Some two decades ago, after struggling with recurrent lower back pain, I reluctantly returned to a yoga studio. Within a few weeks of regular practice, I noticed significant relief from the pain. This experience marked the start of my journey as a frequent yoga practitioner.
Over time, I’ve become a “true believer” in yoga’s ability to alleviate muscle pain and enhance flexibility.
My Yoga Journey
Motivated by convenience, curiosity, and a desire to keep things interesting, I began exploring yoga classes with different instructors, studios, and styles. Each studio offered a distinct atmosphere, every teacher provided a unique perspective, and each style brought its own approach to the practice.
When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted in-person classes, my wife and I turned to YouTube, and started experimenting with various online yoga videos. Eventually, we found an online instructor whose approach resonated with us, and their virtual sessions became a mainstay of our practice.
Travel has also played a significant role in shaping my yoga journey. Whether for work or pleasure, I’ve had the chance to practice in studios in different cities and countries.
These experiences have deepened my understanding and appreciation for the variety of different types of yoga, instructors, and how it is practiced and taught elsewhere.
What I’ve discovered about yoga
Although it took me a while to properly do the numerous poses, and to get a sense which joints and muscles they were helping, I’ve never felt completely comfortable with some of things yoga instructors do and say.
In short, I pretty much like a no nonsense yoga class.
For me it’s hold off on the frills and let’s get to the exercise as quick as possible.
Driven to Distraction
Although I respect yoga’s spiritual roots and understand that certain elements resonate deeply with many students and instructors, I often find aspects of modern yoga classes more distracting than grounding.
Maybe it’s my (self-diagnosed) attention deficit disorder, but some practices and words of guidance from instructors intended to enhance the experience instead pull my focus away from the work itself.
For example, I struggle with instructors who dedicate excessive time to chanting or meditation. Likewise, the use of bells, drums, singing bowls, or overly loud Indian music often feels more disruptive than calming.
However, what truly drives me to distraction are some of the clichéd or illogical statements that some yoga instructors make. It’s not just that their phrasing can be unclear—it’s that these comments sometimes lack logical consistency or even contradict the findings from established empirical research.
The Challenge of Yoga-Speak
Some examples of questionable statements I’ve heard from yoga instructors include:
Claims about the effects of specific exercises, such as “This exercise is good for your limbic system” or “This stretch will really help with your digestion.”
Anatomically impossible instructions, like “Breathe into your left hip.”
Overused or cliché phrases, such as “Find your inner warrior” or “Connect with your inner child.”
Counterproductive advice aimed at improving poses, like “Don’t compare yourself to others.”
Appeals to nature, such as “Imagine roots growing from your feet into the earth.”
Pseudo-therapeutic comments, like “Let go of what no longer serves you” or “Be careful, this pose can be emotionally triggering.”
Spiritual reminders, such as “Your body is your temple.”
Simplistic advice, like “Relax your brain,” which can feel more distracting than helpful, especially when my mind is preoccupied with a growing e-mail backlog.
Why Might Yoga Instructors Say These Things?
The use of questionable statements and clichés that many yoga instructors use might be due to the way yoga is taught and commodified, with training programs emphasizing formulaic language designed to appeal to a wide audience.
A significant factor behind this trend may be the training process itself. Prospective instructors often complete 200, 300, or even 500 hours of training, with curricula typically covering poses, anatomy, and philosophy, among other aspects. Accrediting bodies like the Yoga Alliance set standards for these programs, but the reliance on stock phrases likely originates in the training environment.
Cultural adaptation—or even appropriation—may also play a role. Traditional concepts (rooted in the philosophical traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism) are often simplified or stripped of their original context to suit modern audiences. While instructors may genuinely believe in what they say, they might also feel pressured to meet student expectations, offering statements that sound profound but lack depth or authenticity.
Finally, these comments may simply be attempts to fill up (auditory) space rather than providing thoughtful guidance.
Ultimately, the previously mentioned statements may undermine the integrity of yoga as a healing art, especially for people seeking relief from pain or wanting improved flexibility.
Finding a Practice that Works for Me
A few years ago, while waiting in line to enter a restaurant, I met a man about my age who was experiencing significant back pain, that looked similar to what I had in the past.
I shared with him how yoga had helped me relieve my discomfort. He mentioned that he had tried yoga too but was turned off by the spiritual elements and cliche statements often made by instructors.
I explained that, while I too find that aspect challenging, I’ve learned to block it out in order to fully benefit from the practice. It made me wonder—how many others feel the same way?
Finding a practice free from the kinds of distractions I mentioned is difficult, if not nearly impossible. Tuning out the “noise” isn’t always easy. Still, in nearly every yoga session where I encounter this kind of talk, I find myself in a mental tug-of-war to ignore it. Some days it’s easier than others, but it’s a necessary effort if I’m to experience the full health benefits of yoga.
Photo Credit:
International Day of Yoga in New Delhi, 2016
Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (GODL-India)
https://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/Screenshot-2024-11-29-at-10.54.15 PM.png9001358Jeffrey Ian Rosshttps://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/jeffrey-ian-ross-logo-04.pngJeffrey Ian Ross2024-12-01 14:11:412024-12-01 14:35:37Shit Yoga Instructors Say
From Robert De Niro’s masterful performance, to its influence on the neo-noir genre of filmmaking, few movies in American cinematic history have been as lauded as much as Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver.
The Descent of Travis Bickel
Taxi Driver (1976) tells the story of Travis Bickel (Robert De Niro), a 20-something alienated and psychologically troubled Vietnam War veteran who works as a night-shift cab driver in New York City. Living in isolation, Travis becomes increasingly disillusioned with the city’s moral decay and descends into paranoia and violent fantasies. The film depicts his encounters with a variety of street characters, including an underage prostitute named Iris (Jodie Foster), whom he wants to “save” from her pimp, Sport (Harvey Keitel). Meanwhile, Travis fixates on a political candidate and attends a rally armed, contemplating an assassination. Ultimately, his violent rampage against Iris’s “oppressors” turns Travis into a media-proclaimed hero, though the film’s ending leaves the morality of his actions and his psychological state ambiguous.
Why do I like the movie Taxi Driver so much?
From least to most important:
I spent two years driving a cab at night (and almost four years working in a psychiatric correctional facility mostly at nights)—though not in New York City. This experience helps me to empathize with Travis’s nocturnal perspective, frequently witnessing and interacting with humanity when it is on its worst behavior.
I also visited NYC during that era, experiencing its raw and gritty reality firsthand. Many years later, I lived in New York. This experience deepened my connection to the city’s ever-evolving street culture and character. But more than these personal ties, it’s the film’s ability to capture the city’s eccentricities—like Bernard “Bernie” Barlow’s memorable drum performance on the streets—and its unflinching portrayal of NYC’s chaotic alienating urban landscape and challenges that resonate with me most.
New York City in Crisis
Taxi Driver is set during a period of profound crisis in New York City’s recent history, marked by escalating violent crime and pervasive urban decay. Neighborhoods like the South Bronx and Harlem, plagued by poverty and neglect, were home to numerous abandoned buildings, crumbling infrastructure, widespread arson, and an active graffiti scene.
This decline was compounded by the city’s struggling economy, as the collapse of manufacturing left working-class and minority communities facing unemployment and despair.
These conditions created a city where fear and lawlessness prevailed. The police, overwhelmed by crime and corruption, appeared unable to do their job properly and this fueled the publics’ fear.
This backdrop of decay and alienation (e.g., Times Square filled with theaters screening pornography films, and pervasive illicit activities) facilitates Bickel’s growing disconnect from society and his violence.
By weaving New York City’s collapse into its narrative, Taxi Driver not only reflects the city’s struggles, but also critiques the broader economic, political and institutional failures of 1970s NYC.
Enduring Legacy
Watching Taxi Driver now in 2024 may seem a little hackneyed and out of place. Although many aspects of 1970s New York have evolved, the city still grapples with systemic issues of inequality, crime, and disconnection. Taxi Driver remains a stark reminder of these enduring struggles, its gritty realism serving as both a time capsule and a timeless cautionary tale.
https://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/Screenshot-2024-11-24-at-10.01.38 AM.png1078968Jeffrey Ian Rosshttps://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/jeffrey-ian-ross-logo-04.pngJeffrey Ian Ross2024-11-24 15:34:282024-11-24 17:26:14The Lasting Significance of Scorsese’s TAXI DRIVER
What do Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Al Diaz, and Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe all have in common?
Not only are they well-respected artists, musicians, photographers, and poets, with partnerships that led to a considerable body of impactful work, but their initial introduction was through a random encounter on a subway platform.
Although the examples provided above are not the only ones in which two well-known creatives (in most cases strangers) met in an unlikely and inauspicious place, a few valuable lessons can be learned from these situations.
The Nature of Collaboration
To begin with, there are all types of collaborations. They run the gamut from forced partnerships, like the one mandated by your teacher or your boss, and then there are ones that happen by chance.
Also, there are people and organizations with whom you may co-create with only once, and there are entities that you work with for your entire career or life.
Then again there are people and organizations with whom you may collaborate on some types of projects, but not on others.
Undoubtedly there are better and worse places to seek out a potential collaborator. For example, numerous on-line spaces and platforms provide a mechanism for creators to search for partners, and many formal in person networking opportunities (e.g., professional conferences), are designed in whole or in part to facilitate collaboration.
How to Foster Serendipity That Leads to Co-Creation
That being said, we don’t need to spend more time on subway platforms, hoping that we will run into someone with whom we can have a lifetime of productive and rewarding co-creation, but we should avail ourselves of the multiple opportunities for collaboration that serendipity may bring us.
How do we enable this? I’m not suggesting that you should interact with ever single person you meet in random places.
But we should occasionally let our guards down and keep our eyes open for the chemistry we may have with another person.
We should not operate with tunnel vision, but instead be open to opportunities that these situations may present to us.
This includes:
Follow Your Interests and Passion/s: Eventually this brings you into contact with like-minded people and organizations, increasing the chances of discovering someone with similar goals and complementary skills.
Take Initiative: Don’t wait for others to approach you- take a risk and reach out to those who inspire or interest you.
Nurture Relationships: Spend time building and maintaining your connections (i.e., send a quick e-mail, have coffee, meal, etc. with them), even if this interaction does not lead to anything.
Be Open to the Unexpected: Avoid tunnel vision. Sometimes the come from people and contexts you least expect.
The lesson
Overall, the lesson is to be open, proactive, and receptive to unexpected opportunities and connections that may come our way.
Photo Credit:
Photographer: Susan Jane Golding
Times Square Shuttle
https://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/32465897617_2a746caeab_o-scaled.jpg17152560Jeffrey Ian Rosshttps://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/jeffrey-ian-ross-logo-04.pngJeffrey Ian Ross2024-11-17 13:39:252024-11-17 13:44:52Subway Platforms, Serendipity, and the Power of Chance Encounters
Shit Yoga Instructors Say
/by Jeffrey Ian RossSome two decades ago, after struggling with recurrent lower back pain, I reluctantly returned to a yoga studio. Within a few weeks of regular practice, I noticed significant relief from the pain. This experience marked the start of my journey as a frequent yoga practitioner.
Over time, I’ve become a “true believer” in yoga’s ability to alleviate muscle pain and enhance flexibility.
My Yoga Journey
Motivated by convenience, curiosity, and a desire to keep things interesting, I began exploring yoga classes with different instructors, studios, and styles. Each studio offered a distinct atmosphere, every teacher provided a unique perspective, and each style brought its own approach to the practice.
When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted in-person classes, my wife and I turned to YouTube, and started experimenting with various online yoga videos. Eventually, we found an online instructor whose approach resonated with us, and their virtual sessions became a mainstay of our practice.
Travel has also played a significant role in shaping my yoga journey. Whether for work or pleasure, I’ve had the chance to practice in studios in different cities and countries.
These experiences have deepened my understanding and appreciation for the variety of different types of yoga, instructors, and how it is practiced and taught elsewhere.
What I’ve discovered about yoga
Although it took me a while to properly do the numerous poses, and to get a sense which joints and muscles they were helping, I’ve never felt completely comfortable with some of things yoga instructors do and say.
In short, I pretty much like a no nonsense yoga class.
For me it’s hold off on the frills and let’s get to the exercise as quick as possible.
Driven to Distraction
Although I respect yoga’s spiritual roots and understand that certain elements resonate deeply with many students and instructors, I often find aspects of modern yoga classes more distracting than grounding.
Maybe it’s my (self-diagnosed) attention deficit disorder, but some practices and words of guidance from instructors intended to enhance the experience instead pull my focus away from the work itself.
For example, I struggle with instructors who dedicate excessive time to chanting or meditation. Likewise, the use of bells, drums, singing bowls, or overly loud Indian music often feels more disruptive than calming.
However, what truly drives me to distraction are some of the clichéd or illogical statements that some yoga instructors make. It’s not just that their phrasing can be unclear—it’s that these comments sometimes lack logical consistency or even contradict the findings from established empirical research.
The Challenge of Yoga-Speak
Some examples of questionable statements I’ve heard from yoga instructors include:
Why Might Yoga Instructors Say These Things?
The use of questionable statements and clichés that many yoga instructors use might be due to the way yoga is taught and commodified, with training programs emphasizing formulaic language designed to appeal to a wide audience.
A significant factor behind this trend may be the training process itself. Prospective instructors often complete 200, 300, or even 500 hours of training, with curricula typically covering poses, anatomy, and philosophy, among other aspects. Accrediting bodies like the Yoga Alliance set standards for these programs, but the reliance on stock phrases likely originates in the training environment.
Cultural adaptation—or even appropriation—may also play a role. Traditional concepts (rooted in the philosophical traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism) are often simplified or stripped of their original context to suit modern audiences. While instructors may genuinely believe in what they say, they might also feel pressured to meet student expectations, offering statements that sound profound but lack depth or authenticity.
Finally, these comments may simply be attempts to fill up (auditory) space rather than providing thoughtful guidance.
Ultimately, the previously mentioned statements may undermine the integrity of yoga as a healing art, especially for people seeking relief from pain or wanting improved flexibility.
Finding a Practice that Works for Me
A few years ago, while waiting in line to enter a restaurant, I met a man about my age who was experiencing significant back pain, that looked similar to what I had in the past.
I shared with him how yoga had helped me relieve my discomfort. He mentioned that he had tried yoga too but was turned off by the spiritual elements and cliche statements often made by instructors.
I explained that, while I too find that aspect challenging, I’ve learned to block it out in order to fully benefit from the practice. It made me wonder—how many others feel the same way?
Finding a practice free from the kinds of distractions I mentioned is difficult, if not nearly impossible. Tuning out the “noise” isn’t always easy. Still, in nearly every yoga session where I encounter this kind of talk, I find myself in a mental tug-of-war to ignore it. Some days it’s easier than others, but it’s a necessary effort if I’m to experience the full health benefits of yoga.
Photo Credit:
International Day of Yoga in New Delhi, 2016
Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (GODL-India)
The Lasting Significance of Scorsese’s TAXI DRIVER
/by Jeffrey Ian RossFrom Robert De Niro’s masterful performance, to its influence on the neo-noir genre of filmmaking, few movies in American cinematic history have been as lauded as much as Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver.
The Descent of Travis Bickel
Taxi Driver (1976) tells the story of Travis Bickel (Robert De Niro), a 20-something alienated and psychologically troubled Vietnam War veteran who works as a night-shift cab driver in New York City. Living in isolation, Travis becomes increasingly disillusioned with the city’s moral decay and descends into paranoia and violent fantasies. The film depicts his encounters with a variety of street characters, including an underage prostitute named Iris (Jodie Foster), whom he wants to “save” from her pimp, Sport (Harvey Keitel). Meanwhile, Travis fixates on a political candidate and attends a rally armed, contemplating an assassination. Ultimately, his violent rampage against Iris’s “oppressors” turns Travis into a media-proclaimed hero, though the film’s ending leaves the morality of his actions and his psychological state ambiguous.
Why do I like the movie Taxi Driver so much?
From least to most important:
I spent two years driving a cab at night (and almost four years working in a psychiatric correctional facility mostly at nights)—though not in New York City. This experience helps me to empathize with Travis’s nocturnal perspective, frequently witnessing and interacting with humanity when it is on its worst behavior.
I also visited NYC during that era, experiencing its raw and gritty reality firsthand. Many years later, I lived in New York. This experience deepened my connection to the city’s ever-evolving street culture and character. But more than these personal ties, it’s the film’s ability to capture the city’s eccentricities—like Bernard “Bernie” Barlow’s memorable drum performance on the streets—and its unflinching portrayal of NYC’s chaotic alienating urban landscape and challenges that resonate with me most.
New York City in Crisis
Taxi Driver is set during a period of profound crisis in New York City’s recent history, marked by escalating violent crime and pervasive urban decay. Neighborhoods like the South Bronx and Harlem, plagued by poverty and neglect, were home to numerous abandoned buildings, crumbling infrastructure, widespread arson, and an active graffiti scene.
This decline was compounded by the city’s struggling economy, as the collapse of manufacturing left working-class and minority communities facing unemployment and despair.
These conditions created a city where fear and lawlessness prevailed. The police, overwhelmed by crime and corruption, appeared unable to do their job properly and this fueled the publics’ fear.
This backdrop of decay and alienation (e.g., Times Square filled with theaters screening pornography films, and pervasive illicit activities) facilitates Bickel’s growing disconnect from society and his violence.
By weaving New York City’s collapse into its narrative, Taxi Driver not only reflects the city’s struggles, but also critiques the broader economic, political and institutional failures of 1970s NYC.
Enduring Legacy
Watching Taxi Driver now in 2024 may seem a little hackneyed and out of place. Although many aspects of 1970s New York have evolved, the city still grapples with systemic issues of inequality, crime, and disconnection. Taxi Driver remains a stark reminder of these enduring struggles, its gritty realism serving as both a time capsule and a timeless cautionary tale.
Subway Platforms, Serendipity, and the Power of Chance Encounters
/by Jeffrey Ian RossWhat do Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Al Diaz, and Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe all have in common?
Not only are they well-respected artists, musicians, photographers, and poets, with partnerships that led to a considerable body of impactful work, but their initial introduction was through a random encounter on a subway platform.
Although the examples provided above are not the only ones in which two well-known creatives (in most cases strangers) met in an unlikely and inauspicious place, a few valuable lessons can be learned from these situations.
The Nature of Collaboration
To begin with, there are all types of collaborations. They run the gamut from forced partnerships, like the one mandated by your teacher or your boss, and then there are ones that happen by chance.
Also, there are people and organizations with whom you may co-create with only once, and there are entities that you work with for your entire career or life.
Then again there are people and organizations with whom you may collaborate on some types of projects, but not on others.
Undoubtedly there are better and worse places to seek out a potential collaborator. For example, numerous on-line spaces and platforms provide a mechanism for creators to search for partners, and many formal in person networking opportunities (e.g., professional conferences), are designed in whole or in part to facilitate collaboration.
How to Foster Serendipity That Leads to Co-Creation
That being said, we don’t need to spend more time on subway platforms, hoping that we will run into someone with whom we can have a lifetime of productive and rewarding co-creation, but we should avail ourselves of the multiple opportunities for collaboration that serendipity may bring us.
How do we enable this? I’m not suggesting that you should interact with ever single person you meet in random places.
But we should occasionally let our guards down and keep our eyes open for the chemistry we may have with another person.
We should not operate with tunnel vision, but instead be open to opportunities that these situations may present to us.
This includes:
The lesson
Overall, the lesson is to be open, proactive, and receptive to unexpected opportunities and connections that may come our way.
Photo Credit:
Photographer: Susan Jane Golding
Times Square Shuttle