I was minding my own business reading a surf blog when suddenly the author interjected negative sentiments about yoga, “a holistic discipline that combines physical postures and ethical principles to promote physical and spiritual well-being. It does very few of these things in my experience except breed a superior minded person with stretched out tendons,” the writer claimed. Yoga haters: Why?
Wow, writer Derek Reilly, judge a little bit?
But Reilly is not alone. I suddenly remembered that movie White Lines where Paulo Pires played a middle-aged yoga-practicing character and he was kind of a drip who made comments about sex and his yoga body in an obnoxious way. One could only infer an implied slight against yoga in general …
Who else has a grudge against Yoga?
One of the guys I went out with on Match made a comment about a smug yoga teacher: “She was so proud of herself” … He then admitted that he himself did not do well at yoga. I was not sure why, since he did not evidence any obvious physical signs of yoga inability. Although he was rather acerbic in personality, that would be unusual in a yoga class.
I imagine him there in a mythical yoga room and the instructor up at the front looking out at the class and saying “Hey you … Yeah you, physics professor … You’re way too uptight… Be a little more flexible or get out!”
No that didn’t happen. Probably he just didn’t like being *not the best* at something. But I did wonder if he was a secret yoga hater.
Or one of those guys whose girlfriend got him to go to yoga, and he did it to make her happy … and it was a disaster. That does happen, I admit.
I don’t know why it has to be such a problem that not everyone can get into yoga.
Yoga is not nearly as exclusive as gymnastics, for which you have to be 92 lb and 14 years old, at least to win an Olympic gold medal. but I guess it’s true, yoga is not for everyone.
Then again neither is running, football, archery, volleyball… Why the negative spin on yoga? I went to Dr. Google for answers.
A Brief Web Roundup
I Hate Yoga: Reasons Why, Tips, Motivation & Yoga Alternatives (trustyspotter.com) said: “Some people may dislike yoga for various reasons. Some people find yoga boring, too spiritual, or too physical. Others may feel intimidated by the difficult poses and feel like they’re not flexible enough for the workouts. “
METRO UK (News… but not as you know it) gives 15 reasons why yogis are so annoying: Of note are the yogis’ disapproving attitude: “You drank alcohol last night?” Their weird vocabulary: “They call it a sense of subtle etheric spiritual energy. You call it air conditioning.” and (if this isn’t offensive, the implication stands, you don’t know what offensive is) “a 26-year-old girl from Belsize Park who decided to re-train as a yoga teacher after she got bored of working in PR.”
I’m afraid that the problem people have with yoga has to do with … yoga’s image. Relaxed, flexible, strong, calm, in good health over age 50 …I’m sorry, but some *do* hate people who are able to manifest traits like that in our hurried, flabby, irritable fast food world. Just being able to sit in silence for five minutes is unusual.
Yoga Haters: You’re Jealous, Aren’t You.
Perhaps some are jealous at the idea that yogis are able to stop themselves from worrying, as they sit in lotus position, an imaginary flower appearing above their crown chakra … of course, the truth is, though I worry *less* because of yoga, I haven’t stopped. It’s just more controllable.
I actually used to think that yoga could be for everyone, and I’ve invited a lot of people to yoga over the years. The only one who ever came was my daughter, Joline. She went for a month or so — and she was truly flexible and calm — but then she decided she didn’t feel like continuing.
I guess in the end, all I can say is many are called to yoga, but few chose to take it seriously enough to call themselves a yogi and begin to reap the benefits. And that’s okay. But people, you know, hating on yogis is not a cool sophisticated way to act. Yogis are people too.
It’s probably true, that in yoga, the cowards never started and the weak quit halfway through the class … but be that as it may, we yogis are okay types, we really are quiet, calm people who just want to sit in a studio and do poses. In total silence. With other like minded people. And yes, we are flexible.
Yoga haters, why? Why not try this: deal with it.