Yoga Growing in the West -- Iyengar Leading the Way

Here is a little video segment for something different. Maria Arita of CBS 11 TV in Arlington, Texas does a general story on the growth of yoga in America, primarily led by Iyengar yoga, based upon the yoga style by BKS Iyengar. Has some nice yogis and yoganis upside down and doing the asanas, chanting, and all that yoga goodness.

It does mention the rise of commertialism within yoga which some fear as it branches out, with a segment on "dog yoga." At the same time, it mentions the tension that yoga faces with its roots in Hinduism, a religion that many Americans are not too comfortable with.

One the one hand the rise of commercialism can appear degrade a lot of the core spiritual aspects that are the foundation of yoga. Many American's perceptions of yoga is that it is merely a physical exercise or the newest fad at the gym. This misses the deeper aspects of yoga as a vehicle for transformation of consciousness and union. On the other hand, these classes may offer many people a gateway into a more spiritual practice that they would not have encountered. The first wave of a practice from another land is never going to be completely understood. Enough people will becoming curious of the deeper aspects and explore that.

There are many yoga teachers committed to exploring the deeper aspects, such as Miranda Hollar of the Arlington Yoga Center, who is profiled in this video. For those of you looking for a yoga teacher in your area, you should evaluate how deeply you want the spiritual or religous aspect to go.

Of course, much of Hinduism and yoga has a scientific bent to the practices, even if it appears religious. There is usually a deeper esoteric reason for practices such as chanting and how it effects you on an energetic level. Such explanations are not usually given in other forms of religous worship but are part of the yogic understanding of the cosmos, energy, and you.

Original Article and Video