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Anthem
1608 Posts |
 Posted - Sep 24 2005 : 2:00:07 PM
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Hi Yogani,
Just curious, are you able to tell us what kind of website volume you are getting to aypsite, the geocities site and to the forums?
I see there are 180 members here at the forums but I imagine there must me many more who come to read but never post.
Neareoke got me thinking about the numbers in his post and I was wondering if he was accurate. 500 emails a day would be an enormous amount!
Anthem11 |
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yogani
USA
5241 Posts |
Posted - Sep 24 2005 : 4:27:00 PM
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Hi Andrew:
Great question -- very relevant to where we are all going with this. Here are a few perspectives, and where I'd like to head with it over the next few years.
I may have corresponded with 500 people over the last two years (maybe more - haven't counted), but never all in one day! There is always a rotation going on with who is writing, which determines who I am corresponding with. These days I usually have only a few correspondences going on at any one time, occasionally spiking to half a dozen or so. Last year, before the lessons reached critical mass, it was more like a dozen rotating correspondences going on all the time, and spiking to 20 or so every now and then. Pretty crazy back then.
As the lessons have become more complete the emails have become much less, even as the lesson readership and website volumes have gone way up. That is what I have been hoping for -- a body of written knowledge that can eventually stand on its own. With the forums coming up now and beginning to fill in many of the questions that used to come to me (thank you!), there is the opportunity for AYP to evolve into a self-propelled worldwide community of practitioners using an open source integrated system, according to each person's needs. That is my wish for what AYP will become, and we are making progress.
Before aypsite.org was launched in June 2005, the Geocities site was running 10,000 page visits per month -- about 300/day. aypsite.org (including the forums launched in July) went almost straight to 50,000+ page visits per month -- averaging about 2,000/day now, with about 2/3 of that in the forums, so you are getting a lot of unregistered readers over here for sure. The Geocities site has dropped about in half since aypsite.org came out. Also, there are still folks who prefer the Yahoo groups for reading the lessons, but I have no way to measure that activity.
Here is an amazing statisitic: Since opening in June, aypsite.org has seen 18,000 visitors (individual readers) from 90 countries. The breakdown on readers is:
USA - 73%
Canada - 6%
UK - 4%
India - 4%
Australia - 2%
Germany - 1%
...with the remaining 10% spread out among 85 other countries.
The numbers indicate that the West will be carrying the ball on the expansion of applied spiritual practices in the years to come, though these are AYP numbers only and do not necessarily represent what is happening in all systems of spiritual practice. An interesting data point though, isn't it?
As for what I will be doing from here on, I am beginning what will likely be a fairly long list of small books, each on a single practice, or same-in-class group of practices. There could be a dozen or more of these small books coming out over the next couple of years, starting with the first few in late 2005 or early 2006. They will be "entry level" and aimed at the average person who may have a glimmer of an interest in any practice like deep meditation, pranayama, tantra, mudras/bandhas, asanas, etc. The idea will be to create multiple entry points into AYP in the book market for many people with diverse interests.
I'd also like to continue filling in the remaining knowledge gaps in the AYP online lessons, as was mentioned in the last lesson #275. In the end, the additional lessons since the first book, along with a lot of unpublished Q&As piling up here, can be put together into a "Volume 2" AYP Easy Lessons book.
If I can get all that done, then maybe take a break for a while? 
The guru is in you.
Yogani
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Anthem
1608 Posts |
Posted - Sep 25 2005 : 10:52:34 PM
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Thank you Yogani for this detailed answer and for sharing your vision.
It is truly a great concept to package AYP as an "open source" system. It makes me think of the also internet based "open source code" that is highly effective as a powerful programming tool. It is like many minds coming together for an inspiring common purpose. I think this can be an excellent recipe for profound change. It seems like many people are benefiting already from AYP as it is extremely comprehensive and easy to follow. I am guessing that you had this vision and clear ideas on how you were going to execute this plan from the beginning, as your message is so consistently delivered. "Under the hood", "self-pacing" always coming back to balancing the energies with spinal breathing, pretty unbelievably well constructed to prevent pitfalls.
To me "self-pacing" is the biggest stroke of genius in all of this, as in theory, it erases every reason for these lessons and techniques to be kept secret. Now why didn't the legendary Babaji think of this??!? (Incidentally, has he dropped by yet to express his gratitude? )
The numbers are pretty impressive; I wonder how they will change over time. I am certain that a volume of unpublished AYP lessons would be a great seller. Who knows maybe this year's holiday season will increase sales, I know I am planning on buying a few copies for some family and friends.
For nothing less than the life changing experience it has been so far, I am truly grateful for all your hard work as I am sure all of us are. I am certain you deserve a little rest, nothing says that you can't rest along the way you know, besides it will make you last longer!!!
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Edited by - Anthem on Sep 25 2005 11:01:39 PM |
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yogani
USA
5241 Posts |
Posted - Sep 26 2005 : 11:17:09 AM
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Hi Andrew:
I believe self-pacing never had much opportunity to evolve before now because the practices were so little available, and fragmented among multiple traditions besides -- not much to self-pace with. The methods of dissemination precluded the need for pacing, except by the personal supervision of the guru, of course. And that was the way it had to be when the means for communicating with aspirants was so limited. The solution was to collect people together into ashrams and communities where the guidance was available. That was limited access for the public, of course, and also inevitably led to the social and political complications within the communities, and all that cult nonsense.
With the Internet, maybe we have found a good compromise -- maximum information flow to everyone, with minimum distractions. Well, it's not the same as being in a physical community, but the fact that self-pacing is evolving naturally out of it means something new and exciting is happening. Could self-directed practitioners travel this fast in significant numbers before? It will be interesting to see how it pans out.
As for Babaji, Jesus, Buddha, Krishna and the like, I hope this will meet with their approval. I have heard no complaints, so far. We're all on the same team... 
Thanks all for being part of it ... this illuminating experiment in applied yoga science.
The guru is in you.
Yogani
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yogani
USA
5241 Posts |
Posted - Sep 26 2005 : 3:17:30 PM
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Hi again Andrew:
Would you mind if we move this topic to "AYP Helpers?" It says a lot about the nuts and bolts of the human side of the AYP work, and where we can all take this together.
This ties in with David's "infallibility" discussion too -- the wisdom of taking what works from a teacher and leaving the rest behind. Getting past the "perfect or nothing" syndrome -- neither is reality. That goes for students and teachers, both...
Bottom line: I'm a person who can organize the practical aspects of yoga, write it down, and offer advice based on my own long-time journey. The rest is in everyone's own hands. It is cause and effect -- not a mystical deliverance beyond our own making. Is that a disappointment, or a revelation? It depends on who is reading, who is practicing, and what the experiences are, yes?
Whatever the case may be, whittling the pedestal(s) down to horizontal is in everyone's best interest. Eventually, it will spread the work out too. Hence, the move to AYP Helpers ...
The guru is in you.
Yogani
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Anthem
1608 Posts |
Posted - Sep 26 2005 : 9:46:05 PM
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Thanks for asking, if you feel it is the right thing to do then please by all means.
A
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yogani
USA
5241 Posts |
Posted - Sep 26 2005 : 10:32:12 PM
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Thanks Andrew.
For those who are interested, this topic provides an overview of where we are with AYP readership numbers, and where we can go. With many pitching in, I know we can create that worldwide open source community for spiritual practices. It is within our reach. All we have to do is keep moving ahead. Each person's individual progress is everyone's progress, and vise versa!
The guru is in you. |
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