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Spring 2003

NAMASTE,

I like to think that I communicate pretty clearly, both in my teaching and in my writing. In fact, when I am complimented for either, it is often for my clarity. But I certainly missed the boat in the last newsletter. Nearly everyone who read it thought that I was saying that we were going to close the Beyondananada Boutique. Some even wrote to tell me that the props and learning aids that they had purchased here had been instrumental in inspiring and furthering their practice and to please reconsider closing the store.

In that newsletter I wrote that, "I don’t think it’s wrong to sell (or wear, for that matter) an $85 pair of leggings. We just don’t want to be the ones to do it." That’s true. We don’t. But we have no qualms about offering folks practical and reasonably priced things that, as I also wrote, “provide students with tools to aid them in developing their practice."

So, in hopes of clearing up any confusion about the purpose and future of the Beyondanada Boutique, let me say that we do intend to discontinue selling items whose primary purpose is as a fashion statement or that are outrageously expensive.

We will continue to offer things (e.g. mats, books, blocks, tapes, clothing, etc.) that are useful to the student who is more interested in learning about yoga and developing a practice than in what the person next to them is wearing or how much it cost. That doesn’t mean we won’t have whimsical things, such as the Pilobolus Yoga Book Twisted Yoga, or the occasional expensive item, like Yoga Journal’s Yoga book. It does mean that we won’t have those $85 capris.

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In that last newsletter, I also wrote that part of the reason for this decision was that it seemed as though we had been "creating a situation where the focus became acquiring stuff and getting a deal", citing specifically how at our inventory sale last summer, "[people] had argued about who got what first, jockeyed with each other for a good place in the check out line, and behaved like, well, greedy, aggressive customers."

As yoga has become more mainstream and trendy in recent years, I have noticed a different attitude in some of the people who come to take class. For the most part, that change can be described as an absence of respect for the center, its teachers and staff, and the other students. I suspect that this can be attributed in part to the fact that a growing number of people come initially with the idea that they are customers buying a product. Considering the way yoga is often portrayed in the media and in advertising in particular, who can blame them?

I would like to point out, that aside from the items in the Boutique, we are not selling a product. Yoga is not a product. Yoga is a practice, a discipline, a philosophy, a way of life. Classes are a service that is offered (for sale if you can afford it, for free or exchange if not) to open the door to the experience of yoga. People who come to classes are not customers. They are students. That means that they are coming to Unity Woods to learn about yoga from the teachers here, teachers who have devoted a significant portion of their lives to its study and practice. Learning requires an open mind, receptivity, energetic attention, and willingness.

To facilitate and clarify our approach to teaching yoga, over the years we have developed a set of guidelines and policies. However, as more students have come with the idea that they are customers purchasing an exotic exercise class at a fitness center, some seem to view the policies and guidelines as extraneous, even bothersome. After all, what do late policies and class behavior rules have to do with getting a workout?

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To tell you the truth, I would prefer not to write explicit policies down, but over the years we have come to realize that this is the fairest and most open way to deal with the various issues that arise. Then everybody knows what the agreements are at the outset. That is why we publish them in the newsletter, post them online, and exhort folks to read them.

Even so, some of the things that come up - more so of late - make me scratch my head. They aren’t things that should even need policy statements, but actually fall within the province of basic good manners. Dropping trash on the studio floor, coming late to class, dropping in on class without paying, pushing into line at the reception desk ahead of others, taking library books and not returning them, cell phones in class, yawning in the teacher’s face, lying on the floor while the teacher is making announcements - all these are examples of students behaving badly. And unfortunately they are happening more frequently. To a certain extent I would expect to have to educate a student as to the personal and interpersonal behavior that accompanies and enhances a yoga practice. The subtleties of non-violence, truthfulness, and surrender are complex and ongoing issues for practitioners to deal with. But it seems to me that the sorts of things I’m describing are just common sense and common courtesy. If that’s where we have to start, though, then that is where we’ll start. Because yoga isn’t just a set of exercises or techniques. It is much broader than that.

At the apex of the Unity Woods logo, the triangle points to the word Awareness. The underlying methodology that we employ for opening the door to the experience of yoga is to develop awareness, Sure, we teach asanas (poses), pranayama (breath control), and philosophy, but in truth, despite all the physical, mental, and emotional benefits of these practices, they are basically vehicles for us to deepen our awareness. And it is awareness that reveals to us who we really are, confronting us with both the riddle and the solution to the mystery of existence.

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This emphasis on awareness is a fundamental distinction between a yoga class and an exercise class. What that means is that how the student returns the equipment to its storage space is as much a part of learning about yoga as what the action of the shoulder blade is in Trikonasana (Triangle Pose). By learning to bring awareness to all the things you do when you come to class, you develop the skill to bring that awareness to the rest of the activities of your life. When we say that classes are an opportunity to acquire the information and experience to build an effective practice, we are not speaking only of asana and pranayama. For in the long run, your life is your practice, and the skills you learn in class can bring a richness and fullness to your life outside of class. Knowing that that is what yoga class is about can make your (and my) experience of class so much more effective - and pleasant, too.

It is always a special moment for me as a teacher, when a student tells me that they have noticed that what they are learning in class is beginning to make a difference in their everyday life - in how their body feels, in their ability to concentrate, in their emotional stability, in how they relate to the people around them, in their outlook on life. I know then that yoga has begun to take root in that person, and that for them the realm of the possible in their life has become much more vast.

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SPECIAL NOTE FROM JOHN:

In the last newsletter, I wrote to welcome Lorraine to our staff and group of teachers. Unfortunately, I write here to announce her leaving. Lorraine helped us in the office in a number of ways, and her students appreciated her attention and dedication as a teacher. However, circumstances in her life have led her to decide to return to New York City, where she will no doubt continue her practice and teaching. We send with her our best wishes and hope that the future brings her health and happiness.

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