"No granola, no chanting, no sanskrit," promises anti-yogi yogi Kimberly Fowler. "I'm not your guru...you are," she proclaims on her website's homepage. Wanting to make yoga more relevant to sport enthusiasts and athletes, the former professional triathlete and founder of YAS Yoga and Spinning Center in Venice, California, has created her own, self-styled form of physically demanding yoga. Her classes feature none of the spiritual or meditative practices found in many other yoga traditions, and serve as a bridge to the more traditional exercise world.
For those that would like to try the YAS discipline in the comfort of their home, Fowler created the Yoga for Athletes DVD. It takes you through an hour-long class of yoga postures, sequenced by Fowler, who draws inspiration from Iyengar, Ashtanga and Power Yoga. The focus is on upper body strength, hamstring and hip flexibility and the core abdominal area.
After working out with a review copy of Yoga for Athletes, I found it was just that; a challenging, physical workout that left my rather non-athletic body feeling stretched and a little sore the next day. But for athletes who train hard and train often, Yoga for Athletes is a great way to introduce some variety into your workout regime, while still challenging key muscle groups and increasing overall flexibility.
Many professional athletes, including Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard and softball player Keri Hein, have worked with Fowler, so her DVD's title has some substance behind it. More recently, she has created a performance DVD for the Detroit Tigers baseball team, which will be coming out later this year.
When the Daily Mantra asked Fowler what she thought yoga could do for our favorite professional athlete, David Beckham, she said "That's a very expensive body! The most important thing yoga can do for him would be injury prevention. Keeping his muscles flexible, especially his hamstrings, is very important because of all the quick stops and starts in soccer."
Fowler credits her yoga practice with helping her battle cancer, recover from an accident in which she was hit by a car while training for a triathalon on her bike, and survive a nasty fall during a rock climbing accident. She says, "Practicing yoga while battling cancer taught me the importance of balancing strength with flexibility. Focusing on my breath helped me stay centered when in physically or mentally challenging situations."
Yoga for Athletes' focus on yoga as a purely physical practice may be an effective marketing strategy, aiming to capture a target audience of the athletically-minded who may have been turned-off by yoga because it seems too mystical and touchy-feely, or something that's just for spandex-clad girls. The students in the DVD include three men, which helps to create a male-friendly vibe. But for the many, many people who have been practicing yoga for some time, it just doesn't quite ring true to promote yoga as a purely physical practice when the known benefits include mental and spiritual clarity and focus. Even Fowler can't help but offer a quick Namaste to her students at the end of the DVD session. But if her "no granola, no chanting, no sanskrit" mantra helps more people discover the benefits of yoga for themselves, we're all for it.
Have you ever wished you could go to sleep and wake up a new person? Setting and achieving goals is hard work, and sometimes the hardest part of becoming a successful person is clearing away the psychological baggage that drags us down and keeps us from living our dreams. Psychological housekeeping isn't easy stuff, and facing up to those old crusty skeletons in the closet isn't exactly a fun thing to do when you get home from work. In order to challenge ourselves to grow and make radical new changes we must clear out the old, dead branches and plant the seeds that will grow into the characteristics we want to see in ourselves. The ideal time to do this kind of work is while the brain is in one of the sleep states, when the brain is open to suggestion and the door to the subconscious is left ajar.
Yoga Nidra is a yogic meditation technique that brings the practitioner into the state of deep sleep, while maintaining conscious awareness through the entire practice. Yoga Nidra can be used as a simple relaxation technique, but this powerful and ancient practice can help you to achieve your goals and manifest changes in your life through the use of the Sankalpa, or resolve. A Sankalpa is a short, positive statement, which is always used in the present tense. If you suffer from illness, your Sankalpa could be "I am healthy," instead of "I am not sick." By repeating this statement three times at the beginning and end of the Yoga Nidra practice, a seed of change is planted. Each time you practice Yoga Nidra this statement is reinforced in your mind and provides focus and direction for your meditation practice. Old problems and psychological grime are gradually swept away as you see yourself appear in the truth of your Sankalpa during your daily life. Yoga Nidra takes you beyond positive visualization and into positive actualization as your Sankalpa reshapes you and your life.
As terms, "yoga" and "boot camp" may seem a little contradictory, and "boot camp" and "vacation" aren't much better. But in the hands of renowned yoga instructor and author Baron Baptiste, they're, as yin is to yang, a remarkable balance, helping practitioners to keep those yearly resolutions in line.
Pitched as an "opportunity to transform your life," the Baptiste Bootcamps combine power vinyasa yoga, meditation, a cleansing diet, and activities such as hiking and swimming, all in vacation settings like Costa Rica, Mexico, and Hawaii. The retreats last eight days, and each day has a theme, such as "Day Two: Excavation - Transformation as a Way of Living" or "Day Four: Breakthroughs - Living Outside the Box," with a three day cleansing fruit fast and various group coaching sessions rounding-out the schedule.
As with many immersion courses (and exotic travels), the Baptiste Bootcamp price-tag may give some readers pause, running roughly $3,000 to $3,300 for all meals, accommodations, and courses - but excluding travel. So, if your spirit is interested but your pocketbook somewhat less inclined, Baptiste's Yoga Bootcamp Box (a 2-CD program including flashcards and a booklet for $21.95) is a solid compromise.
So, who is this Baptiste guy, and why is he worth the vacation investment? According to Yoga Journal Magazine, "If there were a royal family of American yoga, Baron Baptiste would certainly be a prince." Descended from an impressive lineage of yoga educators (Walt and Magana Baptiste, cofounders of San Francisco's first yoga center, are his parents), Baptiste specializes in the relationship between a person's yoga practice and their individual life story, making the Baptiste Bootcamps a uniquely personal and transformative retreat that practitioners feel extends well beyond their eight day sanctuary. With 2008 options from May 17-24 and October 25-November 1, a Baptiste Bootcamp might be just the push you need to keep those 2008 resolutions on track.
A British charity has scored a hit amongst prisoners with their Cell Bed Yoga booklet. The instructional pamphlet, which was produced by The Prison Phoenix Trust, offers solutions to the problems incurred when yoga is practiced in cramped surroundings. The 15-step guide adapts classic yoga poses so inmates can practice yoga in their beds - even if they sleep in bunks.
"It's a great way to ease a back that's tired after lying too long on a sagging mattress," said a spokesman for the charity, which according to their website, "encourages prisoners in the development of their spiritual welfare, through the practices of meditation and yoga, working with silence and the breath."
The trust was founded in 1988 with initial support from Prince Charles' Prince's Trust after founder Ann Wetherall began corresponding with prisoners about their spiritual experiences as part of a research project. The organization promotes spiritual wellbeing in prisoners by offering books on yoga and meditation. Their two key works, Becoming Free Through Meditation and Yoga and We're All Doing Time (which are also available on tape for prisoners with reading difficulties), can be ordered from their website.
"Through yoga and meditation my peace of mind has grown beyond my wildest dreams," says a prisoner from Belmarsh Prison in southeast London. "I used to be so moody and angry and the things I used to dwell upon and hold onto don't cause me to resent anyone or anything any more. It's only the gift of meditation and breath that has made me see that I couldn't progress until I let go completely of all the anger from within me"
When a woman is expecting a baby it seems that everyone, from the stranger on the bus to her great-aunt Ethel, has a suggestion that she must follow to ensure her baby's health and well-being. Add all those expectations on top of a wildly changing body, roller coaster hormones and a family dynamic that is about to be turned topsy-turvy, well, it's easy to become overwhelmed. Prenatal yoga is the perfect way for a mom-to-be to get some time to herself and to have a bit of spiritual solace during a time when she may feel like public property.
A good prenatal yoga class should be taught by a qualified instructor, who understands and is familiar with the changing needs and abilities of a pregnant woman's body. If you can't get to a class, try a DVD such as Prenatal Yoga by Shiva Rea. Physically, it is important not to push yourself beyond your body's capabilities, because during pregnancy your ligaments are softened by the hormone relaxin and are more prone to injury.
When you practice prenatal yoga you are free to leave behind everything you do not need in that moment. So don't worry about your mental to-do lists, vitamin supplements, making dinner or what stroller you will buy. If you notice fears or anxieties arising during your practice, be aware of them and then consciously let them go. If the same fear arises many times, this could be a message that perhaps something needs some action on your part in order to be resolved. However, try not to get too caught up in thinking things over. Simply allow your mind to be quiet. In this space of stillness you can listen for the magical connection between you and your baby.
Every evening, parents across the globe sit down with their children at bedtime and tell them a story. Stories are captivating to children, and the calming, centering effect a story can have is one of the main reasons for their popularity at bedtime. Sydney Solis has combined the magic of storytelling with simple yoga asanas in a new DVD for children between ages 3-8 called Storytime Yoga: The Peddler's Dream. By using yoga postures to help children act out the story being told, Solis is helping to improve the health and wellness of children who are at a higher risk than ever before for diseases such as diabetes and obesity.
Sydney Solis and Storytime Yoga are working in a partnership with the Wellness Initiative, which teaches healthy nutrition, yoga and stress reduction techniques to children in Colorado. This holistic wellness approach is non-competitive and fosters self-awareness, self-respect and respect for others, and has been utilized in schools and wellness classes. Sydney Solis has been practicing yoga since 1993 and has completed a teacher-training program in the Anusara tradition. She has a long history of storytelling in various forms, authoring three storytelling CDs and working with Spellbinders, an organization which trains volunteers to become story tellers in their communities. Judging by the long list of glowing testimonials on her website, many children's yoga teachers, homeschooling moms, and other people who work and live with children find her teacher's manual Storytime Yoga: Teaching Yoga to Children Through Story an invaluable resource.
To learn more, check out the Storytime Yoga website where you can read more about Solis's unique approach to yoga for kids.
Although plastic surgery has become commonplace today, Daily Mantra is here to inform you about alternative uplifting techniques like facial yoga. A new twist on an ancient practice, facial yoga has all the hallmarks of a classic — time-tested with an appeal that spans across the world, and with entertainment value too.
Madhavi Padhy, from yoga’s Indian homeland, is a former stress management and yoga consultant with the United Nations in Vienna. "This yoga for the face is a simple, non-invasive way to erase fine lines and wrinkles. It also reduces sagging skin and restores a radiant, youthful look to one's face and complexion." Padhy teaches classes in New Delhi as well as Singapore. “The techniques are very easy to learn. These highly specialised exercises lift, firm and tone all 57 muscles of the face and neck, literally turning back the hands of time and restoring a firm, smooth, glowing facial appearance."
Can yoga and sitting in front of a computer be compatible concepts? Click through MyYogaOnline.com, and check out their office yoga videos, like the (unfortunately named, but enchanting) "Corporate Rejuvenation Flow." It's a paid site, but the home page has links to sample videos for your office pleasure. You might even feel inspired to leave your desk and do some standing poses -- after work, of course. You might even be able to convince some of your neighboring cube farm desk jockeys to join you -- just tell the boss that "It's good for productivity and employee morale." It might even be true.
Music in yoga class is rarely a good thing for me. If the music is bad, it annoys me and distracts me from my breath. If the music is good, it compels me and distracts me from my breath. Yet few yoga teachers have the nerve to conduct a music-free class.
The typical concept of a new age soundtrack is that it must include some nature sounds -- tweety birds, churny waterfalls, crashing waves, screeching owls, buzzing mosquitos, or something along those lines. What does this accomplish? In yoga, you're supposed to stay entirely enmeshed in the present time and place. If the place is, say, a yoga studio, then why create a soundtrack that helps you to pretend that you're somewhere else? Isn't that antithetical to the entire goal?
Unless your yoga studio is 20,000 leagues under the sea, whale songs don't belong there.
To me, the ideal natural soundtrack would be provided by throwing open the windows and letting whatever sounds the surrounding environment produces flow into the room. Backfiring cars. Wailing sirens. Leaf blowers. Train crossing bells. That's your environment. That's where you are. Quit trying to pretend you're somewhere else.
Yoga pants are the new sweats; you can wear them pretty much anywhere, even if you've never done a Down Dog in your life. However, the general acceptability of yoga pants doesn't extend to poorly made, ill-fitting sweatpants. Do not, under any circumstances, buy those polyester-blend sweatpants with the elastic at the ankles.
Only wear sweats or yoga pants that fit PROPERLY. Be honest with yourself, and choose wisely. No one should be able to tell what brand of underwear you are wearing under your yoga pants.
Yoga Today "delivers free yoga to the world, everyday." Yogis from Jackson Hole, Wyoming provide free, hour-long yoga sessions that you can download to your computer, or your iPod. Now there's no reason not to be able to get in an exhilirating yoga session, even if you can't make it to your favorite class. Perfect for people who travel a lot for business, or who just can't make it to their favorite studio. Available in iTunes, Quicktime, .WMV, for podcast to your iPod, or in HD via their embedded media player.
Wake up each morning to a free one-hour yoga class from beautiful Jackson Hole, Wyoming. World class yoga instructors Adi Amar, Neesha Zollinger and Sarah Kline will take you through a session that focuses on strength building, flexibility, stamina, and meditation-in-motion. Yoga Today delivers a new show, 7 days a week, 365 days per year, keeping your workouts fresh and energizing.
About four years ago I was living in Manhattan, bartending, struggling financialy and unable to fit anything 'normal' into my schedule.
I'd get home at 5 in the morning, crawl into bed, still wound up from work, and find myself completely unable to sleep. One positive thing this work related insomnia spawned was what I like to call 'disco yoga'. I found the perfect solution to both my sleeplessness and my unhealthiness- I'd get out of work, and if I couldn't sleep I'd grab some stretchy pants just as the sun was coming up over the skyline, and hop a train down to the Bikram yoga studio for an early morning stretch.
Let me tell you, it's surreal to arrive at a yoga studio exhausted from slinging liquor around all night, smelling like smoke and beer-- while the regulars are unrolling their mats, blinking and yawning sleepily.
Apparently, a New York based yoga instructor, Peter Hefferman, came up with a similar solution and started offering later afternoon yoga classes when a friend of his who was a bartender was missing the usual morning class because he was waking up around noon everyday.
The class is offered at 1 p.m. Wednesdays in Heffernan's Westerlo Street living room.
"There are so many actors and writers and people who don't have day jobs, that having classes throughout the day in Manhattan is completely par for the course," said Heffernan, who used to live in New York City. "It just made sense to me that there would be a market."
It's not as cool as 'disco yoga' in my opinion, but I'm glad to see that yoga is starting to accomodate those of us with the unfortunate side effect of living in modern cities-- unorthodox schedules.
Bikram Choudhury Yoga, Inc. pleaded no contest to misdemeanor operating without a fire permit, failing to provide required parking for customers and operating the studio without a certificate of occupancy. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dropped charges against Choudhury, the city attorney's office said.
My favorite quote from the article is this one
"I created thousands of jobs here, so this town will miss me," Choudhury said in a telephone interview from his Beverly Hills home.
Sounds like Bikram is not only too hot for his studio, but maybe a bit heavy on the ego. Read the story here.
Naked Yoga is really something I try not to imagine. I'm not prude about my body, I just don't like to show it off to everyone, nor do I want to see everyone's either. I've known about studios that have naked yoga sessions, but this story is just too much. Apparently Actor Ralph Fiennes used this such type of yoga to convince her to date him.
But after employing such bizarre techniques as putting on shows of naked yoga at her Dublin apartment, Fiennes has finally got his way with the statuesque interior designer.
Can we assume he's both spiritual and flexible? Go here to read more.
"So I took yoga this summer. I took what I call "middle-aged-white-guy yoga." They have some Indian name for that, I don't know what it is. "I'll see a friend of mine who's taking yoga and I'll say, 'How's yoga going?' "And he'll say, 'Oh, it's great and you should see the a** on this woman I'm taking yoga from.' It's really what it's all about!" [Source]
Maybe yoga teaches should start charging men, like a disco.
On the other had, The Rockford Soccer Team has taken up pilates, which has apparently been helping them kick some ass.
A recent news article reveals that hip hop mogul, Russell Simmons, uses Yoga to stay 'grounded'.
With several business ventures and two young children, Simmons said he has found that yoga keeps him grounded. He said he tries to live his life through the principles he has learned through the activity - "smiling and breathing."
How did he get into the practice of yoga?
"Hot girls in the class," Simmons said, with a smile, in between bites from his second bag of popcorn.
All I have to say is that if Russell Simmons gets any more 'grounded', he'll be two feet tall. So, unless he wants to apply at Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory for a job, maybe he should lay off the yoga already.
Check out the rest of the article for some rather enlightened political opinions from Mr. Simmons and a heads up about a men's fragrance that actually sounds quite intriguing. Lavender + Sandalwood= yummm....
Yoga enthusiast Jennifer Aniston is producing a video starring her friend Mandy Ingber, and will even pose for pictures to promote the project. [Source]
Can I just say this is about the lamest thing I have read on celebrity yoga-itis? I mean really, can we get any more shallow and vapid like to make a press release on which yoga studio Aniston goes to? I can just see the confusion when the yoga video is promoted. Pictures of Jennifer Aniston on the video and infomercials, but when you play it, someone totally different and unknown takes you through a routine. Bait and switch isn't usually promoted as such.
I'm not sure if this is a favor gone awry, someone who is totally clueless or a case of "I'm in it just for the money"? I guess Mandy doesn't kick enough of her own ass.
Last week the LA Times had an interesting article on celebrity yoga teachers. Comparing them to the diva's they teach, they pondered, "Are they just like their rock-star clientele?"
Although [Shiva] Rea, 39, and other A-list yogis may begin their mornings with ancient Indian meditation and tongue-scraping rituals, their days are frequently filled with more contemporary marketing duties. Such is the odd, new balancing act of today's top yogis, many of whom have been teaching for 20-plus years and are now confronting international fame.
This seems like mostly a case of follow your bliss and the money will come. We're not talking about yoga teachers who have only been on the scene for two years. We're talking about people who have changed their lives with yoga and followed that path. It's perhaps the first crop of American yoga instructors.
Wong, 38, a former street tough who sports a nose ring and gangster tattoos alongside the Buddha eye on his arm, talks with the bravado of a rap star — all in the name of enlightenment. "I'm into name, game, claim and fame," said the Asia-based master of yoga-martial arts fusion. "I'm going for the world, no mistake about that, but not for oneself alone. It's for others. The key is service."
However, how will these yoga gurus handle stardom? Are those who seek the limelight just as enlightened? Or are they concerned with their bank accounts? Only time will tell, as to whether they practice their truth. However, if you're looking for fame and fortune you might want to think twice before knocking on yoga's door.
According to his article, Yoga would be more appealing if it was called, Naps with Girls! Well, almost. It goes on to explain some reason men don't go to yoga and it's primarily cultural.
Some men don't understand physical activity unless it involves trash talking and, ultimately, competition. Because we don't see the point in doing an activity - or even getting off the couch and going outside - if there's nothing to actually be gained.
Then again, the author says women are generally better at it.
Following the lead of gay men, straight men started doing yoga because straight men go wherever large numbers of women go. Men wouldn't go to yoga class if the "I'm gonna pick up chicks at yoga class" thought had never crossed their mind.
Well that must be the case, because at my West Hollywood yoga studio, the class is mixed with both men and women, gay and straight. But he's right, women are generally better than men at yoga. But whether that is because of body physics or practice, who is to say?
Everyone has their favorite yoga postures and then there are the ones we’d prefer not to practice. For me, Crow is one of the latter.
So when my teacher started guiding us to practice it a few days ago, my body went rigid. Before I shut down my internal dialog, my teacher asked one of the more practiced students to demonstrate. She had such grace, power and control as she moved through the posture. She moved into crow, placed her head on the ground and pushed up into a headstand. Before I could take my eyes away, she lowered back down into crow with complete precision. It was awe-some to watch, but I felt my heart drop. I've never been able to successfully get into crow, let alone even attempt to push up into a headstand. My internal dialogue started a long succession of negative reinforcement.
But then I thought, why be limited? Instead of focusing on the first step - lifting my feet off the ground, I focused on pushing up into headstand. I got to work and put my hands on the mat. I envisioned pushing up in to a headstand. I worked my knees onto my elbows and rocked forward. Magically my feet lifted and I balanced my whole weight on my hands for what seemed like an eternity. I felt the flush of success. I was doing crow!
When I started the second time, I thought of merely achieving my previous level. However, my focus was lost; even though I knew I could do it. I couldn’t balance and I was back to second guessing myself. So I started thinking about that handstand again. And know what? I got back into the posture.
Balanced up there on my hands, I realized that when you set your sight on a goal and you can’t seem to reach it, try reaching beyond it – to the next one. And let the momentum of the larger goal, take you to your immediate one.
It's not just the yoga craze that's contagious; you could catch something more mundane in the studio. The New York Times covers the concern that communal yoga mats could house infectious germs due to their inability to be well cleaned.
Gyms have long been hothouses for unwanted viruses, fungi and bacteria, a result of shared equipment, excessive sweat and moisture in locker rooms. Many facilities provide disinfectant so clients can wipe down machinery, but they are often less diligent when it comes to exercise mats.
Daily Mantra editor, Heather Schlegel, shared her experiences with cleaning yoga mats and is included in the article. You can read the full story here.
Bikram Yoga is a horse of a different color. It's not relaxing. It doesn't respect individual limitations. Every class is always the same. And no matter how hot it is outside, it's hotter inside the studio. First time Bikram attendees are often overwhelmed by the heat and mentally struggle through the 90 minute class while the drill sergeant instructor barks out orders to flex and move your body in ways you think impossible.
Today the LA Times reported Los Angeles City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo has charged Bikram with 10 criminal safety violations.
You don't have to fall for your yoga teacher to have hot intimate yoga. Darrin Zeer's Lover's Yoga shows many standard Asanas modified for couples. From the playful "V for Victory" to the passionate "Loving Lap Hug" Zeer's modifications keep the essence of the Asana while making it easy and effective; even if your partner has never set foot in a yoga studio. The book is delightfully written with line images of real looking couples performing the postures.
I bought this book because it caught my eye and thought it would be fun to try with the boyfriend. I didn’t know if he would be interested in trying yoga. At home, I left it lying around. Almost immediately my boyfriend noticed it and mentioned that we should try it out. One evening we went through the book together and picked out some simple postures to try. He had never done yoga before and it was fun practicing together. Afterwards our bodies were relaxed and we felt more connected. Since we had so much fun, he's always asking when we can practice together. Practicing together has created time to relax and increase our intimacy together.
The book includes tips and inspiring quotes on each page. It’s down to earth, yet personally empowering and easy for the new to yoga to understand. For more inspiration visit Darrin Lover's Yoga site, where you can watch his daily video on how to get stressed, which is an amusing twist on the relaxing techniques.
* Image of Warrior's of Love, from the book Lover's Yoga by Darrin Zeer, Illustrated by Thorina Rose
Ok, these yoga mash-ups have gone too far. I'm all for burlesque and pole dancing classes to get in tune with your inner sexuality. But this story on spicing up yoga with burlesque moves is going too far. Practicing yoga can help in flexibility in dancing and other physical activities, but do we really need burlesque yoga?
"I just like to add a little feminine, minx-like energy to the pose," she says, punctuating the sentence with a girly giggle. "It doesn't mean I'm not using my muscles. Instead of a series of yoga postures -- or asanas -- I offer a series of burlesque-inspired movements."
"Burlesque is a symbol of something that could be considered taboo or wrong or risque or scandalous, but by combining it with yoga -- which means union with the divine -- I'm trying to make the whole connection with our bodies a spiritual practice." - Little Woo of Burlesque Yoga
While much of the world is held in rapt world cup fever; an interesting blend of yoga and soccer has occurred in a West Chinese province. Football yoga (although in the US we'd call it soccer yoga) was jointly created by the Asian Yoga Federation, India Gandhi Yoga and the Natural Treatment Institute.
Holding a ball in hand, practitioners make it move through every joint of the body to musical accompaniment and the ball seems to work with the body in a perfectly way. [Full Story]
It's suggested that fans can use these techniques to enjoy and add health to the world cup viewing schedule.
With the football yoga exercise, soccer fans can concentrate all their energy on the football. By doing so, fans will not only have a chance to play with the ball, the exercise will be good to their health as well.
Now that's a unique twist for world cup viewing; but I doubt you'll see this in a bar anytime soon.
Yoga is proving to be very flexible, wrapping itself into various beliefs. This week, let's look at Christian yoga.
"The word yoga means 'yoke,' and that ties in with Christianity so well because Jesus Christ says, 'My yoke is easy and my burden is light,'" said DiGeronimo, who teaches Christian yoga under the auspices of Spring Branch Community Church in Virginia Beach, where she is a member. At a recent class, she opened with a Bible reading and prayer to the "Father," while sitting with her legs crossed, feet on her thighs, in the lotus yoga position. [Read More]
Although not everyone agrees that yoga is a Christian practice.
Critics contend that with yoga something else is at work. In 2003, the Roman Catholic Church reaffirmed its stance against Eastern practices such as yoga, which it had condemned in 1989, warning that yoga "can degenerate into a cult of the body." [Read more]
But I think, that regardless of the technique, if you are able to connect with the divine, whether it be inside or beyond you, the practice has value. And for any technique to have power, one has to make it their own.
Student-Teacher love is a difficult thing. A student elevates a teacher to a near God like position because of his or her knowledge. But even the teacher is human, and that is what is usually what the student doesn't see.
The path to enlightenment is often see as a goal - not a path. The teachers you find along the way seem to be Gods, because they have different perspectives, more experience, may be a bit further ahead of you or are just plain spiritually-egotistical. And that type of teacher can be a bit of trouble for a doe-eyed seeking novice. This is a standard story for many spiritual paths - and one of the reasons to have a celibacy rule.
So what is the problem when both student and teach are consenting adults? This article looks at this situation in the yoga studio.
In an ideal world, teachers and students would be able to participate in a learning experience that benefits both without harming either. Until that happens, maybe it’s time for a Yoga Board of Standards. As teachers, don’t we want to do everything we can to guarantee that students are receiving quality instruction with a high level of integrity?
I wouldn't go so far as to say that there needs to be a board of standards, but I do think you can separate the enlightened from the seekers based on their behaviors. Sometimes it's the student that has more wisdom.
Not everyone has a great first yoga experience, but that doesn't stop them from coming back. Here's a funny story on "my first yoga class."
While I was doing my best to contort my limbs into a human pretzel, my friend, who apparently had consumed a little too much wine the night before, was dozing off because she felt dizzy. I have to admit she was an interesting shade of gray. [Full Story]
I'd noticed Jo-Sha yoga wipes at my yoga studio, then I read the Gizmodo review and it left me laughing. I have some of the same concerns expressed in the comments on Treehugger, so I decided to try it out myself. The next time I took class, I picked up a Tangerine wipe. Apparently these are very popular and the yoga studio sells a lot of them. They are individually packaged like a moist towelette.
I ripped open the package and expected to be assaulted by a sweet citrus scent, but no, I could smell nothing. Then I tried wiping down my mat, but the unfolded square was too small and kept getting scrunched up as I rubbed it across my sticky mat. It required my full attention holding both my mat and the wipe to get it to work and it didn't look particularly cleaner when I was finished.
If you're looking to really clean your sticky mat, I've had good luck throwing it into a warm water wash with mild detergent, letting it air dry. I have an old school sticky mat, one that was cut off a roll of sticky mat material, and after a wash in the machine it's really super sticky!
Jo-Sha, sorry, you didn't live up to my expectations, I had high hopes. Not only do you give me excess packaging, where's that uplifting scent to help me through the sun salutation? Where's my clean mat when I'm pressing my face into the floor? I'd have preferred to spend my 75 cents on a swig of Vitamin Water.
"I've always had, knock on wood, pretty good flexibility but I've had to work at it a lot to get it. I've kind of incorporated some of the stretches or positions into my routine," he admitted. "There are a couple of those in there, but I don't exactly know what they're called or what I'm doing."
DVD. It takes you through an hour-long class of yoga postures, sequenced by Fowler, who draws inspiration from Iyengar, Ashtanga and Power Yoga. The focus is on upper body strength, hamstring and hip flexibility and the core abdominal area.
Have you ever wished you could go to sleep and wake up a new person? Setting and achieving goals is hard work, and sometimes the hardest part of becoming a successful person is clearing away the psychological baggage that drags us down and keeps us from living our dreams. Psychological housekeeping isn't easy stuff, and facing up to those old crusty skeletons in the closet isn't exactly a fun thing to do when you get home from work. In order to challenge ourselves to grow and make radical new changes we must clear out the old, dead branches and plant the seeds that will grow into the characteristics we want to see in ourselves. The ideal time to do this kind of work is while the brain is in one of the 
As terms, "yoga" and "boot camp" may seem a little contradictory, and "boot camp" and "vacation" aren't much better. But in the hands of renowned yoga instructor and author 
A British charity has scored a hit amongst prisoners with their Cell Bed Yoga booklet. The instructional pamphlet, which was produced by 
When a woman is expecting a baby it seems that everyone, from the stranger on the bus to her great-aunt Ethel, has a suggestion that she must follow to ensure her baby's health and well-being. Add all those expectations on top of a wildly changing body, roller coaster hormones and a family dynamic that is about to be turned topsy-turvy, well, it's easy to become overwhelmed. Prenatal yoga is the perfect way for a mom-to-be to get some time to herself and to have a bit of spiritual solace during a time when she may feel like public property.
Every evening, parents across the globe sit down with their children at bedtime and tell them a story. Stories are captivating to children, and the calming, centering effect a story can have is one of the main reasons for their popularity at bedtime. Sydney Solis has combined the magic of storytelling with simple yoga asanas in a new DVD for children between ages 3-8 called 
Although plastic surgery has become commonplace today, Daily Mantra is here to inform you about alternative uplifting techniques like facial yoga. A new twist on an ancient practice, facial yoga has all the hallmarks of a classic — time-tested with an appeal that spans across the world, and with entertainment value too. 
Can yoga and sitting in front of a computer be compatible concepts? Click through 
Music in yoga class is rarely a good thing for me. If the music is bad, it annoys me and distracts me from my breath. If the music is good, it compels me and distracts me from my breath. Yet few yoga teachers have the nerve to conduct a music-free class. 
About four years ago I was living in Manhattan, bartending, struggling financialy and unable to fit anything 'normal' into my schedule. 
A recent news article reveals that hip hop mogul, Russell Simmons, uses Yoga to stay 'grounded'. 
Everyone has their favorite yoga postures and then there are the ones we’d prefer not to practice. For me, Crow is one of the latter. 
Ok, these yoga mash-ups have gone too far. I'm all for burlesque and pole dancing classes to get in tune with your inner sexuality. But this 
Yoga is proving to be very flexible, wrapping itself into various beliefs. This week, let's look at Christian yoga.
Student-Teacher love is a difficult thing. A student elevates a teacher to a near God like position because of his or her knowledge. But even the teacher is human, and that is what is usually what the student doesn't see.
I'd noticed