Free Yoga for Bipolar Disorder
I’ve made the decision not to withhold information for profit.
That seems to be the health paradigm we’re working in these days — one person is sick and needs access to information or care. Another party has this information or service but withholds it unless a transaction is made.
Our lack of a national health plan speaks volumes of this, but lately yoga teachers have caught on, too, and I have certainly been guilty of charging prices just within the top limits of “reasonable” just because I know people are desperate enough to pay.
This isn’t the yogic path. In the old days, yogis lived on alms or had wealthy patrons who kept them in clothes and food so they could practice and teach the public.
I think many more yoga teachers would teach by donation if there wasn’t the fear that their own needs wouldn’t be taken care of.
So I’m breathing through some fear to state that I’m going to share all that I know about yoga and bipolar disorder here on this blog (in the big picture, that’s not much, anyway), free to the public.
(If I do ever offer a product, it will simply be a synthesis or reorganization of the information you find here, or in the case of video, a longer work of higher visual quality.)
To pull this off, I need your help. So if you find this resource useful, please make a donation if you can. Donations can also keep the site free of Google ads — I’d rather not have pharmaceuticals or crappy ebooks advertised here.
The PayPal donation button is in the sidebar. Thank you!
You say you have “made the decision not to withhold information for profit.” And yet you only mention ONE of Gopi Krishna’s 15 books! Please make the decision to give credit where credit is due. Gopi wrote about bipolar disorder before you were even born. Make all the money you want. That’s fine. Nobody cares. But please reduce your karma by telling people what the real purpose of Yoga really is! Yoga is
meant to transform an ordinary person into a genius and a Super-Conscious being. Yoga is the mechanism responsible for the evolution of the brain and more. If all Yoga instructors would tell their students the true aim of Yoga, the world would change for the better. Good luck.
I haven’t done anything to you, I do not understand where this hostility is coming from or why you’re lecturing me on my karma. Please reflect on the first yama before telling me what yoga is about.
You said “I’ve made the decision not to withhold information for profit.”
To which I say “God friggin’ bless you.”
I have PTSD. The mainstream medical establishment is notoriously incapable of dealing with this “disorder” (which is actually merely a reaction to extraordinary, often preventable events). But there are lots of alternative practitioners out there who claim they can help.
I’ve noticed, however, that most of them charge a hefty fee. One, in particular, claims she wants to change the planet (!) through her healing efforts. But gee, I notice she’s chosen to set up shop not in an urban ghetto where the need is great. But in a fancy hotel in Boulder, CO. Where the money is great.
I’m sick to death of either paying tons of money to alternative charlatans or being shut out from potential healing because I haven’t got the money. And, so far, pretty much all of these “new” and alternative schools of thought I have been able to try out have offered the same placebo effect the best of mainstream medicine offers. I will say most of the alternative stuff is medically (but not financially) more benign.
So frankly, just hearing you say what you’ve said is a healing breath of fresh air in my life. Thank you.
Hi Sherry, thanks for dropping in and for your comments.
It is a healer’s job to heal, the issue for most of us is the fear that we won’t be able to pay our bills, save for later in life, and so on. So teaching to wealthy clients certainly feels safer than going out on a limb and offering it up for free.
Especially since, in the current climate, we hear over and over how expensive our $10 and $15 classes are, students disappear because they feel that can’t afford it even when we do offer scholarships. It’s easy to feel as though our expertise is not valued.
Many of us have invested thousands upon thousands of dollars into our training not to mention years of our lives, so I don’t think it’s out of the question for people to be paid, especially given the unquestionable benefit of the service we provide to our clients. People pay their doctors without question, full-time yogis, well, we chose a more challenging path. Or it chose us, as is the dictum.
Traditionally in India, teachers and healers were (and are) sponsored by wealthy patrons, they didn’t have to handle money and could focus on what they were born to do. Here in the West, that just doesn’t happen — we rely on our students (and families!) to keep us in clothes and in our homes so we can continue our practice and study, to be more effective teachers and healers.
I hope to change the planet also, but through a ripple effect of generosity, that in giving it will inspire others to give.
Then I just have to trust that my needs will be met. So far so good.
Peace and blessings,
David
David,
Oh gosh, I’m talking about people who charge $120-250 per hour, not the paltry $10-15 most yoga teachers seem to charge. I’ve never been able to figure out why yoga is the one alternative approach a person can actually afford. My hat’s off to you. Thanks for explaining the history of yoga. There’s a long history of patronage in the West, usually for artists.
Best wishes,
Sherry
Hi Sherry, welcome back!
I guess it’s affordable because it can be done as a group. It’s hard to imagine a group acupuncture class… can you see it? “Okay, everyone, grab a fistful of needles and a partner….”
Private yoga sessions are usually more effective because they are tailored to your body and your needs, and that can cost. I generally charge a flat rate for “house calls,” but people who come to me I see by donation, which could be money or something from the garden. But any yoga you get in is great as far as group classes or whatever. And there’s no substitute for a daily personal practice, which is free. My goal with private students is for them not to need me eventually, once they know what to do on their own and then actually do it.
This guy has been having a bit of fun over the idea of private yoga lessons taught by phone or webcam. But notice, after poking fun he does some yoga and goes on to write a fairly eloquent post about living in the moment. Hmmm. Wonder if yoga works….
interesting perspective throughout your site. i do not agree with a lot of what you propose, but i am grateful for the reminder to do yoga more to stabilize my moods. i think some of what i am reading is a bit loftier than what i personally like, but i do appreciate the different perspective.
thanks!
Hi Stace,
Thanks for dropping by. Loftier in what way?