one sentence from my one time power yoga teacher and friend, the classes and =teachings that changes my inner dialog and helped me cast off allot of judgement was super freeing for me: There is NOTHING more natural than being yourself~

I couldn’t agree with you more, I’m a 36-year-old father that comes from a small town in New Hampshire, let’s just say that I am the ““ weirdo” in town. My goal is to try to transform peoples way of thinking about exercise, this sums that concept up. Stay positive

I'd take that as a compliment! Here's to being whatever you want!

Take care of yourself brother however you have to do that. I remember seeing a young lady stretching at LAX--I mean, like you, she was stretching at/inside the airport. She was doing leg stretches and some yoga postures. I thought you fucking GO girl. I wish I had her courage to do what I felt I needed to do to take care of myself. Dude was offended by your courage. I suspect it could've been a great moment for him to see how he could've been more open. It was his choice. Some people get offended if you feed the homeless. Let's face it.

I think so too. I just find it sometimes a bit hard to always have to break the barrier and be the one that sets the example for what we think is normal. First you get some weird looks but if people see what you are doing is positive and makes sense, they approach and offer compliments or join what you are doing. A short story - it was a beautiful, sunny summer day at the Adriatic Sea. Everybody was sitting down or lying and enjoying the sun. I was also sitting but at some point it was too much sitting for me, so I got up and started doing cartwheels and handstands. I got some weird looks and felt quite uncomfortable because I'm a bit shy, but suddenly other people got up and started doing their thing - yoga, pilates, stretching, whatever. It was really awesome to experience this immediate change in the environment and how people accepted this positive thing I was trying to do and joined in, and we all felt better together! :) I still find it a bit hard to go outside and do a thing that noone else is doing, but it gets easier with time. Thanks for your thoughts and a great video!

I. Appreciate. You. SO much.✨ Thank you🙏

Reminds me of that quote: It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society

Yuri, I've enjoyed training with you at your workshops, reading your book and watching your videos. I have to admit, I cracked up laughing as soon as I heard the question of normalcy brought up. Personally, I like not being normal. I like the fact that when I'm training on the Rings or doing handstands people look at me like I'm a freak. And they think that there's no way in the hell they're capable of doing these sorts of things. Of course, they are. It just takes discipline and dedication

It was his deep ,hidden whish to move, because his stiff body is conditioning his mind. I whish him to get free. You are a fantastic Person dear Yuri and very inspiring a lot of stiff and Not openmindet beings.

He sounds like the type of person who can't sleep because he hears too many cars on the road or something small like that. probably as an anxiety problem.

People that aren't well can get angered by pretty much anything - they completely lack the awareness to realize that what's bothering them comes from within

I get weird looks all the time. When I have a break in class, a break at work, I'm stretching and moving, and if I go a few days without it, it hurts. I've been called weird for doing it, but the same people calling me weird also complain about how much standing all day hurts their back, and I'm getting through it with minimal pain/aches. I'm also 29, and my classmates and coworkers tend to be younger. I agree with you. We need to kove and stay mobile. Any movement is good.

@yurimar

4 жыл бұрын

yes agreed

How many times do think this has happened to me? And you know there are two senses of the word normal: the normative sense (probably what this guy meant) and the statistical sense. We don't want either of them - we want to be exceptional. And you are. Best wishes in the strange times, Kit

@alpardal

2 жыл бұрын

Well said

There is an old story which comes from India as I assume... There was a well where all the people from the village got their drinking water, some day a villain poisoned it. Everybody who drinks from it would go insane. The next days, as the people drank, they went crazy. Just one older man who didnt drink stayed normal. What an irony that the villagers regarded him as crazy from that day on.

@yurimar

4 жыл бұрын

Moving free Norman Very interesting story, I love it

@normanquednau

4 жыл бұрын

@@yurimar it helped me through feeling like an alien❤️ love to you brother

"Normal" is arbitrary, dependent on the time, location, culture, and people (genetics). It's natural, but not always effective or correct, to project one's perspective and values onto others; it seemed to be what he was doing. In many cases, this is based upon ignorance. I'd posit that one of the reasons we feel repelled by this is that, instinctually, such behaviour or person is inferior (in an evolutionary sense), i.e. this parochial behaviour is holding us back from expansion and exploration due to the person's own inadequacy, and yet, he felt and jettisoned a sense of moral authority over you. In terms of exercise, often I'm branded as the guy who teaches weird stuff - stuff which isn't "mainstream fitness". If teaching proper calisthenics techniques, crawling, and whatnot is "weird", I think you know what we're dealing with here. I personally take a meritocracy approach to this - if your view or critique is sound and fair, I might listen; if not, I do not care... there are plenty of stupid people to go around.

@stevena8719

4 жыл бұрын

Normal is not entirely arbitrary, as there is very clearly intention and direction within reality. HOWEVER, if we’re willing go another step and admit all things are absurd then yeah I’ll get on your boat.

It's normal to smoke cigarettes, to get drunk (even to binge drink if you're in a US college), to eat "food" chock-full of chemicals, to be on 5-10 medications if you're a senior citizen in the western world, to sit 10-14 hours in front of computer and TV screens each day, to check your cell phone dozens (or hundreds) of times a day, to drive your car to a "health club" to ride a stationary bike there, to wear clothes that don't allow you to move, etc. etc. It's not normal to move, stretch, dance, be aware of (and comfortable in) your own body. To everyone too shy to move one their own at the airport: just play a follow along video on your cell phone. That'll really confuse the "normal" ones, because yeah, you're moving, but you're really just following what the machine is showing you, so it's still OK . . . . . right? :)

That was actually a compliment 🤣

It sounds like this guy had something else going on. I’ve had awkward experiences with moving my body in public areas (airports included) and the “worst” thing I’ve had is people staring at me and making me feel awkward. Usually they’re impressed or just find it odd, but they’re never mad. Thanks for sharing this!

@yurimar

4 жыл бұрын

yeah no doubt he had his own issues. Still took me by surprise that he would publicly lash out like that most of the time I have no issues other than a couple looks here and there. When I see people doing it, I give them the nod of respect haha

@zenlifestyleandmannersshow6892

4 жыл бұрын

Yuri Marmerstein haha when Yuri nods at you, you know it’s legit.

Ha he had a strict childhood whereby he wasn’t allowed to express himself like children do trough spontaneity, parents couldn’t deal with the feeling of not being able to predict his movements (or the outcome of) so probably he was often asked to be “normal” (aka docile) as a child. Now when he sees others do so, he feels stressed (may not be aware of why) because his parent would yell at him, (or worse) so he wants to stop that feeling. It’s common that when one of your parents are trying to keep you “in line”, you feel stressed when you have your own children, when they are spontaneous, it triggers the stress reaction from being at the receiving end. And it’s possible that guy was on the spectrum and it’s hard for him to manage unpredictable behaviour in others, or the unknown. Actuality, Mate Gabor has a new book, “The Myth of Normal” 😊

It's one thing that is so wrong: e.g. it's normal to go out to smoke a cigarette for 5 minutes but if you just stand up every one and then to stretch, people act like you are weird or something. There is a movie 'The Twilight Samurai' with a scene showing some Japanese army men learning how to run more effectively in an European way (like just everybody runs nowadays but it was not known in Japan to run that way). I think we, as a civilisation, can be in the same spot: we are just thought a style of moving which is not optimal. Like stretching should be completely natural and normal thing, but people can't even do it properly and don't know they should kzread.info/dash/bejne/Y2GTs6-pp7PWgqw.html

@yurimar

4 жыл бұрын

yeah, the smoking analogy is a good one. Or the idea that not drinking alcohol is such a strange behavior, there was a commedian who talked about this. You could tell someone you don't drink water and they would accept it, but if you tell them you don't drink alcohol their reaction becomes "what? what do you mean you don't drink poison?"

Death is normal, too, i don't know how many times people called me "not normal", simply because i USE my head, i actually take pride in being called so..

Aloha Brother. Don't claim to know anything -- actually as I get older I realize I know less and less. Here goes. Normal does not exist. It is just a concept of perception. And when the majority decide on a certain perception, then that becomes the norm. Always in flux as there are billions of perception as everyone's perception is different. Truth - never care what others think of you. You are perfectas you are. I used to work at a child development center in CA. One of the kids used to sing this song as he played. "I don't want to be normal, I don't want to be normal" over and over. He was a genius, perceptive kid. I assume he was always getting told to be normal. I think he teaches creative writing now as a professor at a university in CA. Normal is just some utter bullshit that is used to control others. Fuck normal. Keep doing what your doing. Much peace and love to all.

@yurimar

4 жыл бұрын

well said!

Its should absolutely be normal to take care of your body. As a culture, we are programmed to scoff as someone doing tai chi or something similar in the park. I know I've been guilty of it. But who cares as long as the person isnt infringing on the personal space of others and it's an appropriate time (I.e in a library or in the middle of an exam probably wouldnt be the best of times for a full body movement)

@yurimar

4 жыл бұрын

yeah there's definitely a time and place for not intruding on others space, but it's also a shitty idea that some people believe where they think that all "movement" needs to be done in the gym

Life is a PRIVILEGE. Just move ! Get rid of negative sources of energy.

I was told I looked weird stretching at an airport, waiting for a flight, too .... What a gorgeous background! I love how your beard matches the rocks!

@yurimar

4 жыл бұрын

thanks! That's taken at red rocks outside of Las Vegas

@AshiraMalka

4 жыл бұрын

@@yurimar Perfect spot for your spot! I love the gentleness of personality you show in this video .... It's nice when we can be strong and gentle. :-)

Whatever we do, we adapt to. Whatever we adapt to, becomes "normal". Anything beyond that we consider "not normal" because we're simply not used to it. Todays world doesn't really require us to move a lot, most of us are taught ever since starting school and into our adult lives to idly sit, so this becomes "normal" because we do it all the time. Movenment stands out of the crowd and thus may be looked upon as strange or not "normal". But this guy you're talking about sounds more like someone with anxiety issues lol.

@yurimar

4 жыл бұрын

indeed!

Diversity is what we have on this planet, and being able to understand and accept each other is the only way to live in harmony. I sense that you find him awkward as much as he finds you awkward, and apparently on some level, you both agreed on this reflection and had an exchange. Also, I am sure you can easily understand the potential reasons why he acted the way he did; you may be reminded him how much he neglected himself or his body, or how much weaker he thought of himself compared to you, and since he couldn't immediately change himself, he had to find a way to try to change you, and to me, all this is as normal as it is natural and human. A dear friend of mine once told me 'Oh, please do not 'should' all over me', and I do my best not to fall into that 'should' mentality ever since. It goes both ways in your story too: Why would you wanna infect others into your ideal? You may have some great benefits to assert, and I'm sure he does too. Deepening our tolerance is just one aspect we've came here to experience and chasing after ideals may be working against that, we better be careful. Thank you for triggering some thought thinking tho, I love it. : )

@johnsw71

4 жыл бұрын

Wise words!

@yurimar

4 жыл бұрын

well said. I don't judge; we all have our own lives and perspectives. My stretching versus his sitting does not make me superior in any way if he ever wanted to come to one of my classes to learn how to be healthier and control his body better, I would accept him with open arms and no judgements. Likewise, there's no doubt he has experience and expertise that I can also learn something from

@dhalihoka

4 жыл бұрын

@@johnsw71 It takes one to know one. : ) Then again, I came back to edit my comment because I realized that I've done the similar thing: I wrote this comment to show him how much wiser I think I am than him. And although my original intention was to create more understanding and compassion, I realized it's simply 'a know-it-all calling other's issues to distract himself from dealing with his own'. : )

@dhalihoka

4 жыл бұрын

@@yurimar I hear you. The thing is, our entire programming is based on ideas like 'more' or 'best', and although we don't think we are superior, we feel it, and the most challenging part is that it does feel good which makes it difficult to stop or let go of the mindset. Also, we do judge, even unintentionally. Maybe we trained ourselves to make them better or more in-depth, but without judging, we are almost unable operate. Or perhaps I think that because we've never give that a shot for change. We are defining, creating a new version of human and because it's new, there's a lot of bumping and mistake making, so we are doing a great job just by participating, since it's a collective action and every stroke of brush is adding its value to the ever-changing painting.

The book „Social limits to growth“ by Fred Hirsch describes something that is very relatable to your situation i think… If been in a similar situation before, when i was doing inclined push ups with my feet on the seat and my hands on the ground at the airport. (The airport is a stressful environment for many people i think). It is inappropriate however it is none of anyones business as i was not hurting anyone around me. If you are annoyed by that for some personal reason you can still get up and just turn around and go somewhere else in my opinion. That behavior of that man reminds me of something a nazi or a social darwinist would do, because he cant exist without desturbing/ changing or even eliminating people that are different than him. Maybe i was just hoping for someone to join me or what not, but most of the time i prefer beeing on my own as i can only then maintain good focus.

@asswine12

Жыл бұрын

Or that person was just uneducated :P

@asswine12

Жыл бұрын

I doubt he belongs to a different culture though Asian cultures would not degrade you in public like that at least thats the usual case

@asswine12

Жыл бұрын

I mean he coulf have just come over to you and ask you to leave… So I think it was just absolutely irrelevant to anyone except you :D

@asswine12

Жыл бұрын

It is difficult to attribute someone Maybe you were sweaty and had a scent that annoyed him? Or hes a narcisist that does that grunts at people all the time…

@asswine12

Жыл бұрын

Habe you tried kellys attribution on him? Maybe that will help

I always fail I’m always the second place guy I’m so fucking weird even when given the opportunities I still fail and can’t be fucken normal I always overthink and it just feel so shitty I can’t be fucken normal I wanna die it sucks im such a failure

Normal is b o r i n g

That guy just didn’t have the balls in his life to think for himself. He’s built a narrative around a conformist ideology and committed his very precious and limited existence to it. To see you enjoying yourself and flourishing within your own set of ideas, while he has sacrificed his own potential for that in order to feel he is acceptable, must have caused him tremendous pain. You probably did more subconscious damage to him than he could ever do to you.

The issue isn't what is or isn't normal because that is subjective and varies from person to person, the issue is this guy was trying to impose his version of normality on you.

Thinking stretching is weird is like people who are too cool to use an umbrella. Like, you're wet bro. Enjoy your day!

He was covid19 patient zero.

People are mad so they are need to get it out on some random people... dont take it seriously ,dumbness is a disease nowdays😖

Yo Yuri, you should care less man... there are idiots everywhere, and there are people out there that are bothered even by your breathing. I've been a movement enthusiast my whole life and i still am, people are giving me weird looks all the time and they complain about my existence, but i really don't care... I hear all the time "why are you doing that, why don't you play soccer or something normal???" Yeah... "normal" ... what do you know about normal? Our normal is waaaay different from theirs, it just makes me laugh my ass off. If i ever listened to them for one second i wouldn't get anywhere... at work when my co-workers are talking about nonsense and are basically wasting their time during the break, i'm practicing my splits, and i'm stretching, because i feel the need to, they're probably thinking about how nuts i am, but i really couldn't care less, i want to be flexible all the time, and that's that. So do what you want and enjoy it... somebody doesn't like it? That's their problem.

Stretching offends some apparently. lol

Are those kind of comments normal ?XD (The ones from the guy whos bothered) A perfect one arm HS after that could have made a memeable face on him xd.

If you think that's bad you should try skateboarding. Constantly getting harassed by people, called "skater fags" by jocks, people swerve towards you in their cars to try and scare you, throw things at you from their cars. Police spending their time and resources arresting and chasing 12 year olds kids who are only having fun and trying to get better at something they are passionate about and posing zero risk to anyone but themselves. Older kids trying to steal your skateboard or come to parks/skatespots to start fights. Adults thinking they have a right to confiscate your property and physically lashing out at you because they find the sound of the skateboard annoying. I could go on and on...