Wisdom is everywhere. I found this on facebook today, and it speaks to me on so many levels.
Love and Compassion ♥♪♫*¨*•.¸¸ ॐ We can reject everything else: religion, ideology, all received wisdom. But we cannot escape the necessity of love and compassion.... ... This, then, is my true religion, my simple faith. In this sense, there is no need for temple or church, for mosque or synagogue, no need for complicated philosophy, doctrine or dogma. Our own heart, our own mind, is the temple. The doctrine is compassion. Love for others and respect for their rights and dignity, no matter who or what they are: ultimately these are all we need. So long as we practice these in our daily lives, then no matter if we are learned or unlearned, whether we believe in Buddha or God, or follow some other religion or none at all, as long as we have compassion for others and conduct ourselves with restraint out of a sense of responsibility, there is no doubt we will be happy. — His Holiness The Dalai Lama
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I often read elephantjournal. I like many of the contributors, and enjoy keeping up on yoga news. Every so often, I rad something that just doesn't quite resonate with me. Today it was an article about yoga and marketing. How that is not what the path of yoga is. While on a very basic level I agree, I was compelled to post my thoughts.
Here is a link to the article: http://www.elephantjournal.com/2013/03/moving-beyond-the-business-of-yoga-harmony-lichty/ and here are my comments: Harmony, while I agree with your ideas , I also realize that each of us has our own path. For one, we were born into the culture we are in, and from there we make our way forward. Forward, meaning the starting point is different for everyone. Not everyone is ready to enter into the discipline of the yogic path as you describe it. For those who are not ready, marketing in just the right way can guide them to the right teacher for them. Once they have outgrown that teacher they will seek more. Our culture is (fortunately or unfortunately) inundated with marketing, which should guide us to places that resonates with us. Careful marketing (or equally, lack of marketing, for lack of marketing can speak just as loudly as flashy marketing) by yoga teachers should help guide the right students to us. You and your husband have a thriving studio, but what does the individual yoga teacher have to earn a living from? Our classes. And the more people we can draw into our classes, the better living we can make. This is the paradigm the studios have set for us. Yoga also teaches us not to judge, not to be attached to the ideas of right and wrong. That includes not judging the path of others. If a student wants to practice yoga under the flashiest neon sign, that is where they are on their path, I am glad they found yoga in some form, and I acknowledge that their path is not mine, so I remain unattached. Equally, I trust that the students who find their way to your studio are there because that is what they are ready for. There is enough judgment in this world already. I prefer to allow the growth of everyone, right where they are. Asana practice, the physical practice of yoga, is like our playground where we get to embody an emotion, a thought, a new idea, a spirituality. Physically we allow it to take shape within our bodies, rolling it around, playing with it from different angles. Then, once we have experienced it in our own bodies, we take it off the mat and into the world, where we continue to explore and grow. |
AuthorKristen is a certified Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapist and Life Mentor. She offers online and in-person healing sessions. She lives and teaches in Denver, Colorado Archives
December 2019
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