Patents, Petitions, and the Politics of Practice

The backstory-

• From Yoga International:  http://yogainternational.com/article/view/patents-and-lawsuits-the-future-of-yoga/

• Yogaglo's responses:--http://www.yogaglo.com/blog/2013/09/yogaglo-response-to-todays-news/

• Yoga Alliance's Letter-http://www.yogaalliance.org/ya/Articles/YogaGlo_09_25_13.aspx
• Petition- http://www.thepetitionsite.com/258/457/371/urge-yogaglo-to-back-down-from-patent-application/
• Yogadork- http://yogadork.com/2013/09/24/firestorm-after-yogaglo-moves-to-patent-online-yoga-class-setup/#comments
• Mia Parks's article On EJ- http://www.elephantjournal.com/2013/09/yogis-behaving-badly-patenting-a-view-of-a-yoga-class-mia-park/
• Adrien Edwards's article on EJ- http://www.elephantjournal.com/2013/09/cease-desist-yoga-patents-adrien-edwards/
• Meredith Klein's article on EJ- http://wKrww.elephantjournal.com/2013/09/a-love-letter-to-yogaglo-meredith-klein/
• Krista Katrovas' article on EJ- http://www.elephantjournal.com/2013/09/yogaglo-you-can-go/

Whew! I think those are the main articles out there that have been written on the topic this week, but if I missed something else important, you can certainly post a link in the comments.  It's a lot to keep up with in one week.

I keep getting called out on Facebook to comment on the current situation with Yogaglo (outlined above) so I thought I might as well say a few words on my blog. 

Here's the thing:  I have been on the teaching faculty of Yogaglo for several years and have enjoyed a wonderful working relationship the production and management team. As a result of my involvement with them, their excellent technology and an enthusiastic community of subscribers,   I have had a chance to teach yoga to a diverse community of people around the globe.   All in all, it has been a great thing and I have enjoyed the opportunity to be part of their professional team of teachers.  In fact, I have loved being part  of the Yogaglo team.

During the summer we ran into some conflicts over the YogaTips on my Youtube channel and rather than take down the short clips  which were seen to be  in conflict with the terms of the exclusivity agreement I had signed, I terminated my contract with Yogaglo. I understood the exclusivity agreement to mean that I could not post full "yoga classes on any streaming site" and they felt that the terms meant that I could not post any portion of any "yoga class on any streaming site" and so we parted ways.  Yogaglo owns the content I created while under contract with them and my classes have remained up for my students to use. Whether a class remains up or comes down  is under Yogaglo's discretion per the terms of the contract, not mine. 

So, folks keep wanting a statement from me as a  "Yogaglo teacher" on the matter. Another person told me "the yoga community would boycott me if I didn't do something" and  still others are politely inquiring why the Yogaglo faculty is so silent on the matter.  Just for the record, I am doing what  I have always done which is practicing yoga and teaching yoga as best I can. (Oh I did just buy a new mountain bike so this week I have been  riding that a lot also. But I digress...)  

My point is that I am not going to do anything new because there is nothing left for me to do other than what I have already done. 

I do want to say-- for the record--that I love teaching yoga. I wake up most days  in awe that  I landed in this job that often kicks my ass and yet  always shows me that deep meaning can be created through mindful movement, honest expression and dedicated efforts over time. I came to yoga as a life-saving measure. I think that is why I am so intense about the practice. Had I been casual about yoga in those early days, I would be dead today.  I didn't become a yogi  because I was some holy person so full of integrity or because I was so predisposed to the inner life. I became a practitioner because I needed the teachings one day a time to stay alive and to climb slowly out of  a mire of self-hatred and self-abuse. Personally, I do not understand what peculiar function of Grace gives a job like this to someone like me but most days I figure it is because I needed to be kept close to the Teachings, lest I forget the Source of my life.

And sometimes I find it ironic, overwhelming and bizarre that because I teach yoga I now have a lawyer, a corporation and  I am called to  make "public statements" about current events but those things are part of the game of the yoga business for me these days and that is what it is. And-for the record- I am happy and honored to have the opportunity to play this particular game.

And--for the record-- for me, the practice  itself has no politics. Practice is between me and God. Practice gives me the tools I need so that  I can rest my head on my pillow at night, look back at my day, review  what went well, where I felt short and pray to do better tomorrow.  Practice connects me to the trunk of the tree when I have walked too far out to the skinny ends of the branches and have lost my way. Practice bolsters my faith,  strengthens my courage and softens me just enough to notice that I am not alone on this great path called Yoga. 

So anyway, put a patent on that. Oh wait- it is not for sale.

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