Is yoga without tree hugging dead?

August 6, 2006 3:37 AM

A while ago, there was a web site called Yoga without tree hugging, which offered flash online classes and a bunch of information about Yoga in a framework that was rather accessible to a scientific minded person. It has since been closed down due to the mysterious explanation that is at the site. Is there anything similar out there? I kinda liked the site, but I'm highly allergic to Prana, Chakras and mystical bullshit.
posted by themel to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (6 answers total)

Honestly, you're talking about stretching. Yoga is union and can be created through breathwork, focus, movement and extension of the body (which, if you believe, activate your chakras, lalala, not for you, no big deal).


Anyone who boasts practicing yoga without a spiritual connotation is not talking about yoga in the true inception of the term.

But, of course, definitions change, and the west has desensitized you down to the material realm, so yoga is mistaken for what you are looking for.

So, before you get too sick of me, I offer this advice: maybe someone can contact the owner of the site and host his flash classes and so forth somewhere else?
posted by mic stand at 5:54 AM on August 6, 2006

I know where you're coming from. I would look for something from David Swenson. He's pretty good about teaching the form without talking about fairy dust. I think you can get all the benefits from just having a regular practice, without even knowing what a chakra is, because it's really just a metaphor. If you practice with mindfulness, you're doing it right.
posted by Mr. Gunn at 6:38 AM on August 6, 2006 [1 favorite]

I like the Rodney Yee DVDs. He doesn't really get into that stuff. Just yoga, just do it.
posted by bolognius maximus at 7:56 AM on August 6, 2006 [1 favorite]

I echo the David Swenson suggestion. His Ashtanga primary series DVD is excellent, and he's very pure, all about the work, not just the talking.
posted by mothershock at 8:45 AM on August 6, 2006

Response by poster: Thanks, everyone. I know that I'm missing out on the spirituality, but the simple schedule of exercises from Paul's web site truly made me feel better for a while, be it through (accidental) unity with whatever or just plain relaxation and muscle stretching.
posted by themel at 12:47 PM on August 6, 2006

One thing to keep in mind is that any good, well-rounded yoga class will include things like breath control and "mindfulness" or "awareness" work, even if it's not explicitly referred to as a spiritual practice.
posted by spaceman_spiff at 3:33 PM on August 6, 2006