this side of the edge

“In the majority of yoga classes today, the object is to see how far you can go. You identify your “edge” and then see if you can go past it. Sometimes, this becomes an aggressive push where the teachers’ job is to see if they can take you farther than you think you can go on your own, to reach your fullest potential. Other times, it’s more friendly. We explore where the “edge” is and use props for support. But in both cases, the same underlying context remains. Whatever it is that you want from yoga is not on this side of your physical edge. If you want it, you’re going to have to forever do more.” - J. Brown “Yoga’s Marginal Utility”, Yoga Dork 

J. Brown posted this article last week on Yoga Dork.   The article spoke to a topic I had been thinking about quite a lot recently and I had been trying to articulate a disconnect between how I taught yoga and how it was being received or interpreted by my students.    I was thinking about the authenticity of our practice especially in relationship to how we teach & learn yoga, the proliferation of cliche in teaching language, the expectations we have on ourselves and our students and the actual internal experience of practice all within the framework of modern yoga being part of a egoic, goal driven, fitness based consumer culture.   This quote, in particular, seemed to summarize a lot of what I had been thinking about and is a starting point for this discussion which I hope to develop over the course of a few blog posts.  Your thoughts and comments are welcomed and appreciated as I share this dialogue with you.

A few weeks ago, I posted a question on social media asking, “What do you REALLY think when you practice yoga?”.    Knowing full well, that the things I ask my students to focus on might not be what is really happening in their heads.   Most of the posts addressed the challenges they face when they meet with difficult postures in class, or the challenge of staying present and focused. When challenged, students experienced a wide range of emotions from self criticism to anger and frustration.  They also experienced shame and defeat.   They all agreed the feelings were most often resolved through practice, and many enjoyed the challenges presented by practice.

I don’t think these are unusual challenges.   I do think the negative self talk about these challenges is a problem, and I believe that our socialization has a lot to do with this.    We are a consumer culture, and we are led to believe through media advertising that we are not strong enough, not beautiful enough, not rich enough, not thin enough, not happy enough, not (insert any descriptor here) enough. When we are presented with challenges, we see where our reality is not meeting our expectation.   As a result we may feel feelings such as anger, frustration and defeat.  I know I’ve felt many of these emotions on the mat, and have taught that the emotions we see on the mat provide us with an important learning tool for our experience off the mat.   What the negative emotions tell me is that our “never good enough” culture comes to yoga class with us, and rears it’s ugly head when we are challenged on the mat.

We are practicing yoga in a culture that markets happiness in the form of consumer products.  Marketing messages tell us that in order to be “complete” we must spend money to improve our lives.   Stemming from this is the subconscious (or perhaps conscious) belief that when we spend money, we ought to be “doing” something or experiencing noticeable improvement in our level of happiness which is closely tied in to how we look, feel, and live.  We are “doing” yoga in order to achieve the desired result of a healthier, happier life.

It’s quite clear that modern western yoga has not escaped the pull of consumer culture.   When I speak of modern western yoga, I’m primarily addressing a yoga culture that is “post Madonna’s arms”.    What I mean by this, is the culture of yoga that erupted after Madonna announced that her primary form of “toning” was her yoga practice.    I’d argue that this is the first time in pop culture we’d really seen strength and tone as a desirable physical trait for women’s bodies.   I recall so clearly having conversations with my friends about how bad ass Madonna looked, and I remember thinking that yoga must be pretty magical to have produced such “long and lean” looking muscle.   I believe this is the start of the current “yoga trend” in all of it’s ebbs & flows over the last twenty (give or take a few) years.




I believe the conversation  I want to have begins here.   Yoga has been thrown into the limelight as an “alternative” to the gym that is just, if not more, effective at producing noticeable results in the physical appearance of those who practice.    Many people come to yoga with the understanding that it is a form of physical exercise, and in many cases I believe that misconception has been upheld, if not reinforced in the collective understanding of the practice.

My own experience of yoga has been framed by this cultural misconception, although I am fortunate to have teachers who understand the yoga tradition and who make a conscious choice to teach philosophy, pranayama & meditation in their studios.   I believe many of us who find their way to teaching eventually make an effort to “educate” others about the misconceptions of what it means to practice yoga.   Some of us in really authentic ways, and others in a more cliche, feel good, ultra-spiritual way.   I expect that most of us who have chosen to teach yoga have found themselves saying multiple times, in multiple ways “yoga is not just about the poses”, or “yoga is more than asana”, or “there are many components to yoga, not just the physical practice - there’s philosophy, spirituality, meditation, pranayama”.... etc etc.   In fact, this entire blog exists as a tool for me to continuously tell readers again and again, “yoga is a lifestyle” (those of you familiar with Erich Schiffman’s voice should read that last sentence in his Californian drawl, “yoga is a lifestyyyyyylllllle”)

Yet, despite our attempts (and arguably many successes) to inform those who practice yoga of it’s far reaching lifestyle effects, yoga has been “consumed” by capitalism and has been turned into a marketable product.   From $1000 leather yoga mats (yes, really) to a booming yoga fashion industry, to classes for every possible niche market, selling the “yoga lifestyle” has become big business creating a consumer of yoga who is expecting a quantifiable return on their investment.

Don’t get me wrong, many of us get ample return on our yoga dollar.  In fact, I’m guessing that many of us have seen life changing growth as a result of yoga.   I’m also guessing that none of us could say that that growth came easily, or without a degree of dedication to practice, self reflection & study, and time.   The impact yoga has made on my life is profound.

Understanding the cultural context within which we practice is an important part of this discussion.    It explains why I believe we are so obsessed with finding our physical edge in practice.    Many of us are familiar with the terminology “the edge” or “playing the edge” first coined by Joel Kramer and featured heavily in Erich Schiffman’s book “The Spirit and Practice of Moving into Stillness” .   While I am not arguing for a need to stop practicing in this way, I am arguing that this approach to practice takes on a different meaning when it is framed within the context of consumer driven yoga culture.

I’ve often taught that the magic happens outside of our comfort zone.    I’ve taught students to explore their edges, I’ve believed my entire yoga practice and teaching career that this is HOW we DO yoga.    I’ve believed, as J. Brown states above, “whatever it is you want from yoga, is not on this side of your physical edge”.   It was this incredible “a-ha" moment (to stick with the Oprah pop culture referencing a while longer) for me when I read J. Brown’s post.    Is it true?  Is ALL the magic in our practice on the opposite side of our edge, and what of this side of the edge?  Is the comfort, familiarity, and even boredom that resides in the “comfort zone” purposeless, and without meaning?

What about the beauty of a simple mountain pose, or a gentle inhale & exhale as your arms lift and lower?  Leslie Kaminoff argues that the most life changing aspect of our practice is the coordination of breath and movement.   What if the essence of our practice doesn’t even touch what we consider to be our physical edge?  And how can we market such simplicity?  ( although I expect lululemon could find a way to market the “sukhasana pant" if yogis were no longer in need of high tech, silver infused,  sweat wicking fabrics for their practice)

I expect that backing off from the edge is going to be a tough sell.   If yoga is a marketable product, complete with a promise of better health, improved physical appearance, happiness, and inner peace then those who invest in this product will surely expect that they have to “do something” in order to receive the benefit.   Simply “being” is not going to feel productive.   Telling students to pull away from effort, discomfort, or challenge wouldn’t jive with the goal based fitness based model we’ve placed around our practice.   Perhaps, at the end of the practice, once all the hard work is finished we can sell a 5 minute restful savasana if we are lucky.

This speaks to what I’ve identified as the fundamental disconnect between western consumer culture and the yoga tradition.   As long as we are making a living teaching yoga, we will also have to “sell” what we teach.   We will have to “market” yoga so that it appeals to the modern consumer.    Consumers that exist in a post Darwinian “survival of the fittest” culture where we can purchase the life that we want to live.    And how ironic that we are “selling” something that is fundamentally in opposition to the culture we live in.    Yoga teaches us to contain our energy, refrain from harming, to consume less, and to practice contentment as opposed to the "full on, eco-unconscious, consumer & ego driven desire to succeed at all costs culture" that is our market base.

The question those of us who are making a living teaching & selling yoga need to ask ourselves is, “Are we authentic on this path?”.   Are we guiding our students blindly down the same path we’ve been socialized to walk down from day one?  or can we honestly say that the yoga we teach (and sell) is carving out a new way of life, one that is true to the tradition, to ourselves, and to the individual?  Do we ask our students to meet their edge, because we truly believe that the thing they seek in yoga is forever going to be on the other side of their comfort zone?   Are we perpetuating the belief that if they can just “get better at the poses” then somehow, magically, their life will also improve?

J. Brown has started an important conversation for yoga practitioners and teachers alike.   As we move forward in our practices, in our teaching, and sharing of yoga with a culture that becomes more and more connected, visible, and externally motivated, how do we ensure that the essence of yoga as something we can “be” rather than something we “do” is understood?

Next time you are on the mat, I encourage you to look at your own inner dialogue.  Discover what the voice in your head tells you when you are at your physical edge.    Notice if you experience a strong desire to push yourself to your edge, or if you are able to back away from your physical edge to practice simply for the pure pleasure of being present in your body.    Notice your relationship between “being” and “doing” while you are on the mat.   Extend that noticing to your experiences off the mat as well.    I expect you might discover something interesting in that exploration, and perhaps create a deeper understanding of how you’ve been taught, or habituated, on and off the mat.  First as a results based, goal driven consumer and second as a practitioner of yoga within that context.