"Aren't yogis supposed to be 'pure'?"
Here are my thoughts on the matter...
First of all, while the practice of purity (Sauca) is a tool we use in yoga, I wouldn't say yoga is *about* purity.
Yoga is about finding FREEDOM from the illusion of our separateness.
In addition, I believe that tattoos are a form of self-expression. It's art! There is nothing impure about getting inked (assuming you are having work done by a professional, of course).
I think repression and conforming to someone else's idea of beauty is much more detrimental to our peace of mind.
The beauty of our yoga is the lesson we learn about Divine Connection. Male or female, tattoos or not, two legs or four paws, we are All ONE.
We come together through celebrating our differences.
A great article on this and other spiritual misconceptions by Chis Grosso:
http://www.rebellesociety.com/2013/10/07/tattoos-do-not-belong-in-spirituality-and-other-complete-bullshit/
I think perhaps sometimes what people mean is healthy lifestyle and the risks involved in ink. I've had the conversation a few times with people and what they really meant was if you are eating organic food and non-toxic cleaning supplies and homemade beauty products to keep your body "pure" (aka clean and non-toxic) then the heavy metals in tattoos seem counterintuitive to a "cleansing" practice. I've always taken that particular line of thought as a purely physical conundrum.
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point, Love... I assumed the "spiritually pure" question. But if it's physical, is it different than wearing makeup or coloring one's hair?
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