques, yoga has been subjected to a variety of pressures and manipulations that compromise its fundamental strengths.
The commodification and elitism of yoga has commercialized, trivialized, and misrepresented the teachings while funneling financial benefits away from sincere service providers to those who present it as an exercise system without acknowledging its philosophical and practical substance and its roots.
The commercialization of teacher trainings is an example of commodification creating a distracting and misleading system of bureaucracy unrelated to the quality of teaching.
The monopoly of establishment medicine, which is verifiably controlled by corporate profiteers, has misinformed many people about their options for regaining and maintaining health. In addition to its commandeering role, medical system enforcers such as the FDA and CDC have prohibited non-pharma solutions from being presented fully and truthfully. The point here isn’t to propose that yoga is “the answer” to every ailment but to refute the narrative that pharmaceuticals are superior to all other modalities. Yoga has been proven via reams and reams of research to provide mind-bogglingly positive impacts on everything from cellular health and inflammation to heart disease and epilepsy.
Beyond the pressures noted above, yoga has been weakened and misdirected through, for example, taking teachings out of context, failing to give students agency over their body and practice, and exhibiting “power-over” hierarchy as opposed to empowering students to become their own authority.
Nevertheless, the true essence and power of yoga is accessible and is faithfully shared by authentic teachers in every corner of the world.
Integrity & Perseverance
I find it interesting that integrity is defined not only as being honest and moral, but also as being whole and complete. It seems to me that when a person is acting in integrity that they’re reflecting universal intelligence (which some might call consciousness, God, the Divine, or Nature) — a force that is honest and moral, whole, and complete.
To share the essence of any wisdom tradition, including yoga, requires integrity and perseverance in the face of misrepresentation and manipulation. It can be disheartening to see anything of value being distorted and not reaching those who could benefit. But what can buoy us is recognizing that Nature is on our side.
Just think of the humble dandelion (a healing plant whose medicinal value is ignored and called a “weed” by those who misstate the power in nature). Even when violently suppressed with concrete, a dandelion seed will patiently wait for a crack to develop in the sidewalk, using the tiny opening to make its way to sunlight in order to grow and deliver its gifts. I think of the dandelion as an expression of that universal intelligence, seeking to bring nutrients and healing, diversity and beauty despite (or because) too much pavement creates imbalance.
When the Great Mother pushes the dandelions upward in those tiny spaces, she's demonstrating the perseverance of integrity, continuing to send us a plant whose leaves are healing. May we, too, acknowledge Nature’s assistance and patiently seek the cracks in the pavement.
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What a gorgeous article.