Leaving the Yoga World | Mark Whitwell

New York City NY

30 December, 2020

3:04 AM

Description

Leaving the Yoga World | Mark Whitwell on Ricky Gervais’ After Life Mark Whitwell | Heart of Yoga I recently watched Ricky Gervais’ TV series After Life (2019) and loved seeing the brilliant parody of the absurd excesses of new age yoga and spirituality. Gervais plays Tony Johnson, a British everyman who, in the aftermath of losing his wife Sarah to breast cancer, also loses all will to social nicety. In a well-meaning attempt to cheer his grieving friend up, his boss Matt drags him along to a yoga class run by a new age guru-type named Simon. The collision course is set. Tony immediately balks at the instructor with his tie-dye shirt, three-quarter length beige pants, mala beads, bangles and new age bromides: “Your mind is in every cell of your body. I want you to think about that,” he tells Tony condescendingly; “Shine your heart forward. Gaze into your pelvis. And look out of your third eye.” We all know these kinds of classes! Tony reaches breaking point when Simon pushes the idea that illness is “a state of mind” and that “if bad things have happened to you. You must have welcomed them in.” “That’s ridiculous,” Tony says, exiting the class whilst hurling a few cutting insults at Simon. Mark Whitwell | Heart of Yoga Gervais hits the nail on the head of why most of the public is completely turned off by the yoga world. It is refreshing to have a wonderful comic cut through its dense layers of faux-spiritual nonsense. My teacher U.G. used to call it “shoddy goods on the spiritual marketplace sold to a gullible and suffering public.” Without being imposed upon by the social and spiritual demand to be happy and positive all the time and with the help of a few good friends, Tony gradually and naturally finds his way back into the related condition — his anger, pain, and grief eventually resolves in compassion for himself and others. No mental manipulation required. I enjoyed the show’s decision to celebrate relationship itself as the primary healing force in our lives. It is an idea that is at the heart of an actual Yoga tradition that was shown to me years ago in India. It was neither the multi-billion dollar industry of gymnastic brands and new age commodities of the west; nor the big business of spirituality and enlightenment that is exported from the east. But a sincere and actual tradition of spiritual practice, shared amongst friends, that is useful to every kind of person. In the tradition that my teacher Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (1888–1989) and his son TKV Desikachar (1938–2016) brought forth, Yoga was taught as the practical means for each person to be intimate with themselves and others. Practices were shared between friends in one-to-one meetings and were tailored to individual needs: body type, age, health, and cultural background. The Yoga was adapted to the student and not the student to the Yoga. Read the full article here: Mark Whitwell About:  Mark Whitwell has taught yoga for over three decades across the globe, and is the founder of the Heart of Yoga foundation, and the Heart of Yoga Peace Project. Mark Whitwell is interested in developing an authentic yoga practice for the individual, based on the teachings of T. Krishnamacharya (1888-1989) and his son TKV Desikachar (1938-2016), with whom he enjoyed a relationship for more than twenty years. Mark Whitwell is the author of four books: ‘Yoga of Heart,’ ‘The Promise,’ ‘The Hridayasutra,’ and, ‘God and Sex: now we get both.’ He also edited and contributed to his TKV Desikachar’s classic yoga text, ‘The Heart of Yoga.’ Mark Whitwell is a father of three and a grandfather. He now resides between New Zealand and Fiji and continues to write, teach, and speak. http://jaidenzhns52963.tblogz.com/yoga-and-vedic-religiosity-an-interview-with-mark-whitwell-11546766 http://israelhntx64074.qowap.com/54432104/yoga-and-vedic-religiosity-an-interview-with-mark-whitwell http://lorenzokxjs75329.blog2learn.com/43047561/yoga-and-vedic-religiosity-an-interview-with-mark-whitwellhttp://lorenzocios51852.jiliblog.com/54333262/yoga-and-vedic-religiosity-an-interview-with-mark-whitwell http://marcodjpt52963.getblogs.net/26457134/yoga-and-vedic-religiosity-an-interview-with-mark-whitwell http://juliuszfko30740.dsiblogger.com/26699610/yoga-and-vedic-religiosity-an-interview-with-mark-whitwell  http://martinouzd96396.ka-blogs.com/49113804/yoga-and-vedic-religiosity-an-interview-with-mark-whitwell http://griffinhnsx74174.blogofoto.com/26519022/yoga-and-vedic-religiosity-an-interview-with-mark-whitwell  http://rylanekpt51851.acidblog.net/26591641/yoga-and-vedic-religiosity-an-interview-with-mark-whitwell http://connerltyd96306.fireblogz.com/26237640/yoga-and-vedic-religiosity-an-interview-with-mark-whitwell