tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28555295.post1235889527193055679..comments2023-09-30T07:02:42.218-05:00Comments on Grounding Thru The Sit Bones: Where's the Oprah of Yoga?Brenda P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15706976926804565629noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28555295.post-59937475173494297692009-12-13T09:55:59.902-06:002009-12-13T09:55:59.902-06:00Hi Brenda, I just discovered your blog today, and ...Hi Brenda, I just discovered your blog today, and I'd like to thank you so much for your wisdom and insight in this post. I practice yoga avidly, and I know exactly what you're describing with the "yoga image" that is portrayed--and I agree that it's misleading. <br /><br />I especially appreciated what you want in a yoga teacher: "Some one who has a sense of the human condition, who has had to work for what she's earned. Some one whose talents seem within reach. I want some one more experienced than me, who can guide me, but also some one who offers a vision of what--with practice--I could be some day." What a clear description that states the truth so concisely. I agree; that is what I would want in a yoga teacher too: someone who inspires me, not only with her knowledge, but with her humility.L.Z.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00155010457504348129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28555295.post-37554355203440503552009-12-09T12:30:47.232-06:002009-12-09T12:30:47.232-06:00I agree, thank you for writing this post.I agree, thank you for writing this post.It's A Yoga Thanghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17161028629073261226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28555295.post-86778448429890715932009-12-06T14:44:12.888-06:002009-12-06T14:44:12.888-06:00i love yoga so much, and that's what it's ...i love yoga so much, and that's what it's all about, enjoying what you do and the way you do it.yoga planethttp://yogaplanet.ning.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28555295.post-53192198702583826112009-12-06T11:52:44.437-06:002009-12-06T11:52:44.437-06:00Yep, Kripalu is great for many, many reasons. Goo...Yep, Kripalu is great for many, many reasons. Good blog.<br /><br />Bob Weisenberg<br />YogaDemystified.comBob Weisenberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01442738029941563325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28555295.post-44955429649598945182009-12-05T15:53:21.104-06:002009-12-05T15:53:21.104-06:00Great article...While this imagery is hitting yoga...Great article...While this imagery is hitting yoga and creating a "lust" or "jealousy" of yoga instructors or what they "should" be, it isn't an uncommon theme. Just look at any billboard, tv, or magazine advertisement. It has the great looking, underweight model as the front man (or woman) I'm afraid this won't change anytime soon either. <br /><br />On a side note, If any of you fellow yogis would like to escape the cold of winter to a <a href="http://www.yogathailand.net" rel="nofollow">yoga retreat in Thailand</a>, just click on the link. The yoga and meditation center is on the island of Phuket and the scenery is beautiful. So, if you want to take a holiday in the "Land of Smiles" then check out <a href="http://www.yogathailand.net" rel="nofollow">Yoga Thailand</a><br /><br />Farewell!pennyauctionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07769382449635695899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28555295.post-83922532273104772852009-12-03T09:32:04.639-06:002009-12-03T09:32:04.639-06:00I certainly don't fit the media image of a yog...I certainly don't fit the media image of a yogini and I sometimes think that puts my students at ease. And, I get the most compliments on my teaching when we do something that is amazingly hard for me. Last night we were working on revolved triangle, and I shake and lose balance and am not graceful at all. I had a couple of students tell me that it is comforting to know that as a teacher I struggle in poses too. <br /><br />My husband always likes to tell people I'm a yoga teacher and when he introduced me last week, the person looked kinda shocked and then gave me elevator eyes! Funny.<br /><br />I thought this post was right on!babshttp://babsbabble.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28555295.post-89620227969534583312009-12-03T08:54:29.438-06:002009-12-03T08:54:29.438-06:00"First time students almost always apologize ..."First time students almost always apologize that they aren't very flexible or weigh too much or some other inadequacy that makes them "bad" students."<br /><br />EXACTLY! <br /><br />I am uber-flexible, always have been, but that has more to do with how my bones are put together (yes, I study with Paul Grilley!). Once I explain that concept to students ("yoga is all in the bones"), they are so very relieved and actually feel liberated to do THEIR own yoga, not the one they see in ads.Linda-Samahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07664989345039365084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28555295.post-53011391955218208862009-12-03T08:49:09.586-06:002009-12-03T08:49:09.586-06:00L-S: I don't even think I've ever watched ...L-S: I don't even think I've ever watched Oprah's show. I'm thinking more of how she presents herself and her "brand." (ick, branding)<br /><br />J/PS: Yoga ads usually just make me feel fat, not inspired.<br /><br />R: wouldn't it be nice if that was the way the world worked? I'm afraid that we're a society so saturated by images that only the most enlightened individual would remained uninfluenced by advertising. <br /><br />I'm especially frustrated when I hear about new or potential students who are baffled and intimidated by the way yoga is presented in the media. First time students almost always apologize that they aren't very flexible or weigh too much or some other inadequacy that makes them "bad" students.<br /><br />I doubt most teacher try to tell their students how to look or act. I'm talking about the way yoga is presented in the media and how it is perceived by the general public, rather than in the private realm.Brenda P.https://www.blogger.com/profile/15706976926804565629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28555295.post-2513267670957627002009-12-02T22:06:16.073-06:002009-12-02T22:06:16.073-06:00We can only point our students in their own direct...We can only point our students in their own direction. Influencing them to look, move and be a certain way will never bring them to their own yoga practice. Yoga should be less about the "what it looks like" and perhaps more about "how the asana feels".<br /><br />I doubt only the one example of a whippet skinny, uber flexible model would be sufficient if we had the approach of "feeling our yoga". With this approach, the image of the model could only be opened up and its possibilities would become endless.Robynhttp://www.creatingspaceyoga.typepad.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28555295.post-33869765210925933682009-12-02T21:34:15.519-06:002009-12-02T21:34:15.519-06:00I've had the discussion more than once with my...I've had the discussion more than once with my students about how disingenuous yoga advertising is, e.g., people in impossible looking poses, crazy arm balances, legs behind their necks. each one has always told me that that stuff is NOT what brought them to yoga and that it probably turns more people off than on to yoga.Linda-Samahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07664989345039365084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28555295.post-32731122380825447202009-12-02T17:42:19.589-06:002009-12-02T17:42:19.589-06:00Amen sistah! I couldn't agree more. Bring on...Amen sistah! I couldn't agree more. Bring on the real people and real compassion for individuals. Every single body is beautiful and has infinite potential. Yoga should guide us towards reaching our own joyous potential, not frustrate through trying to attain unrealistic "ideals".Jan Holthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13590966226858325295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28555295.post-51723412225779974782009-12-02T16:47:16.825-06:002009-12-02T16:47:16.825-06:00Well said. I myself struggle with the image of yog...Well said. I myself struggle with the image of yoga that seems to be the norm at the present moment. Maybe because I don't fit into that image. Whatever it is, the images we see most often are not what yoga is to me...not what I teach...and I think it's sad that there may be people who could really benefit from the practice who stay away because they can't see themselves fitting that image.Jennhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07478907565207389300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28555295.post-78773665026845059162009-12-02T16:18:27.690-06:002009-12-02T16:18:27.690-06:00I love Kripalu ads! and I have never watched Opra...I love Kripalu ads! and I have never watched Oprah -- and don't care about her leaving Chicago....Linda-Samahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07664989345039365084noreply@blogger.com