Friday July 25th, 2008
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Yoga Bling
Posted by Su Avasthi on September 5, 2006 - 8:15pm.
A $125 super-hip yoga mat. A $110 mat carrier designed by Stella McCartney. Nike yoga shoes?
Yoga bling is everywhere, and it's getting more sophisticated by the day. Which is funny, since yoga requires almost no gear at all.
One of things I love about yoga is that it's blissfully gear-free. Technically, you need nothing at all, though non-binding clothes and a sticky mat make things easier.
But it's easy to spend big money on the latest accessories, like chic carriers and hip, interesting mats that are photo-screened with digital images of planks and graphic text. One can buy eco-friendly hemp yoga pants and bamboo blocks. How about communication-enhancing beads to wear during practice or a $50 specialized yoga towel.
Now, I'm suspectible to cool-looking, well-designed things. Over the years, I've managed to collect several pairs of Prana pants. Since they're also great for running errands and going to the movies, I wear them all the time and get plenty of use of out of them.
But I'm less satisfied by the mat carrier I bought a couple years ago. I don't need a carrier for my trek to class (I drive there, after all). I splurged on one just because I liked the way it looked, slung across my shoulder, and it's turned out to be a pointless purchase.
Cute as my mat carrier is, it doesn't help my practice or inspire me to go to class more often. It doesn't protect my mat. And, since it travels from a hook inside my closet to a hook outside class, it gets very little appreciation at all.
When I see all the chic, new yoga bling out there, I have to remind myself that all I really need for my yoga practice is a good class.
And then I take a deep breath and try to resist the temptation to buy more pretty, but useless bits of gear. Or try, anyway.
That's the wisdom offered by my yoga teacher that I treasure the most. We don't even need a good class, because we create yoga ourselves. Not to put down classes (I feel pretty lost without mine), but it's good to remember that yoga's first and foremost on the inside. Thanks Su.
That said, I don't drive to class, so I'm in the market for a super-functional bag. Not a useless sleeve for a mat, but something to fit my clothes, towel, water bottle and block. It's not easy to find one. Stay tuned...
It's a shame that yoga practioners feel compelled to buy high-ticket yoga-related items for use as a status symbol. Isn't one of the niyamas tapas, or contentment? Having to prove yourself by carrying designer mat carriers says to me that your missing the whole point of yoga: finding contentment within yourself. The world bombards us with "must-haves" in every aspect of our lives; keep your yoga practice pure by not buying into the materialism some yoga stores promote by targeting the American need for more stuff, bigger stuff, high-priced stuff.
Well are we all wanting to impress someone.. and for what reason do we??? Only for the self inside of yourselves, to impress. I am getting ready to start Yoga in my mid ages now and I have learned, over time that the real thing one needs to impress someone else is ONESELF and being WHO we are and not what we want them to think. For those are the ones that want someone to think that are something else are shallow inside and have NO inner person... be oneself and live for what you are inside and the world will accept you for you, not for what you are not...
Not a day goes by that I don't feel gratitude towards the person who turned me onto yoga. But I have to chuckle, because she is so caught up in the materialism of it that she never actually does yoga. She has the blocks, the straps, the gloves, the socks, the specialty mats, inversion tables, all the DVDS, videos and meditation CDs. It's such a struggle for her. She refuses to surrender to just the feeling of the body against the earth.
Maybe I was just lucky, but after two or three days I knew that yoga was going to be part of my life, every single day, for the rest of my life. I tried to suggest she read some books about the theory and practice of yoga, but she's just not there yet. Everybody has his or her own pace, and I suppose the doorway is large enough for everyone, and maybe for some people the bling approach at least gets them in the direction of thinking about their ultimate freedom. Lord knows it took me a long time to find the door.
Classically speaking, Su's arguments for examining what really supports us in our practice are sound. But if you're considering yoga for today, then I support diversity. After all, eventually we realize that we're all looking for the same thing: Freedom-Svatantrya . But we all aren't going to go about it in the same way since, well, we're all unique....For some it's practicing austerities-tapas, for others it's celebrating the fullness of life adorned with, yes, yoga accessories a'la prada and for others somewhere in between. But the beautiful thing is that we have the free will to be on our path in a way that serves us...and it shouldn't be construed as having a lesser path. Incidently, Tapas classically means practicing austerities but it also means, from a tantric perspective, the burning desire to unite with God. It all depends on your philosphical viewpoint. Or look at it this way: consider a mosaic comprised of a 1000 pieces of tile, each one unique, but not one playing a more important role than the other. However the whole, in all of it's diversity, is a beautiful expression of art. The expression of the One is in each of us in all of our diversity. I celebrate that.