In the yoga studios, I had similar experiences. So many styles, sub-styles and intriguing variances! I was spoiled by choice and somewhat confused. In Bali, I studied and practiced yoga for 14 years, mainly under a banyan tree, one-on-one with my teacher. I had never been in a yoga studio. To decide whose class I should try, I read the description of a yoga teacher's previous occupation and a list of names of the teachers with whom they had trained. I was excited about trying something completely different and reminded myself of Sri Ramakrishna's saying, "As many faiths, so many paths." I resolved to surrender and discover the essence of yoga in each class.

What I also discovered, however, was a multitude of resistances: to the empowered use of mantra, meditation, pranayama; to the Sanskrit language; to the traditional approach to lineage; to initiation, oral transmission and the hallowed ground of a guru/disciple relationship. Asana was the mainstay of each yoga class, and on asking why and how this became so, the reply was usually unanimous: most Americans are not ready to embrace the complete practice of yoga along with the unfamiliar aspects of India's tradition, much of which seems to be in direct contrast to their own culture. In America, it seems, many teachers have subtracted whatever seems illogical or inappropriate from an 8,000 year old formula and adapted it to fit in with the apparent needs of a modern, fast-paced society.

There are those who would argue that such assimilation is healthy, essential for evolution and richness of flavor. And then there are those who lobby for protecting the yoga heritage from dilution and eventual extinction.

While it is fair that many teachers want to spread the potential benefits of yoga by plying a heady 1 1/2 hours of "stretch & strengthen to the beat", may it also be unfair to students who will never experience a deeper practice rooted in tradition? Over time, will fewer and fewer teachers be qualified to offer the transmission of yoga as a complete spiritual technology?

Many questions and arguments arise: Who can afford the time these days? "Better to know a little than nothing at all!" "There is no right or wrong way!" "It's all yoga!". The only appropriate answer of course depends on each person and his or her natural appetite. We all have different tastes, needs and aptitudes that change as we become ready to open and grow.

Meanwhile, however, the more we spread the gift of yoga around without tapping the direct source, the thinner it becomes.

What is it that many American yoga practitioners are missing?

The Hindu culture reveres the necessity of lineage without question and it is precisely this preservation of ancestral wisdom that has borne the fruit of the yoga we enjoy today.

The living symbol of the power of lineage in Hindu tradition is the banyan tree. The new roots of a banyan tree sprout not from the earth below but from above, straight out of the high, mature branches. The young tendrils spiral downwards and having penetrated the ground, they grow thicker into columns that eventually merge into the expanding trunk. Just as the new roots of the banyan tree take their nourishment directly from the elder branches and continue downwards to ultimately support the whole body of roots and leaves, so does the devoted disciple receive transmission of wisdom from an empowered master to selflessly sustain the lifeline of spiritual inheritance.

To know yoga as a complete spiritual system, it is vital to study with a teacher who has received yoga's rich and varied inheritance. Then the practice of yoga can lead you to experience the natural state and full participation in life. This is the promise of yoga.