Earlier this week I got a question on Facebook from a yoga teacher asking how I would respond to a Baptist preacher who told her that chakras are evil.
If I hadn’t been hungry, I may have written a short, “oh well, many people are confused about these things” kind of response. But instead of getting a protein rich snack, I got on my keyboard. I pointed out that evil is much more often the result of people with issues trying to control others, not other culture’s misunderstood belief systems – I also wrote something about uneducated, ignorant, hubris-soaked socks. 😬
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You’d think I’d be finished but nooooooo, in my low blood sugared state of righteousness, I screenshotted the masterpiece and shared it with my followers.
Shortly after lunch I began to feel the gnawing indigestion of what I’d done and so I deleted the post. I apologized offering instead: “I think chakras are another way of understanding ourselves, even though it comes from a different culture. I am sorry if someone told you chakras are evil. I would suggest he does not understand the philosophical or spiritual traditions from which these insights have arisen.”
Here’s why I replaced the post.
First, although I think it’s important to address incorrect statements about yoga, I also believe that critique should focus on behavior, not personality. I have opinions about yoga. But, opining that someone’s else’s opinion is ill informed is quite different from engaging in name calling (I may even have used the word “blowhard”). Actions can be ignorant, but it’s not helpful or fair to label a person as such.
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The second reason I retracted my statement is professionalism. I have built a relatively small, but robust social media following which carries with it some amount of influence (although I cringe at the word “influencer” folks freely use it when asking me to promote their stuff).
I think Spiderman said, “with great power comes great responsibility.” I’m not delusional enough to think that I have great power, but I do have some amount of influence in my little corner of the yoga world – which means I have a responsibility to model ethical behavior. I also sit on the boards of some health-related non-profits. Would I insult an unknown Baptist preacher in front of any of my health professional colleagues in any of those contexts? Of course not.
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I want to model professional behavior, regardless of what my inner insult gremlins prod me to say or write when I’m triggered, because I want to be a representative of yoga to the broader world, and I want yoga to be taken seriously as a profession – which means I need to behave professionally, in person and online. It doesn’t mean I can’t be angry and have opinions, but it does mean I need to be conscious about how I express them.
I admit that I can get triggered when someone pronounces that yoga (or aspects of it) are “evil” – particularly when they’ve stepped out of their lane to do so. It’s hard not to take it personally. I love yoga and when it’s being assaulted, I feel compelled to stand up for it.
To be clear, I am not apologizing for my anger. Anger can be a perfectly appropriate emotion in situations like these. Like many American women raised in the 70s, I learned that anger was unbecoming, that I should be cool and collected, smile when I felt angry or offended, and make sure I’m never perceived as (or god forbid labeled) aggressive, because that wouldn’t be very nice.
In the late 1980s, I remember watching performance artist Karen Finley, with her body smothered in chocolate and alfalfa sprouts, raging at the patriarchy. At one point she paused, took a deep breath and said, “Anger is a useful motivating force.” She was right, and that statement changed my relationship with my anger. Anger is a valid part of my voice.
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Anger can be an important catalyst – it fuels activism which then can initiate necessarily cultural changes. Change won’t happen if someone doesn’t say something – sometimes it’s appropriate to be angry.
If I was having a conversation with this Baptist preacher and he looked me in the eye and told me that I was teaching something evil, I might very well, in that moment, give him a little blast of my inner dragon. And certainly there are times when expressing an angry opinion on social media is warranted. The work, I believe, lies in the discernment.
I think it’s unfair to expect yoga teachers to be Zenned out and unemotional, or above feeling triggered and acting on our feelings. We all have different svadharmas (purposes in life). Some of us have to speak out because that’s who we are. The balance is in finding how to do it without compromising your values. Harnessing the power of anger and using it appropriately is a nuanced skill – one that I’m still working on.
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Thank you for this reminder that anger is good but check how you use it!
Great post!! I have found that countering with curious Itty -“what makes you think that?” Can not only help you to understand that person and their experiences, but also tailor your comments to address their misinformation.
Yes, asking questions is always a good strategy!
Dear Christine–Thank you, thank you, thank you…My appreciation for your ability to eloquently express so much of what I think and feel about — life in general and yoga is specific– is boundless. I’m so happy to have found this connection (and Subtle Yoga). Keep shinin’ yo Light!
Re: above comment–IN specific–not “is” specific–where is autocorrect when you need it??
Thank you for sharing powerful viewpoints about how women and anger — and yoga teachers and multi-cultural ideas — are treated in our culture! Useful and enlightening.
Thanks Ellen, I appreciate this.
That’s one of the reasons I’m drawn to you. You keep it real. Being angry is healthy, and knowing why we are, and how to direct it is using the blessing of that energy as part of being a powerful woman.
I believe we have partners and friends we have agreements with – so we can offload some emotions safely with them, move it through, and potentially hear ourselves be jerks too so we can be like, yikes, ok, I feel better, and I don’t want to be like that in front of the whole world cuz that’s not actually who I am. That was momentary me. We contain multitudes! 😊
Well it’s good to know I’m not alone. Different situation but I had to retract something I said out of anger this week. Oh the courage to find humility. And if I had taken a beat, had a snack etc etc.
Thank you for sharing! 🙏💜🥰
Well, I guess it’s mostly about being aware of our behavior – and sometimes that happens afterwards!
Hi Christine you have modeled a lot around telling us what yoga is not. It has really helped me define my practice.
What are your thoughts on “not getting attached to your emotions.” ?? My daughter (she teaches yoga and meditates in a Buddhist community.).will say we are not our emotions They are a responsible se to something but our anger doesn’t define who we are.
thank you, that’s the viyoga part of the samyoga – gotta break things down to better understand and build them back up again. I love that tidbit from your wise daughter!
Thank you for sharing your humanness!
Kristine, I am grateful for your journey and the privilege to witness it.
Webra
Thank you Webra!
Hi Kristine,
Thank you for a very thought provoking article. I agree, showing anger at the appropriate time is necessary. I was told growing up that it’s not lady like to show anger. No wonder women from my generation have anxiety issues😕
Now I feel it’s healthy to display my anger, but I do so selectively.
I feel what’s worse than showing anger too much is being
Cynical. Cynicism is very dangerous. If I had to choose between the two emotions, anger would win.
🙏🏾 💕
excellent point. I agree that cynicism is a huge problem, largely because it thwarts right action. Thank you!
Thank you for being Real. As the offspring of Baptist ministers, I was instantly there with your triggered response. But now that I’ve read your gracious (and public) rethink I understand what I hope to become and am working toward. Next time I’m in a volatile situation, the internal question “Is this a hubris soaked sock?” will inject a giggle and remind me to see the difference between behavior and person. I needed your wisdom and the gift of humor to help me catch my breath and remind me who I hope to be.
ha! I’m glad that sock will be helpful for you! 🤣 we are all works in progress.
When something like this happens it is usually because the other person is incompetent about the subject. You are the expert, Kristine, so the Baptist preacher has an opportunity to learn from you! It’s all about the tone. I think you have every right to say what is on your mind but keeping the tone even takes care of how the receiver responds. In this world today everyone wins a “blue ribbon” so people get their feelings hurt when they are challenged. They need to toughen up and experience what it is like to win a “yellow” ribbon and the world would be a better place. I love it when you get fired up because it tells me that you know your stuff and are passionate about it!
One of my favorite quotes is from Victor Frankl:
“Between stimulus and response, there is space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom”
That pause is the answer or as you say “getting a snack” before responding. This is something I have to work hard on all the time!
So important to know this.
thank you Lynn
I like the way you said this!
thank you.
Wow! You’re human. Who knew? What a gift you give us all when you decide you made a mistake and demonstrate to all of us how to rectify it. Thank you for all your teaching!
Thanks Kay.
Thank you for this post, your honest expression of this part of our humanity is very powerful. I’m grateful for the way you model authentic expression, accountability and “living yoga”.
Thank you.
Well said. Understanding and compassion is the best response to people that show aggression. And yes anger is a beautiful emotion and motivator.
thanks Jan
Thank you so much for writing this. I am employed to work ‘in the public eye’ serving the public. I am grateful I can earn my living directly through service to others. I set my personal bar high regarding my own behaviour both at work with clients and colleagues and in my personal life, with an emphasis on yama and niyama. The days I’m able to scrape over the bar are typically the days I’ve spent of my time doing housework and working in my garden not interacting with other people. Although most days I can find a highlight in my behaviour in addition to lots of lowlights amid the mass of ordinary. As you are someone I admire, reading your entry here (I didn’t read your original post but it sounds like a doozy!) has helped me realise I’m normal, not missing some fundamental brain circuitry that would magically make me a ‘good’ person able to produce the ‘right’ response every time, and that what matters is I start every day grateful I get another whole 24 hours to make fresh efforts to adjust my behaviour towards myself and others. Thank you for sharing with such transparency.
It’s so normal I think to get triggered, and even to lash out – particularly in these highly contentious times. I love the idea to start every day with gratitude – and do the best we can.
Bravo Kristine!
I remember reading your first response and feeling you were very justified !
And cheering you on!
I so have issues with organized religion and lot of their beliefs.
But after you took the post down and wrote a different response,, I felt so much better in my heart and body.
Thanks for being such a wonderful model and “Influencer”
Thanks Maria, I felt better too!
It is a truly powerful thing to be able to stand in your integrity and know that it keeps you on the higher road.
Thanks Sheila. We all gotta keep on truckin’.
Yoga and my faith have helped me accept my humanness. I, too, have had to deal with comments about Yoga being evil and blasphemous. I was fortunate to know a Baptist preacher in Winston-Salem, NC who had been a missionary in Asia. He was put in my life when I was wrestling with East meets West-personally and professionally. For me, yoga and faith are not mutually exclusive. I know there are many opportunities for growth in my journey. I do have those days when I repeat to myself, “you are the adult here, you are the yoga teacher here . . . ” I also have begun to learn to curse in another language after another brilliant yogi shared she was doing it. I am sure there is a mudra that repels ignorance but I have not looked it up.
I was reading an article on the spirituality of certain eating practices, the author (Rabbi Marc Gellman) wrote: ” your journey to God (the Divine) has many levels, and you ought to have no shame or guilt about the stage of your journey that you have reached so far.” I have been advised to continue to eat meat by my health care provider but still face some criticism in the Yoga Communities . Thanks for all you do.
I can curse pretty well in Japanese, I need to remember to use that more often! 🤣🤣🤣
Love your comments about being true to ourselves (Satya) but non-harming (Ahimsa). I have been using the mantra “It is best to be kind than to be right.”. When I am in a sensitive conversation or situation I remember the mantra, use it or just move on. Trying to convince someone of my perspective of the facts doesn’t always work. Although, sometimes it is necessary to use research to point out the facts. Thank you for your insights and research! Always enjoy reading your comments! Namaste’
Thank you! Nice to know even you (wink, wink) can be triggered and also that there is nothing we can’t try to make right again. I have recently learned that it is ok to be emotional as long as it doesn’t take control over our ability to reason and be reasonable. When we allow others to mess with our peace, it knocks us off center. Balance is so important. Yoga really helps – and not being too hungry!😉
I have had a couple ladies storm out of my class saying I was teaching the devil’s work. Around the world there are those who base their faith on “we are the chosen ones” and everyone else is wrong, a sinner, a devil , or whatever. We must realize that yoga threatens them, as one begins to come within and realize inner peace- the need for some preacher ( who wants $) to save us diminishes.
Such an important point. It lies at the heart of so much misjudgment, misunderstanding and conflict.
Amen, sister!
and hallelujah😍
Thanks for sharing this self=reflective conversation that you had with yourself. I’m sure many if not all of us have had similar situations/feellings. Helpful that you shared yours.
Thanks Sue! xo
One way to respond in a situation like this is to ask clarifying . What does he mean by chakras are evil? Does evil mean something condemned and prohibited by God? Does evil mean something forbidden by the Christian church because could take us further from Jesus? Does evil mean something morally wrong or harmful to us as individuals or collectively as society? If so, how exactly is talking about chakras harmful to someone? I’d argue that it doesn’t do any harm to us or to others if we study and believe in chakras.
lovely, thank you.