Free yoga class shut down because yoga is now offensive

Well, I needed motivation to up my yoga game. Thanks for
That.

If heathy stretching turns me Buddhist, right on.

originally posted by: Quetzalcoatl14

originally posted by: LanceCorvette

originally posted by: Quetzalcoatl14

originally posted by: Sremmos80
This is the examples of 'PC' out of control that I can get behind.

Yes we stole the practice, but if we got rid of everything we stole then we wouldn't have jack.

The thing is, many Indians teach such classes, and yoga in the West actually got going because several prominent yogis from India were sent by their masters to the West to do exactly that!

Ha ha, I teach a regular class at the local gym where I have three *Indian* women who come all the time!

Haha, nice man. Are they actually Indian, given your quotes?

I've actually always wanted to do the yoga teacher course at some point. A lot of my friends have taught at various points.

Which style do you teach?

Not "quotes" but *asterisk* for emphasis that the Indians are freakin' coming to me, a middle aged Italian dude from Chicago, to get their culture back.

My default style to teach is a Chicago Vinyasa (I call it) that I learned when I lived there; but frankly I can teach pretty much any style depending on if I'm subbing a class for someone else. You learn the fundamentals then you plug them into the various methods. Reverse "Simon Says" is all it really is.

I'm so tired of all this bull! These days, everything offends someone or another. We live in a crazy world and it's getting crazier by the day!

Yep, and the political correctness is not going to stop until every woman is clad head to toe in a Burqua, walking 10 feet behind her master, and every able bodied man is a strict adherent to Sharia Law.

"Allahu Akbar" will be the word of the day, with an AK-47 in hand...and (at the rate things are going) I will be long gone, having died for freedom long before this day.

It's a truly sad statement of modern society.

Something is wrong with the course load at the University of Ottawa if students have the time to make an issue of yoga class.

In my day, at another institution, granted, after a long week of classes, the weekend beer blow-out kept sensitivity to arcane social and cultural issues at a minimum.

originally posted by: Nexttimemaybe

originally posted by: trollz

A free yoga class has been suspended after student leaders at a Canadian university are concerned the practice of it could be seen as 'cultural appropriation'.

Jennifer Scharf, who has been offering the weekly yoga class at the University of Ottawa campus for seven years

The center's staff said that yoga has been under 'a lot of controversy lately' as a result of how it is being practiced and which cultures those practices are 'being taken from,'

Staff from the center also expressed that many of those cultures 'experienced oppression, cultural genocide and Diasporas due to colonialism and western supremacy'.

Ahimakin said the student federation had placed the yoga program on hiatus while they worked with students to improve it and make it 'more inclusive to certain groups of people that feel left out

Scharf suggested that she would be willing to change the name of the program from yoga to 'mindful stretching' as a compromise.

Source
Well, there you have it. In a world where everything is offensive, that label now includes yoga... Because some people feel that it's an expression of Western oppression and genocide over other cultures.
Insanity.

I'm going to agree with you completely, that is complete madness. Surely practicing yoga is demonstrating a kind of unity with other cultures.

Or maybe it's simply people exercising, stretching, and meditating.

a reply to: Soylent Green Is People

Or, better yet, maybe it's yet another example of people intentionally stealing the thunder of the alleged 'terrorism and injustices' taking place on the Missou campus!!

(Heavy cynicism / irony / sarcasm intended)

On Campus at U.PE: The University of Practically Everywhere

Why would anyone want to ban beauty?

originally posted by: Sremmos80
This is the examples of 'PC' out of control that I can get behind.

Yes we stole the practice, but if we got rid of everything we stole then we wouldn't have jack.

We didnt steal it. Yogananda brought it to the West to help us achieve enlightenment. I wish the pc crowd would make up their minds though. Strange its not religion they want to ban yoga in schools for its the association of British rule....absolutely nuts in the face of it.

but look into his eyes and see the love yogananda

originally posted by: GoShredAK
Well, I needed motivation to up my yoga game. Thanks for
That.

If heathy stretching turns me Buddhist, right on.

It's derived from Hindu culture..

a reply to: trollz

Trust me on this one....there is very little similarity to the true Yogic traditions.

It's just overpriced LuLu Lemons and a bunch of butts in your face.

If the Americans really wish to call these stretching exercises "yoga" then fine by me, but don't come screaming and wailing because well-intentioned but woefully ill-informed Western Minds accidentally activate Kundalini and their Starbucks Frappuchinos reveal themselves as the Space Serpent Devil Venom and those Ugg boots start eating them alive from the ground up.

I'll be too busy laughing.

originally posted by: GENERAL EYES
a reply to: trollz

Trust me on this one....there is very little similarity to the true Yogic traditions.

It's just overpriced LuLu Lemons and a bunch of butts in your face.

If the Americans really wish to call these stretching exercises "yoga" then fine by me, but don't come screaming and wailing because your well-intentioned but woefully ill-informed Western Minds accidentally activate Kundalini and your Starbucks Frappuchinos reveal themselves as the Space Serpent Devil Venom and your Ugg boots start eating you alive from the ground up.

I'll be too busy laughing.

Don't generalize everyone. There are plenty of Westerners that go study real yoga, not gym asanas classes.

originally posted by: seasoul
On Campus at U.PE: The University of Practically Everywhere

Why would anyone want to ban beauty?

More, Hot, sexy, politically incorrect, offensive westernized, exploitative yoga pics please.

I'm a relatively secular person (and not particularly religious), but why is it so "PC" to culturally appropriate the holiday gift-giving tree-decorating season away from Christians who are trying to celebrate the season as "Christmas" an important part of their faith?

I'm serious here. Why do the Social Justice Warriors feel it is so "wrong" to practice yoga without the Hindu Spiritualism, but those same Social Justice Warriors think it's OK for secular America to culturally appropriate the holiday season from Christians? (and don't give me the "it was originally a Pagan holiday" argument, because that Pagan holiday was a long time ago).

If they would have not allowed three hundred pound women to wear Yoga pants, this would never have happened. I wouldn't get caught dead in Yoga pants.

a reply to: Quetzalcoatl14

Oh, believe me...I was not including everyone in my snark. I rarely do such things intentionally...I have retracted my woeful misuse of pronouns in my previous post to clarify. I hope that helps somewhat.

But the fact of the matter is that esoteric everything is big business. Who do you think stitches those expensive yoga pants? There are those of us who understand and honor the roots of these traditions, but you have to admit that a large majority of practitioners stick to the surface level beauty aspects....as they rightfully should...but someone somewhere is making sweatshops work their asses off for what is generally perceived as little more than a faddish trend.

Fine by me, like I said - I'm all for beauty....but I have severe distaste for some of the more "arrogantly enlightened" practitioners who are only beautiful on the outside and completely neglect their inner beauty process.

Nothing worse than a beautiful package filled with venomous snakes, if you catch my proverbial drift.

Let's have a show of hand of guys who have been lured into less than pleasant relationships because of a perky butt in a tight pair of yoga pants, shall we? If the Yoga Practitioner is truely interested in traditions and at lest attempting becoming balanced and holistic in All Things Beautiful...no one has to worry bout the Space Serpent Venom and Evil Uggs from Hell, right? But face it - most people are more concerned with the package than the contents within.

Not everyone, but I've seen some girls who abuse their gifts with most untoward manners.

It was that sort to whom my snark was directed and in reference to.
And I will laugh when it happens.
Very heartily and with great mirth.

Multiculturalism is awesome, shut up if you don't agree you bigot !!!!

Multiculturalism means we all embrace each other's culture and enjoy the benefits of such wonderful things.

Except this. And that. And don't do that either. And don't celebrate that thing, or wave that other thing either. And stop doing that. And If you do this again I'll call the police. And you better start doing this. And wear this. And stop everything else.

Ahh multiculturalism... I'm so glad they forced it onto us.

a reply to: IAMTAT

38 Ways Reasons Why Your Girlfriend Should Practice Yoga!

1. Improves her flexibility
2. Builds muscle strength
3. Perfects her posture
4. Prevents cartilage and joint breakdown
5. Protects her spine
6. Betters her bone health
7. Increases her blood flow
8. Drains her lymphs and boosts immunity
9. Ups her heart rate
10. Drops her blood pressure
11. Regulates her adrenal glands
12. Makes her happier
13. Founds a healthy lifestyle
14. Lowers blood sugar
15. Helps her focus
16. Relaxes her system
17. Improves her balance
18. Maintains her nervous system
19. Releases tension in her limbs
20. Helps her sleep deeper
21. Boosts her immune system functionality
22. Gives her lungs room to breathe
23. Prevents IBS and other digestive problems
24. Gives her peace of mind
25. Increases her self-esteem
26. Eases her pain
27. Gives her inner strength
28. Connects her with guidance
29. Helps keep her drug free
30. Builds awareness for transformation
31. Benefits her relationships
32. Uses sounds to soothe her sinuses
33. Guides her body’s healing in her mind’s eye
34. Keeps allergies and viruses at bay
35. Helps her serve others
36. Encourages self care
37. Supports her connective tissue
38. Uses the placebo effect, to affect change

originally posted by: Soylent Green Is People
I'm a relatively secular person (and not particularly religious), but why is it so "PC" to culturally appropriate the holiday gift-giving tree-decorating season away from Christians who are trying to celebrate the season as "Christmas" an important part of their faith?

I'm serious here. Why do the Social Justice Warriors feel it is so "wrong" to practice yoga without the Hindu Spiritualism, but those same Social Justice Warriors think it's OK for secular America to culturally appropriate the holiday season from Christians? (and don't give me the "it was originally a Pagan holiday" argument, because that Pagan holiday was a long time ago).

< cough > Christians culturally appropriated Christmas from pagan cultures, not the other way around. Investigate culturally important holidays of the ages of old, such as Saturnalia.

I know if irks the frakk out of them to point that out, but they're the idiots with their heads in the sand regarding their history here, not others.

Say, maybe there should be a movement to remove the Christ from Christmas, let's shame the hell out of Christians for being the culture thieves they are here!

/sarc

a reply to: Soylent Green Is People

Because they're immature Nihilists blindly grasping at straws trying to believe in anything but actual reality? Either that or they're the new wave of teenybopper "satanic vampires" just waging war on every spiritualism that doesn't feed their personal ego set? Bets me man, kids are whack. Darn those internets and lonely non-conformists searching desperately for a sense of identity and community somewhere...anywhere but at the hands of overly judgmental hard-line traditional hyper-religious types.


Anyway, yeah....YOGA.