dabbling is way ok. how else do we experience new things and grow? sounds like she was doing marketing for anusara yoga and for her own class. maybe her numbers were down and the mortgage was due at the next day. who knows. i think it's wrong of her to put that on you or any other students. sounds like she was being a bit of a regular person. i wonder though, is it reasonable though to expect our teachers to be more than regular people?

Good post. I take anusara every once in a while also. I like the practice a lot. They always give me that too for being a dabbler. I think it is in their core teaching. I think the perspective is totally legit - if you want to get good at anything you have to dive deep, regardless of if it is yoga or not. The problem in your case and in mine, is the teacher is not really taking the time to understand that we are not there to go deep but rather gain some perspective and have fun. If you went back I bet teacher would get it.

Being a cyclist and a yogi, one thinks of the two as different forms of, for a lack of a better word, "sport." But even in cycling, there is road riding and mountain biking, I think of mountain biking as a different sport than road cycling, but I enjoy both. In yoga, I practice Ashtanga but I love going to a Vinyasa Flow class as well. In the different forms of yoga (and cycling), there similarities and differences that we should I think we should embrace, especially if its what gives us balance.

"So you haven't decided that Anusara is the style that you're in love with yet?" Wow. That really gets to the heart of why I don't practice Anusara anymore (and I used to practice it almost exclusively). Great alignment direction, well trained instructors, but it strikes me as more than a little cultish.

On the other hand... the teacher had a point. It's good to have one style that's at the centre of your practice, which allows you to go deep, as she said to you. But to suggest that dabbling is wrong? That's crazy talk. As with the rest of yoga, there's a balance to be struck between consistency with one's practice and trying new things.

Dabble!

Love your blog..especially the humor and lessons learning along the way...I think I may even attempt the lavender eye pillows one day (and I don't sew!)
Just started a yoga blog about classes in NYC and am slowly learning about everything BLOG...Thanks!

Dabbling in various forms, sports and activities from a muscular and balance standpoint builds better bodies. . .

What happened to remembering that it's all yoga?!?

I find it bizarre when other teachers suggest you need to focus on a style or "commit" to anything except your own practice. And if that happens to be an Ashtanga or Vinyasa or Iyengar or Anusara or even a Daffy Duck Yoga practice, then by all means dive in deep! But its your yoga practice. And all those styles? Yeah, they were created by people who "dabbled". There's a saying about going after what the masters of old sought, not the masters of old. I think it applies here!

I absolutely love experimenting with new styles and keeping my practice varied and dynamic. I love and regularly attend classes based on traditions ranging from Iyengar, Anusara, Vinyasa, Hatha, Restorative, and everything in between. I find that when I teach my Hatha, Gentle, and Vinyasa classes, the experience I've gained from the different styles provides me with new information and inspiration to share back with my students. Every style has something wonderful to offer, so if they all speak to you, why restrict yourself? Life is beautiful and so why not enjoy it all?

One of my favorite quotes on yoga is by Sri Swami Satchidananda who says that yoga should be whatever makes your heart dance. I'm pretty sure there's no sub-clause that says "so long as its in the same style". :o)

I think the western idea of different yoga "styles" is a bit ridiculous. If I am not mistaken, aren't all of the different "styles" being described Hatha yoga? At their core, they're all a physical practice that adds other aspects of the many tools of yoga (breath, meditation, chanting, etc.) as compliments to aid the practice and lead us to our higher state of being. Let's not forget that yoga is a wonderful science which at its very core works towards bringing union for all forms of existence. Whether I am doing sun salutations, feeling the joy of "grace" in a backbend, focusing on the alignment of my vertebrae while holding sirsasana for 5 minutes, chanting and singing the many names of God, meditating on the silent pause between my breaths or realizing the connectedness between all things while taking a walk in the woods, it is all yoga and it is all a step in a positive progressive direction. Why must we create a false sense of separation for the sake of marketing?