Dharma: Our Non-Violent Call of Duty
Sometimes you are duty-bound to adapt, and nothing teaches flexibility like yoga…
Do Yoga in Paris (formerly Yogateau) is remaining true to its mission however as always, it’s changing—like it always does—to respond to dynamic, exciting conditions. What this means is that Yogateau the site will be transforming into Do Yoga in Paris the newsletter.
Our Dharma, however, will remain the same.
A few words about Dharma*
Dharma has been described as righteousness, truth, as a sense of moral or religious duty, or a transcendental order. These definitions lean heavily into morality which cloud how specific and personal Dharma is. Because while there is the idea of “right and wrong” built into Dharma, it’s not always the same as the “right and wrong” used in Law. Dharma is more cosmically concerned with you.
Some alternative definitions of Dharma that might be more pertinent:
• “Dharma means your unique role in the evolution of everything.” —Thom Knoles
• “Dharma is your soul’s mission.” —Marc Holzman
• “Dharma is your whole reason for being on Planet Earth, dummy.” —Us
In short, Dharma is your life’s purpose, the point of your being here. If that weren’t a scary enough concept, think about this: only You can do Your Dharma; no one else can. Forget about copying someone else’s homework; it won’t help. As Krishna says to Arjuna in The Bhagavad Gita, “it is better to do one’s own Dharma poorly than someone else’s well.”
So what’s next?
Do Yoga in Paris’s Dharma has always been to make yoga and meditation in Paris accessible, simple to find and fun to do. Along with that, our aim has been to show how these ancient yogic practices can seamlessly slide into a modern, active life.
Pursuing our DYiP Dharma is now taking the form of a subscriber-supported newsletter, instead of a constantly updated free website. For several reasons:
The website and its features became impossible to maintain. Even before Covid-19 exploded our yoga world into a million pieces, it was taking hours and hours to revise the listings and the map. I barely had a weekend or vacation to enjoy 😿 and it was getting harder and harder to take a public yoga class or drop in on a new studio. How was I supposed to shed light on an evolving and growing yoga ecosystem if I couldn’t even participate in it?
To help finance the website, I had to experiment with native content and sponsorships. Most of these collaborations with brand partners were great (you know who you are! thank you!) but there were a few that weren’t 100% in alignment with our values. I did it for the money to be able to pay hosting fees, a programmer and occasionally a translator (all good things) but I didn’t feel great about having to do the sponsor’s bidding.
To increase traffic and engagement, I leaned into listicles stuffed with affiliate links and click-baity headlines. Ugh.
As DYiP’s audience moved from the website to social channels, I had to increase our presence there. And that took even more time. There’s a reason “Community Manager” is an actual full-time project for one person. It’s a lot of responsibility especially if you’re doing other jobs.
If Dharma is indeed our unique role in the evolution of everything then I have an obligation to adapt DYiP to better serve the community. My soul has a mission to find an alternative financial model to ensure the work keeps going. And I have to find moments to rekindle my love for the practice and its community. I feel my Dharma also impels me to expand the voices and ideas represented here, without worrying about blowback from comms people and their corporate overlords.
Ok, enough explaining. What will this look like going forward?
Going forward, the newsletter will become a premium (paid) option and your subscription will include additional features such as subscriber-only discussion forums, Q+As, and other fun content I’ve been dreaming about developing but have neither had the time nor the resources to create.
I will send out a FREE newsletter once a month in order to preserve the open nature of what we share, however that content will no longer be the focus.
If you do decide to subscribe, your financial support will ensure that Do Yoga in Paris continues sharing an expansive view of yoga and meditation in Paris and beyond. And you’ll get fun mail in your inbox 💃
*There is so! much! more! to be said about Dharma especially in concert with the three other universal values (Artha, Kama, Moksha) that make up the Purusharthas which are essentially the blueprint for a fulfilled life. Such a great content idea for another newsletter, right?
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