Hot Yoga
Driving in to Sawtelle from Praxis' chemotherapy today at City of Angels Veterinary Cancer Group I heard a story on NPR about the rise of competitive yoga.
There are lots of discordant manifestations of Eastern wisdom and culture in the Western world. I feel like I see even more of it being connected to GR, where we don't try to re-interpret culture, or try to sell it as the next big thing... the culture just exists, and we try to share. It sells, that's for sure, but we don't play the hype game.... it's a sinking ship really, and our prominent Asian upbringings have taught us that it's not good to be on sinking ships!
Anyhow, competitive yoga? For reals? Isn't yoga supposed to be some internal struggle, non-competitive, self-improvement, set your own bar kinda thing? Granted I've only done it once or twice in half hour installments at 24 Hour fitness, but I grew up seeing my grandfather do it. He'd wake up at 5 am and do yoga until around 8 or 9 when everyone else in the house was just rolling out of bed and thinking about breakfast. He did it before he went to sleep as well. He did it in the privacy of his study, without music, or incense, sans candles... it was just part of his routine for physical and mental health, and at 92, it's served him pretty damn well.
White people are weird. I just chalk it up to that. They find something that's about self reflection and turn it into a sport, or a talk show, or an info-mercial. This yoga thing is happening in very white Portland, but I'm sure it's happening in LA too. LA, also home to the "maid cafe" in Culver City, staffed by white girls in cos-play yellow face. I'm sure it's going over well, but it's still a poor facsimile of the "cafe" cultures in Japan. There's a darkness that I kind of love about the maid and butler cafes... a really public and acceptable state of loneliness and isolation that can be cured for $20 an hour. It's not spectacle and kawaii, it's a modern take on traditional Japanese ideas about the art of a fine companion, and what it means to host and serve a guest. I can groove on that, even if I don't want to pay money to hang out with boys who are prettier and more gracious than I am. It's disconcerting and reminds me that my femininity is not fully realized - in the most non-patriarchal way of course!
When the GR crew was in Tokyo we skipped out on the maid and butler cafes and went for the real underground shit... the cat cafe!! This is where dreams are realized, where affections are bought and sold, and you get to TOUCH the objects of your desire. Pick up the latest issue of GR (with James Jean on the cover) and get the skinny...
Photo by Pryor Praczukowski, who I hope enjoyed this experience as much as I did!!
There are lots of discordant manifestations of Eastern wisdom and culture in the Western world. I feel like I see even more of it being connected to GR, where we don't try to re-interpret culture, or try to sell it as the next big thing... the culture just exists, and we try to share. It sells, that's for sure, but we don't play the hype game.... it's a sinking ship really, and our prominent Asian upbringings have taught us that it's not good to be on sinking ships!
Anyhow, competitive yoga? For reals? Isn't yoga supposed to be some internal struggle, non-competitive, self-improvement, set your own bar kinda thing? Granted I've only done it once or twice in half hour installments at 24 Hour fitness, but I grew up seeing my grandfather do it. He'd wake up at 5 am and do yoga until around 8 or 9 when everyone else in the house was just rolling out of bed and thinking about breakfast. He did it before he went to sleep as well. He did it in the privacy of his study, without music, or incense, sans candles... it was just part of his routine for physical and mental health, and at 92, it's served him pretty damn well.
White people are weird. I just chalk it up to that. They find something that's about self reflection and turn it into a sport, or a talk show, or an info-mercial. This yoga thing is happening in very white Portland, but I'm sure it's happening in LA too. LA, also home to the "maid cafe" in Culver City, staffed by white girls in cos-play yellow face. I'm sure it's going over well, but it's still a poor facsimile of the "cafe" cultures in Japan. There's a darkness that I kind of love about the maid and butler cafes... a really public and acceptable state of loneliness and isolation that can be cured for $20 an hour. It's not spectacle and kawaii, it's a modern take on traditional Japanese ideas about the art of a fine companion, and what it means to host and serve a guest. I can groove on that, even if I don't want to pay money to hang out with boys who are prettier and more gracious than I am. It's disconcerting and reminds me that my femininity is not fully realized - in the most non-patriarchal way of course!
When the GR crew was in Tokyo we skipped out on the maid and butler cafes and went for the real underground shit... the cat cafe!! This is where dreams are realized, where affections are bought and sold, and you get to TOUCH the objects of your desire. Pick up the latest issue of GR (with James Jean on the cover) and get the skinny...
Photo by Pryor Praczukowski, who I hope enjoyed this experience as much as I did!!
posted by gr at
7:26 PM
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