As a species, we have ALL been "groomed".
Firstly, over the centuries we have been carefully conditioned to doubt Mother Nature - ever "since Adam was a boy" - and "trained" to be wary and afraid of Her unreliable, changing cycles.
Next, we have been deliberately "detoxed" and disassociated from our ancestral wisdom and true, natural selves and programmed to trust the opposite, that being synthetic and artificial alternatives, because they are "safer", "last longer" and more "comfortable".
Finally - and what I feel is happening right now with all this lock down BS, mask wearing, social distancing and not looking one another in the eyes to connect like sane human beings - we are being told to FEAR Nature. To fear the world and each other, because dreaded lurgies are lurking in the shadows, the supermarkets and even in our goddamn glove-boxes, waiting to "get" us!
It's absolutely LUDICROUS and why any yogi would support this, is beyond rationale.
Yoga is about aligning oneself WITH Nature and removing the veils of illusion that interfere with the soul remembering itself AS divine, ORGANIC, INFINITE intelligence.
Not that long ago, it was insinuated that C19 could infect your pets. I rolled around on the floor laughing for a good half hour when I heard that one. Now they're reporting (overseas) that this virus can be transported via TREE POLLEN and that we must urgently increase the distance between ourselves and others in order to keep everyone safe and healthy.
I'm sorry, but this is UTTER BULL-DER-DASH. You can see how they are trying to mess with our minds and convince us that our natural environment is a THREAT to our survival, instead of being IMPERATIVE TO it, can't you?
Consider this for a moment, if you will. Why IS it, that the person who is conscious enough to SEE the looming danger on the horizon, is always the person in the WRONG? Wouldn't logic dictate that "he who is missing the point", is, in fact, the very person who CANNOT see the obvious and therefore remains oblivious to said danger?
If YOU are the one who can't see what's really going on, doesn't that make YOU the one who's in denial?
You can't know what you know until you know it, obviously, but I am constantly intrigued as to how the human that is LESS informed - and who refuses to adapt to circumstance - always seems to be the one exalted as CORRECT.
So. When I see yoga teacher trainers (this week) telling their students that wearing a mask can be "beneficial in helping them keep their breath smooth and comfortable", I suspect we have really reached rock bottom. Do these people not understand what happens when you re-breathe your own carbon dioxide?
Just in case they don't, I will take the time to explain here now.
Anyone who has studied their anatomy and physiology and who also keeps up to date by regularly researching, will know about a condition called "Hyercapnia". This is what happens when we re-inhale our exhaled carbon dioxide. Now, as yoga teachers we can't possibly be privy to every single mental, emotional or medical nuance of our students, so as part of our duty of care, we err on the side of caution, which is why I am even more astounded that any practitioner would be supporting the wearing of masques DURING YOGA PRACTICE. It's safe to assume that most people coming to your classes are already harboring high levels of anxiety and stress and that the last thing they want is to take all that crap ONTO their mat. That - and your studio - should be their sacred sanctuary, free from the agendas of the illusionary world.
It just doesn't make any sense at all, especially if you have been diligent enough to discover that masks actually don't work and that the CDC and NIH even say that themselves now. Australians seem to be having a hard time absorbing this fact for some reason and instead are choosing to blindly obey the narrative.
Side note: have they considered how their yoga INSURANCE may be affected if they inadvertently harm somebody in class after making them wear a face covering - which is actually NOT a law and a blatant violation their human rights - just because they believe they have to obediently "follow the rules"? Most likely not.
Back to Hypercapnia. What happens exactly? Take your pick from any of these: increased blood pressure, palpitations, panic attacks, arythmia, vertigo, skin flushing, disorientation, dizziness, headaches, muscle twitching, fatigue and drowsiness. Not things any of us would care to inflict on our beloved students, surely??
FACT: each exhalation contains carbon dioxide and VOC's (volatile organic gases/compounds) such as methanol, isoprene, acetone and ethanol, plus ketones, water and various hydrocarbons.
The organs that remove CO2 from the body are the lungs, the large intestine, skin and the kidneys, so again, logic would suggest that your yoga practice should incorporate postures that support and strengthen these organs - and energetic meridians - to help the individual counterbalance all the pollutants and stressors, that they are experiencing every day. This is really where Seasonal Yoga styles start to shine as the specific preventative and remedial practices they are.
FYI there's also a thing called PARADOXICAL BREATHING, something that occurs as a result of diaphragmatic dysfunction, and again, something a lot of people suffer from without even realizing it. It's very hard to diagnose; beyond the scope of yoga therapy or the average yoga practitioner. The important thing to know here, is if someone comes to your class with this, you place them at further risk of being harmed, by making them wear, you guessed it, a mask.
CO2 regulates our blood PH - too much and it goes acidic, too little and it goes alkaline - therefore, it's a no-brainer to grasp that breathing alters your blood chemistry and a short leap of faith from there, to understand that blood chemistry ALTERS your BRAIN chemistry.
Anything that threatens the function of your brain - and your precious associated consciousness, divine intelligence AND crown chakra - is therefore NOT in alignment with AHIMSA (non-violence), the founding principle of Yoga and if that isn't enough to make you sit up and question all these ridiculous restrictions, mandates and "health directives" and start thinking with your HEART and not your head, then perhaps this isn't the profession for you after all.
Remember who you are and also remember the power and protective force of Mother Nature when you trust in Her Truth.