Amrita 6: Asana through the ages - Magazine - Page 26
Not so Macho, Man
of women and minorities, autocratic discipline and capitalist
competitive commodification all without question or precise
orientation. Concurrently masculine qualities in asana practice become negatively conceived of as dynamic, ‘tapas’ or
Yang qualities through positioning in opposition to Yin qualities. Often these ‘Yang’ qualities are described as the autocratic mind over matter approach or as a competitive ego led
athleticism of force. Thus, the masculine is in danger of being
narrowly categorised, devalued and decommissioned in yoga
practice. The yoga teacher in this situation can lose their ability to inspire energetic force or determined discipline through
so conceived masculine qualities either in style or substance
of asana practice. Where previously a variety of yoga voices
contributed to asana, there is a danger of only one voice being acceptable, the voice privileging the feminine conjunct as
privileged in Yin Yoga.
In my experience as both teacher and teacher trainer the
balance of my teaching requires multiple qualities in inspiring
yoga practice. I believe as yoga teachers we have the ability to
let go of the archaic traditional gender binaries that support
‘special’ gendered spirituality and perpetuate the demonization of the masculine in the constant shadow of patriarchy. In
this release we have a rare opportunity to encounter each
other as first and foremost individual agents of our own ungendered power.
It is a question with which the new generation of yoga
teachers will grapple. Already in today’s yoga class a teacher
may be required to respect a range of belief systems, from traditional gendered binary through androgynous to the fully fluid agency of self-constructed identity. Most likely more and
more students will subscribe to a combination of collected
gender ideas and each with a range of commitment. If the classical yoga practice objective of right thinking and higher discernment of truth be upheld, we must self-evaluate our yoga
teaching practice. Consider whether the way our personal and
professional selves coexist and ensure a space and a language
for our students that is sensitive to the ways social dominance
is constructed and aware of the dangers of falling backward
into essentialist notions of masculine and feminine. A future
Yoga practice free from gendered spiritual and political determinism, a space to mitigate and examine the effects of the agitations of the external world and examine the modifications of
the mind, to coin a phrase. Yoga has a huge potential to provide
an accessible space of neutrality and freedom in a world tearing itself apart with competing belief systems. What we need
now is not another system to divide and categorise us but a
space to explore, unfettered by political identity or essentialist
spiritual parameters.
As for asana, we have to struggle with measures of force and
moderating acquiescence in the face of the physical body’s
constant deterioration to achieve the physical transformation
that facilitates the seated duration of meditation. Together the
skilled strong body and skilled strong mind can create confidence and resilience for a life of full unbound agency. We must
avoid asana practice becoming a site of anatomico-political or
anatomico-retrograde spirituality. A future vision of asana
practice as a site of neutrality and unity, ungendered and individuated. A lived experience of yoga practice as the condition
supporting a neutral sanctuary from which we can emerge
nourished and able to make free choices and express one’s creative initiative in manifesting the life one chooses to express. A
JAMIE BLOWERS IS a Senior Yoga Teacher and Teacher Trainer. Jamie trained under the tuition of Larry Shultz at It’s Yoga International in both
Ashtanga Yoga and Rocket Yoga. Jamie went on to deliver It’s Yoga’s Teacher Training Program at his studio in Leeds. Jamie now offers his own
‘JamieYoga’ 200 hours Vinyasa Teacher training program, master classes, workshops and Yoga Retreats In the U.K. and Europe. Jamie is a keen
Yoga researcher currently pursuing PhD studies with research exploring the ‘Self’ in Western Yoga culture.
To book Jamie’s services go to www.jamieyogatrainings.com | www.facebook.com/jamieyogauk
www.instagram.com/jamieyogatrainings/ jamieyoga2014@gmail.com
24 AMRITA Issue 6 / Spring 2021
