Students are asked to imbibe privately before class, preferably in cars in the parking lot, “as no drugs are consumed or distributed in the studio.” Once in the classroom, a lighthearted vibe ensues; between “trying to work out [the] crunchy peanut butter in our shoulders” and “happy girlfriend” (aka joyful baby) pose, students are often in giggles.
Deeper experiences are also expressed, as one student shares: "I think marijuana creates an inquisitiveness, a stillness, something that allows you to concentrate on one thing at a time. And tactile sensations feel better, so as you're stretching everything basically feels good."
While this may raise few eyebrows on the American yoga scene, where yoga for wine, chocolate, and dog lovers has been embraced, classical yogis may be less forgiving. In response to this view, “McDonald … thinks that more traditional yogis who see marijuana as a toxin that inhibits enlightenment rather than enhancing it are being ‘yogier-than-thou.’”
McDonald’s reasoning is not without precedent; purification through the usage of external intoxicants has parallels in the left-handed Kaula tantric school of India.
This path is considered the lowest of the three tantric paths, followed by Mishra and Samaya. All three tantric schools employ purification of body, breath, and mind to transform samskaras , ingrained, habitual orientations said to be the driving force behind karma. The Kaula left-handed path is solely external, focusing on concrete practices and rituals “with the use of meat, fish, intoxicants, mudras, and sexual contact” intended to control the lower desires and bodily needs, whereas the higher paths are more internal and do not rely on intoxicants.
Swami Rama cautions against Kaula tantra, noting it “is for those who are not very intellectual and have less awareness.” Furthermore, “some of the modern behaviors that have been labeled Tantra are only hedonism given a spiritual name, and are taught by people with little knowledge or experience of authentic Kaula Tantra or the higher schools of Tantra.” Tradition aside, if people are going to smoke up and come to yoga anyway, perhaps giving them permission to do so fosters a yoga practice where it might otherwise fail to take root. And more yogis, even giggling, munchies-afflicted ones, is probably a good thing, although a solid education as to the contextual origins of such practices may be in order, should one eventually wish to set the 4:20 aside for a more present, internal experience.
What are your thoughts about trendy classes which foster or couple intoxicants (wine, marijuana, etc.) with yoga?
15 Comments
I smoke daily and it helps me tremendously with the yoga, i seem to feel more adventurous with poses and assess my breathing capacity more. i highly recommend it (no pun intended).
1
August 24, 2011
Wow....why would you add something artificial to your yoga experience...not sure I understand how chemically altering your consciousness brings you greater self awareness..to each their own!!
2
August 24, 2011
I don't think it is acting "yogier-than-thou" to believe that the constant use of an narcotic to "enhance enlightenment" is a bit delusional and misguided. If you've got enough yoga skills you can easily practice 10 minutes of meditation and pranayama and feel just as high as someone stoned without the cost and ill effects of using marijuana.
3
August 24, 2011
marijuana is not artificial, it is a plant
4
August 25, 2011
To me personally, yoga creates the calmness, openess, peacfulness, and a natural high. I know that many teachers are trying to bring as many people into yoga by offering what will attract new people to the practice, and maybe that's a start. Just maybe some of these participants will start to realize that they don't need to be high, or drink wine, or eat chocolate to truely enjoy the practive. Yoga will begin to balance them and eventually they will want to stop poisoning their bodies and brain. I guess we have to trust the process:)
5
September 06, 2011
being high on pot or rolling on e or dropping acid or stone sober all in the same your still practicing what you want and believe in. I have done it all ways I listed and opening my doors of perception before hand is always alot MORE!
6
September 10, 2011
truth is' forming a substance habbit is not heathy but i like to listen to pink floyd wile practicing yoga so . i guess its all in your head.
7
September 21, 2011
Smoking Jane before yoga will not make you a better practitioner, nor will it put you on a higher spiritual plane. It may, however, give you a good high. The 4:20's are missing the entire premise of yoga. The niyamas, also self-reliance and detachment from external machinations are only a handful of the yogic principles contradicting the use of intoxicants. Sure, the native North/South Americans used a nice blend in their peace pipes. Some would even lick a nice toad, or two, but they were only following their own contrived cultural affectations as part of ritual and shamanism.
Take a toke, do a pose. You may feel good, or different, doing yoga under the influence of a toxin surfing through your blood stream. Just don't call what you're doing 'yoga.' The giggly-jiggly experience might actually be pleasant for some people, but it will fail in one respect: smoking is not a natural process occurring in nature. Who cares if MJ is a natural weed? If the plant were to disappear from the face of the earth, it would not kill anyone. No one would die from THC starvation.
While smoking may be enjoyable for some, in general, it remains a filthy, unhealthy human affectation enabled by the defiance arising out of a need to protect that enjoyment. That does not legitimize the habit. In that sense, it is artificial. Intoxication, in general, is not a natural process required for survival. It is, however, essential for injecting your body with non-essential substances.
Acknowledging the whimsical huffs and puffs of the dizzy handful who may object to coherent opposition, we can soberly argue the pros and cons of a good high. Pros: Not many. Perhaps MJ helps mitigate psychosis? Perhaps it helps terminally ill patients suffering from chronic pain and diminished appetite? I don't know. Check in when I go psycho, or ask me when I'm terminal. I would probably seek out natural remedies, such as medicinal herbs, to help me surf and navigate through my misery. Cons: Many. Where do we begin?
Keep in mind that neither smoking, nor alcohol, occur in nature as a natural resource for survival. Do animals smoke, or drink alcohol? No! Let the animal kingdom be your starting point of reference and then admit that whatever we humans know as intoxication is merely a contrivance of civilization. In other words, masses of people do not need to intoxicate themselves in order to survive. To be unhealthy and experience a collective death perhaps, but not to survive. If a human habit, or foible, is not an integral part of survival, then it is worthy of re-evaluation and dismissal.
In yoga, recognition and dismissal of the superfluous is the focus of study through the Koshas and the Vayus. Through asana practice, we see to quell and discard both chemical and psychological toxins. This concept of intoxicating, eating and other nonsense associated with modern yoga is strictly an asinine invention that substantiates itself with misguided axioms invented by ancient, radical sects seeking to enable the vices and skewed predilections of their contemporary cults. These vices are the affectations of simple, suffering minds who neither see themselves as simple, or suffering. Such is the nature of addictions (both mental and physical) that become attached to the ego. No doubt, the sober majority just "doesn't understand."
The bottom line: Live and let live. Just let it be. Go ahead and toke, snort, drop, peel off the fabric and get into your best asana. It will look like my asana, if we share the same flexibility, but the internal process will be worlds apart. While it is true that yoga in India has experienced many evolutions through the ages, it is neither a valid argument, or convenient excuse, for modern contrivance. Radical cultural practices are always a part of human evolution, that's just a simple fact. But only in so far as they are reflections of a common, inner deficiency that needs fortification through artificial means. A sensibility yearning for intoxication is a reflection of an inner fear, injury, or shortfall. These are the very aspects of our human psyche that yoga aims to quell and dissipate.
Perhaps the radicalism will survive a while. Perhaps it will die out. Who knows and, ultimately, who cares? Do I care if a radical sect in India 2,000 years ago pounced about in their birthday suits while smoking their favorite rabbit? I think not. Let these people do what they do. Let them congregate. Let them live the delusion of progress and enjoyment for the time being. The trend is not yoga. It may be asana practice, but definitely not yoga. Somehow the main, coherent branch of yoga has survived the centuries and will remain Raja.
Take a toke, do a pose. You may feel good, or different, doing yoga under the influence of a toxin surfing through your blood stream. Just don't call what you're doing 'yoga.' The giggly-jiggly experience might actually be pleasant for some people, but it will fail in one respect: smoking is not a natural process occurring in nature. Who cares if MJ is a natural weed? If the plant were to disappear from the face of the earth, it would not kill anyone. No one would die from THC starvation.
While smoking may be enjoyable for some, in general, it remains a filthy, unhealthy human affectation enabled by the defiance arising out of a need to protect that enjoyment. That does not legitimize the habit. In that sense, it is artificial. Intoxication, in general, is not a natural process required for survival. It is, however, essential for injecting your body with non-essential substances.
Acknowledging the whimsical huffs and puffs of the dizzy handful who may object to coherent opposition, we can soberly argue the pros and cons of a good high. Pros: Not many. Perhaps MJ helps mitigate psychosis? Perhaps it helps terminally ill patients suffering from chronic pain and diminished appetite? I don't know. Check in when I go psycho, or ask me when I'm terminal. I would probably seek out natural remedies, such as medicinal herbs, to help me surf and navigate through my misery. Cons: Many. Where do we begin?
Keep in mind that neither smoking, nor alcohol, occur in nature as a natural resource for survival. Do animals smoke, or drink alcohol? No! Let the animal kingdom be your starting point of reference and then admit that whatever we humans know as intoxication is merely a contrivance of civilization. In other words, masses of people do not need to intoxicate themselves in order to survive. To be unhealthy and experience a collective death perhaps, but not to survive. If a human habit, or foible, is not an integral part of survival, then it is worthy of re-evaluation and dismissal.
In yoga, recognition and dismissal of the superfluous is the focus of study through the Koshas and the Vayus. Through asana practice, we see to quell and discard both chemical and psychological toxins. This concept of intoxicating, eating and other nonsense associated with modern yoga is strictly an asinine invention that substantiates itself with misguided axioms invented by ancient, radical sects seeking to enable the vices and skewed predilections of their contemporary cults. These vices are the affectations of simple, suffering minds who neither see themselves as simple, or suffering. Such is the nature of addictions (both mental and physical) that become attached to the ego. No doubt, the sober majority just "doesn't understand."
The bottom line: Live and let live. Just let it be. Go ahead and toke, snort, drop, peel off the fabric and get into your best asana. It will look like my asana, if we share the same flexibility, but the internal process will be worlds apart. While it is true that yoga in India has experienced many evolutions through the ages, it is neither a valid argument, or convenient excuse, for modern contrivance. Radical cultural practices are always a part of human evolution, that's just a simple fact. But only in so far as they are reflections of a common, inner deficiency that needs fortification through artificial means. A sensibility yearning for intoxication is a reflection of an inner fear, injury, or shortfall. These are the very aspects of our human psyche that yoga aims to quell and dissipate.
Perhaps the radicalism will survive a while. Perhaps it will die out. Who knows and, ultimately, who cares? Do I care if a radical sect in India 2,000 years ago pounced about in their birthday suits while smoking their favorite rabbit? I think not. Let these people do what they do. Let them congregate. Let them live the delusion of progress and enjoyment for the time being. The trend is not yoga. It may be asana practice, but definitely not yoga. Somehow the main, coherent branch of yoga has survived the centuries and will remain Raja.
8
September 25, 2011
well thats a rant in faver of let the kids misbehave, i tell you i have done this one thing for years and my teachers told me thats wrong and i kept doing it and after 30 years i tell you my old yoga teachers back in the 70,s were right dont do it. if nothing eles it causes COPD. I LOVE this site. this reminds me of a thing i heard once . Does anyone know why the gaint sequoias grow so tall and live so long ,,, its because the roots grow and inner twine together they hold each other up. and i feel thats what this site does ..bless all of you ,,,namusty
9
October 03, 2011
In my opinion the herb is a blessing when used responsibly for positive reasoning. It can open new doors in the mind to see a new perspective. If your goal is to evolve to a higher consciousness you must leave the herb behind. I believe the mind, body, and spirit have a higher potential then any drug.
10
October 17, 2011
I have nothing against pot. But this is my point. Competitive yoga is the devil but yoga with controlled substances is blessing??? WTF.
11
October 21, 2011
uncle sam says no more herb for California you all got to give up the smoke hear yea hear yea the DEA is going to close the party down.
12
October 29, 2011
Psychedelic drugs (which include THC and DMT) are not harmful at all really. That not the point though, the point is that everyone ha their own path and the true path of yoga is about balance and restraint as well as fitness.
The danger of THC consumption is the possible mental addictiveness, and the release of energy during, which leaves you at a deficiancy to a degree later.
Being high and having a blast with yoga is not the yogi path, but to condemn people for doing so IS being yogier than thou.
The danger of THC consumption is the possible mental addictiveness, and the release of energy during, which leaves you at a deficiancy to a degree later.
Being high and having a blast with yoga is not the yogi path, but to condemn people for doing so IS being yogier than thou.
13
November 03, 2011
Some say not to even orgasm during ex because of the energy release.
14
November 03, 2011
Drinking is absolutely impossible while drinking. Once I came to my yoga class having a hangover. And that was so hard! As for smoking, well, I think it depends on your mood. If you realize it's a serious process, you'll never giggle or smth. May be that could really help.
Allie Cunningham, manatger of free typing test http://wpmtypingtest.org/
Allie Cunningham, manatger of free typing test http://wpmtypingtest.org/
15
May 17, 2012
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