Interesting NYT article: Mix It Up

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

I can’t post a link yet, but a very interesting article can be found in
the ‘Style’ section of the New-York Times and is titled: Yoga Addict’s
New Mantra: ‘Mix It Up’.

What do you guys think of that writer’s experience?

Did she have to “Mix It Up” because of here renewed "wining and dining"
and lifestyle after the Mysore trip?

Do other advanced yogis often keep another, more cardio, exercise
routine besides asanas?

(can someone with url-posting rights reply with a direct link to the
article?)

#2

Here’s the link:

In the title of the article, there is a small print - “skin deep”. That itself is the best description of the article! Obviously the writer had it already ‘mixed up’. She started Yoga for losing weight, and went to a celebrity teacher. Her whole attention was hinging on 'becoming an insider. Being a self-assessed type A personality she took the Yoga “pill” and her anxiety prompted her to drop the treatment for not getting en-“lightened” on her time table. She thinks however that she got enlightened, but there are no signs of any wisdom that accrued. Poor pun like “My-sore” puts her wisdom on the borderline of basic literacy.

She is a jounalist. Sensationalism is her bread and butter. In the backdrop of widely spreading interest in Yoga, “Yoga works, if you have enough patience and perseverance” makes no news. Scandalizing Yoga does. That’s what she did. We need to ignore it and move on, as she must have done by writing about America’s education system.

#3

I’m not what you would call an advanced yogi, but I don’t see anything wrong with mixing it up a little. For me yoga has always been more about relaxation than a fitness routine. So if your goals are to get a cardio workout or strength training or burning calories, there are other activities that are more focused on achieving those specific goals.

On the other hand, there are those who insist that yoga can be used for a total fitness routine, especially if you follow the lifestyle aspects, which clearly our author wasn’t doing. Still I think that may be missing the point as I think yoga is more about holistic health than about keeping your dress size within certain limits.

#4

It would be foolish to avoid something we know is good for our particular living. Likewise it would be foolish to adopt something we know is not in our best interest. Yet, as we look around (or inside), we must note that said foolishness is engaged daily by the masses, myself included.

Everyone has their unique path and yoga, for the most part, is malleable for each person. However when a person takes up only asana it is not particularly reasonable to expect the “benefits” of Yoga. Asana is a conduit. It is a tube or pathway to the self. It happens to be a profoundly effective and well constructed pathway (when properly taught to those willing to be taught). To make it akin to fitness regimens is amusing but not particularly mature.

I enjoyed the author’s style. She’s clearly a talented writer and she holds the reader with skill. She’s learned something (for now) about herself and so Yoga has served her completely by accident. In her efforts to embrace asana she has stumbled upon herself and found that this things is “not for her” while another thing “is for her”. Whether she’s done that with integrity or a clear view is not for me to determine.

Her path would not be my path, but I respect it nonetheless. Sometimes our mission as teachers is to draw students toward us. Other times it is to move them in another direction. Both can be profoundly helpful.