[vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOmOPkaXz7M&t=5s” el_width=”80″ align=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Hello and welcome to Bizzy Yogi!
One of the things that I like to do is take time out every week to answer any questions you may have. One question that I seem to be getting frequently is about the Yoga trend. Is Yoga a trend?
There seems to be a concern with the rising popularity of Yoga, not so much on the popularity as much as does this water down the Yogic principles that guide a Yogi’s life?
Here’s my take on the “Yoga Trend”:
Is yoga a trend? Is yoga becoming “popular”? This is the next question for today.
If you want my opinion, yes. Is that a bad thing? No.
So, yoga is becoming a trend. It’s moving into gyms. This is awesome. Like, awesome. I want yoga everywhere. Why? Because yoga has power. Yoga is union. Yoga moves things inside of you through breath, through intention, and through the physical postures. We’re moving energy in the body to sustain energy.
Now, let’s backtrack a little bit. Yoga in its own, is what? Five, six, seven thousand years old? That’s a long time. Fast forward to English colonization. British, Hindu, completely different. So what happens when people get colonized? New changes are brought upon them, perhaps violence. As we know, Gandhi was trying to stop this violence and stop the shifts in the Hindu culture by the British.
So let’s think. Do you think the British might have influenced yoga? Yes. How did they do this? First of all, the Hindu yogis had to disguise their practices. Because they were religious, they were polytheistic, so they were pagans. They had to disguise their practices. So they started adopting basically gymnastics and aerobic exercises from the British, from the Swedes, I believe it’s Scandinavian – gymnastics, and started adding these into their routines, their asana.
What’s really interesting is that it stayed. Think about the ashtanga yoga system and all these other more modern forms of yoga. We kept a lot of these gymnastics aerobics exercises from the British, from the Europeans. And now it’s turned into a very asana-based practice. I mean, I’m an acro-yogi. I was in the first acro-yoga training ever. So do you think that when I started teaching, people came and questioned me, and said, “This isn’t yoga”? Well, of course it’s not. It’s acrobatics. But also has yoga in it. We have asana sequences.
I’m so happy that this question was asked, because it brings up a lot of emotion. And I also want to know what you guys think. How did you step on your mat for the first time? Where was it? Where were you exposed to yoga? And what happened? So comment below. And if you think that yoga is a fad, then give it a thumbs up. If you think that yoga is moving and transforming and shifting, then give it a thumbs up. Because everything in life changes. Just as when the British colonized India, and changed the way asana was being delivered, nowadays, yoga keeps changing, and it’s moving into tons of different places.
But as we know, yoga starts doing something inside of you. It starts making you want to let go of things that aren’t good for you. It starts making you feel more peaceful. Maybe more observant. So how and why yoga is turning into a fad and moving into gyms, it’s because it’s liked by people. So let’s keep liking the yoga. Let’s keep sharing it. And if you did step into yoga in a gym, and you fell in love with it, amazing. One of my teachers found her yoga in the gym 20 years ago. And now, she is a senior Iyengar teacher. So please, stay true to your practice.
Fall in love with yoga, no matter where it is. And investigate. See what other practices you like. There’s meditation, there’s pranayama. So we’re not just stuck in asana world anymore, we want to discover Ayurveda, the science of life, the science of health. There’s so many benefits that come from yoga. And it’s up to us as teachers and you as students to find out more and be able to deliver authentic teachings.
If it has a modern twists because it connects with more people, then thumbs up. If you have a question about anything Yoga, just ask it below! There’s tons of great stuff that we’re putting together. Stay connected with me. And if you’re looking to really get a little bit deeper, join me in one of my live events. We have retreats, trainings, all sorts of fun stuff. If you founf this helpful and you really liked it, share it with a friend if you feel like this is a great topic that they’d enjoy.
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