A few days ago, on my way to yoga class, I passed by a young man, probably in his late 20′s or early 30′s, who was puffing away on a cigarette, right outside the studio. I was a little annoyed because when people smoke out there on the sidewalk, smoke wafts up and comes into the windows. There’s nothing like taking in a mouthful of cigarette smoke while you are in Savasana…
Imagine my surprise when, just two minutes later, I saw the same exact guy who was smoking a cigarette outside the studio in my yoga class! Believe it or not, this is not the first time something like has happened. I’ve been in class a number of times and set my mat next to someone who reeks of cigarette smoke.
What’s up with this?
I don’t want to pass judgment on yogis who smoke, and I realize that we are all struggling to break free of various harmful habits and addictions. (I’ve even heard that some pretty famous yogis, like Ana Forrest, are smokers, but this may just be a rumor.) Yoga, in fact, can be a very good way to help someone to stop smoking. But still, even if someone is trying to kick the habit, it just seems strange to me that someone would have a cigarette right before yoga class, and right in front of the studio. To me, that’s almost (but not quite) like slamming back a beer before going into an AA meeting.
I wonder if other people have also run across yogi smokers, and I’m especially interested to hear from yogis who are currently smokers, and how smoking fits into their yoga lifestyle.
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it’s a great sign that the guy was having a smoke right outside the shala. that’s an indication of how safe he feels in the studio environment. definitely a step towards letting go of the addiction. it’s the folks who are hiding it that are the furthest away from surrender.
Comment by Guest May 2, 2008 @ 6:37 pmKicking a habit (whatever it might be) is all about realization and clarity. Force and strain won’t help you there. And when you talk about yoga being a good way to kick habits, this fact applies even more. Because to me yoga is all about clarity of perception and not about struggle and strain. “Just practice and the rest will follow” – in my personal experience, this has always been a fundamental truth to be contemplated, especially when you are craving too hard to see quick results.
And in the meantime living together with people practicing funny habits is always a good opportunity to test our compassion…
Comment by Michael May 5, 2008 @ 2:41 ami’m a yogi, and i’m a smoker. sometimes i do smoke right before the practice to satiated the craving for nicotine. yoga was used to be my way to keep body in shape, i practice not really for my health, but for the look of my body.
Comment by sha May 25, 2008 @ 12:04 ambut over time i get to know more about the wider aspect of yoga and want to have a more fundamental change. i want to feel healthy physically and mentally. i feel sick now being a smoker, trying to quit because the guilty of having a double identity as a yogi and a smoker, they just can’t go together…
I do smoke sometimes, but not very often, not often enough that my sense of smell is warped. I would never go to a yoga class after smoking a cigarette without first taking a very hot shower.
In San Francisco, there is one class I attend that is frequented by a heavy smoker — the owner of a bar/restaurant across the street from the studio. I can smell him five mats away. Still, I’d rather have him in the class than feeling so shamed he can’t attend. It’s a bit of an imposition but whatever, so are a lot of things.
I finally broke the daily cigarette habit a couple of years ago by going to yoga 5 times a week. People who smoke – most of them – are anxious. Yoga (and cigarettes) resolve anxiety. It’s no surprise that the more yoga I do, the less I smoke, sometimes going months without a cigarette.
People who smoke are not just after the nicotine, but the deep inhales. Often when I get hit with a crave for a cigarette, if I sit and do deep ujjayi breathing, the craving immediately dissipates. Most people who are anxious don’t breathe well – they’re hyperventilating.
I know it’s hard to understand, but the guy smoking a cigarette outside the studio can’t handle stress. He’s saying, “Help Me.” If he didn’t want help, he’d be in hiding, like the other guy said.
Comment by Christina May 31, 2008 @ 12:28 amI’m trying to quit smoking and caffiene. I used to be a Kriya Yogi but I got into ciggarettes and caffiene after some traumatic experiences. Today I’ve been praying to The Holy Shri Anandamayi Ma and holding Her in my heart, but I lit up any way. God still loves me though:)
Comment by garret July 18, 2010 @ 9:59 pmGarret my friend, while I’m not a yogi and can’t speak from that perspective, I have been a smoker for over 35 years. From that perspective I feel safe to say that for some of us smoking is as addictive as heroin or cocaine. (A fact acknowledged by the Canadian government for a few years now.) Have a chat with your doctor about quitting, as there are several new medications to help people quit.
If the idea of taking meds is something you don’t want to consider, keep in mind it’s only a period of a few weeks as opposed to the slavery of an addiction that lasts for years, ending in a death by cancer. The friends and family I have lost to this disease have shown me that it is not a pleasant way to go at all.
I have tried to quit countless times, but unfortunately am one of those whose addiction ranks up with the drugs I mentioned, I am still a smoker.
While there are specialized clinics for the drug users, I have yet to find one for the smoker whose addiction is just as bad. Don’t put it off, for each cigarette just enforces the addiction that much more.
Good luck to you!
Comment by Tom July 21, 2010 @ 7:30 pmNamaste
Oh yes! I am a yoga instructor that has fought the smoking addiction for 30 years or more.
I am horrified at myself for this nasty habit and the grip it has on my mind.
I continue yoga and teaching in the hope that some day it will really kick in for me and my desire for smoke will leave. If I do not do yoga, there will be no hope at all. Yoga will save me.
This is probably why yogis that smoke continue to do yoga.
Comment by bree July 25, 2011 @ 9:40 amI smoke and do yoga (not at the same time
), while I would rather not smoke I have cut down alot since beginning yoga.
Comment by Jennifer October 28, 2011 @ 10:27 amYoga is about beginning in the present and if I had worried about my smoking it may have kept me from this life changing experience. So many things that do not serve me have fallin away through mindfulness, not pressure or worries.
On the days I practice hot yoga I have noticed a decreased urge to smoke. This makes me smile.
Great post. But I have to say… yogis don’t smoke.
Comment by Jon April 3, 2012 @ 5:08 pm