Punk Rock Yoga

This is the final of three posts based upon our forum discussion in NYC this June.

According to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, one of the definitive texts on yoga, the final step, or limb, on the yogic path is liberation. This term can mean so many things, so let’s look at it.

In a classic Indian view, it can mean your soul is so evolved and so pure that it no longer has to repeat the cycle of reincarnation. It’s free to just be.

I have a slightly different view, as described in this excerpt from the Punk Rock Yoga Manifesto: “I view liberation in a much subtler way, and as more of a temporary state. This liberation, where we transcend every biological impulse and every mundane thought, is like a butterfly. It will land upon you for an instant, and if you are very quiet and still it may linger long enough for you to notice. I cannot describe what liberation feels like for others. I can only share my own glimpse into transcendence, which, frankly, is difficult to put into words. I perceive it as absolute serenity, quiet, peace, and joy, where my normal concerns, aches, and pains fade into obscurity.”

Some students in the discussion group described their view of liberation as being unbound and unrestrained. We can look at this in a classic sense of feeling so free that we no longer have the needs of the flesh, such as food and water. Another way I choose to look at it is that while we inhabit a corporeal body, we do have bodily needs–either we cook the food for ourselves or pay someone else to do it.

The challenge is–can we find liberation while undergoing our duty?

Can we perform tasks such as scrubbing the toilet, taking the subway, calculating taxes, etc. but view them without feeling retrained or inhibited by them? Can we view them as merely tasks–nothing more nothing less–and can we detach our negative view from them. We can perceive our tasks as nothing more than our participation in dharma, or the regulatory order of the universe. They are part of the natural order of things–neither good nor bad.

But even beyond, I believe we go so far as to cultivate a sense of joy in the day-to-day. Yoga can be this spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down. A mindful practice, or true time for ourselves no matter the amount, can help us shed the negativity that surrounds our chores and develop a a more neutral perspective–perhaps even a joyful one. can help us cultivate that sense of liberation even as we fold the laundry.

This is an excellent challenge–take the joy you feel after finishing a yoga class and challenge yourself to find that same serenity and joy in a routine task, maybe by just doing some deep breathing and staying focused on the task instead of letting your mind race light years ahead. By first becoming aware and concentrating, we can in fact turn our day-to-day lives into a giant extension of our yoga class. This is difficult, as so much of the world–it’s loud noise, it’s ubiquitous anger, it’s flashing lights–causes us to disconnect and think about anything else. But starting small, such as starting at home, can help cultivate this freedom even in a small amount and help us find liberation in more of our daily life.

At our recent forum discussion in NYC we talked about yoga teachers taking things a bit too far in their lectures. We discussed some root causes of this and how to remedy it.

Unlike Pilates, which was developed as a regime for physical health, yoga evolved as primarily as spiritual and psychological development. So we have this confusion because most yoga teachers are not trained as spiritual leaders, and we have some odd perceptions of what a yoga teacher should sound like, so what happens–especially with newer teachers–is the teaching comes across as artificial.

Yoga also has a paternalistic and authoritarian past whereby some lineages the yogis accepted the guru’s teachings without question and when it came to the west, this absolute acceptance of what the teacher says was heightened by the reality that many yoga teachers have very little training in philosophy. We also see the other issue that teachers speak to their students with absolute authority and comport themselves as the expert with little more to go on than that’s what their teacher told them.

While it’s important to respect your elders, your teacher, and your teaching lineage, it’s also important to think for yourself.

First and foremost, teachers need to dig deeper and not just accept what their teacher taught them as absolute gospel. We need to go to the source texts, read for ourselves, read other philosophical works, and spend a great deal of time meditating, pondering, and contemplating these teachings ourselves. (Regarding the physical pose practice we absolutely need to stay current with exercise science research but that’s another discussion).

We need to practice truthfulness and tell our students that what we teach them is our interpretation, our viewpoint, and tell them it’s based upon what we’ve read and what we’ve heard. We need to then open the door that students should think about these points for themselves and should study further. I believe spirituality does belong in a yoga class setting, but it can be done in a very open way by giving students one thing to ponder for themselves, and not as a heavy-handed lecture. Also, some studios have yoga study groups which is an excellent way to bridge this gap.

Another issue that plagues teaching is that new teachers can struggle to find their voice. We have a perception in Western yoga that the teacher needs to be airy, poetic, etc. and new teachers try to live up to these images and what we see in the classroom is teachers pontificating about fairies or describing every pose as a beautiful lotus blossom blooming out of your heart. Students are smart, and they can spot insincerity a mile away.

New teachers especially should teach what they know, teach from the heart and from what they believe. New teachers need to do the work to cultivate the joy in their own practice, and if you teach from that place–a place of joy and a place of honesty–students will respond.

It’s daunting to think about and confidence is difficult, especially in areas where yoga seems highly competitive and some students walk out if their favorite teacher is missing regardless who is covering the class, but if you work hard on your own views and interpretations of philosophy, and if you work hard on your own yoga practice–your joy will carry over into your classes. You won’t need artificial poetry–though it comes quite naturally to some and that is their honest voice–all you will need is your honesty and your intention of helping students find their internal joy.

Trust in yourself, trust in your practice, and leave the rest at the door.

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” ― Oscar Wilde