is American yoga in crisis? part 2...

From the last chapter of Yoga Beyond Fitness:

"If teachers grounded in the deeper message of Yoga are not available or do not share what they know, Srivatsa Ramaswami predicts 'the subject will die because every following generation will know less and less. And the lack of knowledge could be filled with innovations of novices, leading to corruption or the art dying itself.'"

I attended Tom's talk last night -- see this post -- and have a lot to say about it but y'all will have to wait until next week.

Until then chew on the above quote from my teacher, Srivatsa Ramaswami (Krishnamacharya's longest standing student outside of the family), whom Tom quotes a lot in his book Yoga Beyond Fitness.

Talk amongst yourselves.

To be continued....

is American yoga in crisis?

Now that I have your attention, that's the title of a talk I am attending this week at the Theosophical Society:

"Is American yoga just an exercise regimen masquerading as spirituality? While 16 million Americans practice hatha yoga, yoga’s development as a popular fitness workout has lost sight of its ancient roots and transformative power. Tonight is a wake-up call to yoga’s highest aspirations."

Tom Pilarzyk is speaking on this topic and his bio says he is a "social scientist and author who has written on Eastern religions and American culture, including most recently, Yoga Beyond Fitness." You can read words of praise for his book on his website:

"Dr. Kelly McGonigal, Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Yoga Therapists, says of Yoga beyond Fitness:

'One of yoga's core principles is self-reflection. Yoga beyond Fitness gives the yoga community an opportunity to reflect on where we came from, who we are and how to return to the essence of a yoga as a spiritual practice. It is a 'must read' for anyone who wants to understand Yoga in the United States, and anyone who cares about the future of Yoga in the West.'"

Regular readers of this blog know my thoughts on "Americanized" yoga, so I'm intrigued. Blog post to follow.