Although my hometown Mysore is the Yoga capital of the world, I have never been tempted to become a yoga practitioner nor have I figured out its appeal. I know a little about Yogasastra and have seen hundreds of yoga enthusiasts who come to Mysore to learn from Pattabhi Jois. But that’s about it. My interest too is pretty much limited to wanting to write a couple of stories about the movement of Yoga enthusiasts between Mysore and California, focusing on the two ends. Of course, Mysore gets enthusiasts from the rest of America, Australia, Ireland, and many other countries too.
As I read this funny story in Salon on partner yoga, I realized whatever the appeal of yoga is from an Indian perspective, California transforms that to be suitable for the local palate. Catherine Price, an East Coast transplant in California, shares her discovery of partner yoga:
a playful five-minute break in which you assist someone with a difficult move, use your weight to deepen each other’s stretches or, in extreme cases, do balancing poses on top of one another’s bodies. I watched in horror as the room, formerly quiet and calm, burst into an excited buzz. It was like my yoga class had morphed into a cocktail party.
So she investigates the new Cali-fad:
At the moment, the trendiest of the partner-based versions seems to be Acroyoga, a San Francisco-based movement that combines “the spiritual wisdom of yoga, the loving kindness of Thai massage, and the dynamic power of Acrobatics.” In other words, you do some yoga moves with a partner and then spend an hour or so climbing on top of one another.
Sadly, much to Patanjali’s regret, yoga isn’t about meditation. Is it a new age ‘civilized’ fitness fad? Possibly. But it has also become something more. A bonding exercise for the spiritually minded Californians.
Aside: A shout out to Sunaad, to share his thoughts.
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