|
Metro Plus
Yoga props and more
|
Simple living and high thinking, the essence of yoga as it was practised in the past, is passe. Attending a session today means equipping oneself with a yoga sling and beads. VISA RAVINDRAN describes the commercialisation of an ancient tradition.
|
A BRIGHT parrot-green space opens, and then turns emerald. In its midst is a purple rectangle in which a sunflower blooms with a Sanskrit `Om' in its centre, and you have the Sunflower Yoga Company's home site offering introduction, courses, the five principles of yoga — proper breathing, relaxing, exercise, meditation and diet. It's interesting that it does not mention thought or mind but goes on to mention a whole list of `yoga goods': books, `mala beads'— currently a fashion statement (tulsi/sandalwood or custom-made with gemstones or charms), yogi pillow — filled with buckwheat hulls or flax seeds with lavender, `neti' pots, video-audio cassettes, mats, stretch-out strap-best way to `lengthen and strengthen as a beginner.' The bottom line is most interesting. "Order any two items and get `God is here now' free!" Just as I was getting visions of the range of commerce reaching so closely heavenward realisation dawned that "God is here now" is the name of a book relating one woman's experience of spiritual practice through her mother's teachings combining Judaism and Yoga and it was being offered as the usual freebie for buying other items listed.
Another website offered Pranayama pillows, eye pillows, blocks, bolsters, head wraps, wedges and the very popular `sticky mats' to help hold positions in one's early, shaky days of yogic endeavour. Shankaracharya has remarked that Hatha yoga is a system intended for those whose worldly desires are not pacified or uprooted; that it is to establish health and train the will, generally preparing the body for spiritual life with a paring down to absolute essentials.
The Indian view had prepared one for bare halls or the wide open spaces with at best a cushion to help achieve sitting postures with the right balance at the very beginning of one's initiation but here was the mystic and the commercial in such close consort that it seemed to adorn the barest facing of one's most essential self with a paraphernalia of goods out of sync with the whole idea. Was this one more example of Western materialism versus Eastern philosophical essence or was it a more general ancient high thinking with simple living fighting a losing battle with the modern — `branded-goods-for-every-activity' obsession that makes moving from one activity to another also a feverishly-paced change from one set of clothes and gear to another through the day, quite often eclipsing the importance of the activity itself? And the whole idea of props for yoga?
Moving to yet another page, I saw testimonials from women who had rediscovered themselves through yoga. Yoga had relieved hot flushes, built fire fighters' stamina, cured one person of insomnia and helped one conquer the fear of flying and another kick the smoking habit.
All of which is possible and very salutary. It gains further weightage from celebrity testimonials:
Madonna says: "Yoga is a metaphor for life. You have to take it really slowly. You can't rush. You can't skip to the next position.
You find yourself in very humiliating situations, but you can't judge yourself. You just have to breathe, and let go. It is a workout for your mind, your body and your soul."
Ricky Martin: "I'm learning yoga. It's fascinating. Once again, it's all about getting to know your `self'. Connecting your heart and your mind in order for you not to make compulsive or obsessive decisions in life. Simplicity is the medicine."
Meg Ryan: "I started about five years ago. I will say definitely it changed my life. It made me calmer. It puts you right in the place of witness — which is great." On the other side of the page is an ad. For geometric print yoga mats.
There are however, some therapists who use yoga with understanding and imagination. Schoosh Crotzer, a therapist working with patients with severe problems of mind and body associated with serious illnesses like MS (multiple sclerosis), writes of how very real benefits can be derived from yoga with the right teacher and the right programme for one's needs. "Not very long ago, most Americans associated yoga with wiry old men in white loincloths who could wrap their heels behind their ears. Today pop stars and talk show hosts tout yoga for everything from pimples to heart disease, while pictures of incredibly buff women and men in human pretzel positions have replaced that guy in the loincloth," he begins, and after acknowledging the presence of all types of new entrants to yoga styles like Hot Yoga, Flow Yoga and Power Yoga in addition to the ones we are familiar with, he speaks of the benefits to be derived from yoga's emphasis on relaxation, breathing and deliberate movements.
He also underlines the fact that the use of breath makes yoga unique and makes the point that the scientific use of some yogic principles and more recent medical advances along with postures, stretches and positions used today by athletes, rehab programmes and in physical therapy "are exercise not religion." He is one of the few Westerners to point out the mind-body connection in yoga in the websites seen. A serious article like his, pays no attention of course, to the sales pitch in other websites.
For, the point is the fairground voice that seems to `sell' yoga as against the austere tradition that teaches. The essence versus the paraphernalia. While its popularity and understanding of its fitness-enhancing qualities are not to be sneered at, the over-commercialisation of the notion of something spiritual being `sold' is faintly disturbing. Indian celebrities taking to yoga slings and sticky mats makes one wonder whether the idea of the modern sometimes rob things of their essence. Yoga classes traditionally began with the reciting of simple slokas, breathing exercises, moved on to shavasana, relaxation and a quiet dispersal of students carrying their peace and concentration wordlessly with them. Imagine rolling your sticky mat, carrying your yoga sling and jangling your `beads' — somehow it doesn't gel with the idea of yoga and sadly, we seem to be doing this to many areas of our lives today. Can more ever be less?
* * *
Some websites
Here are some useful websites:
www.yogamovement.com
www.santosha.com
www.yogadirectory.com
www.yogasite.com
www.yogajournal.com
www.spiritweb.com
The last-mentioned is the site of the Yoga Research and Education Centre, a network of yoga researchers, educators and practitioners around the world who value the oral and literary traditions of yoga in their Hindu, Buddhist and Jaina forms. www.specialyoga.com provides information for the special child with Down's syndrome, cerebral palsy and other disabilities.
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
|
