WHY GOOD YOGA COSTS a BOMB and OTHER PREDICAMENTS

Why is your Yoga costing you $125 a session? What on earth could be so expensive to learn that it costs more than a course in Calisthenics, Cat farming and Colombian cuisine combined? The first thing those bouncy little yoga hippies tell you is that Yoga is over 4000 years old. OK, you think but shouldn't course prices have stabilized by now?

Welcome to the complex world of commercial Yoga my friend. If like the majority of us in the west you practice Yoga for your arthritis or for tonal complexion, then you are relatively disengaged. On the other hand, if by the merest chance you happen to have anything more than a passing interest in the subject, then you are well and truly trapped. Here is your predicament.

You know by now that the physical Yoga that is commonly practiced in the west (Hatha Yoga) is but one of the cogs in the wheel of the entire system called Yoga. The body of knowledge currently being referred to is too huge to comprehend in its totality, so we'll quickly just say it's a very complex subject. Now if you have made any headway in your search, you know at least this much. Yoga requires you to control your mind; it's various hues and shades. It's a deeply psychological field, requiring you to be liquid, open and at the same time unrelentingly pragmatic.

Now it's commonly known that to learn effectively you need a specific frame of mind. This much you can see in everyday life itself. It also helps that there are tons of stories about masters that test their students about the depth of their desire to learn. In fact any Jackie Chan film will show you vivid proof of what exactly is required of the plaintive pupil. The teachers have to resort to all kinds of tricks to get the students to assume the frame of mind required for training. There is one story of the guy who went to a master to learn about the sword. The master had him scrubbing dishes, chopping wood and all the while this guy was being frustrated about the whole thing. In the end he was so impatient to start learning that the master couldn't teach him fast enough. A small con goes a long way, even if the student would never believe it himself; the master's only objective is the advancement of the student.

The really bad part of the Kaliyuga, the current phase of our evolving universe is a man that is steeped in Avidhya or Ignorance. Most people think ignorance is stupidity. Think of it as non-knowing. By not knowing our true nature we make it difficult for those that want us to learn. In earlier times the master may have resorted to a simpler con to light in you the flame of inquiry. But as the world goes smaller, the amounts of information grow phenomenally. People no longer study in-depth but sip the tops of each vast reservoir, thinking that in itself is enough to get by life. Imagine a master then trying to create in you a frame of mind that will allow you to plunge into a single vast reservoir of human knowledge, to explore all that it has to offer for your learning. See the picture of the unyielding horse being dragged to the water trough? That's what he's feeling.

So in the capitalist west where ones only concern seems to be power, money and ways to showcase both, how do you instill in care and concern and a sense of awareness in students? Masses of them at a time, some way to get them to pay close attention to every second of the Yoga class? Would you pay close attention just because your master is in the direct lineage of Patanjali, the great Indian sage? Well, how about if your Yoga class cost you $500 a pop. Would you pay attention then?

So how do you make the difference between the one that is milking you for your money and from the one who is charging you a bomb so you pay attention? Well my friend, there's your predicament.