i've been neglecting my yoga practice the last couple weeks. my regular yoga teachers i go to, the only ones i have found in austin i thoroughly enjoy and agree with, are out for a little while having a baby (they're married). although i am thrilled about them becoming new parents, i miss them in class!
yesterday was the first time i've been to yoga in two weeks, i hate to admit. i knew there would be a sub for ben's class last night, but i went anyway and gave her the benefit of the doubt. the class started out quite nice, actually - we eased into it, did some breathing work, had some opening meditation, so it was starting to look good. so far, so good. then within 10 minutes it turned into a fast flow aerobics type class with music so loud i could barely hear the teacher. i was annoyed the rest of the class, left irritated, and didn't get anything from it.
now, i know that there are many people out there that like this type of class. it's fast, you get a good aerobic 'work-out', you like the music, etc. americans tend to like the westernized version of yoga. but this kind of yoga is absolutely nothing like the original yoga that began years and years ago in other parts of the world - it's not even reminiscent of it. did you know the original yoga only had a handful of postures and every single one of them was seated? did you know the original yoga used to include practices such as deep meditation, different breathing techniques, ayurvedic medicinal practices, and using a neti pot? yep - that's right.
my training came from a lesser known branch of the yoga tree - i think most teachers these days are trained in flow vinyasa, some type of core power yoga, more popular aerobic type yoga, etc. i was trained by a student whose grand-teacher is pandit rajmani, who is the successor of swami rama. i was trained more in trantric (not the sex kind - get your mind out of the gutter) hatha yoga, more similar to the original style of yoga. it's a slow, deep practice. you hold a posture for several breath cycles to maximize the physical, mental, and spiritual benefit of each. there is an emphasis on pranayama (breathing exercises), meditation, and rest. i felt changed forever after my in depth teacher training. the readings, the teachings, the practice, the overall knowledge i got is forever embedded into my heart. since this is a less popular branch of the yoga tree, it is hard to find teachers who i agree and connect with - in fact, there isn't one yoga teacher i know of (and i searched) in austin who is apart of this branch.
these two teachers i have found in austin are amazing - they fall pretty in sync with how i was taught and how i like to practice. i've been disconnected and disappointed with other teachers i have found. i get far more physical benefits from hilly and ben's classes - we hold deep poses for a few breath cycles instead of flowing quickly with each breath. i feel stronger when i practice with them than i have felt with anyone else. sure, you don't get as an aerobic work-out as other classes you may find, but again - yoga isn't meant to be a work-out, and instead is more of a work-in. a little while ago, i was leaving one of hilly's classes and a woman who was in class with me (who i didn't know) let out a huge sigh and said to me, 'now that is what a yoga class should be.' she went on to say that when she wants more of a calorie-burner and work-out she goes to other classes, but with hilly's class she always feels so well rested and calm after. i couldn't agree more, stranger - i couldn't agree more.
i have left two yoga classes before. a couple years ago, not only did i leave this class, but i left the studio entirely. i had began teacher training myself, and as i delved deeper into my own practice and felt more in line with what i was learning from shanon, i felt more and more disconnected to my usual classes that i used to like. my teacher's teacher rod stryker has a saying that rang true, 'give them what they want, and then slip them what they need.' i thought i had what i wanted, but learning the teachings of swami rama from shanon was the gentle slip of what i didn't even know i needed. at any rate, in my last class at this particular studio, the teacher said that yoga is like aerobics. i couldn't have disagreed more. i grabbed my mat, left the class, and never went back to that studio again. and so, i followed hilly and ben to wherever they went. it was an enormous relief, and i just felt at home on my mat in their classes. i felt rested, calm, and just warm and happy all over. the second class i left, the teacher was playing top 40 music so damn loud i couldn't even hear her or my breath, and she was moving the class along so quickly i just got pissed off - i grabbed my mat and left, and i have never been back to her class.
now, don't get me wrong - everyone likes different things, and different things work for different people. i'm sure there are some that don't like to practice how i like to practice - and that's fine. we all have our different opinions. we all have an interpretation of what yoga is, and we take on what feels right within. but if you are in a yoga class you don't like, is it rude to leave? i don't think it is. if i were teaching (which i chose not to pursue) i honestly don't think i'd be offended if someone chose to leave because i have left yoga classes before i wasn't digging, and if someone wasn't digging mine i'd respect their decision to leave.
this is a good article i came across this morning - the timing was quite ironic because i came close to leaving my third class last night. good read.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/05/02/308953037/when-a-yoga-teacher-ticks-you-off-is-it-rude-to-walk-out
Friday, May 16, 2014
Monday, May 12, 2014
to zoo, or not to zoo
so, i just got back from a trip to dallas to see the family. my little brother came into town from california, and we don't get to see him that often. it's been a rough few weeks at work and otherwise, so it's always good to go home, check in, and recharge my batteries.
on friday my parents, myself, and aren took my two and a half year old nephew to the zoo. simon loves, love, LOVES the zoo and is crazy about animals - he can identify so many animals when you show him pictures and able to make the sound they make, and is so curious to learn more about them. he's kinda awesome that way. and most of simon's love and awareness of animals have come from aren, his family, and his teachers teaching him about animals and him seeing them in person (i.e., toby, his dad's dogs, my parents cats, the zoo).
as someone who loves animals and think they all should be treated as equals, as a vegan and someone who wants to reduce and end all animal suffering, i hate zoos and the caging and enclosing of animals. however, as someone who loves animals, i also feel strongly connected to them. i think this is crucial in others starting to feel how i feel, and educating themselves on the unfair treatment upon a lot of animals - they need to feel connected to them to care, and spending time with them and experiencing them helps to build this connectivity. and so, i'm at an impasse.
i haven't been to the zoo in a while, and i honestly do not like to go. and to add to that, zoos and sanctuaries are completely different to me. sanctuaries house 100% rescued wildlife. for example, the sanctuary we went to in alaska had wildlife that were all rescues - some they were holding through the winter to be released in the spring, others were permanent residents (those who were orphaned or injured). their 'enclosures', if i can even call them that, were HUGE - like, they had acres upon acres of tons of space for the animals to meander about. they were hardly comparable to then tiny zoo enclosures. there also were only a few people there when we went as opposed to thousands of screaming children banging on the glass and yelling at the animals at the zoo. so, to me at least, these two aren't comparable.
the animals at the zoo break my heart - i could've easily cried a couple times friday when we were there. the cages for some of these animals were hardly sufficient for their size. sure, some of these animals are rescues, but some of them aren't - some of them are kidnapped and taken to zoos to our pleasure and enjoyment. screaming and growling children swarm their cages banging on the glass, pulling on nets - if i was one of those animals i'd just be so depressed. and animals aren't stupid, people - they feel emotion, they feel stress and anger, they feel what we feel. but, again, i'm at an impasse.
zoos and sanctuaries are pretty much that people can see wildlife in person. and to see, is to believe. seeing grows awareness. seeing rids yourself of some ignorance surrounding wildlife. reading the placards about a certain animal being endangered. and what we can do to help them educates us. seeing them, feeling them, raising our awareness, and building our education helps people feel connected and feeling connected makes us give a damn about them. it makes us feel sad for them, it makes us want to help. for example, almost 60% of vegans became vegan after either a) watching videos of a factory farm and slaughterhouse, or b) growing a friendship with a typical farm animal (ex., more and more people are getting pigs as pets and they no longer eat pork or bacon). i started caring more about wildlife when i volunteered at wildlife rescue - it made me feel connected in a way that i wouldn't if i hadn't had that experience. my mom volunteered and did something with gorillas at the dallas zoo when i was little, and she grew to care about them as a species. marine biologists, zoo keepers, zoologists, veterinarians, etc. care GREATLY for the animals they tend to - they treat them as equals, as friends, as children.
on friday my parents, myself, and aren took my two and a half year old nephew to the zoo. simon loves, love, LOVES the zoo and is crazy about animals - he can identify so many animals when you show him pictures and able to make the sound they make, and is so curious to learn more about them. he's kinda awesome that way. and most of simon's love and awareness of animals have come from aren, his family, and his teachers teaching him about animals and him seeing them in person (i.e., toby, his dad's dogs, my parents cats, the zoo).
as someone who loves animals and think they all should be treated as equals, as a vegan and someone who wants to reduce and end all animal suffering, i hate zoos and the caging and enclosing of animals. however, as someone who loves animals, i also feel strongly connected to them. i think this is crucial in others starting to feel how i feel, and educating themselves on the unfair treatment upon a lot of animals - they need to feel connected to them to care, and spending time with them and experiencing them helps to build this connectivity. and so, i'm at an impasse.
i haven't been to the zoo in a while, and i honestly do not like to go. and to add to that, zoos and sanctuaries are completely different to me. sanctuaries house 100% rescued wildlife. for example, the sanctuary we went to in alaska had wildlife that were all rescues - some they were holding through the winter to be released in the spring, others were permanent residents (those who were orphaned or injured). their 'enclosures', if i can even call them that, were HUGE - like, they had acres upon acres of tons of space for the animals to meander about. they were hardly comparable to then tiny zoo enclosures. there also were only a few people there when we went as opposed to thousands of screaming children banging on the glass and yelling at the animals at the zoo. so, to me at least, these two aren't comparable.
the animals at the zoo break my heart - i could've easily cried a couple times friday when we were there. the cages for some of these animals were hardly sufficient for their size. sure, some of these animals are rescues, but some of them aren't - some of them are kidnapped and taken to zoos to our pleasure and enjoyment. screaming and growling children swarm their cages banging on the glass, pulling on nets - if i was one of those animals i'd just be so depressed. and animals aren't stupid, people - they feel emotion, they feel stress and anger, they feel what we feel. but, again, i'm at an impasse.
zoos and sanctuaries are pretty much that people can see wildlife in person. and to see, is to believe. seeing grows awareness. seeing rids yourself of some ignorance surrounding wildlife. reading the placards about a certain animal being endangered. and what we can do to help them educates us. seeing them, feeling them, raising our awareness, and building our education helps people feel connected and feeling connected makes us give a damn about them. it makes us feel sad for them, it makes us want to help. for example, almost 60% of vegans became vegan after either a) watching videos of a factory farm and slaughterhouse, or b) growing a friendship with a typical farm animal (ex., more and more people are getting pigs as pets and they no longer eat pork or bacon). i started caring more about wildlife when i volunteered at wildlife rescue - it made me feel connected in a way that i wouldn't if i hadn't had that experience. my mom volunteered and did something with gorillas at the dallas zoo when i was little, and she grew to care about them as a species. marine biologists, zoo keepers, zoologists, veterinarians, etc. care GREATLY for the animals they tend to - they treat them as equals, as friends, as children.
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