The modern perception of yoga — how much yoga is in yoga?

These days, yoga has become an important, widely recognized word — and I might even say that for a certain group it has become a hot commodity, something especially noticeable worldwide over the past decade or so. Today, thousands of people go to yoga classes. But they don't really know what yoga is. They don't know why they practice a particular asana or pranayama. It seems they do it purely for physical development — not in the sense of bodybuilding, but as a way of coping with the limitations that social life, work, and lifestyle have placed on them.

Who are these people practicing yoga? They are an ordinary cross-section of society — representing different industries, professions, social standing, economic groups, traditions, and religions. What is their situation in life? They are fighting on two fronts: physical and economic. The word "physical" here refers to the limitations that society, work, and lifestyle have placed on the human body and its movement. For the average person, what is the ratio of movement to sitting still all day? Whether you're in the car, sitting at a desk in the office, or relaxing in the living room at home, you are static most of the time. You actually spend a minimal amount of time in motion. At home you move from one room to another, and if you have a garden, maybe ten steps outside to pick some flowers or water the plants, or perhaps half an hour of a pleasant walk in the morning or evening. From home to the car, from the car to the office, from the office to the car, and from the car back home. Those who feel the need for more physical activity go to the gym, work up a bit of a sweat, and come back home.

This state is not good for our physical body, because the health of the organism depends on movement and the regular exertion of its organs. We have gone from a hundred percent movement down to about ten to fifteen percent (and in highly developed countries, even down to just a few percent). Life in big cities has become easy, and achieving anything no longer requires much physical effort. As a result, a condition has developed in the physical body that, over time, becomes fixed genetically. Succeeding generations grow weaker and therefore experience illness and imbalance, which further worsens their physical condition.

The second front the average person struggles on is financial. The world today revolves around money, and you have to make sure you have enough income to meet all your needs and your family's demands. This drive leads to mental stress and psychological and emotional weakening. A large portion of people don't come to yoga for spiritual enlightenment, but for physical and mental health. They aren't interested in creativity, personality change, or values. They simply want a fit body and a somewhat better mind. That's all.

Because of the growing interest in yoga, many people now see yoga as a way of life. This has become something of a craze, and many yoga teachers don't care whether they're teaching yoga correctly; they're interested only in the financial rewards. This is a dangerous trend. Over time, a point will come when the negative effects of such teaching become visible, and demand for yoga will decline. If a yoga teacher has a group whose only goal is improving the condition of the physical body (or if the teacher is the one who led their students to see yoga only this way), then there is no need to preach yoga philosophy to them. But a good teacher must smuggle in the true message of yoga. Because it is through yoga's many dimensions that a practitioner ends up not only with a fit physical body, but also with a mind free of negative emotions, anxiety, and stress… and such a person becomes a better husband/wife, father/son, mother/daughter, employer/employee, neighbor, citizen, and steward of the environment. Without this ability, you are not a yoga teacher, no matter how many degrees and certificates you earn.

If you want to become a good, genuine yoga teacher (for whom sharing the teachings of yoga is their dharma), it is your duty to work at giving people the right approach, understanding, and practice. Many modern yoga teachers teach a "push and pull" yoga, rather than a sthiram (steady) and sukham (comfortable) yoga.

Various brands have sprung up — power yoga, kinetic yoga, flow yoga, and so on — but they show no understanding of the system of yoga, let alone the tradition of yoga. So if you want to work as a yoga teacher, the first commitment you must make is to understand and bring into your own life Patanjali's eight-limbed yoga. As a yoga teacher, you must practice living yoga. Live your day with a yogic attitude, and be the witness, the observer, the drashta of yourself.

Another point worth understanding is that in today's society, an organization (a yoga studio/school established or run by several teachers) fares better than a lone individual. An organization can evolve if it has the right guidelines, goals, and principles. So if you can join or found an organization, you should do so. Don't dream too big, or you'll lose yourself in imagination and fantasy and miss the opportunities that already exist. If you want to be a yogi, remember this: don't miss the opportunities present in the here and now. We make plans, we long to do many things, but we get so swept up in our small achievements or problems that the goal becomes the means, and the means becomes the goal. If you are part of an organization, or building your own venture, you also need training in administrative and organizational skills, team management, problem-solving, and project coordination. In such a team, it's easier and more effective to collaborate when one person has stronger administrative, marketing, and organizational abilities because they are Pitta, another has different gifts, like creativity, because they are Vata, and yet another has more compassion and patience because they are Kapha.

Another thing worth remembering is not to get swept up in the praise you receive. You may wonder what to do when people look at you as a spiritual, enlightened, or elevated person, while you yourself are still merely a student of yoga (because that is the nature of the path of yoga — yoga is a path to the self, through the self, and we are always at the beginner's level relative to the next stage of our growth). Remember that in that moment you are identifying with your ego. If someone praises you, either you'll believe it, or you'll say: "I know who I am; it isn't your opinion that matters to me, but my own understanding of myself." If you believe you are on the path of spiritual growth, yet praise lifts you up or brings you down, ask yourself: where is the equanimity that should be the fruit of your practice? This is why you must guard against situations, words, and ideas that disturb your peace of mind.

Yoga teachers should also know anatomy and physiology, along with a bit of psychology. They should know the principles of Yama and Niyama, pranayama, and understand pratyahara, dharana, and dhyana. They should be able to look back over a chain of events and draw conclusions from it. They should have knowledge of swabhava, one's individual nature, as well as hatha yoga, raja yoga, karma yoga, and bhakti yoga. That much is enough. You don't need to know kriya yoga or kundalini yoga. Ninety percent of society's needs can be met through knowledge of physiology, anatomy, psychology, hatha yoga, raja yoga, karma yoga, dhyana yoga, and bhakti yoga. Beyond that, whatever a yoga teacher does, they do according to the basic principles of yoga — drawing on all their physical, intellectual, and experiential resources.

Being a yoga teacher is just as important and demanding a profession as being a schoolteacher. Both professions must be carried out as a calling, and those who practice them should treat their work as their dharma. Just as a schoolteacher is responsible for a child's psychophysical development and for the character of the future adult, a yoga teacher is not only responsible for that person's continued psychophysical development, but can also become a guiding signpost on the path of their spiritual growth.

Piyush Mittal, Nirmala Institute of Yoga and Ayurveda

Post inspired by a lecture from my teacher — Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati