Sorry, there’s nothing new to offer in Yoga

Commercial pressures may make Yoga Teachers claim that they have something new to offer. But sorry to break the news, nothing new can really be offered in Yoga from the context of its core teachings.
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The core premise of Yoga is to reveal the Truth. So, no one can teach a ‘new’ Truth per se. Yes, techniques to reveal the Truth do change, but changing techniques should not take the focus away from the Truth.
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If Yoga were Math, then what it seeks to reveal is 2+2=4. The teacher can use different techniques to show how 2+2=4, but just to be different from the peers, or just because the students are bored, the teacher can’t say 2+2=9.
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Popular Yoga defines Yoga as a set of techniques, instead of defining it as a search for Truth. There are so many Yoga techniques stoking our FOMO that even a seasoned practitioner can get overwhelmed.
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The Yoga industry has converted Yoga students into customers & thrives on spinning technique after technique to entertain bored customers looking for something ‘new’. A tricky question for many Yoga teachers these days is – how to handle a bored & distracted Yoga student?
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The pressure to satisfy such a customer has also led many to appropriate techniques that have nothing to do with Yoga, and teach them as Yoga.
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What also creates confusion is how the popular narrative of “What Yoga is” is repackaged every couple of years to piggyback on trending social issues just to become more marketable.
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The state of Modern Yoga is exactly like many of us, trying to find ourselves by fitting into ideas of other people.
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This post is not a rant. I am just voicing confusions that Yoga teachers talk to me about. I am happily & willingly a part of this Yoga Industry, trying to work sincerely with what I believe in, at times even going against trending narratives & facing backlash. I teach the same old Yoga, for years.
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Techniques are crucial, but do not allow the excitation of techniques to blind you from seeking the Truth. Keep reminding yourself of the original purpose of Yoga.
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As a Yoga Professional, take time to pause, reflect, study, and find clarity in what kind of Yoga you want to teach.

by yogaprasad (follow him for more brilliant content like this)