My thoughts on the “path” of yoga
I often feel motivated to sit down and write a little something to share. For whatever reason, the inspiration hits and I’ll take time to put my thoughts on paper. Sometimes I never post what I write. I just go through the process and see what comes of it. I just allow the words to flow from my head to my fingers to the keyboard. This happened just recently. I wrote a piece without much thought going in and I just let the thoughts flow onto the laptop screen. When I wrote it, even while I was writing it, I knew it was a tad bit harsh. I shared the piece with Deborah and she confirmed my concerns. We both agreed that what I had written was not ready for primetime. At the same time, though, we both agreed that the message was important and that it was worth explaining the thoughts that went into that first strongly worded draft. So here goes.
I see it as my responsibility to assist students along the path of yoga. And, when I say along the path, I am implying some level of progress. I remember a story from years ago about our Guruji, B.K.S. Iyengar, urgently commenting that a student’s pose had not improved since the last time this individual was in his class in Pune, India, likely over a year earlier. I don’t know or was not told why that student had not made the progress Guruji was expecting or perhaps encouraging. Perhaps the student had not been practicing, practicing correctly, or had simply not taken the time to work on this particular asana. However, the story stayed with me because I believe Guruji’s intent was to point out a missed opportunity for this student. Speaking from my own experience, when I was in Pune in 2017, I was fortunate enough to have some one-on-one time during open practice with Raya. He is a teacher at the Iyengar Institute in Pune, India. On one of those days, he gave me some pointers about an arm balance I was working on. When I went back in 2019, I was determined to show him that he had not wasted his time on me. I had no expectation that he would even notice or remember me or our interaction, but he had been generous with his time and I wanted to respect that.
So, back to the harsh piece I just wrote… I do not simply look at my own practice. Nor do I only study the practice of my students. I try to look at the Iyengar Yoga Asheville community as a whole. I ponder whether or not we, as a community, are progressing along this path of yoga. I want to be careful here and interject... I am not looking to see if we have accomplished more advanced poses or if our Utthita Trikonasana (triangle pose) has improved. No, I am looking to see if we are practicing with intelligence, whether or not we are tapping into the deeper essence of the practice of yoga, or have we become stale and stagnant, repeating the same mistakes over and over. And, are we missing the opportunity to study yoga as a means to get to know who we truly are?
The inspiration for that first draft came from simply reflecting on class after teaching Intro to Pranayama a few Sundays ago. In that draft, I was not patting myself on the back, but rather expressing the idea that this class would be something I would want to take if I were a student - a class that I felt would help me progress. The next thought was why aren’t almost all of our students taking this class? And then I wrote the piece, again, pondering whether this community is on the path or simply standing still. My point was not to scold or shame. My purpose was to, hopefully, open students’ eyes to the idea of progress, and perhaps inspire them to reach for the next rung on the ladder.
When I first opened Iyengar Yoga Asheville, I had to get permission to use the Iyengar name in the name of the studio. When I made that request, I was reminded that Iyengar Yoga is a progressive practice and that, hopefully, I was going to have a schedule/program of classes and structure that honored that. In Pune, if you are a local, and now for Westerners signing up for class from Pune through Zoom, you have to sign up for an entire semester. There are no drop-ins allowed. And, they have a system in place for encouraging progress. A student spends a given amount of time at each level, and then moves on to the next. Perhaps I was not courageous enough to implement that completely in Asheville, but I have really worked hard to create a schedule that has a place for everyone. What’s missing, in my opinion, is the “onto the next” level part. Fortunately, all of the teachers at IYAVL understand this and encourage their students to strive forward. As a side note, converting to some kind of a semester system is and always has been a long-term goal.
The piece I wrote completely acknowledged, and I am again acknowledging here, that people have busy lives and that for some, they attend perhaps the only class that fits into their schedules and their busy lives. I want to reemphasize here that I understand and that we are so glad that you have found a way to make yoga a part of your life—as crazy as life can get sometimes. Also, and further stated here, some of you are really happy with the class that you take and what you get out of it, whatever that may be. I totally understand and respect that. I sincerely and truly love all of my students and our community! If, however, you are someone who has found inside of you, a burning zeal or perhaps a curiosity, please talk with us, your teachers or me, about next steps on the path.
With Much Love,
Randy
