This is a video I made after my friend Carlo, the photographer behind the awesome pictures used in this site, asked me to write about how yoga teachers are imperfect like the rest of humanity.
Monthly Archives: January 2010
SOS – Sit-off Meditation Competition Sponsors
Have you heard of the Meditation Competition? Are you doing the Sit-off? If so, let these awesome business know and enjoy the generous discounts they’ve offered. Do you know a business who would like to and should participate? Are you one yourself? Please let me know and join in!
10% off at Village Green Yoga
I am proud to have the support of Jean Massimo, owner of Village Green Yoga in Issaquah, who has graciously offered 10% off of merchandise in the Village Green Yoga boutique for anyone doing the Sit-off.
Our eco-boutique offers functional earth-friendly clothing for yoga and life. We have everything from your favorite practice pant, to organic jeans.
We support smaller, ecologically conscious manufacturers including Blue Canoe, Shining Shakti, Bamboo Dreams (OR), Of the Earth (Bend, OR), and Inner Waves Organics (Maui, HI). We are proud sellers of beautiful, unique, and locally-crafted sriKaya jewelry.
Our selection of the finest yoga accessories includes Jade Harmony and Manduka mats and a wide array of books, DVDs, and CDs. We are an area retailer of Maui Jim sunglasses, which are both fashionable and designed to protect your eyes from sun, glare, and constantly shifting light from cloudy skies.
We also have gifts and goodies that include Shoyeido (some of the best incense in the world) and local favorites like Big Dipper Wax Works candles from Seattle, Hempmania bags from Bainbridge Island. Look and feel great while being kind to the planet!
10% off a New Client 2-Hour Thai Yoga Body Therapy with Liam Jones
What is Thai Yoga Therapy?
From Liam’s Thai Yoga Therapy website:
Thai Yoga Therapy is the healing art of the legendary ancient Traditional Thai Massage. It is also known as Thai Yoga Massage , Thai Yoga and Thai Massage. It is however not at all like the massage we know in the west. Massage is the closest English translation.
In reality it is a legendary Yoga Therapy and Ayurvedic healing art. It is an ancient, unique, energy-body work that can be deep, dreamy, and relaxing while releasing blocked energy and leaving the recipient in a more aware and energetically coherent and fluid state.
A free tea with purchase of a pastry at Wheatless in Seattle
If you have not discovered Kaili Mcintire and Wheatless in Seattle yet, you must, whether or not you have any dietary restrictions. Her coffee shop on 100th and Greenwood is a cozy place to bring your laptop and work with free wifi as well, and have I mentioned that the food is delicious?
It all started out of a medical need for me to eat gluten free foods. As a baker, I started experimenting with different flours and techniques to make gluten free foods and had a light bulb moment that I couldn’t be the only one with a wheat allergy.
I have developed gluten free alternatives for almost everything from quiche to pasta to pastry and enjoy making new products or improving the ones I have.
We offer the best of fresh gluten free breads, cakes and pastries that are high quality and delicious and taste just like or better than the traditional wheat counterpart.
$30 off a 90-minute massage with Sarah Moon
If you’re gonna sit, why not get sittin’ pretty with an awesome massage from Sarah Moon of Moon Rock Massage? She’s offering a very generous discount of $30 off, which means you get a 90-minute massage for only $60 bucks! What are you waiting for? Go sit!
Whether pain is from recent injury or for chronic pain management, Sarah focuses on providing relief with a healing touch and targeted self-care suggestions. Her style includes a mix of injury treatment, deep tissue, stretching, cupping and sports massage.
Extensive continuing education has given Sarah an in depth knowledge of anatomy and physiology, including extensive work in the abdominal/core region – perfect for anyone suffering from chronic low back pain.
Woohoo, incentives!
Sit, Human, Sit! Good Human
Last November, I announced a Meditation Competition–a Sit-off, if you will–as a response to the debate on Yoga Competition (or more accurately, Asana Competition).
It was a joke, that is, until now. I’m calling a Sit-off, and this time, it’s for real.
The competition is not who you think, though. We won’t have anyone judging your posture, how long you hold it, or the height of your cushion. We won’t care how coiffed your hair is, how cute your clothes are, or really, if you care to wear any at all. (And we certainly will not play Cotton Eyed Joe until your ears bleed while you attempt to reach samadhi.)
To blatantly rip off a famous saying, we have met the competition, and he is us. The only person stopping you from doing this is you and only you. I’m willing to bet that no matter how busy you are, you have 60 seconds to spare, to slow down, to watch your breath, close your eyes, and sit on a comfy cushion.
The rules
For all 28 days of February, 2010, sit. That’s it. No, really, that’s it. Just sit.
Sit every day. Sit for a minute a day, or 10, or 20. If you ask, what good will one minute of meditation do? You’re right, it won’t do *much*, but remember this one message from meditation teacher Shinzen Young: “one is infinitely more than zero.” The point is to start a habit, and like Mark Twain said, “Habit is to be coaxed downstairs a step at a time.”
If you need some structure, check out Tricycle Magazine’s Commit to Sit 28-day challenge.
28 Days and 28 Nights – Why 28
I’m doing this in February because it’s the month with the least amount of days. For the same reason that $9.95 seems cheaper than $9.99, and $9.99 seems cheaper than $10, committing to doing anything for 28 days seem so much less daunting than 30 or 31 days.
For those of you looking for more meanings behind 28, there are all sorts of interesting observations behind it.
You’ll Never Sit Alone
Some of us are more private about our work, others benefit well from support, encouragement, and a sense of camaraderie. So, if you’re on Twitter, simply tweet #sitoff. You can host your own tweetup, meetup, Sunday Sit, Sit and Knit, Sit and Sing, Meditate and Medicate (wait… maybe not that one).
And Now, A Note From Our Sponsors
What kind of competition has not “winners”, no scores to keep, and no awards? Ah, well, in the effort to rectify this shortcoming, I am looking for businesses who, in HR parlance, lend a hand in incentivizing, businesses who will offer some kind of discount for the participants of this challenge. For instance, a coffee shop could offer 10% off a latte (you know, so you can wake up a bit earlier or stay up a bit longer to sit).
If you are a business, whether local or online, please let me know if you’d like to be a part of this. The terms of the discount are entirely up to you. For example, if someone had to prove it with a note from their mom, or “Sit Ten Times, Get a Latte Free”, or, “Meditate for Your Martini” ™. Hey, you can even set up a Sit and Sip ™ corner in your store. See, the possibilities are almost endless.
If you know a business who would be up for this, please tell them and encourage them to join in. Please tell your friends, please tell your friends to tell their friends. Please mention this to your favorite coffee shop, barista, restaurant, bookstore, bakery, bartender. Really, the more the merrier.
Yes, this is 100% based on an honor system, but I have faith in it. Honestly, if you lie about whether you’ve meditated or not, you’re gonna have *that* much more to work through when you finally do take a seat. And, as the song lyrics goes, “Your cheatin’ heart, will tell on you.”
What do you get as a participating business? I will feature you on my blog. If you care about this sort of things, this site has a Google PR 3, which may help increase web traffic to your website. This is also a great way to attract more customers through word of mouth marketing.
And you’ll get that warm and fuzzy feeling knowing that you’ve helped someone who wants to meditate good and “wanna learn to do other stuff good too”.
Stop. Collaborate. Meditate. Sit, sit baby.
Spiritual Paraphernalia – High Energetic Sand
In my last post I casually mentioned how interesting it would be to have a collection of spiritual paraphernalia. It was a passing thought, until I thought about it a little more, and said to myself, hey, why not?
So here we go, I present to you the first find: Energetic Sand from India. For only $22 you can:
keep Divine Light working for harmony in relationship with others. The Sacred Sand is to protect against envy and negative energies.
How does this work, you ask?
The Sacred Sand comes from a place on the Narmada River in central India where intense Tapas (penances and austerities) and meditation have been performed for thousands of years by many saints in order to uplift humanity. The Sacred Sand has been infused and charged with Mantra & Pranic energy (Universal Life Force) in order to activate the healing power.
You, too, can join in on the fun. Please send any tips to nikki @ nikkiyoga.com, and the pigeons will see to it that I will receive your message.
Have You No Respect?
Spirituality is a vast and largely unknown field, and whether or not one object is spiritual, or, more spiritual than another, is not the point here, and in fact I’d even assert that it’s not at all productive to debate this. There are things we’d be better off doing than contending that, “My sand is more spiritual than your sand”.
So, the point of this whole thing, if there is one, is to see the absurdity in life and laugh at it, maybe even out loud. And who knows, maybe even spend a few pretty pennies on it, because really, sometimes the best medicine is the placebo we’ve revered as medicinal.
I’d even imagine that if you are here and you’re reading this blog, you have thought about this whole spiritual thing once or twice, and who was it that said, “If we can’t laugh at ourselves, we leave the job to others”?
Not everything that's longer than it is wide is a phallic symbol, not everything that's longer than it is wide is a phallic symbol, not everything...
The Dark Side of Yoga, Part I
I know, the title of this post is a little on the sensationalized side. I’ll ‘fess up. At first, I merely wanted to make the title an eye-catcher. After doing some research and reading on this topic, however, I’m convinced it’s aptly named, and in time, I hope you’ll see why.
I’m also calling this post Part 1, because I sense many more episodes in the work, and that this show will probably be renewed for at least a couple seasons in the foreseeable future.
On Spirituality
I remember now a session during my 200-hr Yoga Teacher Training where we talked about “spirituality”. My teacher Theresa Elliott asked all of us to define it, an impossible task. Then, she asked what we would deem “spiritual”, and what was not. Another impossible task.
The point of the exercise, for me, was that since “spiritual” means everything, it can also mean nothing. Since then, I have stopped using that word, almost exclusively. A word with so many connotations inevitably leads to many misinterpretations and therefore misunderstanding.
The Big E – On Enlightenment
I don’t know what Enlightenment is beyond the intellectual concept and definition(s). It sounds really good and enticing, and maybe one of these days they will sell tickets to Enlightenment on Ticketmaster, if they don’t already. I’ve never felt the urge to get there, however.
For one reason or another, possibly from my upbringing, I’ve always held the idea that there’s only one person who’s Enlightened, and that’s the Buddha. Perhaps as a product of growing up without being inducted in any formal, organized religion, I’ve developed an agnostic, laissez-faire attitude of “maybe, maybe not, who knows” when it comes to concepts of God and Enlightenment.
On the one hand, this puts me in the defeatist position. Well, what am I doing then, if not trying to become enlightened? On the other hand, this belief has somewhat shielded me away from what Mariana Caplan calls “the Spiritual Supermarket”,
If you are not aware of how vast the scope of the spiritual marketplace really is, go to a large mind-body-spirit conference or a New Age expo and allow yourself to be shocked, titillated, appalled, and allured by the thousands of surprising and not-so-surprising products you will find there. – Page 7, Eyes Wide Open: Cultivating Discernment on the Spiritual Path, Mariana Caplan.
(As a side note, how fun would it be if we come up with a list of all this spiritual paraphernalia?)
Start Where We Are – Now If Only We Know Where That Is
You may have heard the joke, “What’s the difference between having eggs versus ham for breakfast?” The answer is, “The chicken is involved in the eggs, whereas the pig is committed in the ham.”
To ask this question of ourselves––”Am I committed, or am I just involved?”––and give an honest answer helps us to make intelligent choices about which paths and practices are best suited for the spiritual development we seek. The problem arises when we profess one thing and live out another, because we confuse ourselves and others, and we limit our growth.
If only we could say honestly and without shame, “I engage spirituality as a hobby,” or “I want a spiritual practice that will give me some peace of mind but without any commitment or discipline,” or “I’d like to keep spirituality as my mistress but maintain comfort and security as my spouse,” or “I want to be seen as a spiritual man or woman because that will make me more sexy.”
If only we could simply admit, “I’m a New Ager,” “I’m a fashionable Buddhist,” “I’m an imitation Hindu,” “I’m a wannabe guru,” or “I’m a bliss chick.” Or perhaps we could use more simple, straightforward language, such as “I’m a serious spiritual aspirant,” “I’m a seeker of moderate interest,” or “I’m a part-time, casual spiritual tourist.” It is not wrong to have such an approach to spiritual development.
We grow from where we are, and if we pretend to be somewhere we are not and try to move forward, we are likely to travel in a very crooked line and become more confused than necessary. – Page 21. Eyes Wide Open: Cultivating Discernment on the Spiritual Path, Mariana Caplan.
The title of one of Pema Chodron’s books, Start Where You Are, has become a sort of mantra for me. It’s so simple and concise, and yet so clear. Similarly, I find the above section titled What Do You Want? from Mariana useful.
For me, there is but one serious commitment I know have for sure: to still my mind, by hook or by crook. It is the single hardest thing for me to do. Everything else is just a strategy for learning and progress, even practicing intensely on a yoga pose, as I’ve mentioned before, is just so I can sit longer with less bodily agitation.
What about you? What is your definition of “spirituality”? Do you believe in Enlightenment? Are you committed or involved? On what level?
Ceiling Cat, are you one with me?
Transform T – A Shirt for Haiti
Tonight I found out that YogaDork was running a t-shirt design contest to raise money for Haiti, and I immediately opened up my Photoshop program.
I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
Back in early November, I submitted a design to a Yoga Journal contest for a freebie to a YJ conference, and I used then a concept that rings even more true and has even more meaning now. The concept is the word transform, written alongside of the pose utthita parsvakonasana.
Let me give you the back story.
Transform – Not Just For LifeZoid Robots
When Judith Lasater came to Seattle this time last year, it was the start of what would be a long term relationship of my studies with her. At the start of the first day, she rung her tingsha bells, slowly at first, and then with increased speed and volume, fast, faster, loud, louder. When she stopped, you could still hear the echo of the sound filling the room.
Judith explained that the ringing of the bell was a call to action, and the speed signified the urgency. We need to do our practice, now more than ever, she said. Our practice is not a location, it’s the intention. It’s something you can do 24 hours a day. “We change the world by this practice,” Judith stated with such strong conviction, and I was speechless and motionless (both extremely rare occurrences for me, and if you know me personally, you’re probably nodding and smiling right now).
“I have seen what a laugh can do. It can transform almost unbearable tears” – Bob Hope
My understanding of Judith’s statement is that we change the world by this practice because we change ourselves by this practice. We are, as MJ said, “starting with the man in the mirror.” One way of changing something is to transform it. And so, change = transform.
The root word trans means across, denoting the idea of movement, of bringing something from one place to another place. To me, that’s what our practice is meant to do, to help us transcend conditions, to transmit what TED would call “ideas worth spreading”, and to transport whatever Good Stuff we get from the mat into the rest of our life.
Form, literally, is what we work on when we do the yoga postures, it is what we work on when we assume the meditation posture. Form is our attitude and state of being, as in bad form, good form, off form, and on form. Form is the natural world, as in landform, and ourselves, as in life form, or true to form.
So, transform, to me, is bringing that which we practice and putting it in good use.
Connecting – Not Just For Getting Online
What about parsvakonasana, what’s so interesting about that?
Utthita Parsvakonasana, or Extended Side Angle Pose, is a pose I work on pretty much all the time. This is true for a lot of other poses as well, but I have a story of how I learned to love Parsvakonasana.
For the longest time, I thought I had to bend down as low as possible and reach something across the room. Needless to say, my form was pretty god-awful. Studying with Theresa Elliott fixed a lot of it, and then the light came on when I read about the meaning behind Utthita Parsvakonasana in Judith Lasater’s book 30 Essential Yoga Poses.
“The diagonal line created by the arm, torso, and leg symbolizes our connection from Earth to heaven and heaven to Earth.” – Page 49, 30 Essential Yoga Poses, Judith Lasater.
Ohhhh!
So, it’s not about reaching for some vague thing across the room, I’m reaching for something above. Whenever I practice this pose, I think of this first eureka moment, and I check for the outer edge of my back foot reaching for the earth and my arm reaching up, which (this is for all my Iyengar peeps out there), helps me open the chest-pit and the armpit.
You see, the symbols are everywhere here: extending, connecting, etc. If we really want to beat this horse some more, I can go as far as saying that by helping the Haitian people, we are providing support. Where their Earth rumbled, by giving tangible things, like money, we give something solid for them to get back on their feet.
Finally, the trans and form lettering are in the colors of the Haitian flag. To me it’s a subtle way of supporting the cause and remembering it when you wear it without shoving it in people’s face that you’ve done something good.
Okay, do you wanna see it?
I transformed (ha) a picture my friend Ben took of me at Village Green Yoga. My form is not perfect, so all you, ahem “Nerds“, please refrain from using “tape measures, slide rules, sextants, the Global Positioning System, and possibly even a measuring device that uses the decay level of cobalt-52 to measure the positions of the subnuclear particles lurking deep within my pose.” (Thanks, YogaDawg, I never get tired of that line).
Nikki Chau in Utthita Parsvakonasa, photo by Ben Schiendelman, shot at Village Green Yoga.
And here’s the design:
So, that’s my story. It is way too late to consider it being “late” right now. It’s getting towards “early” territory, and I can hear the early birds outside. I’ve stayed up almost the whole night, but that’s a first-world problem. There are many people in Haiti who have probably stayed up for much longer and will stay up for a while longer still.
I have stopped reading the news, which seems to talk more about the politics of aids than anything else. And while the world bickers on how fast, how much, where, when, who, how, why, human lives continue to suffer and perish. I am discouraged by it all, and though I’m no Arjuna, at times, yes, I do feel like putting down my bows and arrows (er… you know, my iPhone and MacBook Pro) and become overwhelmed with sorrow. So, thanks YogaDork, for this contest, to give me a kick in the pants, to say, “fight, Arjuna”. Tonight I felt the urgency, and this was my call to action.
The deadline is this coming Thursday by dawn (like, this time, probably), so I have some time, and if you have any suggestions on the design, please let me know.
Thanks!
Yoga Journal Conference San Francisco 2010
These were the classes I was interested in when I looked at the Yoga Journal Conference, SF 2010 schedule, way back in November 2009. However, I won’t be able to make it. If you do go, have lots of fun, and bring back tips, tricks, and stories!
Leslie Howard – The Female Pelvic Floor
Monday, February 1 — 9:00am – 4:30pm
Tias Little – Unwinding the Spine
Monday, February 1 — 9:00am – 4:30pm
Gary Kraftsow – Secrets of Sequencing
Sunday, January 31 — 10:30am – 12:30pm
Richard Rosen – Pranayama
Sunday, January 31 — 7:00am – 7:45am
Tias Little – Unwinding the Ribs
Saturday, January 30 — 3:30pm – 5:30pm
Judith Hanson Lasater – Freedom of the Hip Joint
Saturday, January 30 — 10:30am – 12:30pm
Roger Cole – Introduction to Stretching: Physiology and Practice
Saturday, January 30 — 8:00am – 10:00am
Jane Austen – Teaching Yoga to Pregnant Women
Friday, January 29 — 9:00am – 4:30pm
Studio Profile – Taj Yoga in Seattle
As some of you might have read in my previous post or newsletter, I am, to put it lightly, “friggin’ stoked” to be teaching the Intro to Yoga series at Taj Yoga, a studio directed by Theresa Elliott, who’s also the co-director of Pacific Yoga Teacher Training, a Teacher Training program that’s in its 13th year and counting.
The studio is peculiar and may be very different than some of the more “traditional” yoga studios (for lack of any better and more accurate description). So, here’s a primer on how to get to, and find Taj Yoga.
Taj is on 14th Ave NW between Holman Road and 95th, 2.5 miles north of Green Lake, 5 miles south of Shoreline, 3 miles east of Northgate, and a stone’s throw from Ballard.
It is easy to get lost or miss it if you’re looking for a standalone building. The studio is housed in the old Crown Hill Elementary School building, owned by Small Faces Child Development Center. It’s the home of several movement programs, including ARC School of Ballet, Wassa Dance, and the Crown Hill Arts Festival. It’s also going to be the new home of Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society, one of the oldest performing arts organizations in the Seattle area.
What does this mean to you if you come do yoga at Taj? You might be passing by young performers in tutus; you might hear the distant sounds of drums or piano down the hall as you walk in, or basketball, volleyball, or bagpipes and Irish dancing in the gym. It all makes for a very lively and joyful environment.
Here’s the front of the building, on the corner of NW 95th St and 14 Ave NW. There is parking all alongside the building, as well as on the left side and in the back. It’s also accessible by bus #75 on Holman Road NW, bus #15 on 15th Ave NW, and bus #48 on NW 85th St.
The front of the Old Crown Hill Elementary School building
Here’s what you’ll see when you walk in. Straight ahead through the door is the women’s bathroom. The men’s is to the right down the hall.
As you walk inside the Old Crown Hill Elementary School building
Taking a right, you’ll see the office for ARC Dance. Walk down the hall for about 50 yards, and Taj Yoga will be on your left.
Taj Yoga is down the hall to the left
Inside, there are cubby holes for your belongings. There are mats for use at no charge, blankets, blocks, straps, chairs, foam blocks, balls, bolsters, etc., lots of toys and tools to facilitate the learning process.
Inside Taj Yoga
I look forward to seeing you here!
News from Nikki – A New Year’s Newsletter
I occasionally send out newsletters, and here’s a sample of one that I just recently sent out. If you’d like to receive them, you can subscribe using the form on the right hand side of this web site, or email me at nikki@nikkiyoga.com and I’ll be glad to add you to my list.
I don’t ever share it to anybody. Although, after watching Avatar, I admit I’ve wondered what it would be like to be 9 foot tall, blue, and fly around on a Banshee. So, if someone offered me a chance to be a Na’Vi to trade for a peek in my email list, I might have to think about it.
Here’s the original version of New Year’s Newsletter from Nikki Chau
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Mirror, Mirror On The Wall – Using Mirrors in Yoga
Lately, I’ve been out and about with the Christmas and New Years Festivities, catching up with friends, reflecting on the old days, planning, hoping, dreaming for the days ahead.
One thing that would undoubtedly come up in the conversation is yoga. “How’s yoga going?”, is a popular question. “Do you teach hot yoga?”, is another popular question. When I emphatically answer no, I would almost always get the follow up question, “What do you think about it?”. Those who’ve heard my stance on hot yoga would even introduce me to a friend, “Meet Lisa, she does a lot of hot yoga.”, “Meet Nikki, she hates hot yoga.”
Um… nice to meet you? (There’s no better way to start a relationship on the right foot than for someone to be told that you “hate” what they spend a lot of time doing.)
Last night at a New Year’s Eve party, I found myself in a conversation with a friend’s fiancée and another friend’s girlfriend about hot yoga, and specifically the use of mirrors. Talking to a friend’s Significant Other whom you do not know very well is actually not that different from being on a first date. You don’t want to talk about anything too confrontational unless you want to make the conversation really short and create some bad blood.
Clearly, I did not observe this rule. Lucky for me, they offered me different perspectives but were also open-minded and nice enough to hear me out on mine, because they both did Tae Kwon Do and could have easily taken me out, and no amount of advanced Pranayama training could have saved me. 
(As a note of clarity I’m using Hot Yoga and Bikram Yoga interchangeably but always referring to the Bikram style hot yoga where the mirror is in the front of the class.)
A Mirror is A Pneumatic Tool
I’ll start by regurgitating something of a mantra at Taj Yoga, where I study with teacher Theresa Elliott and teach intro to yoga. From the About Us page of the Taj Yoga site:
“Yoga is a pneumatic tool”, states yoga master BKS Iyengar. “It can be used for good, it can be used to harm.” The benefits of yoga for people of all walks of life are innumerable. However, as yoga has proliferated, yoga-related injuries have risen at an alarming rate.
And mister Iyengar said in his book, Light on Yoga:
“Pneumatic tools can cut through the hardest rock. In Pranayama the yogi uses his lungs as pneumatic tools. If they are not used properly, they destroy both the tool and the person using it.”
A mirror is such a pneumatic tool.
The Eye of the Beholder
“What’s wrong with mirrors?”, my new girl friends asked quizzically. It is not that there’s anything “wrong” with mirrors. From my experience, here’s what I’ve seen with mirrors (cheap jokes are the only kinds I’ve got ):
A mirror can be used to adjust for alignment. This is a Good Thing for practicing yoga asana. The mirror is a powerful tool to give us feedback on our postures. However, we can very easily slip into self-criticism mode and use the mirror to find flaws, real or imagined ones. In an image-driven and competitive world like ours, it’s a lucky person who has managed to avoid any and all insecurity stemmed from messages of popular culture.
If we were to use the mirror for alignment, that would assume that we know what to check for, which a long-time practitioner would be qualified to do. However, a person brand spankin’ new to yoga does not have the luxury of knowing where the arms and legs go. In this case, the only thing they can do is to imitate others in class and do things that may or may not be appropriate for their body at that specific time.
In addition, experienced practitioners over time will cultivate a certain sense of proprioception and bodysense so that their practice brings them *in* their bodies, and the need to continuously stare in a mirror for the whole duration of the practice would diminish, similar to dancing. A dancer may practice in front of a mirror, but does not need, or use one when the piece is learned.
Naked as We Come – On Self Acceptance
In a hot yoga class, most people are not wearing very much clothes (and the guys are going, woohoo!). You could say that this is the first step towards self acceptance, to see ourselves as exactly who we are without any covering (this is what practitioners of Naked Yoga are motivated by). I am totally open to the possibility that someone somewhere out there is so rock solidly sure of themselves that they could stare at themselves for 90 minutes in the mirror in their bikinis, embracing every inch of their body and all their imperfections.
It is also just as likely that seeing their own body, and then other, perhaps skinnier, younger, more limber bodies in that same mirror will push someone to an even less healthy relationship with themselves. I’ve lost count of the amount of times in a Bikram yoga class that I sized up the class to see who was better or worse than me. I could not wait until my favorite poses were called, so I could show everyone how “good” I was. Of course, I may have looked impressive, but I was merely creating potential injuries in the weak parts of my body.
I can’t remember during the times I did hot yoga (and it was a loong time) if I ever came to any kind of self-acceptance and peace of mind, but I definitely did have more of an urge to be the best, rather than becoming one with anything or anybody.
The Softer Side of Sears… I Mean, Mirrors
Having said all that, I will point out that I’m only speaking from my own personal experience, and my opinion is inevitably flawed and skewed and biased. I will stress this again and again and again. I believe that there’s always a time and a place for everything in life. There is not one prescription, no matter how potent.
Mirrors are just mirrors, it is what we choose to see that can serve us or harm us. They can be an awesome tool for alignment work. But to see, to really see into ourselves, like, in the Avatar movie sense of *see*, to me, they have every bit of potential to hinder as much as they help.
In the spirit of the New Year, here’s to more “I See You”, Avatar style. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a greeting that acknowledges more than just our face and outer appearance. It’s a greeting to something bigger and deeper inside, perhaps not unlike Namaste.
