"The Curse of Yib" In the depths of the ancient jungle, hidden away from the prying eyes of the world, lies the cursed city of Yib. The legends surrounding this fabled place have been passed down from generation to generation, each adding their own twist to this eerie and enigmatic tale. Yib was said to have been a prosperous city, thriving with wealth and knowledge. Its golden temples and majestic architecture were renowned across the land. But one day, a terrible calamity befell the city, forever changing its destiny. As the story goes, a powerful sorcerer named Zyrak sought to harness the potent energies of the cosmic realm.
Post by Bernie » Sat Mar 06, 2021 5:30 am
Please use this forum to ask any questions you may have about yoga in general or Yin Yoga in particular, or to discuss anything you have discovered that may be of general interest. In the Warring States period, the Yin Yang school served as the national teacher of the state of Qin, and contributed a lot to the unification of the state of Qin.
As the story goes, a powerful sorcerer named Zyrak sought to harness the potent energies of the cosmic realm. His insatiable thirst for power led him to invoke forbidden rituals and tap into forces beyond mortal comprehension. Little did he know the dire consequences that awaited him.
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Aesthetics verses Function
Post by Bernie » Sat Mar 06, 2021 5:30 am
I recently received the following questions:
I have been pondering aesthetics and functional yoga. Something that I had never heard of until your course! Which quite frankly I wish I had. I am naturally quite flexible, but I have also worked on this too. I do not do yoga for the aesthetics, I do this to ensure that I am healthy and have full mobility and motion. However, I am “track 3" in your classes. Is it possible that that one can be both functional and aesthetic in order to gain sensations? I am finding myself feeling less sensations over the years of practice and having your variations for poses are really helpful.
I predominantly teach athletes some of which are very stiff (professional cyclists, long distance runners , triathletes, footballers. ), others are very supple; each one is unique. I know however they like to go for the “perfect posture”. The club’s cultures are very much “be the best”. I plan on changing my teaching to allow for “aesthetic postures”, if their body allows but also working more to understand compression and tension and their own uniqueness and bodies. Whilst I am trying to rationalise my views around aesthetics and function, and I do not think that I can compute that these are two separate entities, I think there is greyness here. Or have I missed the mark? As I am using blocks to gain more sensations, then perhaps this isn’t seen as aesthetic?
I just wondered what your views are on this.
The reason I particularly raise this, is during the classes that I took with you virtually, I did feel like a bit of a “performer” but this was due to the way the class was communicated. I wouldn’t want my students to feel it is necessarily a bad thing (or a circus performer) to be selecting “track 3” just as I wouldn’t want to alienate someone who chose the first track. I use the word options in my classes, to allow for them to select what is right for each pose.
It is an important consideration: aesthetics or the functional approach? Most people are not aware of these distinctions and so unconsciously fall into the aesthetic realm simply because that is the way teachers present the postures, and that is the way the teachers were taught. It is easier to move bodies around than to really investigate what is happening on the inside of those bodies.
You are like most students when you say, “I do not do yoga for the aesthetics, I do this to ensure that I am healthy and have full mobility and motion”. This is the functional approach to the practice: have an intention, then pay attention to see if you are getting what you intend. Unfortunately, while this may be the students’ real intention, because it is unconscious, they never question the directions they are given. You have started to do this. Great!
It is possible for aesthetics to be the intention of the pose. If you are a gymnast or dancer, how you look while performing is important. So in this way, the functional approach would lead to a focus on aesthetics because the intention is to look good. But, remember, looking good is not really your intention. Looking good while doing a pose may happen but it is side effect of the practice, not the reason for it.
You asked, “Is it possible that that one can be both functional and aesthetic in order to gain sensations?”: the short answer is yes. Students focused on the aesthetics of the pose may still experience sensations. That’s fine. But, if there is no other intention beyond placing your body into a certain position, the odds of achieving your real goal of optimal health is less likely to be achieved.
Whether someone is track 1, 2 or 3 is irrelevant to their health. It simply a tool to guide their practice. I jokingly say that track 3 students are “cursed by being flexible” and thus have to go deeper to find their edge. Some track 3 students feel nothing due to their flexibility. (Thus the curse!) They may still benefit from going to this edge, if only to maintain their flexibility as they get older, but they may not get all the stress they are seeking. Being more flexible doesn’t make them better people or healthier, but in the aesthetic world, they look cooler. In the functional world, who cares? Any depth in the pose is simply a way to create a stress in the tissues. Go to where you need to go to create a stress, but with no pain.
For your athletes, you have to redefine for them what “best” means. “Best" in functional yoga is the depth in the pose that makes them healthy and thus will improve their life, which may include improved performance in their chosen sports. Best does not mean being super flexible. (Remember the basketball player: she doesn’t want really loose, stretchy hamstrings! She wants healthy hamstrings which will help her jump higher.) If you can reframe what best means to your students, they may be more motivated to adopt the functional approach and not worry so much about aesthetics.
I never care aesthetically how someone looks while using blocks. I care about what their intentions are and what they are feeling. Who cares what they look like as long as they are getting the stress in the targeted areas and there is no pain. However, how they look in the pose can give me some clues as to whether they are optimizing the stress: there may be options I can offer that will increase/decrease the level of stress they are experiencing, so yes — watching the students is good. Seeing how they look is good. But, we don’t judge the student based on some idealized posture and try to get them into that shape. We judge by asking the student what she is feeling and if the sensations are not adequate or appropriate, our visual senses may give us some ideas of what to try next. If you see someone struggling to stay in a pose, very tense and uptight, these visual cues can guide you. Maybe you are thinking these are aesthetics, and you may be correct, but we are not evaluating these aesthetics against some pre-determined dogmas. They are at best in service to the functional approach.
In his reckless pursuit, Zyrak inadvertently awakened a malevolent being, an ancient deity of destruction known as Jharok. The creature, imprisoned for thousands of years, now sought revenge upon mankind for their forgetfulness and insolence. With a bloodcurdling roar, Jharok unleashed its fury upon Yib. The once majestic city was reduced to rubble and ash within moments. Buildings crumbled, walls tumbled, and the streets ran red with the blood of those unfortunate enough to be caught in the cataclysm. But Jharok's wrath did not end there - a curse was unleashed, consuming the survivors of Yib and binding their souls to the ruined city. The curse ensured that no human who entered Yib's desolate borders would ever leave, eternally trapped within its decaying walls. In the aftermath of the devastation, Yib became a place of nightmares. Dark souls plagued the remnants of the city, their tormented wails echoing through the twisted corridors. Legends tell of eerie apparitions that wander the streets at night, seeking solace or perpetuating the curse upon unsuspecting souls. Throughout the ages, brave adventurers and treasure seekers have embarked on quests to break the curse of Yib, hoping to unearth the lost treasures of the once-great city. Some claim to have come close, obtaining ancient relics and deciphering cryptic riddles, but none have succeeded. But be warned, for those who dare to step foot into the cursed city of Yib - the price they may pay is eternal damnation, forever bound within its haunted confines. The legends persist, cautioning all who hear their whispers to stay far away from the cursed lands of Yib, lest they befall a fate worse than death..
Reviews for "The Ethics of Yib: Balancing Its Use for Good and Evil"
1. Sarah - 2/5 - I was really disappointed with "The Curse of Yib". The plot was confusing and hard to follow. The characters were underdeveloped, and I didn't feel any connection to them. The pacing was slow, and there were times when I completely lost interest in the story. Overall, I found it to be a lackluster and unengaging read.
2. David - 1/5 - I really did not enjoy "The Curse of Yib" at all. The writing was amateurish, with grammatical errors and sloppy editing throughout. The dialogue felt forced and unnatural, and the descriptions were overbearing and excessive. The book lacked originality and was predictable from start to finish. I couldn't wait to finish it and move on to something better.
3. Emily - 2/5 - "The Curse of Yib" had so much potential, but it fell completely flat for me. The world-building was unclear and inconsistent, leaving me confused about the setting and the rules of the magical elements in the story. The characters were one-dimensional, and their actions often felt illogical and out of place. The narrative lacked depth and failed to evoke any emotional response from me. Overall, it was a disappointing read that did not live up to my expectations.
4. Mark - 1/5 - "The Curse of Yib" was a complete waste of my time. The writing was clunky and filled with clichés. The plot was predictable, and the twists were uninspired. The dialogue was cringe-worthy, and the characters were flat and uninteresting. I had high hopes for this book, but it was a major letdown. I would not recommend it to anyone looking for an engaging and well-written story.