Guest guest Posted September 1, 2009 Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 Really good article by Anne Cushman about what is really traditional yoga:"...Other venerable texts on hatha yoga eschew mention of asanas altogether, focusing instead on the subtle energy systems and chakras that the poses both reflect and influence. The modern emphases on precision of alignment, physical fitness, and therapeutic effects are purely twentieth-century innovations."The article begins with:A couple of years ago, when I had just returned to Yoga Journal after six months of traveling to ashrams and holy sites in India, I got a call from a writer for Mirabella magazine who was researching a fashion spread on exercise wear."I was wondering" she said, "what is the traditional outfit for doing yoga?"I thought of the naked yogis I had seen on the banks of the Ganges, their skin smeared with ashes from the cremation pyre to remind themselves of the body's impermanence, their foreheads painted with the insignia of Shiva, the god of destruction. I couldn't resist."Well, traditionally, you would carry a trident and cover your body with the ashes of the dead," I told her.http://www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/466 Helen Driscoll Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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