Everything casts a shadow. — even Yoga. When I first began my practice, I was naive to the masculine-dominated culture we created around Yoga in the West. It doesn’t come as a surprise to me that the regimented nature and disciplinary tactics of popular styles of Yoga would be appealing to the overworked, busy, and average American. As we leave the patriarchal normality of the Piscean Age, the veil becomes thinner and the truth… clearer.
As Americans, we were raised and conditioned to operate more logically with an emphasis on our academics and keeping things in order. We were trained to be well-behaved and disregard our emotions by casting them aside in service of others.
It’s truly the end of an era, as we see all the ways that we’ve become accustomed to a masculine-dominated society. This has nothing to do with gender and everything to do with vibration and qualities. Despite your gender, we all have a left and right side brain. The left-side of your brain has more masculine qualities (ie logical, linear, academic, order, strategy, sequential) and the right-side of your brain has more feminine qualities (ie creative, free-thinking, intuitive, cyclical, emotional). The left-side of your brain controls the right side of your body, therefore making it obvious as to why most of us are right-handed. As Americans, we were raised and conditioned to operate more logically with an emphasis on our academics and keeping things in order. We were trained to be well-behaved and disregard our emotions by casting them aside in service of others.
We were even taught to write linearly, left to right, which has a major affect on the brain and the way it functions. Imagine if we were taught to write in pictures or to free-write all over the page with no order and just feeling. In some ways, this could be seen as merely creating art, but unfortunately not all of us got an education in art history or of free-expression. The language we speak, the way we read and write, and the programs that were offered to us as children all developed a masculine orientation and way of thinking.
Fortunately, modern man and woman have become aware that things are out of balance; however, the challenge becomes creating new habits to stimulate our intuitive, feminine nature.
Fortunately, modern man and woman have become aware that things are out of balance; however, the challenge becomes creating new habits to stimulate our intuitive, feminine nature. I’ve noticed that Yoga is extremely patriarchal, as many others have. The Yoga we know today, which is supposed to cultivate Unity, only became available to women less than a century ago. Masculine-dominated practices like Bikram, Kundalini, and Ashtangha have self-imploded with leaders taking advantage of their indoctrinated followers in cruel, psychological, and (sometimes) sexual ways. These practices, among others, are extremely systematic with sequences of specific poses to be done in certain order. — further training the left-side brain.
This is not by any means a new topic for me, as I just wrote a post 4 months ago on whether to be disciplined or free. I also lost touch with my right-side brain this summer, focusing more on order and money and less on my creative pursuits, like writing in this blog. I ended up realizing all-the-more how crucial it is to stay connected to your creative endeavors. I was stuck thinking logically and sequentially, which lends itself to heart-break. Most things in life, like relationship, the pursuit of happiness, and death, can’t be worked out rationally; and if you try, you will drive yourself mad!
I still believe in the benefits of being disciplined when developing a new habit, but maybe we should direct our energy toward developing more right-brain habits. I’ve integrated my yoga practice with the moon’s cycles to help see life more as cyclical and less, linear. Each phase of the moon has either a yin or yang, feminine or masculine, quality. We can sense these energies within us and allow them to influence our yoga practice. For example, the Full Moon is a time of celebration, which carries a very masculine, expansive energy; therefore a strong yoga flow or repetitive sun salutations would lend itself to help you move your energy. The New Moon is a time to turn inward and return to oneself, so a yin yoga or meditative practice would serve us well.
Each time we witness the coming and going of our true-selves, we gain wisdom and new knowledge. This way of living trains our minds to experience the cycle of rebirth and death as we grow along our path.
Generally, as the moon waxes (grows) we move outwardly and away from our true nature, and as the moon wans (shrinks) we come back home to our true-selves. Each time we witness the coming and going of our true-selves, we gain wisdom and new knowledge. This way of living trains our minds to experience the cycle of rebirth and death as we grow along our path. This then grants us a deeper understanding of our true nature and strengthens our trust with the cosmos. We learn that it’s not solely about the destination, moving from one point to another, but more about the process of change.
To develop a yoga practice that incorporates the feminine aspects, as well as the masculine, we can turn to nature and watch Her cycles. Everything is in motion and constant change. It’s cycles, like the seasons, that keep everything in relationship. — cycles are like the glue holding us all together. Practicing in this way requires a period of surrender and awareness of the subtle aspects of ourselves. It asks us to connect with ourselves on a deeper level and not to hide behind goals and achievements. After we’ve developed a non-linear practice, it becomes less about the number of poses we can do and more about the process of experiencing yoga in everyday life.
I’ve found that practicing this way is more sustainable. I’ve experienced less injury and have had an easier time honoring and managing my energy. If you have any questions, feel free to pop-in to the studio for a class or to reach out to me by email.
Many Blessings, Kate