April's CR Diary

Hi April
In essence what Lauren talked about is the cost to go to India to study with the Jois family, who head the particular yoga that she and I and other fellow bloggers practice, ashtanga. It doesn't matter if you practiced Iyengar style, such as Lisa W. does, the same thing applies. Lisa goes and studies with the Iyengar family. In reality, it's mainly aspiring teachers and very dedicated yoga practitioners who make the sacrifice of going there on a yearly basis. They sort of expect you to spend a month while there, and in America our vacations are two weeks long typically. So it's really a big sacrifice financially and time-wise. It's also difficult to spouses, because you have to be away for a month or longer. In some cases, they raise the bar that in order to obtain a certain accreditation level, you have to spend about three months a year until you get the accreditation, after about 3 years. Other aspects of Lauren's article don't shed a good image on yoga but they may be true. Yoga is universal, not something exclusive that should only be available to well heeled people. Those of us that are really dedicated, practice what is called mysore style, which is practicing either on our own or in community in a studio, under the observation of a teacher. In some cities, unfortunately, the cost for mysore style yoga can be prohibitive, between $180 to $250 per month, making it a yoga for people who can afford it. Yoga should not be an elitist practice. Of course the studios have a lot of costs, and the teachers need a salary, so there is no easy fix.

Yes...actually, one of my yoga teachers contacted me via email to discuss the whole issue of how one who owns a Mysore studio can control the cost of shala fees when it is so expensive to run a studio that is open for business, essentially three hours a day. It has to be very expensive, from what I see and from what she tells me. Nevertheless, the reality is, it costs an arm and a leg to do the Ashtanga practice as we do it. And lord knows, I don't know if I could do what I do physically if my work involved more than being a mom and a part-time scribe.

Studios that have more than just Mysore practice can be less expensive. But very often, they also cost a lot - $20 for a drop-in, etc. Bikram studios on the Northeast seem to charge that as a standard practice, as do independent studios. But the monthly discounted fee usually drops down into the hundred-somethings rather than the two-hundred somethings.

Thanks for posting a link, April! Maybe I should do a CR piece one of these days. If I do, I would love to chat with you first. Feel free to email me if you're interested. lscnyc425 at the big g to the mail.