Yoga Has Ruined My Life

In response to that insane rant about yoga being a Satanic practice, a FB friend of mine wrote this stunning piece for Elephant Journal called "Yoga Ruins Your Life" In a Good Way.

And it's true. Yoga has completely ruined my life.

First off, I don't think I could ever work in a "regular" office, ever again. I hate fluorescent lighting, and unless we were doing something that involves saving the rainforests, endangered species, providing education to kids, feeding the hungry, or doing something otherwise necessary for humanity, I don't think I could align my spiritual principles to answering phones for some mega-corporation that's only out to make a buck.

I just don't believe it's healthy for any human being to be stuck in front of a computer or electronic device for 8 hours a day. I mean, for what?

Second of all, my clothes.

My clothes!

I don't want to be uncomfortable anymore in my clothes. I can remember days of squeezing myself into clothes that looked appropriate for office/professional life, and then speeding home to take them off and get into something that let me breathe. I felt stiff and sore wearing dress shirts and slacks every day. Not to mention the damn shoes - ugh!

It doesn't mean that now I want to walk around in sweatpants or pajamas all day, but I'm choosing clothes that are bright, comfortable, loose-fitting, and let me move - you know, just in case I want to drop down and do some spontaneous sun salutations or something.

I'm ruined.

I'm no longer content to walk through the aisles of the grocery store and just accept what's being thrown at me. I'm avoiding the aisles of brightly colored packages of processed foods, and just sticking to the vegetables and fruit from the produce section, boring bags of grains and legumes from the bulk foods section, and maybe the occasional can or two of organic beans (just in case I need something quick and don't have any soaked or beans already cooked).

I'm questioning EVERYTHING.

Why do some religions teach that you can't get directly to God? Why do some religions teach that people are inherently bad or sinful? Why do people spend so much time watching t.v. or playing video games?

I wonder about the "establishment" - work 8 hours a day, spend 2 hours a day in the car commuting to and from your job, rely on convenience food and television and People magazine to numb your mind to the reality that your life is slipping away without really being lived...


Yoga has ruined me.

Yoga has given me the experience of feeling like I'm part of something - part of a community of like-minded people who just want the best of the human experience.

Yoga has made me more mindful.

Yoga has made me happier with what I have - no more binge-shopping or spending money on crap that I don't really need. I'm no longer a good, mindless consumer. But I'm spending more money than I used to - at locally-owned businesses and at the CSA and farmer's markets.

Beware: yoga could ruin you, too.