My frustration is I?m not good enough to present the essence of yoga to those who misunderstand that yoga is slow, and decide it?s not for themselves, although they enjoy other sports. I don?t mind if they understand yoga and decide so, but most of them misunderstand. One of my missions is to provide the better understandings of yoga so I can help them to help themselves. How do you present yoga to people who have negative idea on yoga?
This is not to be patronising or rude in anyway, but I wonder, why do you feel that you need to correct them?
Hi Tangle, Thank you for your question. Because this is very important to me. It’s a sin to me, although I’m not religious, that I leave people who I care in a situation where they miss out the potential opportunity for their wellness, without knowing it. As I said, if they decide yoga is not for them knowing what it is for them, I’m totally happy for them. Don’t you think it’s true that nobody can tell in a first class that a lot of muscles are working in each asana? Also, admitting the misunderstandings right in front of me contributes to affirm it, which is not beneficial for anybody.
Queen Pigeon -
It might help to tell them that there are many different kinds of yoga. Some of them can be very slow, and they are often helpful for people who would like to achieve clarity of mind and reduce stress. Then tell them that there are also styles of yoga which focus more on the physical aspect, and create health in the body. They may not have the same effect as other types of sports, but they can increase strength, balance and stamina. Many people often find that their performance in other sports is also enhanced because they gain body awareness through the practice of yoga. I think it will also help to tell them that many slower forms of asana practice are very difficult for some, even those who have been involved in sports for a long time. People who are used to moving fast may still be challenged by slower yogic practices.
queen pigeon
i totally understand how you feel…i agree with and apply all that suryadaya said…just two points i’d like to ad, that i learned from my ttc:
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yoga is really wonderful and a practically perfect “sport”, but it is also important to do some cardioworkout like bycicle swimming dancing etca… i also say this to people, i try to tell them yoga will be added to these things they already do… i think swami vishnudivanda once said its important to do cardiowork
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A teacher once told me (and i know it is kind of a cliche’, “esoteric” thinking … ) that not all people are meant to even think of yoga in their current lifetime…just the fact that they are open to trying yoga to begin with means they they’re actually quite advanced in their “lifetime count”, ready to really work on themselves…
in short you’re only ready for yoga at the right lifetime, so don’t pressure people too much, they have their own path to follow…just let it flow
Hope that helped. keep smiling keep shining yogini
The first thing here is that my work is not to convince, cajole, or persuade people to come and take the gifts of yoga - or any other gifts. I offer it to those who want it and are ready for it (even if those two things do not sit upon the wave of their conscious mind). I’m not a pusher and I have no investment in having others see the world as I see it. I have tools that have worked for me in my living, here they are, take them if you like. Or leave them if you like. It is your life.
Now I cannot speak for the work of others. But this is my work.
I personally do not believe there is any benefit to wasting one’s breath on those who have already decided anything at all, on those who opt to invest themselves in a belief system which has no space for growth and does not even look clearly at the myriad of options surrounding them (for fear they will have to actually change and stop talking about it). I personally feel that any closed belief system can lead only to dogma - and that any completely open belief system (where everything is taken without discernment) is ineffective in the living and often leads only to chaos.
When we are truly comfortable with out own choices, we don’t need other people to see them our way. Our validation is internal and not at all reliant on peers or agreement.
So, what opportunity do you have to present yoga? Are you chatting in a coffeeshop, or are they standing on a mat, daring you to show them how wonderful an exercise it all is?
My first yoga class was definitely enough to show me the muscle work I was doing – and that others were doing much better. The more important work . . . well, most of that is still in my future.
Queen Pigeon,
though we may see something we have discovered has completely changed our lives for the better, it may not be true for all. We have no way to discern if one is ready for yoga in their life, as some have already suggested here.
All we can do, as others have also suggested, is live as an example. Those who are ready will inquire, and you will have opportunity to share.
Do the great Yogis/Gurus go about trying to convince everyone that their way is best? No. They let people come to them. As it should be. They answer to those who are seeking. Does that put it in perspective at all?
Thank you all,
Techne asked me a good question about the opportunity I want to present. I came to realize that what I must tell people is that yoga will teach you how to protect joints. I don’t mind teaching them right there so they don’t even have to try yoga but can continue their running or whatever safely.
I find it interesting that everybody’s aproach is quite reserved. My approach is if I knew anything that helps virtually anybody, I make sure everybody knows it. Whether they take it or not is up to them. I don’t leave them until they find it through somebody else.
I want to share one story. My landlady is a Protestant, intelligent, health contious, and kind mother of 3. Every month we chat endlessly. She’s seen me getting fitter and brighter, but was skeptical yoga is religious. She even asked me whether you will be forced to say something during the meditation. I was looking for the way to remove her misunderstandings, and finally found it in “eat pray love” that yoga is merely a box so your body and mind is ready to connect with whichever god you want to connect. So next month I told her this as well as I’m trying to walk big stride, when she finally asked me how to walk because she can’t walk fast and always behind her family. I taught her based on warrior 1. She was surprised to find how difficult to walk and happy to know this. This way, I could help her to catch up with her family, which is such an important part of her life! It took 1 year 9 months. This is not the time for her to become ready but for me to be ready to present yoga.
Not everybody is seeking for the spiritual side of yoga. If I could help anybody practically, I will do that.
Dear Queen,
Your dilemma is not really presenting the essence of yoga to others, you need to deal with your own experience first. If you see yoga as a sport you can impress a newcomer only with your athletic prowess and the newcomer who is shopping around for some fun and quick results is obviously not going to be easily impressed.
Yoga does not have a spiritual side; yoga IS spiritual. Some people prefer to wear blinds and look at muscles and ignore prana that energizes them and mind that moves. Yoga is holistic and can be really understood only that way. It should make you curious to know what lies beyond asana; because there is a lot. So, in my view, you need to revisit your experiences to know yoga much deeper.
More than any one else (with misconceptions about yoga) you need to really understand why you have changed, why you are fitter and brighter. Fitness and brightness is not skin-deep. In seeking to know its subtle causes, you will turn inward - that’s where true yoga begins! Please pardon me if you are already there or if you belong to a majority that is content with the well-being of their muscles.
Dear Suhas,
Thank you for the wonderful reply. I didn’t realize that I have to correct my own misconceptions first of all!! What a truth!! Without your help, I don’t know how long it would have taken to come to this answer.
Now that it’s clear that yoga is spiritual, I don’t neccessarily have to present what’s inside, but show how the true yoga begins. I might as well use your phrase “In seeking to know its subtle causes, you will turn inward - that’s where true yoga begins!” because it’s a masterpiece!
Any way, so the answer is within me, again… I am experiencing manythings inside, but each of them is a separate experience and I don’t know how to explain as a whole.
Let’s say, I want to explain that I realized I have a power. I would go…“I can do Chaturanga because we use breath and I’m aware of the alignment, and we use whole body. Also I listen to my body and I focus. After experiencing this, I came to realize I actually have a power, like they feel the strange energy inside of them in SF movies. I learned I am whole, not less or more, that I am one, even though there are many sides of me, because I learned to balance. And now I can see myself as a force and I can believe my self more than before. I can feel the power, and I know I can do more for the people. I know people feel the power in me. It might be because I became too beautiful but it’s more about the state of mind. I know I can use my power towards the right direction because we practice to direct the energy…”
I mean this is way too long and not clear for the people who are new to yoga. You can imagine how blank their expression is while they are listening to me.
I think there is a better way to explain what I experienced so far. But I don’t find the right words.
Just tell your friend yoga will make her feel better and let her decide to do it or not do it.
If she is devoted to a religion, she doesn’t need all of yoga, and the asanas are enough, since she’s getting the spiritual aspects elsewhere. And she may very well find that to embrace all of yoga would cause a conflict in her Christian beliefs. That’s how I feel about it, and limit myself to asanas and pranayama, though I can respect the other parts I don’t do or need to do.
You can do a headstand, a warrior pose, or a runner’s lunge and enjoy the physical benefits without having to go beyond their intent to be an itegral part of another religion or belief system.
[QUOTE=Queen Pigeon;42334]How do you present yoga to people who have negative idea on yoga?[/QUOTE]Unfortunately people are not aware that according Patanjali/father of yoga/:
Yoga is to silence modifications of the mind
1.2 Yoga is the (stilling, quieting, setting aside) of the modifications (gross and subtle thought patterns) of the mind field.
(yogash chitta vritti nirodhah)
Then the Connection/YOGA/ is established. This happening can be only Spontaneus-Sahaja.
Dear Queen,
Your words suggest that you are quite close to where you want to be. Yoga is a process and like a blooming flower, understanding of the self, the inner Self and the world blossoms slowly but surely. There are many trials and errors, but the light is seen.
There is really no need to run into a so-called conflict between Yoga and spirituality and religion. On this forum, there have been clashes of ideas and wars of words, ad nauseam. For a practitioner it matters much less. Spirituality belongs to humanity. Yoga’s approach is different because, it offers its concepts only as hypotheses and leaves it to you entirely to validate them and accept only then.
Hence, you need to practice yoga, have experiences, analyze them keenly in the context of yoga (and not of any other ism or system of beliefs), learn and inch towards yoga?s ultimate goal, enlightenment. Happiness for no apparent cause is only to be experienced.
Hope these words will help you too.
Hence, you need to practice yoga, have experiences, analyze them keenly in the context of yoga (and not of any other ism or system of beliefs),
So you are saying one must abandon his faith first to really understand yoga, and not use the wisdom of his faith to judge it?
I find it interesting that everybody’s aproach is quite reserved. My approach is if I knew anything that helps virtually anybody, I make sure everybody knows it. Whether they take it or not is up to them. I don’t leave them until they find it through somebody else.
I cant correct my yoga style
[QUOTE=Queen Pigeon;42334]My frustration is I?m not good enough to present the essence of yoga to those who misunderstand that yoga is slow, and decide it?s not for themselves, although they enjoy other sports. I don?t mind if they understand yoga and decide so, but most of them misunderstand. One of my missions is to provide the better understandings of yoga so I can help them to help themselves. How do you present yoga to people who have negative idea on yoga?[/QUOTE]
This mission is coming from your ego and is a desire to satisify yourself. Although you may justify it as being altruistic and that yoga practice will help these others, it is really a very selfish thought. You may ask yourself why you feel it necessary to convince others anything, especially those who do not see a benefit for themselves.
It is enough to know what yoga does for you. If someone approaches me and says 'hey, I can’t hit the golf ball as far as I used to, no matter how many hours I spend on the golf course." I may answer, “I hit the ball further now than I ever have because I have being practicing yoga, which increases my flexibility and shoulder range of motion”, in which case he/she may think, “hmm, maybe I should give that a try.” Or, if someone approaches me at a swinger’s party and asks, “my god, you’re a 52 year old man! How do you maintain the body and posture of an Adonis?” I may respond, “I practice Ashtanga yoga regularly”. This may inspire that person to give it a try.
[QUOTE=bluelight2;42461]I find it interesting that everybody’s aproach is quite reserved. My approach is if I knew anything that helps virtually anybody, I make sure everybody knows it. Whether they take it or not is up to them. I don’t leave them until they find it through somebody else.[/QUOTE]
Not everyone wants or needs yoga. It’s not all things to all people.
My yoga teacher is very accomplished and experienced, yet her own husband doesn’t do yoga because to him it’s “boring.” So he does other things.
You can’t teach every dog any old trick.
But you can teach some dogs some tricks with greater ease.
Living by example is a good teaching and a fantastic party trick of course.