A few weeks back, I attended my buddy Drubner’s wedding. As the party reached full tilt, I ran into a group of people smoking cigarettes.
“Hey can I bum a smoke?” I asked. 
Most of them know what I do for a living (teach yoga) and looked at me with an expression of such surprise and disappointment as if I’d just unzipped my fly, hung some brain, and said, “Do you guys mind? All that dancing is making sweaty.” It was that awkward.
Big deal, so I have a cigarette 3 times a year. Go ahead, circumcise me, or wait, that’s not the expression…crucify me! But while I’ve got the opportunity, let me just say I know of no less than 7 well-known yoga teachers who will tag butts on a big night out. I say that not to sell my fellow yogis down the river, but to suggest that vices (in control and on occasion) are not entirely bad.
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People who are too healthy are annoying. And I’m pretty darn healthy, but on occasion I enjoy an ice cold Negra Modelo, an intermittent shot of Anejo, and 3 times a year…a Parliament Light.
“This is blasphemy! Where’s the unsubscribe button?!” you exclaim. Hold on. Let’s take a moment to define the difference between wellness and repression. Wellness is one’s honest aspiration to a healthy diet, consistent exercise, loving relationships, and here and there allowing those cute little inner demons to come out and play. Otherwise, those demons, repressed, will scratch and claw their way into your life via what the Bhagavad Gita defines as their 3 entry points: lust, anger, and greed.
Now don’t get me wrong. Smoking and drinking are TERRIBLE for your health, horribly addictive, and make you smell bad. Have you ever taken a yoga class by a teacher with bad breath who wreaks like cigarettes and alcohol? G-R-O-S-S (see the “Dirty Smelly People” chapter in my book) But suggesting a path to wellness that eliminates all vices entirely is completely unrealistic for 95% of Americans. Life is a grind and we must reserve the right to sometimes let loose. Or…the stress we keep in and the frustrations we hold back will be as toxic as the worst addictions.
This is really not the best combination I can imagine. Smoking is really bad habit but if Yoga Teachers are smoking it is not forgivable.
Not to be a party pooper (truly, I’m *not* trying to do that!), but I feel I need to make one call-out: If someone is truly an addict to certain chemicals/items/behaviors, than an occasional indulgence in those items really isn’t safe for that person. For many people, there is no problem with having a glass (or two, or more) of wine; but for an alcoholic, even half a glass can be deadly. Again, not trying to be annoying (or overly dramatic, or whatever); just feel the need to clarify that complete abstinence from *some* items, for *some* people, really is important. Okay, done. Thanks for the good post, and the openness to conversation.
hahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!
Love the post and LOVE the accompanying picture. I used to smoke but don’t anymore. I bummed a smoke about a year ago at a wedding and ended up on my back – almost puked. I’m kind of glad I can’t really have “just one” cause it makes me sick.
That said, I totally agree with you that 100% vice free is… well…. probably not going to happen for me in my lifetime.
I have food issues, and occasionally I enjoy a puff of non-tobacco. The way I see it is firstly I’m working consciously on all this stuff, awareness is the key, etc. And secondly, if you don’t have food/booze/smoking (sensual) desires… you probably have other non-substance vices like quick anger, a biting tongue, or a tendency to gossip.
No one is perfect, everyone has things to work on. EVEN US YOGA TEACHERS