On the Margins
Many of us can relate to feeling out of place or different at some point in our lives. This section explores feeling out of place or being “the other,” whether it’s being excluded from members of our peer culture, not falling within the narrow confines of the mainstream beauty ideal, or the expectation of the “yoga body.” In fact, often that “outsider” status can refer to finding oneself on the margin of yoga culture itself.
The contributors in this section examine their experiences of standing on the margins, the roots of their outsider status, and how, with the cultivation of a consistent yoga practice, they were each able to come home to themselves. While the roots of their feelings of marginalization and isolation are varied, what they share in common is the key role the practice of yoga played and continues to play in bringing them into a space of wholeness.
Vytas Baskauskas shares the intimate and painful details of his heroin addiction, homelessness, and eventual imprisonment. Seeking solace, comfort, and connection through food, sex, and drugs was never enough. He shares how his yoga and meditation practice have helped fill his internal well and how the process of developing self-love is a daily practice, a work in progress.
Dianne Bondy’s story is a tale of bravery and triumph. She candidly and openly shares her feelings of marginalization as related to her race and size. Because she had no role models to emulate or images to relate to, her sense of insecurity and isolation grew. Yoga provided the path to her self-awareness and acceptance. Ultimately, it allowed her to create a career to share these gifts by teaching yoga and challenging yoga stereotypes.
Carrie Barrepski’s essay is a remarkable story of an inspiring and determined woman who has overcome obstacle after obstacle, never allowing her physical disabilities to define her. By modifying poses and listening to her body, she embarked on a yoga practice that allowed her to let go of shame and fear, as well as negative self-talk, and fully blossom in love and self-acceptance.
Practicing yoga was highly unlikely for Teo Drake, and it certainly wasn’t love at first sight. His is a moving tale of coming to peace with a body that he had waged war on for most of his life, as well as a culture that told him his body was wrong. Over time, yoga became a pathway to compassion, sensitivity, and acceptance.
As a “short, middle-aged, average-looking Asian woman,” Joni Yung doesn’t look like a yoga cover model or the countless yoga stereotypes that exist about what a yoga practitioner looks like. And while this has challenged her body image, it hasn’t stopped her from practicing or sharing her passion for yoga. Hers is a story about the changing face of yoga, mainstream yoga culture, and finding her voice amidst an identity crisis.