Quacks R Us

I am of the opinion that yoga instructors should not give any advice regarding diet, vitamins, rajas, tamas, chakras and gem stones. For one, yoga instructors are not qualified in that field. So, why spew out some half baked knowledge(?) to the poor students. Anyone can be an instructor in a couple of weeks or weekends. There are online ayurveda courses which can get you certified in no time, so one can say cool words like doshas, rajas, tamas and kapha.

I remember attending a class lecture on Ahimsa.The class started with the definition that ahimsa means non-violence. That was fine. Then it quickly degenerated into being vegetarian and vegan is what is ahimsa. My fellow classmates wondered how are we supposed to get the protein. The teacher had all the answers ready. For the magic is available in soy. Tofu is the one stop solution. One can eat tofu in myriad forms, from morning through night. Raw, baked, grilled, stir fried, deep fried, steamed, in fruit shakes and so on. Of course, the soy milk is yet another magic drink that can solve all calcium deficiencies. For better health maintenance, we were given the address of a specific shop whose owner can give us fabulous advice on the exact vitamins the students needed. If we mentioned the yoga teacher’s name, we would also get a discount. Perfect. The class ends with a horrible video showing the slaughterhouses and such. I just walked out at this point. No one noticed, as every one was so engrossed seeing the video on a laptop.

This was not the first time I had heard of being vegan was the supreme idea. I remember going to this particular yoga class for the first and the last time many years ago. I did not know anything about the class. Those days, I did not know anything about branded yoga. I wanted to get some trikonasanas and savasana. While waiting for the class to begin, I was given a pamphlet which had pictures of pigs, cows, chickens and other cute animals being tortured. We were asked to start practicing ahimsa and to become a vegan. I don’t know why this forceful idea of yogis being vegans feels like himsa to me. Tofu within me all the time is himsa too. Soy bean feels so dense to me. I do have a strong feeling that the soy board of US funds the yoga studios and teachers. I get it now. Corn is sold to the fast food and cattle industry and Soy is sold to the yogis. Yes, that makes sense. Why else will the teachers sing the praises of one particular food?

It is not just the diet that the instructors discuss. There are blogs written by the instructors. Some of the first few hits on the google is a blog, where the instructor will give such detailed advice on what videos, workshops, retreats, outfits, yoga mats, food habits one needs to have to be a yogi. The videos are always by the company acacia, the outfits are something like earth goddess. Nowhere is it mentioned she is a sales woman representing these companies. The advice is given in such a disguise as if she happened to come by these videos and retreats. And that she is recommending to the blog readers. I find it disgusting.

The instructors when they give this advice, they always mention that it is said in Bhagavad Gita that- what one eats becomes that. Just this quote is cherry picked from the Gita.The first yama in yoga is ahimsa and immediately followed by satya. I do not see how yoga instructors can say they are following the teachings, if satya is not practiced. The only comfort is that not all instructors are like this. I follow teachers who stay away from such quackery. I like my diet choice left to myself, for I do not want to become a soybean. I prefer string beans.

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