Stories and my back
A slow week for good posts, largely because I put my back into a week of spasms doing yoga (or as Fred would say: Yo! GAH!!.)
Some of you are already writing me mail, pointing out how great yoga is when done properly. You can stop. I know this. Of course, you are right. Of course it is also right that not all yoga is done properly, and that there is plenty within the canon that should probably be deleted.
What’s interesting is that the worldview of "yoga is good/cool/right/mysterious/worthy/interesting" is quite powerful. It’s ripe for storytelling, because so many people want to believe the stories. It’s a modern archetype, based on faith in a very old idea.
The easiest way to get a reaction is to tell a story that resonates with (for or against) a cherished idea. Change doesn’t always happen slowly. It tends to happen quickly in areas where people don’t care. In the areas where the worldview is widespread and the stories are durable, change is much more difficult.