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The yoga world is rapidly changing.
What began as a sacred practice has turned into a $10 billion industry. Studies estimate that 8.7% of the American population practices yoga with that number increasing every day.
Studios are springing up faster than Starbucks. Classes are shorter and watered down in an effort to get more people in the door. Websites offering online content have become ubiquitous. And it is quite common to see people doing yoga in advertisements selling unrelated products such as cars. There are no two ways about it, this is big business and everyone wants a piece of the (likely, vegan) pie. If there is anything mankind needs it is more yoga, but do we lose the essence when it becomes about making money? Is yoga moving away from spirituality and becoming just another form of exercise? Scholars of the practice know that the physical postures, asanas, are a tiny sliver of the overall focus. They are a step along the path. The seminal text, Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, states that, “Yoga is the stilling of the movements of the mind,” and among the 196 short statements that comprise the entire text, only 3 refer to asana. None mention Bikram or handstand.
OXYMORON? BY SARA H EZR I N becoming less important. Meditation and stillness just aren’t sexy. Instead, the music is getting louder, the classes are faster and harder, and it is all too common for students to skip savasana entirely as they rush back into the rat race of their lives. How can we regain the reverence this discipline warrants? To begin, remember the ultimate goal of the practice- to quiet the mind. Leave time for silence and stillness, whether it is a long final rest or a brief sit. And no, you cannot take savasana in the car on the way to your next appointment. Emphasize the breath. While it is fun to flow to music, it can be hard to hear your breathing. Our breath is our connection to life force and the main tool we use to calm the mind. Learn and practice the other limbs of yoga. Not causing harm to oneself or others, being truthful, and meditating are not bad skills to cultivate. Yoga is something one lives; it is not something one does. And though many may try, you actually cannot put a price tag on yoga.
Yet even the word “yoga” itself has become synonymous with the physical. And let’s be honest, yoga asana does a body good. But our bodies are impermanent- we get injured, we get sick, we age. Though subtle, it is the mental and energetic benefits that endure, but these appear to be
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M A N T R A M A G . C OM
Sarah Ezrin, E-RYT-500, is a yoga teacher and writer based out of Los Angeles. With a profound love of travel, she leads retreats, workshops, and trainings around the globe. For Sarah, yoga is not about the tricks or the postures; it is about maintaining one’s center amidst the challenges and chaos of the world.
Top Photo: Penywise, Bottom Photos: Fluid FramE