In the early days of doing Yoga, I developed a serious passion for male flexibility. Mainly this was because 1) I'm male 2) males are not normally associated with flexibility and 3) I saw genuine beauty and artistry in the ability to move ones body through extreme ranges of motion not normally accessible to the untrained body and mind. I felt a strong identification with type of person. I felt like this was who I was and who I wanted to be.
I never regarded this ability to be inherently Yogic. I became a fan of several world class male contortionists and in no small way did their amazing achievements inspire me to work very hard in my own practice. I respected the discipline and dedication that this form of art requires, perhaps in the same way some people might admire world class bodybuilders (while many others would regard them as odd, or even gross). I often felt very out of place at the gym, and although I had a powerful vision that kept me focused, many people tried to reshape my reality, clearly under the impression I was wasting my time and should hit the weights and/or cardio equipment like everyone else.
There was a cross-over point where that changed. Instead of being treated like I was an odd-ball, I started being treated with respect. I guess results talk, Some people were inclined to treat me as if I was some kind of "expert", but really, the only thing I was expert at was being dedicated and focused to my vision. I'll concede I have learnt a lot by taking the journey, and that acquisition of knowledge continues.
There were people who continued to shape what they were seeing in me to fit with their belief system. For example, that I was naturally flexible. I want to put that argument to bed once and for all. When I was a young teenager I did martial arts, and I developed quite good dynamic flexibility in my legs (for kicking). But after giving up Martial Arts I did at least 15 years of nothing but running and cycling. My body became incredibly tight and my honest answer to the generally very good flexibility I enjoy today is that it happened because I worked bloody hard for it. I don't think it had much to do with being naturally flexible at all and I don't want to reduce the huge amount of work I put in by just saying it "came naturally to me". I think it had a lot more to do with the countless hours I've invested in practice. I'm perhaps reminded of how hard I worked for it (in the early days) because over the last year I have started to work very hard again, and the memories of my original commitment are coming back to me, There are days now where I just know I have to rest, not because I'm being lazy but because it is absolutely necessary in order to allow me to progress.
In addition to the above stream of effort, there was another thing happening, my practice of Yoga. While Yoga asana was wonderfully compatible with my love of male contortionism, I came to see that intersection as nothing more than a symbiotic union of two different fields. I did not realistically expect that people attending my Yoga classes would or should be motivated or even interested in the beauty and art of flexibility. I wanted to promote a healthy body and mind. I always emphasise experience over results in my classes. I do not believe even for a moment that one must become very flexible in order for Yoga to become a deep part of someone's life. Even further, Yoga as a formal practice is there for those who need it or feel it can enhance their life (in whatever shape or form, physical or mental). Some people were born doing Yoga and the fact they can't touch their toes does not exclude the possibility they are already Yoga Masters of compassion and love. I could not teach such people very much, in fact they could probably teach me a lot more.
As normal, in providing this background I feel I'm now in a position to present an opinion on a current phenomena I'm seeing in the Yoga world that rubs me up the wrong way. Global Yoga competitions have existed for some time now. I have a lot of Yoga practitioners and teachers on my facebook account and they often post videos of "Yoga Champions" performing visually flawless examples of many classical Yoga poses. The thing is, as a fan of male contortionism, I also have a number of male contortionists on my friendslist and it is a fact that these people can make the so called Yoga Champions look strictly amateur. Any one of these contortionists could enter one of these competitions and mop the floor. The real point here is that the contortionists are being honest about what is on show here: Pure Art. To be admired and respected for what they do, without the need to saddle it with a deceptive label.
What I don't get, and what I find quite bizarre, is how many people look at these Yogi's who demonstrate their fantastic physical achievements, and on the basis of that declare them Yoga Champions. At the very least I'd prefer if they called them Asana Champions, because all we are seeing here is their ability to fold their bodies.
I don't desire to offer judgement as to why these Yoga practitioners choose to enter Yoga competitions, their reasons are their own and it is part of their journey. In truth I don't think they are hurting anyone but I do think they are doing a potential disservice to the perception of what Yoga is. I don't wish to see it reduced down to the pure achievement of advanced Yoga poses and I wonder how it is that someone who has achieved such an advanced physical practice still covets the desire to be crowned a Yoga Champion. As Yoga continues to grow globally, it seems in real danger of becoming just another form of human deceit.
I think I will always love and practice male contortionism, but I will never call it Yoga. This does not mean Yoga cannot exist in ones practice of this art form, it just means I'm not going to falsely identify it with being Yoga, as that is in my view quite an unyogic thing to do.
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