A little neither-here-nor-there yoga story

Once upon a time, there was a woman named Okin Carmegorg. She lived in a big city where she went to school. She worked out regularly at a gym. At the gym, she learnt about these classes they were offering called yoga classes. She had no prior experience with this thing called yoga, but she found the sight of people standing on their heads fascinating. So Okin decided to sign up for yoga. After a few classes, she decided that she liked yoga, so she started taking classes at a yoga studio.

The studio she went to specialized in this particular style of yoga called Gatashan yoga. Now, Gatashan is a very physically rigorous and demanding form of yoga involving a set sequence of postures linked together by a very specific number of breaths. Now Okin was somewhat flexible, but she wasn't particularly physically strong. As a result, she really struggled with the postures that required her to balance her body weight on her arms. Indeed, a few of her (male) teachers actually told her that she would never be able to stand on her arms in this lifetime.

Nevertheless, Okin was undaunted, and kept working on her practice. She also went to India, the birthplace of Gatashan yoga, and studied with the Guru of this tradition. After a few years, the Guru authorized her to teach this system. After another few years, she became a certified teacher.

Wanting to bring this yoga to more people, she opened a studio in this place called Imami Beach. Many people took up the practice, and experienced many physical, emotional and spiritual benefits. And then she realized that she would be able to reach out to more people--people who otherwise wouldn't be able to meet or practice with her regularly--if she made instructional videos that were easily available online on YouTube. In an attempt to reach tweens and other individuals of the non-yoga crowd, she also made this video called "Yoga Girls of Imami Beach." That video wasn't so well-received, but she didn't let that bother her, and instead went on to make more instructional and practice videos. And many people (including the author of this neither-here-nor-there story) benefited from the clear instruction in these videos.

Meanwhile, there existed a group of individuals called bloggers. There are many ways to describe bloggers, but it probably wouldn't be too much of an exaggeration to say that bloggers are basically individuals whose minds are so active and chattering that they couldn't keep the contents of their chattering minds to themselves. So what do they do? Well, they blog! Needless to say, the exploits of Okin Carmegorg did not escape the attention of these bloggers with their ceaselessly chattering minds. These bloggers formed many differing and conflicting opinions about the actions of Okin, especially the "Yoga Girls of Imami Beach" video. Some bloggers also formed this curious habit of fixating on the fact that Okin has this curious habit of teaching and practicing in short shorts and tube tops. (Which is more curious, teaching and practicing in short shorts and tube tops, or fixating on teaching and practicing in short shorts and tube tops? Well, this is a hard one...) In any case, the bloggers formed many diverse and conflicting views on Okin's actions. Some thought that she was a good teacher whose actions and intentions were misunderstood. Some thought that she was a good teacher who had sold out and commercialized herself and the tradition which she purported to represent. Some thought she had a super-big ego, which was, of course, a very unyogic thing to have in yogic circles. Yet others were undecided.

In the meantime, Okin continued to do her thing, bloggers continued to blog their blogs, waves continued to rise and fall in the oceans, and the sun and the planets continued to move in their assigned orbits.

Isn't this a very silly neither-here-nor-there story? :-)