Yoga is a living tradition; that it has been passed on for us to study in this age, is a privilege. But with that privilege comes a great responsibility. Yoga is not and has never been a static or singular concept throughout the ages; it grows and evolves with the times in which it is practiced, and we, as modern practitioners, have a responsibility to carry yoga forth, to reinterpret its teachings in the light of modern science, medicine, physics, psychology and our modern concepts of gender, politics and religion.
There are, no doubt, many great examples of this being done in the last century from Krishnamacharia's school of gymnastic influenced Hatha postures, Sivanada's ecumenical 'all-religions' approach to the divine, Sri Aurobindo's Supra-Mental philosophy, to the more recent Tantric inspired and bio-mechanical based Anusara Yoga of John Friend to name only a few who have in their own way taken yoga forward into our modern age.
The history of yoga in this last century is rooted in foreign influence that both spurred a renaissance of classical yoga in India and simultaneously exposed yoga to the rest of the world. The figures involved in this renaissance are many and their stories nothing less than fascinating. So how is it then that the key figures and schools remain almost unknown to most modern practitioners? The less we involve ourselves in the discussion and debate of what we are practicing the greater the risk that it will become more disparate and eventually get lost in our subjectivity. The re-packaging of yoga by businesses and fad gurus has only lead to a further misconception of what yoga is and inevitably, as with all consumer trends, will be abandoned for the next thing to come along. The ancient history of yoga which is ours to build upon is a great responsibility but what we choose to do with that responsibility will determine what historians centuries from now look at our period of yogic history.
In light of these issues surrounding modern yoga, the mandate of the YDST is to create a forum whereby all yogis can come together and share ideas and practices. It has a particularly modern perspective and encourages open expression of ideas about where modern yoga is going and what it means to practice yoga in the 21st century. Lectures will be given at various locations in Toronto and while an emphasis will be placed upon highlighting those members of the toronto yogic community who are breaking new ground in modern yoga, international speakers will also be encouraged and invited to present their work.
It would not, however, be very 'modern' us to limit the YDST to just a lecture series. The interaction of a web-based archive of papers and blog-style commentaries allows for much greater base of knowledge and ease of communication. Therefore, the web exponent of the YDST will provide an archive of those lectures given in Toronto as well as unpresented papers that may be submitted directly to the editor of the site. It will also provide a blog forum that will allow a less formal presentation of ideas to be discussed and debated.
Looking forward can be difficult without some sense of how we got here; thus, the third focus of this society to investigate and document as much as possible the history of our practice and its growth over the last 150 years. There are already numerous, excellent texts, sites, journals which focus upon classical and pre-classical yogic history and philosophy; what is notably absent though, is a place where modern yoga can be examined and new ideas presented. The content will thus be limited to the subject of modern yoga. Research in the areas of yoga and gender, science, health and fitness, medicine, language and religion are only a few key subjects that we have barely begun to explore and yet which most certainly define what we do as 'modern' yoga.
In the end, this site will be what its users do with it. The YDST mandate does not amount to an agenda and it is not interested in teaching but debating dogma. Your constructive criticism and ideas are what will make this site meaningful. Coming together, we will move forward.
Thank you,
Scott Petrie
Director