While the 2010 Winter Olympics are getting underway in Vancouver, the 2010 U.S. Yoga Asana Championship is also taking place this weekend in sunny Los Angeles. Though many balk at the idea of competitive yoga (including a campaign to include yoga in future Olympic Games), it has a long established history in India. Rajashree Choudhury, the founder and president of USA Yoga (and wife of Bikram) was kind enough to offer the following commentary on the value of yoga competitions:
The purpose of these competitions is to demonstrate and educate the general public as to the life renewing properties of yoga. When people see the healthy, strong, flexible bodies, the calmness of mind and the beauty of spirit in the competitors, they come to understand the magnificence of what yoga is and what yoga can do for them. Search within yourself to be the best person you can be, and encourage others to do the same.
An admirable sentiment, though one could certainly argue that, in fact, yoga competitions do just the opposite by promoting a level of practice that is not realistic for most people. And I'm still not clear on why it needs to be a competition. Drop your thoughts in the comment box.
I feel it is okay to have a competition for Yoga. I am not sure about the inclusion in Olympics but it does help in promoting the benefits of Yoga through experience. The only issue that needs to be taken care is the sprouting of numerous folks who claim to be teachers but are not as good – and then people asy Yoga does not work. Learning through experience helps in knowing who is a good teacher – after all, it is you who teaches yourself the most!
Yoga competition diminishes the exquisite complexity and true purpose of yoga. Yoga is not a competition, to make it one is to make it something else entirely. Competition makes it appears as a purely physical contortion to people who are uneducated about yoga and would perhaps make the unfit turn away from yoga as an option for them. My suggestion is to make a yoga showcase, not a competition.
The beautiful thing about these demonstrations, whether framed by competition or not, is that they are in fact a demonstration of a level of practice that IS realistic for most people. That’s why it’s incredible and inspiring – it’s a display of self-realization, of the possibilities of ANY individual. These aren’t professional athletes, these are people who have jobs, go to school, and have families. Because of their dedication they can do the things they do, not for any other reason. That’s yoga.
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry when it comes to the subject of yoga competitions. I agree that it is inspiring to see dedicated yogis demonstrate their practice. But it is ludicrous to turn it into a competition. It is ridiculous and I would even say wrong to attempt to isolate asana from the rest of the other 7 limbs of practice. To place that much emphasis on what we see on the outside is a corruption of the essence of practice in my opinion. Again I love the idea of demonstration, but see no reason to make it a competition. I feel it is not in the spirit of yoga/union/oneness.
To the commenters. Its not a yoga competition, its a yoga ASANA competition.
Also, every competetive sport has athletes that can do what most normal human beings cannot. So what? I play tennis twice a week, but still couldn’t return a serve from Serena Williams. DOes that mean that tennis shouldn’t be competetive as well?
I wonder what makes people react. My first thought, no yoga. To have an opinion about competition in yoga requires knowledge and years of experience.
Lay your ego’s down and listen….
Breathe.
You say, correctly: “though one could certainly argue that, in fact, yoga competitions do just the opposite by promoting a level of practice that is not realistic for most people.”
But one can argue: by the same standard, Olympic ski competitions and professional football tournaments promote a level of practice that is not realistic for most people…
Nevertheless ski and football enthusiasts can watch great champions in tv, and do their personal skiing and kicking footballs at amateurish level at the same time.
Gianna, I was thinking of it more like Olympic gymnastics. Almost no one would see that level some competition and think they could take up gymnastics as an adult. Yet yoga IS more complex, and mere mortals CAN become very proficient at asana with a very dedicated practice. I know yogis who think that even Yoga Journal shows too many advanced poses. And there is also the idea that you shouldn’t always been yearning for a certain posture but rather be content where you are. Like I said, a very complex topic!
One of my teachers at teacher training said, simply, “Yoga is a healing art, not a performance art.” That sums it up for me.
Dell, I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about. I watched a video of the male and female champions from one year doing the 26 Bikram postures, and the female champion was bent back so far that her fingers touched the floor behind her. That is not at all realistic to most people, even most yoga practitioners.
I don’t even know how someone could even be “judged” in this. It highlights the insanity of an American culture obsessed with American Idol.
Looking over the videos of the competitors on USA Yoga I noticed one telltale thing. None of them were really breathing. They’d find a pose, and then hold their breath – or breath in such a shallow way that you could not even see their lungs moving. While it’s beautiful to watch, and I admire their agility and dedication to the perfection of asana/posture, yoga is the union of the mind and body – and the breath is an integral part of that union. Without it, it’s just gymnastics.
Rolling Stone recently wrote an article about the Dahn Yoga group, a cult that originated in Korea. In reality, it varies so much from traditional yoga that it really isn’t yoga at all. I feel the same is true for these competitions. I hope that if it does become an Olympic sport, it is at least given another name than yoga.
Should just be called the Asana Championship and leave the word Yoga out of it. Other than that who cares? It doesn’t affect my personal yoga practice or the spiritual dimension inherent to it. For me and for most people, it will remain a healing art and a spiritual practice, not a competition.