Indian Religion and Western Yoga Practice Sacha Mathew
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- (C) Iyengar Yoga students’ relationship with yoga tradition
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IS3 finds that because of his own physical condition, yoga has helped him become a little more active and feel better and more confident about himself. He uses yoga as a physical tool that has brought him better health and flexibility. His goal through practicing yoga is to become healthy and he feels that “with health comes happiness”. He finds the best classes are when he is really enjoying what he‟s doing and he does not notice the time passing. This is important to him as a person who does not particularly relish physical exercise.
IS1 summarized the history of yoga as a “physical practice that developed in conjunction with a spiritual – meditation practice in India thousands of years ago”. Interestingly, she added that sometimes too much knowledge can be can bad thing. She used the example of knowing about Christianity‟s violent past to say that she does not want to become disenchanted with yoga. IS1 defined yoga beginning “as a physical practice of balancing your body, later to be balancing your mind and emotions”. She feels that the Sanskrit in class gives the practice history, grounding and a connection to the original practice. She also finds it adds another level of learning to be absorbed during class time. She thinks it is important how a teacher is trained because “your body is in their hands”. She is comforted by knowing that Iyengar yoga has a rigorous teacher training process. She feels that because Iyengar teachers talk so much during their classes they know more. She feels some limited connection to Mr. Iyengar because she practices his style, which is a reflection of him. She enjoys reading about him but not his books as she finds them “too heavy”. She told me that Iyengar developed his style through his own childhood illness and is now in his early 90‟s. IS1 practices exclusively Iyengar style 64
without any meditation or pranayama. She‟s read a little about yoga but could not remember any titles and said that she has recently found interest in yoga psychology. She places her practice at a fairly high priority in her life; she said she “thinks about it a lot” because she practices for various lengths of time seven days a week. She tries to “bring things off the mat into everyday life by taking extra breaths”.
IS2 told me that yoga was ancient and came from India but was unclear about its religious significance. She said that “many of the doctrines/philosophies are Hindu maybe because the main practitioners were Hindus”. She also called the Bhagavad Gita the “Bible of yoga” then asked me if that was a Hindu text. She defined yoga as “initially fitness [but] more than just a substitute for fitness class, [then] working on yourself”. With regard to the use of Sanskrit, she said she didn‟t care about this at first but she has come to respect it. She added that she‟s catching on very slowly. IS2 feels safe that she will not be injured and trust Iyengar teachers because of their training. She doesn‟t have much trust in other yoga teachers and she added that a teacher‟s individual personality does not come out much in an Iyengar class as compared to other yoga styles. She narrated to me the same two particulars about Mr. Iyengar (his present age and how he made his style) as did IS1 but added the detail that he was introduced to yoga by his brother-in-law (unnamed). IS2 does not have a meditation practice at present but is planning it for the future. This is the same for pranayama but this she felt was somehow more difficult and important. She also mentioned the pranayama is not much talked of in Iyengar Yoga and comes much later in the practice. She has not done any personal research on the subject of yoga. 65
IS3 knew that yoga came from ancient India and felt that it was a “physical focused exercise/stretching”. He does not think that Sanskrit in class is that important “but it‟s cool to hear”. He is comfortable in an Iyengar class because of the training of the teachers; he is sure they know what to do with him and his body. IS3 does not have any interest in meditation. He said yoga has helped his breathing and he practices deep breathing but that‟s all the pranayama he needs. He has not read any books on yoga. He feels that yoga has helped him feel better in numerous ways and he “would like more of the same in the future”.
As with the teachers, we see spiritual language and ideas expressed by the students. The greatest difference between the teachers and students springs from what the former have been taught during their training program. We also see how students‟ personal temperament has some influence on their yoga practice and choice of style, as seen most clearly with the Iyengar students. 66
Conclusion
The traditional yogic education as seen practiced in India up until the twentieth century was passed from guru (master) to shishya (disciple) forming a long line of transmission. Previously, being a link on that long chain is what gave credibility and authenticity to a teacher. One‟s parampara may also be a source of pride and a mark of distinction; the more famous the guru, the higher the honour. Before I explore the topic of lineage, I would like to discuss briefly a few distinct details about the Iyengar style that are truly the marks of B. K. S. Iyengar. Overall, the practice of his style is, as IS1 said, a reflection of himself and no consideration is given to his forebears. The style is named for him and Iyengar maintains the highest certification without awarding it to anyone else. The studios are all decorated with photos of him performing difficult
participants, is as an attraction and inspiration to students. It appeals to those students who have a fear of being injured. The teachers also conveyed professional superiority over other styles of yoga teachers. This attitude is reflected in the students who don‟t trust or think much of other yoga teachers. These attitudes are transmitted through the teacher training and then passed to students in the class. An example can be found in students‟ attitudes that Ashtanga Yoga is somehow the opposite of Iyengar Yoga, despite the fact that both come from the same lineage, even if they have not tried Ashtanga Yoga.
Indian notions of parampara or lineage are still circulating among some modern Western practitioners but they are not central to any of the participants I interviewed. The Iyengar and Ashtanga teachers generally have a slightly larger connection than their Yüklə 0,77 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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