For a delightful skewering of the ever more ubiquitous narcissistic yoga twaddle, see here. I especially like the part about Zen leading to instant relaxation. Right.
Eastern thought looks a whole lot more intelligent to me than its Western perversions. So if Westerners are so keen on yoga, how about we start expanding our understanding of it a little bit? A good starting place, methinks, would be with brahmacarya (this would be one of the five yamas, the yamas being one of the eight basic limbs of yoga practice). “Thinking of it, praising it, playing at it, looking at it, secretly speaking of it, intending it, pursuing it, and delighting in its activities – these are the eight aspects of copulation according to the prudent. Any of these eight indicates the opposite of brahmacarya” (Vair?gya-mart?nda 12.144-145). For an interesting discussion of the virtue of brahmacarya and on its importance for everyone (not just a few extraordinary ascetics), see here. Oh wait, maybe this is not quite what descendants of the sexual revolution have in mind when they find Eastern thought attractive.
Sydney
Alan Schmierer