Well - there certainly has been a lot of discussion around the NYT article on John Friend (here is a link) http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/magazine/25Yoga-t.html?_r=10 that was published on July 19, 2010. I figured I might add to the conversation, for what it is worth. The article has spurred outright disgust to fierce defense by Anusara senior teachers and students. So what is it about this that is pushing our buttons? Is it his capitalistic approach, turning yoga into a money making machine? Is it a sense of personal attention that feels missing in a room of 800 people doing yoga? Is it the system of Anusara yoga? Is it John? Is it our willingness to denigrate the American approach? Is it yoga? I imagine that for many of us who practice or teach yoga, the portrayal of yoga in the article caused a reaction.
A Little History
I have never met John, nor have I personally taken a workshop with him. I have experienced Anusara Yoga in depth through immersions and workshops, both asana oriented and philosophy oriented. I have been thinking about what it is about Anusara, different in its approach, that resonates with students of that style of yoga. As for the physical side (asana), the alignment principles are distinctly Iyengar, which reflects John’s early training. Having studied quite a bit with Rodney Yee, whose background is also with Iyengar, the alignment principles offered are nothing revolutionary or that different from what I had already come to know - they were just condensed and codified by John’s Universal Principles of Alignment. But the philosophy side, the approach to practice and experience, was where I found Anusara to be different. My first exposure to yoga philosophy was with Ganga White at White Lotus Foundation in Santa Barbara. The philosophy taught was general in nature - and Ganga’s claim to fame is that he prefers a non-dogmatic approach, not aligning himself with any one philosophical school. I came away not really understanding the various periods of yoga history or their schools of thought nor with an understanding about how philosophy relates to asana as we practice it in classes. I don’t mean this as a criticism, just observation. Rodney, at least in my experience, was distinctly classical in his approach to philosophical thought. The practice of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga is firmly rooted in Classical Yoga and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. But here again, the focus of my training in these areas was not to learn to discriminate, or even learn at all, the philosophy behind the different schools of yoga. I didn’t even know there was anything but The Yoga Sutras of Patanajali until I was exposed to the philosophy that informs Anusara Yoga. What Anusara, with its emphasis on the Tantra tradition and the teaching of that philosophy, did for me was open a whole new way of seeing the yoga tradition and its history. I saw that there was another way of looking at things that was not about transcending our experience or our body, but about affirming them. It was freeing, it was joyful, and it opened doors of study that have enriched my experience and practice of yoga. This philosophy is at the heart of every Anusara class. It informs every asana class, no exceptions. I think students are responding to this idea of immersion in life and all it has to offer, through the practice of asana - not the negation emphasis that lies at the core of Classical Yoga. One key message in Anusara is that we are fine the way we are. John happens to be the very charismatic individual who is delivering this message. So he has become the prophet and his followers see him as their experience.
So What?
That said, this is what I found unsettling about the article. What is it as a society, or as individuals, that we are looking for? Why do we latch onto these magnetic individuals as if they not only hold the answer, but are the answer? The practice of yoga is about observation, learning to see our own experience, using the practice whether it be asana, meditation, pranayama etc. to highlight and deepen that experience for us. The practice of yoga hopefully makes us more open to our own experiences, but the practice is not a substitute for the experience. The map is not the territory so to speak. A good teacher knows the difference - they continually point you in the direction of the territory, not themselves. They know they are only the map, the guide. But they are very aware that they are not what it is about and they hopefully stay out of the way. I don’t know if this is the case with John Friend or not, but my impression based on how the article was written, was that it is becoming more about him and not the individual experience. The fact that
“It has become much more about doing than being. More about happiness than meaning. It’s a weight-loss technique and a stress-management tool, a gateway to an exploding market for workout clothes and equipment.”
is more a reflection, in my opinion, on our response to John and his approach rather than John’s intent or actions. Also, what is wrong with happiness, and if we are happy does this somehow mean that we don’t understand deeper meaning? Somehow I don’t think so - but what does this say about what we think yoga - or any spiritual practice - is? Is it only about pain and suffering?
The author also states in this same paragraph:
If yoga began as a meditation technique for people all too familiar with physical as well as mental suffering — with poses, or asanas, devised to assist in reaching a transcendentally blissful state — it has taken on a distinctly American cast.
This is a misrepresentation of the beginnings of yoga in this country and implies that the way we do asana is distinctly American - this is blatantly false. Poses as we know them today were not devised to help practitioners reach a transcendentally blissful state. So here we have a way for the author to criticize yoga in America based on inaccurate and biased information, possibly nothing more than her own interpretation of what she thinks the practice of yoga is and is not. And, as yoga practitioners, this is precisely what we should learn to discern and judge - not be swayed by subjective opinion to take a stance where the guiding information is faulty. We should give ourselves the gift of study and learning so we can act and think with integrity. That is an integral part of the practice of yoga. I highly recommend Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice, by Mark Singleton if you would like to understand more about the evolution of modern asana practice in the west. This is a well researched book, and one that, I might add, is required for our next Balanced Yoga teacher training group. You might also enjoy The Subtle Body by Stefanie Syman which gives a well-researched account of modern yoga. Also, The Great Oom by Robert Love came to mind when I read the article about John. All good and insightful reads if you'd like to learn more.
So, what is the take home message?
Yoga in America is new in the scheme of things. It is still forming and taking shape. This is not a bad thing! Yoga is a dynamic practice, it changes as culture and the times change, be it America or India! It changes as we as individuals change and age and grow. It will never be one way - as in Indian philosophy, it encourages discourse, discussion, conversation. We don’t understand how our ways of thinking influence our perceptions until we step back and objectively take a look. Yoga is not about right or wrong, it has an absorptive quality. That to me is the beauty of this article - if we are awake, we can be encouraged to ask ourselves what we think and what we experience as the practice of yoga - as individuals. I don’t think the outcome of the article should be to criticize John or judge him as right/wrong or good/bad - but to ask ourselves what the practice of yoga is. The style of yoga is one thing, what it evokes is another. Yoga is an evocative practice - it hopefully spurs us to act on our insight and wisdom, which are gleaned through the practice. The practice should spur debate, thought, conversation. It should spur us to find out what history says about the evolution of yoga in the west so that we know when our statements are based on our subjective experience or factual information. Different styles and approaches speak to individuals.
So, I personally don’t want to use this article as a way to criticize John Friend, what he does, or Anusara Yoga. I would rather, if it did push some buttons (and it did), use this as a way to go deeper into my understanding of yoga and my experience of it and to use THAT as a point to dive into the conversation. I would hope that an article such as this can help me discern and separate the “milk from the water” - to glean wisdom and understanding from the sea of opinion and talk.
When Ganesh Mohan gave a workshop at Balanced Yoga several years back, we had a conversation while driving to the airport. I made a snide remark about the U.S. and our approach to yoga, commerce, and well, things in general. To be quite frank, I made the comment based on what I thought I should think about our approach in this country, not from an informed and thoughtful position. He gracefully put me in my place - reminding me of all that we have accomplished in this country with our industrious approach, with our intellect and our technology, with our innovation and our individualism. He reminded me of the wonderful things America has contributed to the world. I never forgot it and I am grateful. Our input to the history and practice of yoga may contribute in ways we can’t even yet imagine! We shouldn’t be trying to find the one way that is yoga, or yoga was before we got ahold of it - we should be continually having the conversation and opening ourselves to it. We shouldn’t use our opinions as a way to boost ourselves at another’s expense, but as an entry to becoming more thoughtful and discerning. We should explore ideas and experience, let the beauty of the story unfold day by day, minute by minute. There is room for many ideas and approaches, it is called diversity - let’s not limit the possibilities by remaining narrow and untouchable, walled off by our own hubris. Tradition can sometimes do this - keep us stuck in what we perceive to be better with no way to move out or see things fresh and new. The issue here is not John, the issue is what do we/you see as yoga? What is your understanding and experience of yoga? Let this article spur you to explore that experience and understanding. Let this article spur you to be thoughtful, to talk and to listen, to draw on your innate intelligence. Let this article spur you to practice yoga.
I would love to hear your thoughts - let’s keep the yoga dialogue open.
Love -
Donna
