Yogalebrity - a bit of a laugh

[Jim Pickles]

Came across this article (the link to the full article is at the end). Here are some extracts -

"Yoga celebrity status is something that many young teachers aspire to achieve. From a broad perspective, branding your approach to teaching yoga and commodifying your image as a yoga professional is seemingly one of the only ways to make a "comfortable living" teaching the practice. Endorsements, brand ambassadorships, spokesperson contracts, book deals, and corporate advertising opportunities are all big-business ways to make a profit in the yoga industry. Unfortunately, achieving stardom or making that comfortable living as a yoga teacher only happens for a select few."

...

"Top "yogalebrities" have very specific brand images. The majority of individuals catapulted into the stratosphere of "yoga superstar status" gain their traction in mainstream pop culture based on the ability to make sales. As a result, the main qualifier for celebrity status ends up being physical appearance, rather than the quality or the substance of the individual’s teaching, or even their professional work within the yoga community. The better looking you are, the move value you have in mainstream yoga culture. Your message and your words hold more influence if you fit a specific idealized aesthetic....."

"At the top of the yoga celebrity culture is the homogeneous image of thin, fair-skinned, flexible women. We see very few men and almost no people of color, bigger-bodied individuals.... achieving stardom."

etc, etc, etc.

In spite of the explicit condemnation, I got the impression that there is an underlying endorsement (or possibly envy) in the article for those who achieve yogalebrity status. If we have any STlebrities, the nearest we have is Kit, but nobody would think he was a thin, fair-skinned, flexible woman. First mistake, Kit.

Just wonder what it is like living in a world where these things are issues (by the way the founding lebrity of modern western yoga was Iyengar, who was male, of colour, and, in later life, rather bigger-bodied.)

Nice to teach stretch in a dingy old hall to a few people who are there just to learn and do exercise. Some people make life so difficult for themselves.

Jim.

Link to article:

https://yogainternat...the-yogalebrity

[Keilani Gutierrez]

i hear ya.

the minute people ask me if i do yoga, I used to say "no, but i do use a lot of tools used in yoga like meditation, static, dynamic and explosive movements and many of the postures." they'd always have the same sulking, disappointed reaction and pay no attention to whatever else i have to say on the matter.

nowadays, i just tell people "yes of course and if you'd like me to host a yoga class for you, id be more than happy to." when I start the class with the focus of that days class, people will look at me weird and wonder where the actual yogi is. the best response i've gotten is "that isn't yoga, why do you say you do yoga?." my response "of course it is, it just isnt the idea of yoga you have in your mind. do you know what microcosmic orbit is? how to differentiate between passive, active, ballistic flexibility?" "uhm..." "then you do not know the facets of yoga, what it looks like when it is all put together and the type of person/body it creates." last yoga class i've hosted. yuppy pretentious hippies, focused on showing up, doing what they do "best" and with no real focus to improve it only to show it off, to talk to the female brogis and get together to party and live it up.

the people that just rub me all sorts of wrong are the ones that after I explain something like a fascial adhesion, they'll be like "oh yeah, i read that happens to men and not to women." ... "no, the phenomenon i'm describing right now happens to the -human- body. we were discussing to what degree, in which areas or if it's exclusive to one sex.....but now that we're on that topic and you seem to know more than i on the subject, could you please answer me this question, show me one stretch that lengthens the quads and one that lengthens the psoas." (the yogi will demonstrate one pose, ill ask them to demonstrate the other) then i'll ask them, where do you feel the stretch in each individual pose?" "one in my quad and one in my psoas." and here i'm thinking....with that hyperextension in your lower back? i dont think so, bro. I'll bring up an app on an iPad or iPhone (3D4medical / muscle systems pro) explain the difference between hinging at the hip and hinging at the lower back for lunge stretches and they'll just brush me off like i'm some heretic....i haven't met many educated yogis, most of them are flower childs who think that reading a book that says the word "prana" and "union of body, mind, soul" puts that kind of power in them for having only read the words and having a practice they extracted from expertsvillage and simply put it on repeat.

i think that's bad for yoga. yoga should be up there, respected like Shaolin, most people who do yoga have never even heard of Kalaripayattu and that yoga was used as a compliment to it. if i even go as far as to say that GST is my "hard" training and Taijiquan / Neigong is my soft training, the way that indians did Kalaripayattu and Yoga in the same manner, they just go "ah well you must be one hell of a yogi!" to condescend me. they just don't seem to get concepts.

much pretentious. such yuppy. i have a lot of work to do in Puerto Rico. hopefully people start understanding that when one says "i do this" is that they are embodying a system, its contents. not what the word meant when it was first conceived.

[CraigPlunkett]

Why do you have such an obnoxious class, Keilani?

[[DW]]

We have the regal Sea-dog himself! K would roll in his grave if he heard the term STlebrities (if he weren't still alive, that is).

[Emmet Louis]

I vote Dave as 1st Stlebirity. If its going to happen might as well be democratic

[FritsMB]

Came across this article (the link to the full article is at the end). Here are some extracts -

................

Just wonder what it is like living in a world where these things are issues (by the way the founding lebrity of modern western yoga was Iyengar, who was male, of colour, and, in later life, rather bigger-bodied.)

Nice to teach stretch in a dingy old hall to a few people who are there just to learn and do exercise. Some people make life so difficult for themselves.

Jim.

Link to article:

https://yogainternat...the-yogalebrity

Jim, I read the article. With an increasing distaste, I have to say. Too many sweeping statements. I also don’t like the implicit assumption that I agree to be included in the “we” that the author uses to introduce her generalizations. A basic respect of my autonomy is not to much to ask for, I think, especially from somebody who calls herself an Author, Motivator, Risk Taker, Educator, Yoga Teacher, and Leading Voice in the Diversity in Yoga and Yoga Inclusion Movement. Give me a break.

Sure, here in the Netherlands too the Power of Skillful Marketing can play an important role in defining somebody’s public status, be it a media person, politician, athlete, opinion maker (important differences: 1) the market as such is only a fraction of that in the USA; 2) the role of money is less significant in defining an individuals position socially). And, here too, public status often has little to do with the intrinsic value (difficult concept) of what the individual does or says. So, yes, the money and public attention that comes with that status can be seen as unfair/unjust/perverse/frustrating. But, why waste time and energy with bashing something that is a simple outcome of the religion the dominant culture around us seems to fully embrace: free market capitalism. Unless, of course, it is your intention, as an author, to reinforce your status as an “Author, Motivator, Risk Taker, Educator, Yoga Teacher, and Leading Voice in the Diversity in Yoga and Yoga Inclusion Movement”. So, we are back at where we started: the Power of Skillful Marketing.

[Please notice how careful I phrased the next to last sentence. I am not implying that anybody (besides me) here is part of this “dominant culture”.]

Fortunately, there are still people who are content teaching stretch in a dingy old hall to a few people who are there just to learn and do exercise.

i hear ya.

........

much pretentious. such yuppy. i have a lot of work to do in Puerto Rico. hopefully people start understanding that when one says "i do this" is that they are embodying a system, its contents. not what the word meant when it was first conceived.

Keilani. My advice. Just hang in there. Just (gently) keep pointing out what you are trying to do (with your practice). And, with patience and time, you will find your practice growing with the people who like your approach. I have watched my daughter build her very successful practice as a yoga teacher in that manner. Simply, by word of mouth; it took five years. Good luck.

[Keilani Gutierrez]

Why do you have such an obnoxious class, Keilani?

i don't give yoga classes! that's the thing, the only kind of participation i've wanted to have in that avenue is either practicing with experienced yogis and they on two occasions have invited me to their mats to focus a bit on form, what activation to do inwardly in certain poses. maybe i should have edited my words to say "im frustrated by people who upon reaching the point where they can no longer withstand the stresses of working out / moving or the emotional strain of stretching because they have never undertaken physical fitness before revolt, rebel and complain that 'yoga should meet my needs, i do not want to work' instead of being okay with scaling positions and not looking "flashy" in front of other people from the get-go. yeah, that sounds a lot more emotionally mature than the venting i did earlier

i primarily teach flexibility with the POV of ST at a crossfit gym....which is another topic altogether excellent athletes all around, only 2-3 act a fool. which has not been my experience with yoga in my area. more or less capable(mentally) practitioners but the lot of them don't really work "hard" during their practice. i probably let off too much steam in that post without much explanation, i've met some fantastic yogis and unfortunately have met a lot of people who act a fool.

Frits, thank you for the advice and for the gentle hand. i was mostly complaining, so thank you for your patience. i should have been more specific to outline that yoga doesnt frustrate me, nor do practitioners who have less than ideal form because they started recently, it's the "yoga super church" lifestyle or pretentiousness that "wants to spread love, peace, health to all" and when you say, why don't you try this or point out that "how can a practitioner have absolved lower back pain from doing what you teach if i still see them violently hinging from the lower back during the sun salutations? i saw them wince twice" , they feel you are attacking a religion. this is the only individual, i have come across that i have had issues of communication with. must be my martial arts background. you never talk back to a teacher like that, you ask respectfully and with an open mind, not with a sense of baseless superiority. if i were in a room with Dave, Craig, Cherie, Kit, do you think i would be telling them what to do? only in the context of when to stop with a stretch, not to tell them their approach doesn't work because my overtly inflated sense of self says so.

[SwissDanny]

@Keilani... you'll just love this then:

http://breakingmuscle.com/yoga/is-your-yoga-practice-keeping-you-from-finding-your-soulmate

LOL

[Keilani Gutierrez]

read the first couple of paragraphs and i gave up. i quit.

[Kit_L]

@Keilani: I loved your first post (esp. the bit about "...I don't think so, bro'"). A crackup.

These days though I never talk about these things, I just get any yogis in my workshops to do our partner HF stretch. It's a revelation for them—nothing needs to be said.

[Jim Pickles]

Meanwhile, more on the loopy yoga world - yoga for your dog (seen by me a few days ago in Portland, Maine).

 

[Kit_L]

I will be promoting this thread on FB: it's excellent. Of course, we are all doing "yoga" in its root sense, but because that sense is so inclusive, it can mean little (especially in the era of "Yogalates", "yogalebrities", and "Doga".

It's best to smile and move on (or, as Keilani suggests, do the partner hip flexor stretch). Nothing needs to be said.

This site may be the last place people can say what they really think, without censorship. I would definitely do classes with Keilani.

[Keilani Gutierrez]

36 minutes ago, Kit_L said:

I will be promoting this thread on FB: it's excellent. Of course, we are all doing "yoga" in its root sense, but because that sense is so inclusive, it can mean little (especially in the era of "Yogalates", "yogalebrities", and "Doga".

It's best to smile and move on (or, as Keilani suggests, do the partner hip flexor stretch). Nothing needs to be said.

This site may be the last place people can say what they really think, without censorship. I would definitely do classes with Keilani.

aahhh, how time flies!

nowadays, I jokingly say "me? a yogi? if I were, you wouldn't see me out of the Ashram!" kidding aside, microcosmic orbit / small circulation practice has been pretty staple in my "mind" training. I sense this is some of the cooler stuff that Sihin Dave W & Sihin "Mountain Hammer" Craig work in repurposing for our time within their practices.

just the other day I kept going in circles about the "why" of a particular thing that was bugging me. immediately, like trumpets announcing the coming of a saviour, I heard "the entire purpose is to adapt, so that you may be re-enchanted in the ways of living in your world."  relaxation IS the way we dehypnotize ourselves from habitual actions. to reach this conclusion after steering away from reading about ST only to come back full circle to it after months of intense psychology, psychometric and psychoanalysis study/research is so satisfying to my inner nerd and training geek. ST is such a great modern take on something so ancient. 

the word re-enchantment brought a smile to my face, as well. Dave and Craig are clearly on to something marvelous with their work.

we are surely walking with people who walk the talk and talk the walk.

Oss!

[Kit_L]

K would roll in his grave if he heard the term STlebrities (if he weren't still alive, that is).

I'm rolling in my grave now! (I believe in thorough rehearsal.)

[Kit_L]

I am thinking/feeling long and hard about the way our collective practise (the thing I call Stretch Therapy) might be better explained. I note in passing that it has always been evolving, ever since the beginning.

I believe ST is a method to use to learn how to be more human, almost a new way to be human (in this era, anyhow). Stretch Therapy shows you how to remove restrictions, full stop (our US colleagues say, "period").

Restrictions are always, and in all ways, simple resistance to what is. Restrictions can take many forms; physical tightness and rigid perspectives are two examples. Removal of restrictions (or what Yoga calls removal of "the obscurations",  क्लेश, or 'kleshas', in English) is necessary, or desirable (not as a 'first step' or pre-requisite; many steps can be played with simultaneously). A key idea here is removal—the opposite of adding anything. ST does not prescribe a way to be. I have learned that once restrictions are removed (or, at the least, the awareness of their presence is experienced), then one's unfolding may manifest. In my experience, this unfolding does not have a direction: the removal of habits and mental tendencies simply allows the real you to appear.

But, to the world, Stretch Therapy just offers an efficient way to move to the experience of grace and ease in the body (and the mind, of course; only our medical and philosophical systems makes this division) and cat-like movement.

Edited September 14, 2017 by Kit_L
Ambiguity; I used "systems" in two senses (the ST system, and our culture's medical and philosophical systems).

[AlexanderEgebak]

I truly enjoyed that reading.

I too have come across these types of people trying to fit into a certain culture by being a certain way (towards themselves and towards others, though the last part is really a defining part). Though it is hardly as pronounced in Denmark as in USA.

Being both strong and relatively flexible myself as well as having the "male type of physical yoga appearance" I usually find these people paying unusual attention to my words without knowing my skill set and philosophy outside of how I express myself physically (body language and yoga-like practice itself). This gives me a moment of surprise as I will usually talk about what they want to talk about but can shift towards other movement facets without pushing them away just by not being yoga. As a physical therapy student I find this very similar to trying to motivate my patients to exercise because the process to inspire, motivate and de- and re-educate are very similar. Talk to people, find out what they enjoy, sneakily nudge in what they need to do (Socratic interviewing works wonders) and then, hopefully, we have a more promising process (where ever their path leads) for the individual. Though this works far from all the time

I believe we should embrace these yoga-wanna-be-superstars because they clearly want to tread the path whatever we do. However, we can have a positive influence on their approach and perhaps nudge them in a certain direction. Perhaps they may push us off but we still leave a lasting print on them. Only working with people who are like-minded, motivated and meet us where we are is limiting our impact, and I truly believe that it is possible and worth the effort to spend time working, grinding, shaping these individuals. We can all agree that this kind of behavior that they express is less than optimal and hard to work with, but reaching out might change them over time and make them come to us to learn.

In essence I believe presents an opportunity of work for us, not an obstacle.