The Religion of Yoga

I did yoga practically everyday for years. A little yoga, then a meditation session, was the "spiritual" way to start the day. The fact that the warm, fuzzy feelings produced by doing this evaporated as the day went on didn't discourage me, I just assumed I needed to put more effort into my "practice".

I didn't want to pay good money to go to yoga classes, so for the first few years I practiced at home. But when I moved back to my hometown over 10 years ago I found a class at a church just a few blocks away, and the teacher only asked for a $5 donation. She was a sweet person and I loved the way she taught, but after attending for a year or so my schedule changed and I was no longer able to go. I found another teacher who I liked even better, and she only charged $4 for her classes! She was very down to earth, and didn't put on a spiritual air like many instructors do. But once again my work schedule changed and I had to give up her classes.

It was around this time that I began questioning my meditation practice, and opening up to the idea that there is nothing spiritual I need to strive for. I had moved on to another yoga class by this time, but a shoulder injury caused me to give it up, and I was too lazy to continue a practice at home. It's been 2 or 3 years since I've been to a yoga class.

Now, as I think back to the yoga classes I attended, I can see how religious they were. There were certain assumptions that were presented, such as the idea that yoga was an ancient spiritual practice, for example. The Sanskrit names of the poses (asanas) gave an exotic cachet to the class, and the music being played was usually of an Eastern flavor. The gentle voice of the teacher helped to put us in a calm mood. Put together, all these things served to make us feel that we were doing something spiritual, something that would bring us in touch with our center, our souls. We would leave the class feeling warm, happy and perhaps a tad bit superior.

At times I think about getting back into a personal yoga practice. But I don't want to call it yoga--why not just call it stretching? Despite what yoga practitioners are taught, the postures of yoga were invented just over 100 years ago in India, influenced by British exercise culture. That's right, a Western fitness practice is the true source of modern yoga! I want to take this back full circle, and do some gentle stretching to get my body back in shape, in a matter-of-fact way, with no spirituality and no Sanskrit required!

There is actually a modern Western innovation to the practice of yoga that I am interested in, and it's called Yin Yoga. The poses have English names, and are geared to stretching connective tissue rather than muscles. No chanting or instructions that focus on spirituality, and best of all, it's practiced on the floor! If I do manage to get the habit of daily stretching established, this is the direction I will go, doing poses that feel good and increase my flexibility.

A nice yin yoga posture.