Yoga-It's not about the poses

My current rant...and I apologize if this offends anyone. It's just where I am right now...fueled by a bit of disillusionment and grief. And, change.

Recently I have been becoming more and more dissatisfied with the yoga classes Ive taken or observed parts of.  They seem to be more about the poses, moving our body, usually in a quick flow, with very little thought given to breath or alignment or feeling. And sometimes safety. Very little centering, mostly just move here, move here, move this, move that, faster now, ok, cool down, Savasana.

Bleh.

And sadly, these seem to be the most popular classes.

I worry Im becoming a yoga snob. And maybe I am a bit biased.

But, mostly, I think Im just realizing that for me, yoga is not just about moving my body from one pose to another. It is about going inside, into my body, feeling and breathing into my tight hamstrings (left tighter than right usually) and letting them be tight. Its about sitting and breathing on my mat, and feeling my breath go from being shallow and erratic to smooth and deep in the course of 1 hour.It is about loving my slightly crooked pelvis and learning to adjust some poses to accommodate it. Its about learning to love my sometimes wobbly Warrior as much as I love the strong steady powerful one. Its about hearing an explanation of a pose of I've been doing for 6 years now and finally truly *getting* it. It is about spending several breaths in a pose because it feels sooo good. Its about staying in Legs Up the Wall long enough for my body to fully relax and my thoughts to slow down, even just for a few seconds. Its about feeling my heart burst open and tears of gratitude flow in Supported Fish.

It is not about how fast I can do Sun Salutations. It is not about how much I sweat. It is not about being sore the next day from that "kick ass yoga class" I took.

There have been exceptions...wonderful exceptions...mainly from 2 fellow Pranakriya teachers. One a recent graduate of the Atlanta 200 hr training and the other my teacher who recently returned to leading a weekly class. Both of these classes had something the others didnt. Body awareness. Anatomical details and languaging that created a deeper and different experience. Centering, spending a few minutes at the beginning of class to allow students to *arrive* inside, instead of getting right to the movement. Inviting students to listen to their bodies, to modify or ask for help with modifications if a pose didnt work for them.Or to do what feels right, even if its a different pose than what the class is doing. Breathing with movement...breathing into the movement. Breathing into the stillness.

I crave this deeper Yoga, the Yoga I love, the Yoga that has taught me to Love myself, even the dark side of myself.

The Yoga that has taught me everything is okay, even it feels like it isnt.