My response to Yogi Ram’s Denouncement of Shiva Rea.

So Shiva Rea wears stretchy pants and sports bras.  And she teaches wild, undulating vinyasas.  She brings in live drum orchestras.  She quotes ancient tantric texts, and mixes it with her own brand of inspirational cheerleading.  The few times I’ve worked with her, I had an excellent time.  Really enjoyed myself, and also I felt like I grew, spiritually.  I felt my prana flowing, my body opening, my mind clearing.  All good in the hood, as far as I’m concerned.
I was really surprised to hear Yogi Ram’s quote, “Wearing skimpy clothes, glamorizing or doing unusual things definitely affects the dignity of Yoga. The government needs to step in and retain the essence and authenticity of the traditional Indian art.”  Shocked really, and saddened.  Saddened, because I naively believed that the yoga culture that I had opted into was beyond the repressive and misogynistic attitudes that I had come to associate with western traditions.  I’ve seen these things pop up a few times before, but this time, I’m really rubbed the wrong way.  Because Shiva clearly hasn’t done anything wrong.  I’ve seen an article or two that has come to her defense, but that isn’t even necessary.
It seems more useful to address the obvious underlying issue in Yogi Ram’s attitude.  Yogi Ram seems to have a problem with women.   He seeks to deny them of their power, their sexual and sensual agency, their place in the holy mandiram.  He seeks to shame them, to vilify their bodies, and to repress their femininity.  How else would you explain his words?
Yoga is a tradition passed down by a lineage of naked men who cover themselves in the ashes of dead people, hang out in graveyards, drink out of skulls, and smoke massive amounts of weed.  The Lord of the yogis is a naked man.  You would think that ashes and loincloths would fall under the heading of skimpy clothes.  Unusual behavior?  Take your pick.
But they are men.  Men are allowed to do what they want.  Men can choose what to do with their own bodies, can go naked if they want, can hang heavy weights from their members if they want.   Not women, though.  Women need to be kept under control, protected and locked away, like any other piece of property.  We see this often in western culture, but not so much in our yoga, because we have naturally been attracted to the highest elements, of love, acceptance and freedom.  We have been spared much of the dogma and backwoods rhetoric.  But here it is, yogic subjugation of the female, plain as day.
If another man sees OUR woman, while she is dressed in revealing clothing, he might feel lust, he might try to take her away from us.  He might even use force.  He might rape our woman, perhaps contaminating our bloodline.  And, (and this one is maybe even more dangerous to a fearful male ego) if we see a woman that isn’t ours, wearing stretchy pants, we might feel our primal, instinctual urges, we might be motivated to use force, and forsake our spiritual motivations, and act bestial.  Even if we don’t act bestial (pashukarma), we would have to admit that we live in a body that has bestial tendencies.  Animalistic thoughts arise, its part of the hardware.  But what to do?  Best to deal with them honestly, use a yoga and meditation practice to liberate the energy from the thought forms, and move into a loving, accepting place.   You don’t blame hot dancing women in stretchy pants though, just cause you can’t hold your bandhas.  It’s a shallow expression of a victim mentality, and that, if anything, is what would affect the dignity of yoga.

Here is the Original Article In The Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/8368854/Yoga-row-between-Indian-purists-and-Western-free-form.html