Yoga is becoming really popular. There are more people in North America doing yoga than there are in India, the birth place of yoga. There are many, many different styles or methods of yoga. I have my own preference, B.K.S. Iyengar's approach. He will be the first person to agree that yoga is yoga. It all has the same intent, even though the approaches vary.
My brother in law Mike just sent me an article from the New York Times about rebel yoga and more specifically, information on a NYC yoga studio called Strala Yoga run by Tara Stiles, an ex model. Of course her approach is down to earth and she isn't interested in what she calls the religious side of yoga. She just wants the health benefits. She is a popular teacher, but some yoga devotees don't agree with her style, what they call her "selling out", using yoga as just another form of exercise and as a way to make money.
So you see, a few of humanity's basic issues are revealed here; we need to make an income and we need to take care of our bodies, or honour them. Ms. Stiles also receives some flak for her clothing choices at times. What I see though is how she reaches people who otherwise would never dream of going to a yoga studio. She uses social media, you tube, etc. to reach people. I applaud her for doing that.
I can also understand how she just wants the health benefits from yoga and the rest of it doesn't interest her. That really resonated with me for I was just the same way when I started. I stuck with yoga when I was incredibly stressed out and when I'd forgotten how to relax and have fun. The immediate feedback and the relaxation response I gained from attending yoga classes was what kept me coming. I didn't have time to read about yoga, or ponder its philosophical or spiritual aspects, I only had time to do it. My job kept me much too busy for anything else. And so I did the asanas and they hooked me.
Whatever way you get involved in yoga isn't important. A yoga teacher and close friend of mine, James Traverse, tried to explain it to me once by saying, "I don't do yoga, yoga does me." The physical work of yoga is very important to many North Americans for we work way too hard at our jobs which leaves us no time to take care of ourselves. We eat too much and we eat the wrong foods. We sleep too little. We self medicate ourselves with coffee in the morning and alcohol at night. That is why the physical aspects of the yoga asanas are so direct in their impact.
Practicing on the mat gets you to pay attention to the here and now. There are times when I've felt like I was run over by a truck after the midway point of a yoga intensive (a weekend of 10 hours of yoga). I was so sore from trying my best on the mat. The senior teachers really know how to make you work deeply and your body will be sore, but you will want to go back for more. It's true sometimes that the people who could benefit the most from the self reflection that comes from steady practice are the ones who often drop out of the classes first. They just aren't ready.
Enough though, that is a discussion for another day.
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