Yoga Michigan

An important aspect of yoga is to control the mind, yet many people who claim to have been practicing yoga for years seem to be as egotistical, materialistic, and weak-minded as the non-practicing general public. It is evident that there are yoga styles which do not include mental or spiritual discipline, but could there be styles in which mental disarray is actually encouraged? Sadly, this seems to be the case. The main culprit seems to lie in the interpretation of the concept of “self acceptance.”

 

One day, a woman – a long-time practitioner – attended a raja yoga class and got very upset when the instructor spoke about the need to address ones weaknesses. After class, she walked up to the instructor and yelled, “How dare you upset me like this! I do yoga to escape my problems and accept myself for who I am, not to be reminded of my problems. Look at what you have done! I am so upset that I will be shaking for several days now, and it’s all YOUR FAULT!!”

 

In another case, a mother warned of the harmful effects of yoga in a magazine by sharing her tragic story. Her daughter - who was anorexic - started doing yoga and loved it. People complimented her for looking great in poses with her slim body that she started spending more and more time doing increasingly difficult yoga postures while never addressing her eating disorder. She ended up dying of a heart attack while still in her 20s -- a condition caused by her anorexia. Why her instructor did nothing to help her remains puzzling. The sad part is, yoga, if taught correctly, could have helped her overcome her anorexia. 

 

Let there be no mistake. True yoga is ALL about transformation, which means change. When we talk about self-acceptance, it is in the context of acknowledging that we are imperfect beings, to not hate ourselves for our weaknesses but to recognize them and constantly work on ridding ourselves of them. It is about striving to become the best human being that we could possibly be. “Self-acceptance” does not mean to try to convince ourselves that we are perfect the way we are and do not need to make any effort. It does not mean that we should refuse to acknowledge our shortcomings and blame everyone else for them.

 

If there are any yoga instructors reading this, please do your students a favor. Please contemplate on the meaning of "self-acceptance" before teaching it.