Our illustrious reader, Dyspeptic Skeptic, posted this video in the comments of yesterday’s post, and we just had to bring it to the front lines. Check it:
Hmm…. Where to begin with this one? Why not the beginning?
Loves friendship bracelets
First we have Sean Hoess, co-founder of Wanderlust, referring to people who go to Wanderlust in the City as “yogis.” Before anything else, let’s acknowledge how douchy that sounds, because it does indeed sound pretty f’ing douchy. And, not just ’cause the term yogi used to actually have meaning, but douchy in the way it’s douchy to call yourself a “skateboarder.” Only moms call their kids “skateboarders.” Now we have the guy in the it-was-only-cool-back-in-1999 trucker cap bestowing the highest honor of “yogi” on a bunch of nameless randos. You know, the guy who couldn’t decide which spiritual mala friendship bracelet to wear so just wore them all.
Then we have co-founder of Wanderlust #2, Schuyler Grant…
Having realizations
…who I have no reason to believe isn’t awesome, but kinda rubs my feet the wrong way here. I think it has something to do with this quote:
“To do something inside versus doing something outside is fundamentally extremely different.”
Now, I don’t wanna be a dick about this, ’cause I know all this shite is taken out of context, and what the hell else are you gonna say when someone’s like, “Hey, why do you do yoga outside?” But, I feel like this is one of those moments when yoga culture has to lower the bar so low just so it can succeed at jumping over it. Like, really? There’s something fundamentally extremely different about being outside versus being inside? I wonder what it could be. Could it be…that…you’re…FUCKING OUTSIDE AND NOT INSIDE?
And, what about that whole being outside thing? It’s obviously awesome. I highly recommend it. And, if you’re able, I suggest doing it in a manner similar to this guy:
Being free.
Then we have local shaman, Kelly Morris who, I must say, is getting more and more difficult to witness even from a safe distance behind the shimmering pixels of our computer screens.
Shaman
Obviously she starts off with something about a “call to action,” which I’m still wondering what exactly that means when it comes trickling out of her mouth. But, that’s not all. In this vid we get a shamanic twofer!
shamanism
Watching Kelly Morris jam out on her baby rattle is the kind of thing that makes me want to end it all and jump off the tallest building into a pit of lava filled with starving lava-crocodiles. Not that I’m against baby rattles, or shamans who use actual shaman rattles to keep your “you” from exploding out your eyeballs while doing plant medicine “work.” But, this…. This is a tough one.
Then there’s all this random talk about “yoga fashion.” At which point my genitals retreat so far into my body that they come spilling out my mouth.
![This Naked Yoga School Video is Awesome [VIDEO]](https://thebabarazzi.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/hqdefault.jpg?w=200&h=200&crop=1)
The Babarazzi 
Jeezuz, they must have yoga cocktails, and I think Kelly had a few.
They are all white people—what city was that?
Well, I can personally tell you it wasn’t Times Square at the Solstice 2013. I finally got a chance to experience that, after all these years. And I saw a sea of un-funked-up, un-distressed Lululemon there … and all races, size diversity, too. What’d they pay for this event?
Thus, it must be kind of a social class thing (hate to trot that out again), rather than a race thing … back in the ’70s actual college age students with family wealth would wear the most ripped up, faded jeans with rococo fashionings …. and sometimes go faux slumming–even panhandling in the streets … [this had been out in the Denver/Boulder, Colorado area …]
Yoga has really morphed into the creepy. Do people really talk like this?
ha ha ha ha
To refer to the dabblers as ‘Yogis’is a little like saying you live in “The Haight”, with the hippies…in 2013
Well, yeah … that too. Funny to have lived during the original hippie era, and now this yupster one …
He’s not really calling everyone there a yogi. “A lot of other different types of folks” is pretty accurate, if not precise.
“And, what about that whole being outside thing? It’s obviously awesome. I highly recommend it. And, if you’re able, I suggest doing it in a manner similar to this guy” 😀 big laugh. Thank you.
I Thought They Stopped Making The Good ACID Back In The 60’s. OMG, Cracking Up Again ” Not that I’m against baby rattles, or shamans who use actual shaman rattles to keep your “you” from exploding out your eyeballs while doing plant medicine “work.” ” HahA, lol : O )
Happy To Say, I Really Don’t Anyone Like This, Ohhhhhhhhhhh, I Know Where They Ruminate, But I Steer Far Away From Anything That Reeks Of Scene.
Thank You and Keep Having The Best Day Ever!!!!!!!!!!!!
Or, I choose my scene-i-tude carefully. Not to say that I will chase an outdoor class of 4,000 people again, any time soon.
I am grateful to my Yoga in the Park teacher who’d managed to get me to face my fears of being out in public practicing yoga … aside from bad logistics for years heretofore, Mind over Madness Times Square 2013 got me this year, as stated above.
But that Yoga in the Park class had been more my speed at 20 students, gotta admit …
Has Kelly Morris been having collagen lip injections? Cause she has serious trout pout!
We have Wanderlust coming to Montreal up at Mont Tremblant and I know Elena Brower is gonna be there. I’m almost tempted to go to report back here!
Mont Tremblant? You gotta be kidding … !
That city is the poor man’s Zermatt, the poor man’s Aspen …
http://tremblant.wanderlustfestival.com/
Tremblant is a vulger Disneyland which they put on top of a mountain. The Montreal nouveau-riche, Eurotrash, jet-set wannabes hang out in the St. Sauveur-Tremblant corridor a lot. Old Money and less-conspicuous types hang in the (much nicer imho) Eastern Townships, closer to Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
Out of date hat styles as content?
Collagen lip injections as comments?
These posts and comments read as though they were written by Amanda Bynes or one of the Real Housewives.
Amanda is kinda hot. So are many housewives. Will take that as a compliment.
“Honey, this face has seen more knives than a Beni-Hana.” — Comedian Joan Rivers
When I was growing up, there was a guy named Rene who used to walk around my small town. He was only 40 but looked twice as old as he had been hit by something tragic in Vietnam. The only other person I’ve ever seen walking around a city as much is the Native American dude above. Nice find. Even in January I don’t think he ever wore a shirt.
The tragic part is the guy pictured rarely even wears pants. Usually it’s just a Speedo. But, seeing as we were just ta;llking about featuring him at some point, and that very day he rolls up on the block…. Had to obey the omen and put it up as is.
Baba, I brought you a present:
Breaking News!!!:
ALL critical thinking regarding yoga is lame!
ALL media is awesome!
http://yamatalent.com/news
I wanted to chew the head off it and leave it on your pillow, like a housecat, but I refrained, so that you could savor every morsel.
Thanks, the moment! Peeps been forwarding this to us all morning. Will definitely get to this asap.
Ragunatha is to Yoga ,as ‘Ragu’ is to Italian Cuisine
so many words yet she says nothing…typical
“06/24/13
It’s not a revolution unless everyone is part of it: my thoughts on elitist yogi’s and the potential of mass media.”
Oh, what did they used to call that attitude in the 1970s?
Co-optation !
It’s like the Lululemon store front with a sign saying, “Occupy Yoga Studios”
Oh, REALLY ?!???
Oh Jeez I didn’t know about the “Lululemon storefront thing. Ugh.
You know there is a good part of me that thinks that Ms. Taylor is right. Through out the years spiritual teachers have had people who have managed schedules and much more and there was no problem (e.g. Swami Stachidananda, Sharon Gannon and David Life, the Pope, the Dalai Lama, if I am not mistaken, has a whole office responsible for scheduling, Bo Lozoff’s wife dedicated most of her time to his scheduling, correspondence and the like). And why shouldn’t these spiritual leaders have someone to do the nitty-gritty stuff while they focus on more important things?
On the other hand Ms. Taylor’s arguments for her position are hollow (we MUST get everyone to do yoga, so don’t question me…btw, when did yoga mandate evangelism?). In addition her re-structuring (or should I say dumbing down) of the other side’s arguments demonstrates either a lack of respect for others, an inability for critical self-reflection, a certain degree of anti-intellectualism or all three.
Ultimately, does Yama Talent representing Faith Hunter make me think worse of her or her ability as a teacher? Does it make me think better of Leslie Kaminoff and his teachings? No. However, the more Ms. Taylor speaks and writes the less I think of her…maybe she should hire a management company to take care of that.
I agree with you, knittinginc. Helping each other, paying people to do stuff you just don’t feel like doing oncein a while, doing stuff for others that they don’t feel like doing…. It’s all part of it.
Her justifications are what we love to look at. So… so… what’s the word?
The word is: “The 2012 Yoga in America survey states that 16 million (out of 315 million) Americans in the US practice yoga. \\ There is an enormous amount of people who have yet to receive this gift.” Who cares what the BG says about evangelizing. 😉
(I am in a hurry and cannot find it now, but I am pretty sure that in the BG, Krishna tells Arjuna that to teach someone who does not want to learn is an immoral act and a waste of time.)
https://elephantbeans.wordpress.com/tag/kula-yoga/
I think the important thing to glean from this and ALL of YAMA’s sundry blather is that at the end of the day, Ava Taylor is not representing yoga or yoga teachers. Ava Taylor is representing Ava Taylor.
You hit it on the nail moment-that’s exactly what she does, and it’s gross.
Kelly Morris: “The most exciting development in yoga wear is the absence of synthetic material”…..
Is it possible to look at Kelly’s face when she says this and not see the tragic irony?
lol!
wow YAMA, just wow. so to sum up….no matter what you do or how you do it and for whatever reason, being held accountable for your actions or even pointing out that something you’re doing might be silly or even manipulative is negative. the fact that you’re taking something that is so precious to so many of us and turning it in to a fucking geico commercial is of course positive as long as people are getting “the sacred yoga”, even if it looks more like a freshly co-opted turd in the grass. yoga might not be anyone’s property but its actually not all yoga, babe. if it were all yoga i’d just sit around wearing blankets with raghunath making smoothies and talking about punk rock. pat the snake is always such a downer anyway, takes himself soooo seriously with those long winded sutras. but ya, no. what you’re doing is not heroic, its not being the change you wish to see in the world, its not inherently positive because you wish it to be, and you’re not making a stand for the good of all sentient beings by turning a spiritual discipline in to another product on the shelf to be consumed. check your own self interest in defining yoga the way you are choosing to. thanks.
HEY!!! Sifu, Ragu Baba Shamma Lamma Ding Dong…I only got one thing to say :
“There is an enormous amount of people who have yet to receive this gift. ”
Neither YAMA nor any other popularizer of yoga, is in ANY position to tell me just how I, personally, nor any of my heirs or assigns … is to be receiving of this gift.
Just … NO …
“…receiving of this gift.” Yeah? How much is this “gift” going to cost me?
Is Kelly rich? I wonder how she and people like her can run around the world and be able to do silly stuff this. Anybody got a scope on how much these yogacelebrities are pulling in a year? I think what we are seeing here in these Wanderlust videos are the 1% of the yoga business.
We already know that Sadie pulled in upwards of $380,000 a year in 2011. Gross earning. And she’s relatively small potatoes.
In a Wonderlust talk KM gave once (I believe her most recent one), she mentioned that her father was a very successful finance guy or something like that. I would try to look it up and watch it again to confirm, but I don’t want any more uncanny valley nightmares.
” $380,000 a year in 2011.” Can you confirm that?
All right, my memory isn’t perfect … got the year wrong and the amount, uh, slightly wrong …
http://shine.yahoo.com/power-your-future/earn-more-work-less-8-great-jobs-that-escape-the-rat-race-2565190.html
But $300,000 in 2010?
And, can I trust Yahoo! news? At least as much as the next news source (says this NY Post reader and Robin Roberts fan, anyhow)
Sadie claims she currently pulls down half a mill and shows you how you can, too, in 10 easy steps
http://shine.yahoo.com/work-money/money-doing-love-185500587.html
The tail-end of one of the comments to that work-money article says it best:
” … if you can get beyond all of the glam and shine and self-aggrandizing aspects to it, she is a PHENOMENAL Asana Instructor who has a very unique perspective on anatomical engagement while keeping asana practice challenging yet safe.
“I so truly appreciate that – I wish we could leave it at that, but instead we have to have all of this. Don’t care about weight loss, or bikini bodies, or any of that. Don’t care how many students my teacher has, I care my teacher cares for me as a student.”
I bet the major yoga stars are pulling in a half a million a year or more. No wonder they are so happy.
Is this what “Yoga” is becoming? A gathering of self-absorbed hipsters simply wanting to have fun, party, wear cool clothing, and Mala Beads (ohhhhhh….for the “love of Kali” please come down and rid the Universe of the abundance of these faux-spiritual MALA BEADS!)
This video is self-explanatory showing how “Yoga in America” has become too elitist and out-of-touch! When you hear the Co-Founder of Wanderlust, Sean Hoess (complete with Mala Beads), describe Wanderlust as a 4-day “Festival in a Mountain Resorts” (i.e. Only accessible to “certain” people) with 1-day “Urban Event Model”, i.e. “Let them eat cake” it makes me say……..WTF x1000000?
So sad as I have friends and fellow Teachers going to Wanderlust Colorado next week and I was contemplating joining them on their Trek just to see what it was like. Now my pre-conceived beliefs are simply reinforced that “I want nothing to do with that BS!”
two kinds of people wear sunglasses when they are being interviewed:
1. blind people
2. assholes
that’s all…