Take a gander at this recent article on Slate, as an Ashtangi reporter attends a Bikram-based Yoga Competition (as he says, technically any style is welcome...). In case you've been practicing in a cave and haven't heard of Bikram Choudhury, you really should read up on him. He's about the most colorful fella in yoga community and has a...knack for the soundbite. In this article alone, his comments on his balls and the, er, atmosphere of an Iyengar studio are priceless.
The "yoga competition" is only growing in popularity and presence, including a local boy t
urned champion - Mike, who used to practice in the QC and has since moved to Chicago. Whatever your feelings on the West-meets-East vibe of competitive yoga, we can all be thankful that asana developed, or we'd all be watching a riveting competitive meditation contest (suck on this inner peace - BAM!).While outwardly different, in fact Ashtanga and Bikram are very similar - rigid formats, extreme physical demands, rigorous practice schedules, well-known gurus, largely optional clothing. For all of these reasons and more (weight loss, they make you look good naked, etc), they are very appealing to the average Western overachiever (not YOU, but probably somebody you know...).
Thankfully, as Richard Freeman is fond of saying, any reason for starting a yoga practice is a good one - selfless service, samadhi, or that killer yoga butt (we're going for all three). There are no guarantees, but maybe we'll all eventually begin to internalize, contemplate, and realize. AFTER I've got Third Series, that is (Dikasana - BAM!).
Perhaps
more than any other style, Bikram and Ashtanga practitioners find it easy to start believing in some sort of across-the-board superiority for their chosen system. Too bad it's all conditional and transient; both of these systems are flashes in the pan in the grand scheme of at least 5000 years of yoga practice. They are here today and will be gone tomorrow as the outward form of yoga practice continues, like water, to flow and take the shape of its container: the culture of the time.However, while it's here, let's all put on our booty shorts and work it!!!
6 comments:
Where can I get some of those fire hot shorts?
Those are just plain black shorts. The 'fire' is generated by Bikram himself. He is probably working on trademarking them as we speak.
I agree: any reason to start yoga is a good reason, but after reading that article....what a wanker.
I'm with y'all on this. Any reason to do yoga is a good reason. That said, I read Bikram's newest book awhile ago and the biggest thing I took from it was "My way or the highway".
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Yoga is a very good way to have your body, mind and soul cleansed and purified but also a unique chance of reaching a higher self. Many people do not really know about the benefits of yoga. They might have heard about it in newspapers, magazines or from their friends, but many of them do not have an idea on what it truly is. That’s because yoga is not something palpable, something that you can touch and give to someone else. It’s just your experience, your journey with yourself in order to become a better man.Hatha yoga
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