When I started to practice Ashtanga, I was in yoga love. But it wasn’t long until I started to hear subtle digs about it. My favorite:
Ashtanga was created for 12-year-old boys.
Or Ashtanga is meant for men because it requires so much strength. Or it’s meant for young people (I guess I qualify there). Or certain asanas should not be done in the sequence that they’re done in the primary series. I’ve joked that it’s the practice that shall not be named, since I’ve heard a few comments start out with, “There’s a certain type of yoga, I won’t say which one it is, but…”
And that’s fine. It’s not for everyone. But the comments confused me because I see many older folks with inspiring practices. As for gender-related comments, I used to train in a smelly, testosterone-filled boxing gym. I’ve always liked playing with the boys, so if Ashtanga is a man’s game, sign me up. And if it is a man’s practice, I suppose the female majority in the classes didn’t get the memo!
The “right” path
I’ve heard negative remarks about several styles of yoga, so it isn’t unique to Ashtanga. (Though when someone is being hypercritical about your practice, thay may as well kick you in the shin and tell you your baby is ugly.)
Last week I watched Enlighten Up!, a documentary about journalist and yoga skeptic Nick Rosen’s exploration of yoga. He takes classes in New York and travels to Hawaii and India, learning from famous gurus like B.K.S. Iyengar and Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. Toward the end, Rosen becomes confused by so many different styles of yoga.
When he meets Gurusharananda, the spiritual head of the Karshini Ashram, Rosen asks how to know which path is correct. Which is real yoga?
In my favorite part of the documentary, Gurusharananda responds:
You came to me. You could have come by cycle. You could have come by car. You could have come by elephant. You could have come by foot. To reach here there are so many directions. That depends on you, where you are at present. It’s not important what you are doing, it’s important why you are doing.
Whichever path is right for you, is the right path. If a path does not work for you, do not take it. Do not take a path because it is popular, or because it works for someone else. Only do what speaks to you. This is true yoga.
After he said that, I thought, “That is the answer to my question.” When I first started, I didn’t have a frame of reference to process negative comments. I thought if someone knew more than me, if they’ve studied longer and with important people, maybe they’re right. Maybe my practice is wrong.
But as Gurusharananda said, there are many ways to get to the same place. It’s not black and white or right or wrong. It’s about finding your path. Does your practice speak to you? Does it change you for the better? Does it teach you about yourself and others?
As one of my teachers told me, “You know when Ashtanga is right for you.” I did, and it is, and I needed to feel confident enough to trust that.
Maybe what is right for me will change and maybe it won’t. Either way is okay, so long as I’m doing what speaks to me. And that answer is good enough for me.