It’s almost like yoga is the star whose reflected glory is being basked in.

I haven’t played my ace-in-the-hole yet, because I’m not sure I’m ready for the bricks that will be thrown. But Shanna plays it for me on her excellent traditional Yoga website:

“Wellness From Inside-Living the Wisdom of Yoga in Modern Times”
http://wellnessfrominside.typepad.com/wellness_from_insidelivin/

Shanna’s site is filled with Eckhart Tolle videos, which all sound like they are coming directly out of the Upanishads or the Bhagavad Gita. The same is true of much of the work of Deepak Chopra and Eknath Easwaran.

This is where some of the purest expression of traditional pre-asana Yoga philosophy is being spread, as Shanna correctly recognizes by routinely including Tolle videos in her traditional Yoga blog. See my thoughts about this at:

“Pure Yoga by Another Name–Chopra, Tolle, and Easwaran”
http://yogademystified.com/2009/10/12/pure-yoga-by-another-name-chopra-tolle-and-easwaran/

“Deepak Chopra–Modern Yoga Sage or New Age Hype?”
http://yogademystified.com/2009/10/12/deepak-chopra-modern-yoga-sage-or-new-age-hype/

If one includes these in the equation (and based on substance not label they certainly should be) then it’s obvious that traditional Yoga philosophy is alive and thriving in the U.S., even if what’s called Yoga is dominated by exercise routines.

I’m ready for the bricks!

Bob Weisenberg
http://YogaDemystified.com

The reason your friend is in demand as a teacher trainer is because studios make bucket loads of money off of those programs. How else can they charge a student $2500 for a program? As long as the turn out is good, the studio can pay the rent for a year off of that.

I challenge a yoga studio to have a $2500 course entitled, “Understanding the Yoga Sutras , the Gita and the Pradapika”, and see how many people would sign up. After all, these three books are the cornerstone of yoga and people sign up for teacher trainings because they want to learn more about yoga, deepen there practice and be able to teach right? These should be packed too right? The reality is that they wouldn’t be. I know of studios that did sutra classes that were practically free that nobody wanted to be a part of even much a $2500 one. Shoot, I took a teacher training course and I am good friends with many current teachers. There are only one or two people I know who took it for the heck of it. Trust me, once you got past the flowery language and stories drummed up by the ego, every one else’s primary reason was to make money and the other sugary sweet reasons given were just by products. And there is nothing wrong with wanting to make your living doing yoga. Who wants to work a 9-5 and then go teach classes? That is rough, but I digress. (By the way, there is a difference between my friends reasons for teaching yoga and there reasons for taking yoga teacher training courses. Those are two different things. Again, you cannot judge the popularity of teacher trainings with the popularity of yoga.)

As far as traditional and commercial yoga, I would say that 70% of the yoga taught even in yoga studios today, is commercial yoga. Just because the teacher throws a line or two in class about breath and uses some Sanskrit terms while playing Krishna Das does not mean it is a traditional yoga class. Most yoga classes’ primary objective is to get your body in shape. To “work you out. To “make you sweat and detoxify you”. Don’t get me wrong, I love all that stuff but to me, that is the difference between commercial and traditional yoga. Yoga in the Sutras is defined as “the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind”. That to me is traditional yoga. It is a class set up where transcendence of the ego is the primary function and every thing else is a by product.

I understand that publicity is good but to make your life choices off of what a celebrity is doing? That is interesting. I write a blog so I follow blogs . When a celebrity is doing yoga, it is all over the internet, twitter, facebook, and major news sites. When someone writes a beautiful though provoking piece on yoga that doesn’t have to do with rock hard abs or other superficial, surface layer stuff, not as many people read it. It doesn’t get retweeted as much and people don’t comment as much.

Anywho….bottom line is yeah, in the end, the positive publicity is good…..even if it is a celebrity.

The popularity of TT (Teacher Training) programs supports my point that there is some demand for traditional Yoga. I have a local example of what you’re saying. Bernie Rosen is a talented local 500 hr. teacher who studied extensively with Rod Stryker, the Himalayan Institute, and Kriplalu.

Just as you say, he has trouble filling his regular Yoga classes, but he is in demand by sereral studios in Milwaukee for his teacher training programs, which, of course, are very traditional because that’s his interest and background.

Bob Weisenberg
http://YogaDemystified.com

now THAT’S something I agree with hence my huge YAWN in the beginning! believe it or not, I have never watched Oprah in my life (a friend told me about Rodney Yee being on her show.)

in all the yada yada on everyone’s blogs about bringing yoga to the masses via celebs, etc., NO ONE ever said that’s a bad thing. it’s about trends, marketing, and PR as roseanne said. people jump on the next best thing bandwagon whatever it is (read my comment as my experience as a fitness instructor), but whether most people are still in yoga classes 3 or 6 months down the road is another story.

and I would really have to disagree with your statement, Bob, ” so much of the traditional training is happening at the large centers like Kripalu and Anusara centers.” I would say that most TT programs are not at large centers but take place locally.

Not everyone can go to places like Kripalu or Omega or other such places. Not all TT programs are done by the big names in the yoga biz. Many studios in the Chicago area, both in the city and suburbs, have their own TT programs. Why? Because they don’t make any money teaching group classes to the 2 or 3 students who show up — TT programs are the money-makers.