It’s a topic we discuss a lot at Wanderlust: Is the essence of yoga still present in our Western practice, or has our modern and technological culture diluted the authenticity of the yogic technologies developed thousands of years ago?
Rameen Peyrow, for one, suggests that we are part of an exciting time in the evolution of yogic practice. In this Speakeasy from Wanderlust Whistler, he tells the audience:
“The threads of yoga that have existed for thousands of years are still here, but now this strength is being woven into our culture and customs of our Western experience, where it involves connecting at yoga festivals and watching lectures on YouTube.”
Rameen covers:
- How humans were undergoing a process of yoga—“deepening and understanding”—before the technologies of yoga were invented
- How the question of, “Who am I in relationship to my environment, both internal and external?” spurred (and still spurs) yogic evolution
- How the original foundation of what yoga is is not based on a single technique but a process that every single human being undergoes
- The three most profound “books” you could read to go deeper in your practice (hint: there are no pages in these books)
- How the future of yoga lies in your ability to be in relationship to space: the space between people, the space between the cells of your body, within the states of the mind, and where body, breath, and mind unite
He concludes, “We need to honor the Eastern roots of our practice, and say ‘I honor the fact that I must do something with this knowledge that I have. I must do something about the fact that I engage in a practice that enhances my developing mind, and I must take the responsibility that, yes, I am a part of this practice, and that is magic.’ ”