World of Philosophy

Author(s): Christopher Key Chapple, Intaj Malek, Dilip Charan, Sunanda Shastri, Prashant Dave
Publisher: Shanti Prakashan

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woods, one May 2003 and the other in May 2004. At the first retreat we shared our ideas for eco-Yoga in teaching and personal practice, selected readings for group study, and committed to share regular journal reflections about our experiments over the year.
At our final retreat, we shared what we had learned in our personal practice and teaching. One major outcome of the research was the original YogaGaia curriculum that Hasita developed. This curriculum tells the story. of cosmogenesis and evolution through Yoga movement. On a public front, we gathered information on the toxicity of the ubiquitous polyvinyl chloride (PVC) Yoga mat and took initial steps to share this information with the public.
The primary public aspect of our work, however, was in formulating and circulating a values statement linking Yoga and ecology. Originally named the Yoga is Ecological Values Statement, it was later renamed the Green Yoga Values Statement, and became the founding document for the Green Yoga Association. As of the publication of this volume, the statement has been endorsed by over 500 Green Yoga member studios and teachers, and been reprinted widely in magazines, on the web, and in Yoga studio brochures.
Developing a statement connecting Yoga and ecology was first suggested to me by Shobhan Richard Faulds, Past President of the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, and author of Kripalu Yoga: A Guide to Practice On and Off the Mat. The idea was to circulate the statement to the most respected U.S. Yoga teachers for endorsement, thus coalescing the Yoga community around the connection between Yoga and earth care. In preparing the statement, I wrote a draft and shared it with the collaborative group at the opening retreat. The group was excited about the statement and potential outreach, but wary about the potential to derail our collaborative learning. There was concern that this could distract us from the more personal work related to our teaching and practice.
The group ultimately chose to go ahead with outreach on the values statement. Several in the group helped me revise the wording, and others volunteered to contact senior teachers for endorsements. We started with seven prominent names. Significant dialogue ensued, as some of those we contacted requested revisions, which often were in conflict with revisions requested by other potential endorsers. The process of negotiation was complex, and after several months, the project appeared to stall.
At the point when I was close to giving up completely on consensus, I made one last attempt. I went out to my meditation spot on the San Francisco Bay, and sat for quiet reflection. Keeping in mind the conversations of the previous six months, I rewrote the statement completely from scratch.
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