let me start by saying that I had my doubts on how should this post be written, in English or Romanian, but here we go, as a test, also because this is summing up also my recent experiences here in Barcelona..

some of you, might remember those old times, 5-6 years ago while at the end of the class i was coming while you were on shavasana to massage a little your feet, pressing on your shoulders down or during the class playing some music (to make you feel that you are in India already)… but then many of you were coming only for this wrap up of the class, connecting less with Yoga and expecting more of that.. that which is not Yoga, that which actually creates addiction, karmic bounds, rises thoughts, etc.

I also recall the intense look and the critics, on my 2014 visit in India, when my teacher Krishna caught us doing this at the end of the class, extending it even more to the place where even a (stand alone) massage for a yogi should not be required, as fueling one of the senses (touching) creates craving (sometimes also in a form of muscular pain) and its against the principle of sense controlling (pratyahara).

give credit to yoga

Now this text is mostly addressed to the yoga teachers (and instructors) which might not give a cent on reading, but also to you dear practitioner, please value, give yoga some credit!

boosted yoga

I’ve been attending some classes here, some of them invite you to chant a mantra, Aum or Aum shanti shanti shantihi.. but wait, before you start, they might unwrap an indian harmonium to give you the key sound (which they might hold for the entire duration). You will be invited also to imagine (or dream about) lotus flowers, energy bowls, chakras while moving or practicing things from qigong, tai chi or some Chinese medicine thingies. During the class I might recall many songs from my old “yoga class” playlist, harder for me to focus especially when i recognize parts of mantra and I become curious if that is the mantra or not 🙂 – i was actually reliving my classes of 2013-2014. A nice spray of lemongrass or something fresh will be breezed in the air during shavasana and before you “wake up”  4-5 gong hits, then after some silence, just to mark the end of your shavasana a 1-2 high pitch from the hand cymbals, then you turn to some side and arrange yourself in a meditative pose. This adventure was not sum-up but it happen just in one yoga class. Maybe i was sweaty enough or we were too many and the massage / touching was skipped, but I had to wonder periodically, where I am and what am I doing?

Questions

now this rolls in my mind, dear teacher, does your class has any value or do you lack confidence in yoga and what you practice that you need so much wrap around?

dear student can you really make a difference between what is yoga between all of this? can you still give credit to yoga?

who are your teachers (or gurus) that thought you all of this circus?