Love Letter to Yoga Land

Hello Yoga Land. It’s me, J. You know, that guy who has been taking pot shots at you all these years with his punk-ass blog writing and podcasting. Well, I feel like I owe you an apology. Now that you are in tatters, I can see that in my zeal to challenge you, I took so much for granted. What I would give to have you back again, even with all of your flaws.

It wasn’t your fault. You were just doing what you knew how to do, often with the best of intentions. You provided for me and I didn’t appreciate it as much as I should have. In my disenchantment over the injustice of our societies, I lost sight of who the real enemies are and wherein lies our collective power.

The shut-downs have laid bare the fault lines.

I had big plans for this year. My Easing the Pain World Tour 2020 got off to a great start, and was on track to disrupt the traveling yoga teacher circuit, until the proverbial rug got pulled out from underneath us all. Even before the pandemic brought everything to a complete standstill, there was writing on the wall that our industry was built on a house of membership cards and inflated social media numbers that would never last.

The glossy image of the yoga lifestyle influencer, with just the right Instagram filter to disguise the artifice behind the camera, has lost all its luster in the shadow of hospitals being overrun and livelihoods destroyed. Desperate attempts at using our archived photos of executing intricate poses to promote zoom classes is not only sad but certain to fail in the longer run. If there is one thing that shutting all the centers down has revealed is that authentic practice is not contingent on fancy spa environments or leggings. It's much easier to recognize a genuine exchange of yoga when we are all stuck at home afraid, alone, and skeptical.

Teaching yoga is not content creation or media production.

Another thing that has become increasingly true is that teaching yoga alone can not generate enough income to be considered a livelihood. Yoga teachers who are managing to pay their bills through their pursuits are doing so because of other people or ancillary skills that actually generate the revenue. Yoga teacher-training programs that offered “business” modules instructing people on how to make catchier social media posts did those trainees a horrible disservice. All the time and effort that go into generating free content without avenues for that to convert into sales are grossly counterproductive. As many have had to learn the hard way, producing on-demand video or livestream classes, and setting up advantageous payment and billing structures to capitalize on them, have little to do with the skills of transmitting yoga.

In fact, some of the methods most successful in generating income directly undermine the process of teaching yoga. It is an undeniable fact that imagery of beautiful people with amazing bodies doing unbelievable things plays well into our insecurities and drives sales. But such tactics are not only ableist and manipulative, they foster superficial samplings more than long-term relationships. Nothing sabotages the pedagogy of yoga transmission more than feeling bogged down by the subtle undertone of swindle that comes from forever trying to come up with new shiny wrapping paper for the same old gift.

Spiritual narcissism remains a problem but is not the norm.

Those who’ve managed to garner larger sectors of market share in yoga-related sales are not capable of serving local communities the same way that sincere individuals can. Teachers are now learning how much more valuable email addresses are than social media followers, and students can compare the offerings of their local teachers who share their hearts from their living rooms to flashier online productions of those who obscure their shadows with aspirational platitudes. As a result, there is a shift happening in where people are placing value. Supporting the teachers who are truly helping us by contributing to their individual platforms is a way of actually putting our dollars where they serve each other and yoga most.

The dissolution of so many norms has changed the conversations around teacher-student relationships, at least for the time being. When there are no in-person classes, or they require social distancing in order to be safe, the conditions that fueled so much of the abuse are simply not possible. The cultic dynamics that ensnared many in the past do not work the same in a zoom meeting. And in the backdrop of profound suffering and uncertainty, authentic sharing distinguishes itself clearly from well packaged bait-and-switch offerings. Surely, there are those still taking advantage of people’s fears but they are greatly outnumbered by the countless teachers who are creating circles of trust and support that have become a saving grace in quarantined life.

The soul of Yoga Land is strong.

For a long time, myself and many others, have often used our platforms to point out the figures and trends in the yoga world that were troubling and hurtful. We did this either from a sense of justice or to process our disappointment. Because we care about people and are passionate about yoga. Unfortunately, we also ended up sensationalizing what is actually only a small sector of those with larger followings and left grassroots teachers in the dark feeling unsuccessful and small. When, in fact, the teachers who are holding zoom classes in their living rooms with 2-5 people from their local community are the ones who deserve the light shined on them for their tireless efforts and open hearts.

In my experience, Yoga Land is not dominated by predators or charlatans. Quite the opposite. The overwhelming majority of people who identify as yoga teachers and/or practitioners are some of the most thoughtful and caring individuals you will ever meet. They do their best to be of help to others. They make efforts to learn and grow and be better humans. They feel empathy for their fellow citizens and are willing to take on the burden of being first in doing all they can to raise awareness and contribute to society in constructive ways. To all those out there who meet this description, I commend you and am sending my love. I have never felt more proud to call myself a yoga teacher, and I feel honored to join ranks with all those who share my faith in yoga and its potential to serve.