I notice that there are a lot of labels in the yoga world -- beginner yogi, advanced yogi, vegetarian, vegan, raw foodist, this type (insert style of yoga here) of yogi, that type of yogi. I get it -- labels make us feel safe. They help us define things, they explain things, they make us feel like we belong. But what happens when labels begin to confine us?
I knew this lovely woman who was a vegan. She was proud of being a vegan. She blogged about it, belonged to groups that shared the same lifestyle, she strongly identified with the term vegan. It was all very exclusive -- special labels, special club, special social standing, special dietary needs and choices. All of that exclusivity pushed inclusivity out the window.
That's when things went awry for my friend. You see, she started having health issues. She started feeling badly, she lacked energy, she gained weight, and some health issues began to crop up. By being exclusively vegan she forgot to include herself in the equation. She ignored her body's needs and stopped listening to herself. After months of struggling and researching, she decided to try a different diet -- one that included a lot of grass-fed, organic meats. YIKES -- this was not exactly easy for someone who identified so strongly with being vegan. In fact, she felt a lot of shame around her decision to change her eating habits.
Am I here to promote a vegan or non-vegan diet? No. Absolutely not. I know this possibly makes me less yogi-like to some, but I don't care what someone eats. I've heard the Ahimsa argument and I always respond the same way -- Ahimsa also needs to be applied to self, not just others. That means that if not eating meat is harming you, then that's not Ahimsa (although perhaps the animals would say differently). This isn't about being a vegan or a vegetarian or a breatharian or a paleo or whatever other sorts of labels are out there. This is about being you.
There's nothing wrong with being either or none of those things -- it's only wrong when you identify so strongly with one that you lose your soul's direction. If you want to use a descriptor -- I'm a Ashtanga yogi -- that's fine. Just give yourself some wiggle room. Don't shut yourself off to all other forms of yoga because you've declared yourself an Ashtanga yogi. In the case of my friend, she found freedom when she dropped the vegan label. I'm happy to report that she now eats a varied diet and is feeling energetic, has lost 25 lbs. and looks happy and fabulous.
Sometimes dropping the label can give you the freedom to explore something more appropriate for you and your life. I, for example, defined myself early in my yoga practice as someone who practiced a very athletic style of yoga. I proudly declared "my" style and often ignored other types of classes because they didn't fit into my tiny little yoga mold. After injuring myself a few times, I started to change my definition of yoga and I dropped my label all together. I became a yoga practitioner -- one who practiced a few different styles rather than just one.
When I work with clients, I give different practices based on where the person is in his/her life -- activity, age, daily living habits. It wouldn't be uncommon for me to work with someone over a period of years and give that person many different practices at various times/stages of life. Now, if the person defines him/herself as this or that, then what happens when circumstances change? Does the yoga practice stay the same? That would be a HELL NO in my book.
The start of the new year has everyone talking about cleanses and detoxes and whatnot. I suggest a different type of detox -- the label detox. How are you defining yourself? What labels do you use? Are those definitions and labels defining or confining you? Are they preventing you from trying something new or different? Can you allow yourself to be different things at different times? Can you allow yourself to inhabit both sides of the spectrum (for example, someone who's traditional in some areas and non-traditional in others)?
Here's my little inspirational back slap for the day: you can be whoever and whatever you want! Just remember that you are a living, breathing thing, which means that you're constantly changing, adjusting, expanding. You don't need to define yourself rigidly. You can be someone who eats meat every now and again as opposed to a vegetarian. You can be an Iyengar yogi who also practices Kundalini. You can be more than one thing, many things, no thing.
The very best thing of all to be is...YOU!
Namaste!