Comments on: Punk Rock Yoga

By: Aditi

Aditi — Thu, 18 May 2006 23:29:26 +0000

Canto 12, Chapter 2, sorry. It’s been a long day!

By: Aditi

Aditi — Thu, 18 May 2006 23:28:32 +0000

Again, I donâ€™t know a lot about yoga, so I may be talking out of my ass: but I have always wondered how people could separate yoga out as a simple form of exercise when it seems like the exercise part may actually be the least important of what yoga is really all about. It seems like the physical aspects of it are only after-effects of the spiritual discipline which seems mostly lost on people who walk around with yoga mats because its trendyâ€¦

As far as I’m aware of, most people like their canned doses of religion & spirituality to be spoon-fed to them and don’t like to venture off too far on their own… Yes, to do proper yoga one must control aspects of habit, mind, breath and body, not just the body and most certainly not in the superficial guises the physical yoga is being used in today.

Chapter 12, Canto 2 of the Srimad Bhagavatam:

Sukadeva Gosvami said: Then, O King, religion, truthfulness, cleanliness, tolerance, mercy, duration of life, physical strength and memory will all diminish day by day because of the powerful influence of the age of Kali.

A personâ€™s spiritual position will be ascertained merely according to external symbols, and on that same basis people will change from one spiritual order to the next. A personâ€™s propriety will be seriously questioned if he does not earn a good living. And one who is very clever at juggling words will be considered a learned scholar.

By: What’s Enlightenment Anyway? - Pop Occulture

What’s Enlightenment Anyway? - Pop Occulture — Thu, 18 May 2006 05:58:30 +0000

[...] My post on punk rock yoga sparked an interesting line of conversation over on a blog called Gnostocosmosis. Author Joe Chip sums up our interaction around the subject of enlightment: I commented with, â€œIf it leads to liberation, it is a good thing, right?â€ [...]

By: Tim Boucher

Tim Boucher — Thu, 18 May 2006 05:30:40 +0000

Yeah, I did read that article and posted about it here:

http://www.timboucher.com/journal/2006...6/attack-of-the-seattle-megachurches/

Religion for the new generation is not going to be prettyâ€¦

Well good, then at least it will be consistent with how it’s been for other generations as well.

Oh, wait, â€œspiritualityâ€ is not actually involved.

Again, I don’t know a lot about yoga, so I may be talking out of my ass: but I have always wondered how people could separate yoga out as a simple form of exercise when it seems like the exercise part may actually be the least important of what yoga is really all about. It seems like the physical aspects of it are only after-effects of the spiritual discipline which seems mostly lost on people who walk around with yoga mats because its trendy…

By: Aditi

Aditi — Thu, 18 May 2006 03:50:41 +0000

Hatha yoga is a joke. Why do these people insist on jumping over yama, niyama, asana, pranayama?? Oh, wait, “spirituality” is not actually involved. It’s just a ploy to get the DIY kids (even 10 year-old punk rockers if you read the FAQ) money.

Did you read the article about all the 18+ indie kids in Seattle going to hipster church on Cap Hill? Religion for the new generation is not going to be pretty…

By: alistair

alistair — Thu, 18 May 2006 02:34:31 +0000

the state we are in has no comparison to the state we could be in if we did something different…….so how do we know we are free……in comparison to what. it`s like the pitch that if you do such and such or eat such and such you`ll live longer…..really, longer than what?

By: gnostocosmosis » Blog Archive » punk rock yoga, reply to tim

gnostocosmosis » Blog Archive » punk rock yoga, reply to tim — Thu, 18 May 2006 01:13:17 +0000

[...] Good post at Pop Occulture about punk rock yoga, some yoga class somewhere that combines hatha yoga with punk tunes and a DIY aesthetic. Tim raises interesting points as usual. This time, however, I disagreed fairly strongly with what he said. Here’s the tender meat of his ambivalent stance to the class: How much is it okay to strip-mine cultural traditions for your own purposes? Is this a wholly bad thing, or is it something that people simply do naturally as they acquire experiences and knowledge in their lives? Is there a way that we can combine things that doesnâ€™t diminish the original traditions but actually strengthens and builds and adds new life into them? [...]

By: Tim Boucher

Tim Boucher — Wed, 17 May 2006 20:39:22 +0000

If it leads to liberation, it is a good thing, right?

I no longer accept that as a given. What’s liberation, anyway? Why should that be the end all be all?

By: Joe Chip

Joe Chip — Wed, 17 May 2006 20:02:17 +0000

If it leads to liberation, it is a good thing, right?

Which brings up another question: Does it lead to liberation? Though I doubt any of us could ever know, IMHO the answer is probably a resounding: it depends.

The idea of purity is a joke, like the idea of authenticity in food. If I go to a Mexican restaurant does it need to be authentic? Fuck no. It just needs to be good.

In conclusion, punk rock yoga is what it is, nothing more and nothing less.

By: China Krys Darrington

China Krys Darrington — Wed, 17 May 2006 13:20:22 +0000

Yoga has help me balance much of my internal turmoil and that has been reflected in an external calm and peace as well. As someone who germinated in the punk rock culture of the late 70’s — all through the 80’s — and still have many lingering vestiges of that development lingering in my soul, I appreciate a “punk rock” approach to yoga.

No, my yoga classes are not like that. I might check it out, but I don’t think it would be where I would feel most comfortable today. Then again, I’m 35 now and most of my “inner chaos” has resolved itself. Would I be more open to TRY yoga if something like this happened to me when I was 15? Hells yes!

To me, it’s about broadening the base. Opening up the gates to the unwashed masses. Maybe….just maybe…if the exposure to Yoga happens young and in an unorthodox setting, it might be remembered later or integrated into the self as a viable option.

I know that my DharmaPunx group (Noah Levine) has been instrumental in allowing me to be “me” and also to be still. Noah always says that the Buddha was the original Rebel Saint.

By: alistair

alistair — Wed, 17 May 2006 09:31:31 +0000

a culture gets what it asks for. if we let marketing people shape our cultural landscape then we will get these juxtapositions that suggest a different thing, when the core of the thing, in this case yoga, remains the same. for the uninitiated, punk rock yoga or surf yoga or or nude yoga may be appealing, but for the person practicing and understanding the benifits that yoga provides will want purity.
like soccer or baseball or fish and chips. if you put cheese on it, it`s not going to be fish and chips anymore.
but……….punk rock yoga might be fun and if it provides entertainment for enough people eventually nobody willl be able to remember a time when the two things were seperate.
judgementally speaking though, if you need punk rock adrenalization you aren`t looking for the yogic experience. i have noticed that yoga is being marketed as a “workout” and a such will become prey to trivialisation. it`s also a form of entertainment and socialisation for many who aren`t necessarily ever going to become aware of internal energetic states but are going to fixate on attire and designer mats. and swastika tattoos. i heard someone recently saying that the “new” thing is to do yoga in a sauna………because sting is doing it. he`s drinking pee too.

By: channel null

channel null — Wed, 17 May 2006 03:34:57 +0000

HECKâ€¦ whatâ€™s yoga even about anyways? Does anybody even know anymore?

Congrats, Tim, you win the prize! There’s a line in The Yoga of Power where Evola points out that “Hatha” is a tantric practice and that one translation is, literally, “violent” path. He wrote that in the first half of this century. If he were still in this world he’d probably have polished the jackboots and started kicking major raw-foodist yoga-pilates ass right now. (though he was a vegetarian himself)

By: aDude

aDude — Wed, 17 May 2006 03:16:44 +0000

The whole yoga scene is so full of marketing gimmickry you could probably do a lot worse than “punk rock yoga” still once you had done that for awhile I would hope you would seek out something more authentic. This“punk rock vedanta” post on Key 23 was very stimulating when I started learning about dzogchen, though now I see some ways in which its oversimplified.