Politics and Yoga

The world can be a scary place. Watching the news or scrolling on social media is not helping diffuse the point. One of the subjects you may come across this the discussion of politics and yoga. That yoga traditions and teachings demand you take one side or the other of a controversial view. It's a valid point. Is Yoga Political? Yoga is a philosophy. Just as others have used other philosophies in the world to justify actions of all types, perspectives of all types, yoga is no different. Philosophy by its nature can be interpreted in many ways. When we use a philosophy to justify exclusion, hate, violence, name calling, etc., this is not philosophy it is individual belief. There are many terrible things that happen in the world every day. Too many for any one person, group or nation to handle. What do we do? Do we use the yogic philosophy to call out others, with malice, hate and violence. Or should we live that philosophy. Stay within ourselves and understand the moment before us. To see with clear eyes and then take individual action within the philosophy. To understand that we cannot control others, but we can control our own response and actions. These actions do not need to be loud; they don't need to fly in the face of others. They need to be within you.

Yoga is not political. You can use Yoga to guide you in your politics. We "practice" yoga in the studio, at home, and out in the world. When we practice yoga, we do not judge the person next to us, we do not proclaim their yoga as wrong or not true yoga. Then when the world stands in front of us proclaiming what is right and wrong we can use the philosophy of yoga to guide us in our decisions and actions. You may see some yoga studios, teacher or students take stands on subjects of the day. Good for them. It is brave to do so, and they are standing for what they believe, you may see affirmations posted online or flags hung in studios in the view of this cause. Again, good for them.

Yoga the practice

At Yoga On York, we focus on the practice of Yoga. This is because we practice yoga in the studio. Practice is open to all abilities and thoughts. We do not discriminate those that may have a different point of view from our own. Yoga practice is the working to grow, to become stronger in the mind, body and soul, so that we can see clearly, think clearly and then got out and put those thoughts into action. My experiences are much different than others, and this is a beautiful thing. When we come together to practice all those experiences and ideas become one and grow to see things more clearly. As a yoga teacher, and a yoga studio, we are not here to tell you what to think. I would never be so bold to think that what I think is the best perspective or the right one. Only you can tell yourself that, and you can't force anyone else and they can't force you. I can tell you my perspective only through my eyes and experiences. My perspective is completely valid, and so is yours, even if it is the opposite. What a beautiful thing it is for people of all walks of life, ideas and experiences to be able to come together in a small studio in Southern Maine and just breathe together, laugh together, move together and have a genuine support for one another. When I practice it is not about what the person next to me thinks, voted for, their opinion or thoughts. It's about being there for each other's, even if we never say a word to each other. The goal is to leave the class just a little bit better than when we came in, so we can go out in the world and be more compassionate, have better boundaries, have less fear about our voices being heard.

As a yoga teacher I hope to guide you to be a better you, today in this moment. I do not judge you, I do not preach, I do force, I guide, as best I can in the direction you wish to go. The world can be a scary place. Yoga will not fix it, but a mindful person or people might. I can't tell you if you are right or wrong. All I can tell you is what I have learned so far.