The Dude and Yoga

The Abide Guide, page 216, in its chapter "Some Kind of Yoga" explains Yoga poses, also called Asanas. The descriptions are very enlightening. The chapter starts like this:

"If you squint a little, the Dude looks like a wise old Asian sage: robe, sandals, logn hair, and a goatee. The robe may be polyester (we own an exact replica), the sandals plastic (got those too), and the goatee a few shades paler than you find in China, but perhaps down deep he carries the soul of Lao Tzu with him. Or, at least, a low-rent Alan Watts".

We are told that we should be, and probably are, lightly familiar with Eastern philosophies and practices. We are also told that the Dude manages to mix a bit of West with his East. For instance, he will have a book on Japanese cooking on his coffee table besides a hamburger wrapper.

So, our mind is set for Yoga, our Western mind meeting our Eastern one. There are quite a few Dude Asanas:

- The Spacing Out Asana
- The Toilet Seat Asana
- The Bowling Argument Asana
- The Take it Easy Chair Asana
- The Peaceful Warrior Asana
- The Rugasana
- The Fuggedaboutit Asana
- The Dead In The Water Asana
- The Barasana
- The Gutterballet Asana
- The Deeply Casual Asana
- The Abideasana

For the ones of you who are already a bit familiar with Dudeism, you will have noticed that these Asanas are in direct relation with the beliefs of our Church. I will, as time goes by, explain some of the fundamental teaching and connect them with the Asanas.