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Showing posts with the label Sunday Times

Taking yoga too seriously

As I mentioned the other day, I read an article in The Sunday Times regarding yoga. The article, titled Celebrity devotees, designer yoga mats and jumped-up teachers — where will it all end? by Nirpal Dhaliwal, is – to say the least – scornful of the holier-than-thou attitude held by many yoga instructors and students alike; celebrity “devotees” and the use of yoga as a means of showing that one is well off or trying to keep up with the Jones's. Personally, I try to avoid falling into these stereotypes, although I may be guilty of letting slip the occasional “namaste” or two. Yoga has certainly been of great benefit to me since I started practising it way back in 1994, but I think that, if care is not taken, there is definitely a danger of taking oneself too seriously. This, in turn, can lead to self-righteous and pretentious behaviour, which is just not what yoga is all about. I will leave you with Nirpal Dhaliwal's 10 yoga no-nos. I could not help but laugh when I read them: