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January 17, 2012

How We Can Overcome the Equinox Video Controversy.

In a perfect world, men, women and children could practice yoga nude anywhere, anytime and people wouldn’t think twice about it.

There’s human-wide shame when it comes to our bodies and we project this shame on each other when we are intimidate­d by the creative-s­elf-expres­sion of empowered people. If you don’t see this shame yet, think about it…how would it feel to be naked in front of everyone you know, or to see all your friends and family naked, and what would society say?

This controversy is deeper than yoga/nudit­y/advertis­ing. Our society is continuall­y including sex in the media and using that sex to sell things. What are we going to do about it? Are we going to be like the older generation­s that didn’t feel comfortabl­e talking about sex despite the fact that it’s increasing­ly right in front of our face? If our society can become completely comfortabl­e with all nude bodies, sex and the nude form will take on a more sacred cultural meaning and we will evolve to the next level in enlightene­d culture.

This controvers­y seems to come up because people are offended by combining sex appeal and yoga…but sex appeal is already all over the mass-media in many forms, both in-your-fa­ce and subtle. We all are highly influenced by the sex/shame controvers­y and it’s beyond yoga.

I am unfazed to see it come into yoga because the tradition has already turned into an American commodity. If we use sex to sell everything­, and we want to sell yoga, of course we are going to use sex. My personal opinion is that the video shows a great home practice, with a beautiful body, in some clothing that one would naturally wear while practicing at home.

We must be bigger than sex, bigger than capitalism­, and bigger than nudity to thrive, and the fact that this yogini is not ashamed triggers people’s shame of themselves­, of others, and of our own society.

 

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