Can we talk about the money thing? Last
week, someone wrote saying it was a terrible shame that yoga costs so
much money and that the superstar teachers charge huge sums for
their classes. Yoga should be free, he suggested.
I don’t get it. Maybe I’m missing
one of the eight branches or one of the gazillion sub-branches
(twigs?) of yoga theory. Maybe you know something I don’t.
Here are my two cents:
-
Yoga can be free. With a computer, TV,
or even a library card, we can do all the yoga we want at home at no
cost. How lucky are we? -
Yoga teachers, like the rest of
us, like to eat and sleep on beds and take care of their children.
Don’t they need to be paid in order to do that? -
Beyond the necessities idea, isn’t
it lovely to imagine yoga teachers earning wonderful, flowing
streams of money teaching us something wonderful? What a perfect way
to live your life! -
Why would superstar teachers not
charge super fees? That way, those who love to hang out and learn
from superstars can, and those who don’t value the same thing can
go to regularly priced classes or to the computer, where I’ll bet they
can watch superstars teach for nada.
Perhaps something else is going on. I
wonder whether those of us who feel abundant and confident with money
bring that confidence to this subject, and whether those of us who carry
feelings of scarcity, resentment, and powerlessness toward money
bring our feelings to this discussion. Just a guess. I’d love to
hear your feelings.
Thanks to yoga for shining its
persistent light into all kinds of nooks and crannies, and thanks to
you for the conversation,
kristin
Dr.
Kristin Shepherd is a chiropractor, actor, and speaker (About All
Things Wonderful) in North Bay, Ontario. Join her on the web,
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