Recently I was on the receiver end of negative criticism so I know what it is like, and I have a feeling our world can do with a little more love, and love of course, starts with ourselves. Here are 32 unusual ways to love ourselves.
I read at ElephantBeans (which takes no position just shares the news) yesterday that Kino MacGregor is coming up with a TV show of five women living in Miami teaching yoga. The preview features her as a yoga master, which she very much is, and the women that surround her in the drama of running a school of yoga. It is for television, so drama pretty much is what they are made of.
The producers tell us that the show is about:
Yoga Girls of Miami takes us inside the day-to-day drama of a world-class yoga studio run by five dynamic women with a passion to transform lives through empowerment, self-discovery and inner peace.
She has shared the show, which at this point seems to be just a pilot, on her Facebook page and you can see a video with a preview here
I want to stand up for Kino here. I have met her personally and know that she is passionate about yoga and she is trying something new, great!. It may be television and who knows if it will turn into a show or not. It aims at peace and self discovery, and she is the real thing so, power to her!
I read at ElephantBeans (which takes no position just shares the news) yesterday that Kino MacGregor is coming up with a TV show of five women living in Miami teaching yoga. The preview features her as a yoga master, which she very much is, and the women that surround her in the drama of running a school of yoga. It is for television, so drama pretty much is what they are made of.
The producers tell us that the show is about:
Yoga Girls of Miami takes us inside the day-to-day drama of a world-class yoga studio run by five dynamic women with a passion to transform lives through empowerment, self-discovery and inner peace.
She has shared the show, which at this point seems to be just a pilot, on her Facebook page and you can see a video with a preview here
I want to stand up for Kino here. I have met her personally and know that she is passionate about yoga and she is trying something new, great!. It may be television and who knows if it will turn into a show or not. It aims at peace and self discovery, and she is the real thing so, power to her!
Nice post, Claudia. I want to get the first encouraging first word in here before the barrage of angry comments stream in :-) Sigh... it's surprising how much negativity is manifested over things like this, posing as righteous anger in defense of the purity of tradition, isn't it? (I'm sure you know what I'm talking about) Is all this really necessary?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, here's my take on this. I have my reservations about using sex to sell yoga, but perhaps sometimes one needs to do certain things differently in order to reach out to a crowd that would otherwise have nothing to do with yoga. Of course I'm biased, because I'm a Kino fan. But I've met her personally, and she doesn't strike me as somebody who is shallow and superficial. So I think it is better and more productive to trust that she is doing what is best, given where she is. Speaking of trust... whatever happened to trusting our teachers and fellow practitioners? I think it is too early to make any kind of judgment on what Kino is doing. We need to remember that just because something is done or presented very differently from the way we are used to seeing it doesn't mean it is wrong, or that it will not do any good in this world. I'm sure when Krishnamacharya and Mr. Iyengar did the things they did (giving public yoga demonstrations, teaching yoga to both men and women, etc.), they were also heavily criticized. But if it weren't for what they did, we probably won't be practicing today.
Well, I better sign off now. I can already hear self-righteous voices screaming: "How dare you compare Kino to Krishnamacharya! Sacrilegious!" But I thought I'd get a word in here first :-)
Claudia, I'm reminded of your recent post on haters... :)
ReplyDeleteWhen we push boundaries we invoke suspicion, distrust, and even anger. Think of all the forward-thinking scientific minds in history. They're celebrated now, but were not treated so nicely during their lifetimes!
I don't know what will come of all this, but I do applaud Kino for taking a risk and pushing boundaries. After all, isn't that what this whole yoga thing is about -- growing beyond our current behavior and thinking patterns?
Nobel, thanks for your comment, you know how I feel about Krishnamacharya... I think he would love any enterprise that promotes yoga, because he knew at a visceral level the value of it... And yes in those early days... I wonder how maybe. Manju or even Krishnamacharya were critized.... Good thing they kept up their work and continued to do what their spirit directed them to do. I hope, with all my heart we find the strength to support each other in this kali yuga and maybe come out early!!!!
ReplyDeleteMike, I agree this IS what yoga is about, stretching our boundaries in expanding ways... Learning to pray for the miracle of love, seeing things in a different light... Yes... Thanks for your comment
Okay, I'm not saying it has to be a PBS documentary narrated by Sir Richard Attenborough. But reality TV is on the other end of that spectrum and there is a middle way. I do not think that these are personal attacks on Kino. I think they are opinions of ashtanga practitioners on how their practice, which is a very spiritual component of their lives could become a side story to compete with other reality shows who also feature 5 "hot" women. But let us not forget that the beauty of Asthanga is that it is a self guided practice and it does not depend on what someone else plans to do for their profession. we all want to be happy and to be a cause of happiness. That includes those who are on TV and those who watch it.
ReplyDeleteAt Sereneflavor, you had me laughing at the PBS documentary, i wonder if there is a middle way in television... maybe, as per the plot and what it might become, I am not even sure because as I watched again it did not even look like a pilot but more like an infomercial. I agree with you that it is our own practice and that we are independent of what others do for a living...
ReplyDelete@sereneflavor, "I do not think that these are personal attacks on Kino." Wow, you have a much more generous view of human nature than I do; I wouldn't be able to tell, by the sheer vehemence of the tone and the sorts of things that some people have been saying...
ReplyDeleteBut I do agree with you that when all is said and done, it is a self-guided practice, and what others choose to say or do does not depend on what someone else plans to do for their profession. Which, in a way, makes people's reactions all the more laughable, don't you think?
@Nobel, yeap, I noticed those comments and your article after the fact, much later than when I published, some of them were pretty heated... but like you say, it is in the end what someone else choses to do with their lives, "live and let live" could be a good moto to remember one here... Claudia
ReplyDeleteNobel, I wrote Claudia before I read the added comments on your and other blogs. It had not gotten anonymous or about grooming choices as I mentioned in your blog at that point. reactions by their very nature are not anybodies "final answer" as we may soon find out.
ReplyDeletei've known her eight years and feel there is a lot of overreaction. i may have practiced in Miami with the person who critisized the most. i think this is related to tensions among generations for interpretation on how to teach.
ReplyDeleteArturo, yes I guess it is all interpretation and we are all entitled to our own opinions, I happen to be more of a cheerleader, and I respect when people want to try something new, even if it does not totally agree with how I think it should be done, guess I prefer the open "yes" attitude which I believe leads to non-resistance and a better environment for peace and good ideas to sprout. This may or may not be a good idea, and who knows? like Serene flavor says there is no "final answer" on this or on anything, only time can tell what is helfpul or not for people... I confess I totally got into AShtang due to completely superficial reasons, i.e.: cute instructors, Madonna, my desire to be cool and "do those poses"... so who knows what might bring people closer to the lineage
ReplyDeleteI am all for people following their own inner guideance, even if it means doing something other do not agree with, maybe even "especially so"
I appreciate everyone's comments
First of all, props to Kino for sharing her passion and knowledge of ashtanga yoga. She deserves a lot of credit and respect for what she's doing. I understand there are lots of people who object to her image, but I don't have a problem with that at all.
ReplyDeleteMy issue is more of her hypocritical manner when talking about "ahimsa" or the principle of "not harming." She talks about this at length in her book and in interviews. But check out this Youtube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F80lyRHxNDg) where she totally contradicts herself. HelloYoga in Japan did an interview with Kino on September 29, 2011. Around the video's 13:00 to 14:00 minute mark, she says she doesn't consume meat bc she loves animals and abides by ahimsa, therefore she's vegetarian. Then around the 16:42 mark, she talks about how she loves shopping and how many beautiful shoes she's bought on her trip to Japan.
I guess she has no problem with how the leftover skin of animals killed for food is used to make beautiful shoes...as long as she doesn't actually consume the meat herself. Rather hypocritical, if you ask me. Or maybe all those shoes she bought are made of pleather. Somehow I doubt it.