#72 – Keen on Yoga Podcast with Zoe Ward

It actually strikes one as quite funny, that despite Zoe’s reputation, she is hardly unruly. Actually, during this podcast she and Adam spend a good majority of their time praising Mysore and Sharathji’s ability to make the general rule specific to individuals.

In fact, neither of them are ultimately rebellious. They like the system, its traditional aspect (respecting the sequences); what they are both outspoken on is the kind of dogma and polarity Ashtanga yoga often enters into when it makes its way out of Mysore, which treats individuals as generalisations, to be fitted into ideal structures.

When, instead, what they really require out of yoga is a practice that serves one’s life and doesn’t cause injury. One that respects the demands of your own circumstances. That is, real life, when we have jobs, families and health issues, as opposed to the idealised picture painted of how Ashtanga should be practiced and taught in Mysore.

Adam and Zoe talk along these lines then. Having met many years ago in Mysore, they re-connected in the online world through their similar opinions

 Zoë is a US based cynical observer, writer, and comedian. After a decade of Ashtanga practice in Mysore and around the world, she now directs the sharpness of mind cultivated by the method toward critiquing the policies and politics of the community on her Instagram account, @unrulyascetic.