:: May/June 2003 Volume 2/Number 3

Teacher Profile: Steve Ross

Steve Ross is a very popular guy. After wedging yourself alongside 70-plus students at his studio in Brentwood, Maha Yoga, a glance around the classroom gives the first impression of a social hour, rather than a yoga class. Well-groomed repeat students exchange a variety of greetings - waving, hugging, air kissing- while saving places for friends, catching up with others and finishing lattes.

By Ryan Allen

 

Then, Ross enters. He greets all with a Cheshire-Cat smile and cocks his head in a few familiar directions as he makes his way to the stereo. Now at this point, many a yoga instructor might choose to light a candle, burn incense or ask students to sit quietly for a few moments to find their center. Ross takes it in a different direction. He pulls out his iPod, plugs it in and cranks up the volume. Class begins. For the next hour and a half, students groove through lengthy holds of yoga postures to the varied beats of Tupac Shakur, The Beatles, Lauryn Hill, Bob Marley, classic rock selections and a host of others.

Although the role that music plays in Ross' yoga classes might surprise some practitioners, a quick look at his rhythmic background makes it seem less out of tune. Ross began playing the guitar when he was 12 years old and went on to play with such bands as Fleetwood Mac, Men At Work, The Beach Boys and Stevie Nicks. He even made an instructional video titled "Play the Guitar Overnight." Music has always been a part of his approach to teaching yoga, but he claims to have been more reserved in his early years. "I didn't immediately bust out with hip-hop. I eased into it."

A native to Los Angeles, Ross first got into yoga when he was 17. He says that yoga in Southern California was different back then (he refuses to disclose the year), "It was a smaller scene, a fringe hippy scene. The alignment rules of 'correct way' and 'wrong way'
weren't in it."

He went on to train as a monk in the Vedic tradition, which entailed a shaved head, celibacy, studying with a Sanskrit scholar and traveling with an Indian guru in the U.S. and India for four years. Every day he was up at three a.m., meditating, chanting, doing service, adhering to a strict diet - "intense and very
traditional."

Ross was certified as a yoga instructor in 1980, but didn't begin teaching immediately. Eventually, he took up residence at Yoga Works. During his tenure there, he was still a working musician and last toured in 1993, after which he set aside his guitar (Well, not completely; he's presently recording a "non-traditional" chanting CD) and rolled out his yoga mat. He's now been teaching for 20 years and opened Maha Yoga four years ago.

In response to "traditional purists" complaints that music shouldn't be played during class, Ross replies, "If they were really traditional they'd be doing yoga in a cave by themselves. They'd be celibate. They wouldn't touch money. They wouldn't use walls, blocks and other props." He refers to his style as a "contemporization," something for the modern world. "If you talk in low tones, wear beads and say namaste a lot, it doesn't make you spiritual. It just means you act spiritual."

Ross cites a Sanskrit saying that translates to There's nothing but consciousness everywhere. There's nothing that is not the absolute. "That being the case," he says, "loud music is just as much God as no music. Fun is just as much God as seriousness. There is nothing that is not spiritual."

While some might have a problem with the surround sound approach to his Level 2 & 3 classes, it's obvious by Ross' enthusiastic following that many do not. "I seem to attract people who are happy and they leave class happy, joyous and expanded. Certain types won't like my class and that's fine. It's still nice to at least have the option to go and just do yoga and have fun. That's what I present."

But there's also a lesser-known, quieter side to Steve. It reveals itself in his Saturday evening Taoist class. Here, his choice of music is much more subdued as he advises students sinking into double pigeon, "Quiet the mind, that which gets in the way of awareness." All the postures are done on the floor and held for lengths of five minutes or longer.

Clearly, Steve Ross is one teacher who understands the adage 'there is more than one path up the mountain.' Even if his yoga-as-celebration approach is not your thing, it's nice to know you're still invited to the party.

 

For more information or to reach Steve Ross, go to www.mahayoga.com, www.steveross.com, and/or (310)899-0047