Hello again! I’ve had this brewing for a while – but a few recent events have helped me crystallize my thinking! (I also know this email could lose me “friends” and generate the rarely-received hate-mail** from the cult followers – but I don’t care. I’ve had enough.) ** I can count them on one hand btw! Normally I don’t write about two different things – but these are connected, so stick with me!

————————————————– Yoga’s “Code Of Conduct” ———————————————————-

First let’s start with a valuable, yet often-forgotten tenet of yoga – the “Code Of Conduct”. This was introduced to Yoga by Patanjali in his “eight limbs” and the first of the limbs is “Ahimsa”, which is the principle of doing no harm (literal translation “avoidance of violence”). There’s an excellent definition and history of Ahimsa on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahimsa

————————————————– Does Hot Yoga Neglect Ahimsa? ————————————————–

Ahimsa is not often referred to in Hot Yoga, as this particular style is usually promoted to be more about the body & the “physical challenge”. But we ALL know there’s much more to it than physical fitness … I know I keep coming back because I feel so great. How about you? Let’s take a look at that amazing way you feel after class. If you’re a Hot Yoga regular you’ve probably also experienced that feeling extending into many other areas of your life:

>> Feeling good “for no reason”!
>> Stopping “beating yourself up about stuff” (‘self-violence’ – the worst kind)
>> Being nicer to people, even strangers
>> Discovering new, more empowering behaviors when faced with stress; or other people’s stress or even aggression.

These are all clear examples of how Ahimsa will touch your life, even IF you don’t focus on it – it’s one of the delightful and far-reaching benefits of a regular Hot Yoga practice. So what’s the disturbing trend? Well, it’s the growing aggressive sub-culture of SOME (not all) incredibly dogmatic yoga teachers and studios around the world who MIS-TREAT students and other teachers.

This behavior definitely does NOT live up to one of the most important principles of yoga: Ahimsa – Non Violence to all living things. What’s the danger? Well it’s kinda like a contagious disease. There are teachers and students living in fear of what other teachers, studios or students will say or do in all sorts of situations. Students are worried that they can’t bring up that the heat is too high, that they feel sick, that something hurts for fear that they will be picked on or not allowed to come back to the studio. Teachers are worried that if they deviate even a little bit from “the standard text” (even for the better) that some other teacher will ‘tell on them’. (Yes, this really happens).

————————————————– Some more examples for you ——————————————————

Here are some more examples of what I mean: A liver-cancer survivor recently wrote to me (now two years in remission – yay!) of her experiences in a Hot Yoga studio where she collapsed and while on all fours crawling toward the door, begging to leave the room, she was refused permission. (I know, I know … I’m rolling my eyes too.) She also went on to say that she is an older practitioner and not always able to do the things that either the instructors or “the front row” could do. She told me she was surprised at the aggressive style (“you MUST do xxx”) and found the insistence on “achieving a pose” extremely restricting. The dialog offers almost no solutions for the less flexible or “less able”. It’s little wonder that she never returned to class. The story has a good ending however – thankfully she has continued her practice at home with Hot Yoga Doctor resources … it’s not the yoga that bothered her! This is by no means an isolated complaint by the way …

Another student has written to me of being instructed to keep doing something that hurts a great deal because the yoga will fix it. Neither of these examples embrace Ahimsa. And finally, we have the situation where excellent teachers are badly treated, just because they either question a method; or do not follow “the exact script” (and by that I mean they are criticized if the words are not identical or if they express pose instruction in a better, clearer way. Go figure.). Well I’m here to tell you that the exact script might be a good place to start learning  (questionably) … but it is NOT going to make a great teacher who can teach to multiple levels of ability, SAFELY, while leading a motivating and inspiring class (yes I said motivating and inspiring, not aggressive bootcamp drill- style!). I’m honestly here to do my very best to IMPROVE this amazing yoga style – yet I consistently meet resistance from other instructors who have swallowed the dogma.

————————————————– My Charter To You ——————————————————————–

So this is what has been crystallizing for a while … I’m fed up with this trend of ego-centric instruction and “nastiness & aggression” – and judging by the responses I get I don’t think the majority believe it to be useful in hot yoga either. And I will more actively promote a 100% positive; encouraging and non-violent approach to hot yoga …. and life.

Here’s my promise to you: I want YOU to know that I stand for YOUR outcomes, YOUR safety and to help YOU make YOUR hot yoga practice be a fundamental part of your well-being. If you have an issue with a pose – I’m NOT going to tell you: “Just do the yoga – everything will balance out in the long run”. Why? Because it simply isn’t true (want plenty of evidence? Look on our forum, right here at www.HotYogaDoctor.com). I’m also NOT going to aim criticism at the various teacher-trainings going on around the world right now. That would be me playing the same game. No – this is up to you and I to stand up for a better standard and say “no”. To reject the demeaning elements that have crept in. And to share with each other those studios, teachers and communities who have rid themselves of this mentality and who are providing a quality environment that highly values supporting and loving their students with positivity, compassion and non-judgment. This is about PERSONAL BEHAVIOR – you … me … the world. Not instructors; dogma and “who tells who to do what”. If you don’t like something I suggest please test it and try it … if it doesn’t work for you – well hey, I tried and I’ll keep trying.  😉

————————————————– Thank you for letting me express myself! ————————————–

Alright – if you’re still with me here then I guess I have to say “thanks for letting me have my soap box!” …  Everybody deserves to be heard, and everybody deserves to be treated with respect and love. It’s just the way it ought to be.

Work with me, online, or in person, anywhere in the world!

The Hot Yoga Doctor approach to teaching anything is to treat you with respect, joy and “meet you” where you’re at. So I am wondering, are you ready to amp up your hot yoga feel-good factors? Me too!

Over the years I have been workshopping yoga, in public studios and teacher trainings, as well as privately in my home studio and even using Skype!

I have many different workshops that I can bring to you and your studio. I tailor workshops to your learning outcomes in order to suit the audience. While I can almost always predict the most common mistakes you or your students are making, I do make sure that whatever message or teachings I offer are the exact things you need to experience.

Do you have students who just want to understand the yoga better, to delve deeply into pose technique? Or do you have yogis who want to teach? Maybe you have a mixed group of existing teachers and teachers-in-waiting who want to learn how to teach yoga poses and not just recite a script. Maybe you want to lift the bar at your home studio and make this yoga better! It is possible.

If you are a yoga teacher or studio and you’d like to run something like this, do let me know. We can start a conversation and see where it takes us.

My workshops teach you how to deconstruct essential practice elements and how to apply the Hot Yoga Doctor’s Precise Practice Philosophy to your most challenging poses. Here’s what you’ll experience and learn:

You’ll have some hands on experience workshopping some essential basics to your practice. To workshop something means that I won’t just tell you what to do, I have you experience different techniques so that you can feel the difference between poor and excellent technique. The best way to learn anything is to jump in and discover something for yourself. I am an expert in facilitating these discoveries so that you take them with you. It’s the best way I know to make things stick! So here’s a list of some of the things I make sure you walk away with …

  • Important aspects of breathing and posture mechanics; how they relate and what happens to your poses in different scenarios.
  • You take part in sessions that are not run-of-the-mill pose clinics. Sitting around watching others get corrected has its place but I offer you much more.
  • You participate a lot and have the possibility for greater breakthroughs.
  • It’s simply not possible to cover all poses thoroughly in just a few hours. So we examine poses in the context of techniques, not just on a one-off basis but in a carefully structured program so you can make gains in your whole practice.
  • We apply and integrate the 5 Step Magic Formula
  • And we put into action the 4 Fundamental Elements for Discovering Practice Improvements.
  • You have the opportunity to participate as much as you want or can. You work with any conditions and limitations your body has. You learn to apply proper physiological techniques not covered by ‘the dialog’ while holding firmly to all the pose outcomes of each pose so that YOU get the BEST RESULTS IMAGINABLE.  You’ll test different theories and see if they work in with the natural laws of physiology and ecology of movement and energy use. If you’re in a group, you will observe and critique others’ poses. In trouble shooting poses you will gain a real in-body ability to self-correct. It’s all about letting your own body express itself – ecologically, for your ultimate benefit, all the while keeping you safe and minimizing your risks.

So please, feel free to contact me! Let’s talk!

I look forward to hearing from you! … in the meantime, just be nice to each other, OK? 🙂

Namaste,
Gabrielle

PS. I normally reserve this spot for an ad. So here it is 😉 >> http://www.hotyogamasterclass.com/