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| >Kym - The more I read about what some of you are doing, the more lousy I'm feeling about what I'm doing.
I can understand what is making you feel so lousy about this board if you think there are any voices of authority here. This board is made up of a few core members (like 5 or 6), a few who check in occasionally (another 5 or 6) and then the newbies, asking a question a never heard from again.
Kym, I hope you realize that this broard is just a subset of the richness or reality of Yoga. What you are doing is correct. When you come here, you just hear a few people talking yoga and their options about Yoga The amount of people on this board are less then you would find in a typical big city Yoga studio, but the ones here are obviously more vocal.
Would love to see a core of about a hundred Yogi/Yoginis constantly on board shooting the Yogic sh!t. A few Yogic stars checking in every once in awhile wouldn’t be bad also. In the meantime I wouldn’t take the stuff you see here that seriously.
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| You know-you hit the nail on the head Jambo. I am going to ask admin about opening a board for Western style Yoga. There are over 3500 members registered here, but only a few posting as teachers. Huh? That's not right-there is a bully factor here. I've searched for more yoga forums, but they just aren't out there. And, if that doesn't fly, then I'll just continue to post my really really stupid western style yoga questions and hope that the other people who think like me will pipe up and post/reply also. Worst case senerio, I'll get PMs, and while that helps me, it does not help others. |
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| is there a bully factor here? what is it? and how does it manifest. perhaps if you could point to specific references, we could understand what your concerns are and be more accomodating.
it could be, quite honestly, that of the many members here, most are inactive or lurkers, some participate infrequently, and there's a core group of common posters. Of those common posters, only a few are teachers, and so only those respond.
why people lurk is an interesting thing to think about. there are a number of boards on which i lurk, largely because i don't have much more to add to the conversation, or because i'm reading it to be informed, so that i can participate eventually, or simply because i enjoy the conversations or ideas but have no need to add to them. even here, there are some posts where i read and lurk, and others where i answer. I do not lurk or not answer because i feel bullied or that my opinions and ideas won't be considered or heard.
there are other boards out there on yoga. erich schiffman's board is really active, and you can get to it through http://www.movingintostillness.com. ivillage also has a board, but few teachers post there (i think i'm the only one, currently)--and you can get to that board here: http://www.messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-fbyoga. They're looking for a moderator there, so if you want to direct conversations, it would be a good place to go.
Also, it seems really interesting that you started this with a concern about 'western style teaching' harming Yoga, and then you finish with asking for a board to discuss this very issue. i would be greatly interested in hearing your thought process--how you moved from a fear of doing harm to a position of moving forward with what you do.
and also, how do we define 'western-style teaching?' i feel that i teach in a 'western style' overall, in that i teach in english, latin (for anatomical terms), and sanskrit (for clarity between styles). I teach to a wide audience of spiritual beliefs, and so i do a lot of comparative studies and bring in a variety of poetry, art, stories, and music from diverse spiritual traditions. And, i largely teach asana and pranayama for physical and energetic healing. But, i suppose that many of these things are also teaching 'eastern style' because the focus is on that core concept of Union, incorporating or discussing as many aspects and paths of finding that union as possible in an hour-long class.
i'd like to hear your thoughts on the matter. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
    
| Hi ZB - you have raised the points I was concerned with. "Bully" is an emotionally charged word (boy, have we had issues with emotionally charged words here in the past  ) and so even though I think maybe I have an idea of what was meant by it, we should probably have some clarification on it. I think there is sometimes a sense of being overwhelmed when people go on a new board, ask a question and get bombarded by answers they were not expecting (Kym, this is pure guess work on my part, I am not attributing this to you but just giving an idea from past experience). Especially if the answers are very technical or deeply philosophical it can be quite off-putting. But of course, we seldom have a good idea of where the new poster is coming from in terms of background and depth of understanding so we just answer as best we can. We (at least I) also answer with the understanding that many, many lurkers are out there and also want an asnwer to the question, so I bear them in mind (Hi lurkers!  ) when I reply. This board may be unique in listing the number of guests visiting an any time - I find it a bit disconcerting, too. A bit like having someone peering in the windows of my house. OTOH, it is nice to know there are others interested, for whatever reason.
I also wondered about the western yoga idea. I suppose it will be largely self-defined. I consider myself western trained as well, but my lineage is pretty direct since all of my teachers trained with BKS and most also trained with Swami Radha who was a direct student of Sivananda. So I am hoping Kym will give us an idea of what she meant so we can get a better handle on it. |
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| >ZB - Also, it seems really interesting that you started this with a concern about 'western style teaching' harming Yoga,
I didn’t think she was saying that at all when I read the first post.
I don’t know about the bully factor here, but see an in-tandem lock step of views. This is to be expected from such a small group that seems to have bonded together and have become on-line friends of sorts. I think Tourist made the comment that this is a board of like-minded people. That’s true and I think that there is an illusion of piling up on someone with a divergent view. That’s to be expected, because this group only knows what they know and they all tend to think the same way regarding Yoga (though I'm sure the point can be argued). That’s why I find it so amusing when one of the regulars strays from their assumed position and make a comment that ticks off the others. It simply shows some diversity in thinking which is always good in the public forum. A bigger group of regulars would certainly make it more interesting and lively here.
But I like coming here nonetheless, if only to relay some of the cockeyed views I see here to my Yoga people, including the cockeyed views that I myself make on this board. It’s always good for a laugh or a shake of the head!
Edited by Jambo 2006-03-25 6:17 PM
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| I don't see a lot of lockstepped views, though common questions seem to get common answers. One thing I see over and over is the "You must have a teacher" response, which makes sense to me. I also see a lot of "You shouldn't discuss X", for some of the more esoteric stuff. This bothers me, but I think I mentioned that earlier.
As far as any other views, I think a lot of it is just like minded individuals. We do have divergent posts from time to time (I actually go out of my way to make them), and some lively discussion as a result. |
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Location: Upstate NY | From what I see in my short time here is most opinions are similiar with a varying sliding scale. Why I come to the forum is that while most opinions are similiar in nature, with ailgnment I'm prone to listen to Tourist because her practice is just that. BayGuy and Neel always have wonderful insight on the sutras. So on and so forth..........
I think only one's ego lets you walk away from here frustrated or bitter as we see in so many posts.
Where I see the main source of disention  is in the "east vs west" discussions.
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