Shit Yogis Say
Lulumon has come forward with some rather untraditional commentary on yoga values lately. They made a bold statement by putting “Who is John Galt?” on their shopping bags and with this post in November and I’ve been wanting to share my thoughts on the “outrage” that swept through the yoga blogs.
But first, watch this video they released in response to the Shit Girls Say thing that’s been going around…it’s pretty funny and they did a great job.
Okay, now back to the John Galt thing…if you’re not familiar with this character and Atlas Shrugged, click on my hyperlinks and it will help you understand what we’re discussing here.
While I understand what they are trying to convey with this message, there isn’t a lot of room for objectivism in Yoga. In a lot of ways, yoga defies logic for me. There is so much unexplained yet about practicing and how it helps so many ailments such as depression, back pain, and even disorders like bipolar disorder and fibromyalgia not to mention how it helps bring focus into our fast-paced lives, that to me is just magic. I really don’t see how the straight objectivist morals of Atlas Shrugged fit into yoga.
On the other hand, there is a lot about Atlas Shrugged that can relate to a lot of struggles from within the yoga community. Governments interfering with businesses is an issue in the yoga community, just like any other. When faced with regulation, the yoga community rejected it for all the same reasons virtually any government regulation causes harm in any industry. The broad regulation of yoga threatened many of the small studios (which is most studios) and is an issue that I feel relates to the Atlas Shrugged book. Regulation tends to stifle growth, which is the foundation of yoga. This is not to be confused with self-discipline and personal responsibility…if your business is out of control and harming people or the environment, you should be shamed and called out for it until you either change your practice or lose your business and have to close. Self regulation already takes place within the community which allows various practices to blossom, grow and change into many helpful forms of yoga.
From Lululemon.com:
“The character John Galt encouraged all of the world’s innovators and intelligent minds to go on strike from the increasingly controlling government in order to create a vacuum of brilliance, proving that independent creativity and free-will is critical for quality of life.”
From A Declaration of Independence for Yoga Educators:
“Government enforcement of licensing and Yoga cannot co-exist. Yoga is about freedom and Yoga is about relationship, and force destroys both. If we are not free to conduct our relationships free of interference by third parties, there can be no yoga.”
The yoga community is often filled with people who embrace regulation and laws in many or all aspects of their lives as a way to stay safe and keep the planet healthy. They generally do not realize the greater harm and stifling nature of these regulations and how natural order can create much better systems to keep us safe, happy and healthy. The practice of yoga has taught me patience and the ability to use self-control as well as to look within for strength and stability. I use these abilities to help educate with love those who do not understand how things could be (or should be, IMO). As an artist, I understand the fear of losing your work to a thief and wanting to justify those actions, but as someone who wants to see the human race grow more peaceful and advance more naturally I cannot accept the forced regulation as it stands in so many aspects of our lives today. From regulating what plants we can plant to what goes in our water.
It is a long road, and I’m gonna need a lot of time on the mat to help me keep it together and help others in the meantime.
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