Yoga and the Fitness Industry: Discussion paper

In this paper I want to explore some of the options we have for relating to the fitness industry. Specifically, I want to contrast an idealist option which emphasises Yoga’s spiritual nature with a pragmatic option which is concerned with the material welfare of schools and teachers. Clearly, these options are in tension and at the end of the paper I consider how that tension might be resolved or at least diminished.

It’s perhaps only a slight exaggeration to say that in the popular understanding Yoga is asana practice with a bit of woolly mysticism attached which it is best to ignore.

In reality, it is a vast collection of apparently rather disparate spiritual practices aimed at the radical transformation of the human being from a fragmented and suffering creature into one who lives in a state of profound beatitude from moment to moment. Physical practices occupy only a small corner of this vast territory.

As Yoga activists, one of our prime tasks, or so it seems to me, is to replace the first of these understandings in the popular imagination with the second.

If however we allow Skillsactive, which represents the interests of “the fitness industry”, to dominate Yoga and have the power to say what is Yoga and what is not Yoga, then we will be doing nothing to broaden and deepen the popular understanding of it.

Rather, we will in effect be endorsing a view which says that Yoga is an exotic kind of aerobics or a stretch routine with a dash of oriental spice which shares the same narcissistic values and aims as “the fitness industry”.

Yoga really belongs in a different class of activity from sport, keep-fit regimes and even health exercise regimes. To say that because it contains a physical exercise element that it should therefore be governed by the fitness industry is like saying that church ministry should be governed by the counselling governing body because ministers frequently counsel people.

Now, having said that, I definitely don’t want to anathematise Yoga teachers who teach in gyms and fitness centres. There are potential Yoga students who feel comfortable in gyms and uncomfortable in ashrams and Yoga centres and clearly it is good to reach out to them. Neither do I want to say that the practice of Yoga asana is anything less than wonderful.

But these considerations do not lessen my distrust of the fitness industry. My distrust is based on the necessity to keep Yoga in the hands of Yogis. Only in that way will the potential of the popular Yoga movement to bring peace, compassion and well-being into our culture start to become an actuality. This in turn necessitates our coming together as the “elders” of Yoga, honouring and celebrating our differences, putting ego-ji (that arch-sectarian) on one side and doing the work needed. This is my ideal scenario for the future development of Yoga as it moves into the mainstream.

OK, down to earth again now! What are the ramifications of this ideal for the problem of how we are to relate to the fitness industry, given that some people want to work within it? Well what would the ideal scenario look like, in which Yoga is firmly in the hands of Yogis?

In my Yoga utopia, teachers who work in gyms will not need to go through Skillsactive and REPS because a truly representative umbrella Yoga body will deal directly with individual fitness companies or gym managers etc and on its own terms. This will require the umbrella body to have earned an enormous amount of respect in society at large. Its “cultural capital” will be based on a well-earned reputation and not on the recognition by some “official” but uninformed body. Its ability to earn and then maintain this respect will correlate directly with the togetherness of the Yoga community which it represents, and not to mince words, on the love that community is able to actualise.

However, in our real, here and now, dystopian situation there is a strong tension between idealism and pragmatism. As a Yoga Community, we are a long way from my ideal, and Skillsactive is already halfway towards its goal of having all gym employees registered with REPS.

So what is the pragmatic scenario? Well, it certainly makes pragmatic sense to get in place a system for making it easy for teachers to get their REPS registration thereby avoiding duplication of effort by the varied schools and numerous teachers in the Yoga Community. It also means that we need to be involved in the consultation that is to take place on the so-called standards that Skillsactive expects to have in draft form soon, and to be awkward if necessary. It would also be expedient to have IYA representation on the Skillsactive “expert panel”.

I have a worry here though: this pragmatist option is a grey and lifeless thing that might suck out enormous amounts of energy which would be better expended in realising the bigger vision that Yoga brings into view. Who wants to sit on endless committees and deal with endless paper work when they could be teaching? (Isn’t this where BWY lost the plot?)

Is there then a way we can be pragmatic whilst honouring the high ideals that are part and parcel of Yoga? It does seem like squaring the circle to me, but I have a few suggestions.

We could put together a “How To” pack for students and schools wanting to take the REPS route. This shouldn’t be too difficult if someone has blazed the trail, (i.e. Anne-marie!). We should, I repeat, be highly vigilant when getting into bed with the “fitness industry”, especially with respect to getting tangled in energy-wasting red tape. If it looks like tying us down or asking us to compromise our syllabuses too much, then we should forget it altogether. And if the Yoga Fellowship continues to reject the idea of getting into bed with REPS/Skillsactive, there will be a very large body of Yoga teachers refusing to have anything to do with it, which in turn is bound to attenuate REPS’ clout.

We could offer advice and practical help to new teachers wanting to organise their own independent classes and studios. If enough people pursue this, a shortage of teachers willing to work in the “fitness industry” could well ensue. Then instead of them telling us they don’t recognise us, we could tell them we don’t recognise them!

We could make sure that Yoga Studios are welcoming to all people.

My own view is that the ideal should never be far from our thinking and the pragmatic never allowed to overwhelm it. If we are pragmatic from a position of the strength that can come from solidarity with each other, then the pragmatic will serve the ideal, and really vital Yoga will be out there doing its healing work on the body politic. If we are pragmatic at the same time as being fragmented as a community, then an amazing opportunity will be lost. Any thoughts anybody?

PS Does anybody else small a rat? Skillsactive tell us they have not put the Yoga standards in place yet but BWY teachers are already going on REP automatically, (200 so far according to BWY). Doesn’t square if you ask me.

Please address your replies to:

Peter Yates: pete@heartyoga.co.uk stating that you saw his paper on the Kevala Centre website.