Jivamukti Yoga founders, David Life and Sharon Gannon: clothing optional, except when in yoga class?
Apparently Jivamukti Yoga studios in New York City have created a new rule for clothing requirements in yoga classes. According to Well+Good, “Our yogi source said the new rule stated that “people must wear tops in class and that see-through or overly revealing clothing was discouraged.”’
Oh yeah? Interesting that this should happen just weeks after a huge “scandal” about nude yoga advertising swept through the online yoga community. North American yoga practitioners are receiving increasingly mixed messages about the practice. And this is a huge and glaring example of the incongruency.
To add to the confusion, Jivamukti founders Sharon Gannon and David Life have often been photographed close to nude (but reportedly dress modestly when teaching classes). Hmm…
Advertising works. It does more than increase brand awareness and sell products. It also infiltrates our actions and behaviour. If images of half/fully naked bodies are normalized (and, we’re told, are “inspiring” and worth aspiring to), we’ll start seeing more skin in yoga classes. It’s that simple. When leaders in the community pose with minimal clothing, students follow.
Take it a little further, and we run the risk of creating practice spaces that aren’t safe or inclusive. It’s fine line.
Amy Ippoliti has decided to leave Anusara, announcing her resignation yesterday to newsletter subscribers and via social media channels. In a newsletter with the subject, “I’ve made a decision… You’ll want to open this,” Amy made a short announcement with a link to a blog post. She writes,
I have decided to Leave Anusara yoga.
It’s been a wonderful ride and one that has deeply influenced my life in infinite ways; however, I have found myself no longer in alignment with the direction of the organization.
Some of you will be upset with this decision, others will be elated, but one thing I can assure you is that I am not going anywhere. I am still Amy, and will continue in my mission to expand the horizons of yoga, and to teach from my ongoing practice as creatively as I know how, and in doing so, I will not compromise my personal values or commitment.
My calling is to help yoga teachers and practitioners of all styles. (read the rest of the departure blog post here)
The brief blog post, highlighted by a rather dramatic newsletter introduction, indicates that somebody may be looking for attention. However, YogaDork’s post on the subject has so far received only three comments, one of which was “Yawn…”
Following on the heels of last fall’s mass Anusara exodus (the resignation of Elena Brower, Darren Rhodes and Christina Sell), this announcement is going to make us all wonder about the direction of Anusara yoga. It’s also called into question the integrity of Amy’s delivery. As Carol Horton points on the IAYB fanpage, it’s “a weird combo of dramatic and public on the one hand, and devoid of sharing insight and info on the other.”
I think it also points out bigger questions about the fine line between the personal and the private – not only in the yoga world, but in our hyper-connected social media saturated world, where words like “transparency” and “authenticity” are overused to the point of being almost meaningless. How forthright should teachers be after making public declarations about personal decisions? How are students affected by these decisions? And is there a difference between leaving a tradition and leaving a brand?
Ah, if you can’t beat ‘em… satirize ‘em! Seattle-based humourist Michael Stusser has responded to the sexy Equinox ad in the best possible way – by stripping down to his skivvies and creating an amusing parody video. He has all the elements: the serene bedroom setting, the mysterious possible-lover under the covers, the music and the sequence. But the execution is much different.
I have to admit that I find this much more inspiring and courageous than the original. This makes me want to get on my mat, embrace my flaws and persevere through the practice. And it’s a not so subtle reminder to not take things so seriously. This video won’t sell any gym memberships (or anything else, really) but it provides a much-needed giggle.
Discover Michael Stusser’s writing work here. And thanks YogaDork for finding the video!
Image via yogadawg.blogspot.com
Okay y’all. Last week I declared that I’m starting to feel it’s more effective to withhold comment on viral video yoga “controversies” than to get sucked into a predictable and cyclical conversation which ultimately results in increased brand recognition. Even though I want to advocate silence – for myself at least, as I find the cycle too frustrating and energy-draining – I also have to admit that I find the idea of silence a little unnerving. I value dialogue and believe in the power of conversation.
Luckily, YogaDawg came up with a pointed, yet typically light response with the above graphic. It’s interesting to think of the community as being exploited, rather than the women featured in sexualized yoga advertising – that puts a different spin on things, for me.
Is there a way to stimulate healthy discussion without fueling the fire? I decided to come up with some guidelines for how to contribute to the conversation without participating in it. Check ‘em out:
1) Resist the urge to comment on the video page itself, or watch it repeatedly to “analyze” the content. These show up as pageviews and comments numbers, which reinforce the effectiveness of the ad.
2) When blogging about the latest controversy, link to other blog posts or news articles about the video, rather than embedding the video in your post and driving more traffic towards it. Rather than posting images or screenshots of the video, post positive alternatives (or pictures of kittens! tag them with “nude yoga” and confuse the several thousand people who search that term daily). I learned the hard way that a powerful image can actually detract from the conversation at hand. Continue Reading
Koga: the best of both worlds
In an article for The Guardian last week, Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor/publisher of The Nation, confessed that she is giving up yoga for kickboxing. She wrote:
Now, I have nothing against yoga, but in light of the threat to our country posed by decidedly hawkish GOP wannabes, I find – at least for my purposes as publisher and editor of the Nation – yoga’s emphasis on serenity and pacifism to be frustrating at best, impractical at worst. It’s not that there’s anything objectionable about the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutras; like many ancient spiritual texts, they are eminently wise and reasonable…
Quite simply, yoga doesn’t play in politics, which, for Republicans in this day and age, is all about winning, taking and imposing one’s will upon others.
Now, more than ever, Americans need to stand up, to fight for what is rightfully ours; we cannot dispassionately let the right impose its will upon us merely because we believe we’re closer to spiritual enlightenment than they are. (via The Guardian)
Serenity and pacifism? She obviously hasn’t spent any time in the yoga blogosphere! Frustrating and impractical? Okay, yeah, I get that – a quick glance at mainstream yoga culture reveals lithe spandex-clad (or naked) bodies, blissed out smiles and sugar-coated feel good language. Continue Reading
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