{"id":23622,"date":"2020-07-27T11:10:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-27T11:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sayloveyoga.com\/blog\/2020\/07\/27\/yoga-in-the-west-is-eastern-wisdom-beyond-our-grasp\/"},"modified":"2020-07-27T11:10:00","modified_gmt":"2020-07-27T11:10:00","slug":"yoga-in-the-west-is-eastern-wisdom-beyond-our-grasp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sayloveyoga.com\/blog\/2020\/07\/27\/yoga-in-the-west-is-eastern-wisdom-beyond-our-grasp\/","title":{"rendered":"Yoga in the West: Is Eastern Wisdom Beyond Our Grasp?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"yoga-in-the-city\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

A while back, I had an interesting though unsettling experience. I\u2019d posted a question online asking yoga teachers and practitioners to help me tease out the difference between the sixth and seventh limbs of yoga. One of the teachers who responded led me to think in more depth about yoga in the West.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not familiar with the eight limbs of yoga, they are aspects of the practice the sage known as Pantajali first described in Sanksrit centuries ago. The sixth limb is called\u00a0dharana<\/em>\u00a0and the seventh is\u00a0dhyana<\/em>.<\/p>\n

According to most of the translations I\u2019ve read,\u00a0dharana<\/em>\u00a0is \u201cone-pointed focus\u201d and\u00a0dhyana\u00a0<\/em>is a form of\u00a0meditation. But the difference is subtle, so I asked for some help understanding these two terms.<\/p>\n

I received a few helpful answers to my question, but one\u2014actually, the first one\u2014stands out and led me to wonder if yoga in the West is truly\u00a0yoga<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A man who seemed to hold an important status in the Hindu and yoga communities in India scolded me for even attempting<\/em> to understand the definitions of\u00a0dhyana<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0dhrana<\/em>, especially in English. This man\u00a0basically accused me of being part of an insidious industry in the West that is attempting to divorce the yoga sutras from their original cultural and religious context.<\/p>\n

Yikes. I promise, this is not my intent! But I did consider his words carefully.<\/p>\n

Later in the thread, though he was no longer specifically addressing me, this person bemoaned what he called the commonplace actions of \u201cthe most unqualified neophytes to dictate, distort and define the science of self-realization and in so doing become obstacles in their own progress and indeed to the progress of others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Writing, Reading, Speaking, and Learning Yoga in the West\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Another man jumped in to explain the Eastern way of learning. He suggested Westerners who learn about yoga from Sanskrit translations and then write about it do so misguidedly. \u201cDo not speak like you know or you have found something when in fact you have not,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n

I was sad for an entire day thinking about this! I\u2019m pretty sure I found something<\/em> in 1987 when I discovered what my teachers called yoga. <\/p>\n

Of course, when I talk about, write about, or practice yoga, I am not trying to perpetrate deception. In that online conversation, I was trying to understand the ancient roots of a practice that transformed my life. Yes, my English-speaking life in the Western hemisphere, so probably not the kind of transformation the original yogis sought. But it is a transformation nonetheless.<\/p>\n

Until a few years ago (decades after I took my first yoga class), I didn\u2019t spend a lot of time wondering if yoga in the West is authentic yoga.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t offended when scolded in cyberspace for the audacity to practice yoga. But my critics were right, though they could have been kinder or more welcoming of Westerners who genuinely seek to understand yoga\u2019s roots.<\/p>\n

We do approach learning\u00a0differently in the West, and our language is much more limited than Sanskrit. (English has only 270,000 words while there are more than 350,000 in Sanskrit, according to one source I read.) <\/p>\n

But is one way of learning better than another? Does listening to a guru guarantee a student will understand what is taught? And most importantly in this context, isn\u2019t learning subjective when the subject is spirituality?<\/p>\n

If I\u2019m a better, more peaceful, more loving person because I practice what I, as a Westerner,\u00a0call yoga, isn\u2019t that good?<\/p>\n

Yoga in the West Is Not Pantanjali\u2019s Yoga<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I don\u2019t know anything with 100 percent certainty. I write about yoga to share my experience and what I\u2019ve learned from my teachers and the texts I read. <\/p>\n

Should I stop trying to understand the\u00a0difference between dharana<\/em><\/em> and dhyana<\/em>?\u00a0 Should I stop trying to understand\u00a0anything<\/em>\u00a0originally written in Sanskrit?<\/p>\n

I hope not.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been told\u00a0\u201cmeditation\u201d is the closest we can get to translating\u00a0dhyana<\/em>, but what we mean by meditation is not exactly what Pantanjali meant.<\/p>\n

What Pantanjali\u00a0meant isn\u2019t clear, but I think it had something to do with connection to source or my true nature\u2014my\u00a0goal when I practice yoga.<\/p>\n

I know I can\u2019t practice Patanjali\u2019s yoga authentically. My culture is different, I live in a\u00a0different time, and I learn with my Western mind. My practice is my attempt to seek union with something greater than myself.<\/p>\n

So, can we practice yoga in the West? I say yes. As a result of our yoga practice, many of us are trying to live ethically, move and breathe properly, and connect with a higher power. But it\u2019s good to be aware that we\u2019re not practicing what the ancient sages practiced. We don\u2019t understand what they understood.<\/p>\n

Yoga in a Capitalist Market<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Yoga is\u00a0big business in the West, which troubles many who revere its spiritual roots. For example, the idea of certifications and credentials for yoga teachers is an oddity in India. They don\u2019t market and trademark types of yoga and sell expensive clothing, jewelry, mats, and accessories. (Well some do, but apparently to Westerners and basically with the intention of fraud, my sources say.)<\/p>\n

The men I heard from online that day told me that\u00a0in the East, true yogis simply do the hard work of going inward and reaching upward. They\u00a0usually do this under the direct guidance of a guru or teacher. Yoga Alliance does not certify these gurus, and the gurus don\u2019t accept every student who asks\u00a0for instruction.<\/p>\n

I know\u00a0many yogis who are trying to avoid distortion as much as possible. We\u00a0know we can never truly understand yoga as the ancient sages experienced it. Still, we\u2019re trying to practice something as close to authentic yoga as we\u00a0can get.<\/p>\n

Modern Yoga in the West (and East)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Yoga teacher trainer\u00a0Ramesh Bjonnes<\/a>\u00a0explains that modern hatha yoga is less than 100 years old. It originated in India with\u00a0Krishnamacharya<\/a>, who developed the practice in Mysore, India in the early 1900s. <\/p>\n

Krishnamacharya\u2019s yoga was certainly steeped in tradition and deeply spiritual. It was yoga\u00a0with a modern twist that evolved and eventually appeared in the West later in 1900s.<\/p>\n

So, are we practicing yoga in the West? I suppose\u00a0it depends on what we\u00a0mean by\u00a0yoga<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Would you like to explore more yoga topics in depth\u2014perhaps with a group of yoga friends? Get your copy of Yoga Circles<\/a>, A Guide to Creating<\/em> Community off the Mat<\/em>. You\u2019ll find lots of topics and activities for living the yoga lifestyle and enjoying time with like-minded yogis! Click here<\/a> to order!<\/p>\n

The post Yoga in the West: Is Eastern Wisdom Beyond Our Grasp?<\/a> appeared first on Yoga Circles<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A while back, I had an interesting though unsettling experience. I\u2019d posted a question online asking yoga teachers and practitioners to help me tease out the difference between the sixth and seventh limbs of yoga. One of the teachers who responded led me to think in more depth about yoga in the West. If you\u2019re … [Read more…]
\nThe post Yoga in the West: Is Eastern Wisdom Beyond Our Grasp? appeared first on Yoga Circles.Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A while back, I had an interesting though unsettling experience. I\u2019d posted a question online asking yoga teachers and practitioners to help me tease out the difference between the sixth and seventh limbs of yoga. One of the teachers who responded led me to think in more depth about yoga in the West. If you\u2019re not familiar with the eight limbs of yoga, they are aspects of the practice the sage known as Pantajali first described in Sanksrit centuries ago. The sixth limb is called\u00a0dharana\u00a0and the seventh is\u00a0dhyana. According to most of the translations I\u2019ve read,\u00a0dharana\u00a0is \u201cone-pointed focus\u201d and\u00a0dhyana\u00a0is a form of\u00a0meditation. But the difference is subtle, so I asked for some help understanding these two terms. I received a few helpful answers to my question, but one\u2014actually, the first one\u2014stands out and led me to wonder if yoga in the West is truly\u00a0yoga. A man who seemed to hold an important status in the Hindu and yoga communities in India scolded me for even attempting to understand the definitions of\u00a0dhyana\u00a0and\u00a0dhrana, especially in English. This man\u00a0basically accused me of being part of an insidious industry in the West that is attempting to divorce the yoga sutras from their original cultural…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23623,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[91],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sayloveyoga.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23622"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sayloveyoga.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sayloveyoga.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sayloveyoga.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sayloveyoga.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23622"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/sayloveyoga.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23622\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sayloveyoga.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sayloveyoga.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sayloveyoga.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sayloveyoga.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}