Death and outrageousness -- sounds like a typical week in the wide world of yoga, right? I don't always discuss news, but last week I found myself amused by the wide swing of happenings and felt compelled to comment.
Farewell Mr. Iyengar
Close to 9 years ago, I had the privilege of seeing B.K.S. Iyengar in Boston as part of his Light on Life tour. I remember thinking at the time: "Hmmmm...I'd better take advantage of this opportunity, for Mr. Iyengar is getting older." It delights me that he shined for another 9 years. His passing last week at age 95 didn't exactly sadden me, for I thought more about his contributions and had gratitude for his life and his gifts rather than mourn his death. He once said, "...no one knows in what wholeness and felicity you may end." I certainly hope he ended with both wholeness and felicity. Here's the NY Times article about his passing.
From Master to Mockery
Yoga Journal is taking another hit, a la Lululemon, for its body image issues. In debating the famous philosophical question, "If a tree falls in the forrest and it no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" I'll say that if we stopped supporting certain people, causes, businesses, would they disappear? For example, if everyone stopped being so darned interested in what the Hollywood set did with their lives, would the whole pop culture obsession disappear (that includes the gossip mags and the nightly TV shows and networks devoted to this topic)?
Whether it's true or not, it's how I behave. I wasn't all that thrilled with Lululemon's stance on body image and a few other things. After hearing one too many things that I don't like, I stopped buying from them. In fact, just last weekend there was a free yoga class in my city sponsored by Lululemon. I didn't go because I don't like supporting things/companies/causes I don't believe in. Same goes for Yoga Journal. Yes, I agree that it's become the Cosmo (which I stopped reading in my very early 20s) of yoga publications, which is why I am not a subscriber and/or reader. In fact, I haven't been a subscriber for many years.
Does the World Really Need Another Yoga Selfie?
And, at the risk of being judgmental, I'll also say that I'm tired of all the yoga selfies. I'm sure Hilaria Baldwin is delightful but, frankly, I don't care about seeing her in all of her asana glory in the bathtub or on a busy NYC street. Do. Not. Care.
Nothing Left to Give
Rather than take the time to judge it, debate about it, publicize it, why not just drop it? My friend and I have a joke -- a list that we comprised with the heading Things I Don't Give a F@#$ About (needless to say, the list is veeeeeery veeeeeeery long). Often when there's some "hot" topic that everyone is talking about and is virtually impossible to avoid in the media, my friend texts me a simple "I have no f@#$% left to give." It always makes me giggle.
Yoga Journal has to make a buck. So does Hilaria Baldwin and Lululemon. They all have a right to do that and live in a way of their choosing. And I have a right to choose how I spend my money or what takes up prime real estate in my head and in my life. Personally, I'd rather stay "light on life" than dwell in the heaviness of what doesn't light me up.
Wishing you wholeness and felicity, the Iyengar way.
Namaste!
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