I first went to India when I was 22. I knew nothing about yoga, but I had a transformative experience nonetheless, complete with my first contact with saddhus, a visit to the temple where Buddha sat under the Boddhi tree, and a visit to the Ganges to see the bodies burning on the ghats. My trip felt deeply spiritual ... but, as a recent college grad in a tumultuous love affair with a guy I met while traveling, it also felt completely confusing, raw, and, at times, ridiculous.
So, when I heard about local writer and former Yoga Journal editor Anne Cushman's new book, Enlightenment For Idiots, I was excited to pick up a copy. The book, which she calls a cross between a spiritual journey and a dysfunctional romance, is about a San Franciscan writer and yogi who can't seem to practice in life what she practices on the mat. Her relationships are a mess, and she's financially broke and emotionally ungrounded. Finally, she gets an assignment to go to India and write a book called Enlightenment for Idiots, for which she must hit all the big and small ashrams throughout the country. Like the trip I took at 22, hers is a wild journey during which she tries to find deeper meaning while simultaneously dealing with a completely unenlightened romantic situation and uncertain future.
While there is satire in Anne's story, there is also insight—and a lot of research. She actually visited all of these places in 1998 when researching a prior nonfiction book on spiritual sites and centers in India, From Here To Nirvana, and used these experiences as the basis for her main character's travels.
Anne's main interest lies not in some arbitrary idea of enlightenment but rather in how modern day life (specifically romantic life) and yogic ideals intersect. Or how they don't. She says that many yogic practices were designed for Eastern celibate men—not single, Western women. She also says that our love lives are the most challenging places for us to act with mindfulness and employ yogic principles. As a Western yogini slowly navigating my way through a new relationship, I can relate!
Hee that is in a towne in May loseth his spring. ~George Herbert
Yes, it certainly feels like I'm loseth-ing the beautiful day in towne in my gray cube. Which means my mind starts to stray over to thoughts of how I can play. Herewith, some yogic summercamp options from the two local-ish yoga retreat biggies, Kripalu and Omega (I'll cover more spots soon). I've picked the ones that are nearly guaranteed to be great.
1) Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health
It's an abundance of Berkshire-based yoga riches at this retreat center.
This weekend, I plan to head out to the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena to catch the Tales of the Blue Lord show before it closes on May 12th. This intimate exhibit, with paintings, sculpture and religious icons from as early as the 11th century, explores the life and legend of Krishna -- the lotus-eyed Hindu deity who is both mighty (demon slayer), playful (flute player), and always adventurous.
Then next week, I'm looking forward to the opening of The Vision and Art of Shinjo Ito in Westwood. The founder of the Shinnyo-en stream of Buddhism, was one of Japan's most versatile modern religious artists -- a calligrapher, photographer, and his greatest milestone, the Great Parinirvana Image: a 16-foot long statue of Buddha Shakyamuni about to enter nirvana.
Throughout the month of May, there's also a slew of interesting events to accompany the Ito exhibit -- guided meditations, musical performances and on Sunday May 11th, a yoga class set to classical music.
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Now some YogaWorks news. The South Bay location has finally opened. And don't forget to take advantage of a mother's day promotion -- a free class for mom at any studio. Download the free class card from the homepage.
After practicing yoga for a while, people often get the urge to bring their practice to others. But not everyone wants to become a certified yoga instructor, or even charge for classes. Some just want to teach others who need yoga, but don't have access to it in one way or another.
Mark Lilly, a Portland writer and software engineer, started to feel this way when he started practicing yoga in 2001, and shortly afterward began volunteer-teaching yoga to homeless youth. He liked it so much that he founded Street Yoga, a program dedicated to bringing yoga classes to kids who live on the streets, in shelters, and in foster care.
The Portland-based nonprofit program has a mostly volunteer staff that goes around to places like homeless youth resource centers, drug treatment programs, runaway centers, and juvenile detention halls and teaches yoga to help kids keep warm, take care of their bodies, deal with the stress of being homeless, and feel a sense of community.
The program has been so successful, that the organization now does Street Yoga teacher trainings around the country. There is one happening in San Francisco next weekend, from May 9-11, at It's Yoga Kids Studio on Ruger Street. At the training you'll learn how to teach yoga to homeless youth. The program includes regular teacher training as well as role-playing, interpersonal exercises, talks about service, and training around boundaries. You don't need to be a yoga teacher to do this program—anyone can do it. At the moment, there are only a few slots left, so if you are interested in doing it, sign up right away.
And check out this awesome video Street Yoga has on You Tube!
Now that I have your attention.... I wandered into the Lincoln Square Lululemon last night, and while I was paying for my $83 hoodie (hey, it's purple! and fuzzy!), I noticed a sign-up sheet for a "Better Sex Through Yoga" class they'll be hosting at the store--free--on Sunday morning (May 4).
It's taught by Jacquie Noelle Greaux, a woman who wrote a book of the same name. All levels of yogis are welcome, and the class is 9:00am to 10:30 for all you earlier risers and/or Upper East Siders. You can RSVP in the store, by email (lincoln-square-community@lululemon.com), or just bring your sexy self to class.
Also, Satya Jewelry's sample sale begins today! It's from 10am to 6pm today, Saturday, and Sunday @ the Christopher Street store. Go and revel in spiritual ironies as you fight for your majorly discounted Buddhas and oms! (But seriously, really good stuff at fantastic prices.)
A couple of weekends ago, when I went up to Kripalu in the Berkshires for some yogic R&R, I took a yoga-inspired dance class called JourneyDance.
It was in the DansKinetics time slot, but this wasn't my momma's yoga-twirling. I usually just go for the live drums and groove in a corner. But the drums started thumping in the cavernous main hall, and the teacher had us roll around on the floor. And I was like, "Well, I can warm up with the class." And then she had us start moving like water, and I thought, "Ok, I'll be water for just a sec, then I'll go to the corner."
But man, if this sistah of a teacher, Toni Bergins, didn't have me up and moving with her--and about 50 other people--the whole time. Usually I'm kind of cheezed out by new-agey, "love yourself" classes. But this woman was my age-ish and sounded like a happy, spiritual Ani DiFranco (with a dash of Michael Franti). She moved like a hip-hop yogini with enormous energy, totally comfortable in her own skin. The girl channeled some seriously inspiring shakti. And her self-love message? So not cheezy.
Soon I was bouncing up and down, yelling to random partners as instructed: "You are so creative!" and "Well thank you very much!" "You are so wiiild," "You are so sensuous!" "Well thank you very much!" We whooped and built imaginary shamanic fires, burned excess psychic gunk, and danced around them, all to the drums, which were beating in my cells. Then she chilled us all the way back down to the earth.
Whew. Amazing. I caught her again last weekend when she taught at Atmananda (nee Centerpoint) in NYC. Totally different vibe at night, with a much smaller crowd, and no drums, just some funky non-live music. But equally deep and cleansing and fun. She's on tour and will be coming back to NYC for another event on June 7th. (It isn't listed on the site yet, so just drop her an email). You must go. Really.
It's not cheap (like $50 for two hours). But if you think of it like therapy, which it is, but more fun and better exercise, then it's a freaking bargain. Go, dance. Feel alive. She's also giving teacher training in her method at Kripalu in June, in case you get converted and want to spread the high-vibing, heartful, booty-thumping word.
Recently, I was taken to dinner at Akasha by TransFair USA, the folks who give imported products like coffee, sugar and flowers the Fair Trade Certifiedâ„¢ label. This ensures consumers that farmers and workers are paid a fair, above-market price for their goods, while using sustainable practices.
The new Culver City restaurant was the perfect choice because Chef Akasha Richmond sources organic produce locally, purchases from sustainable fisheries and farms, and uses only Fair Trade organic coffees, teas and sugars.
The menu is an amalgam of Indian spices and techniques (from her days at the seminal Los Angeles vegetarian hotspot the Golden Temple) fused with California comfort food. There's the turmeric seared pear salad, cannellini bean hummus, Punjabi mung beans and rice, local greens with shaved fennel and sheep cheese as well as organic mac and cheese and crispy home-made onion rings.
But since I have a sweet tooth, the adjacent bakery is the real treat. Vegan choices like Meyer lemon scones (of course, when Meyer lemons are in season) or salty chocolate pecan tarts are tempting. As are the old-fashioned chocolate peanut butter cupcakes with thick ribbons of frosting (ganache anyone?). And since the pastries change all the time (as does the menu) you'll just have to keep coming back for more.
Because of its spiritual nature, yoga doesn't seem a natural match for the fast-paced and electronic world of the web—at least not upon first glance. But the invent of the Internet has brought with it a million and one new ways to form community among people far and wide. When looked at that way, yoga and the Internet have a lot more in common than one might have thought.
In San Francisco, lots of yoga teachers are using the Internet not only to advertise, but to further develop community or sangha. For instance, Jamie Lindsay has a regular blog in which he details the sequences that he taught in class that week and shares other local yoga info; Deborah Burkman sends out weekly emails that discuss what anatomical or yogic principle she intends to focus in her Hatha class that coming week; and Bill McCully often sends inquisitive emails out to his students to gather their impressions of a previous class.
And local websites are also getting hip to yoga. On both Yelp and Citysearch, you can find a plethora of San Francisco and Bay Area yoga studio listings, complete with ratings and reader reviews. If you are looking to connect with other local yogis, Tribe.net has several great yoga groups you can join including SFYoga. And then, of course, there is Yoga Journal's website, which, by the way, was just nominated for a Webby! (You can vote for us here!)
Do you know of any other San Francisco online communities or listings you'd like to share? If so, please post a comment below and let us know about them!
Yes, it's officially spring out there. Thank the great green goddess. That was a long one, no?
Well, you can celebrate with a little bit of internal spring cleaning. The folks at Yoga People's Brooklyn Heights studio told me about a two-day workshop (or one if you prefer) they're having this weekend that sounds really lovely: "Root to Rise: The Power Of Organic Energy."
It'll be taught by Anusara-ginis Tara Glazier and Jorja Rivero. On Saturday, they'll be covering backbends, standing poses, and inversions, with an eye to waking up your prana (life force) from its winter slumber and getting those juicing flowing.
Sunday is about grounding all of that expansion by opening your hips, doing some twists, forward bends, and restorative poses. The aim is clarity, strength and oomph.
It costs $100 for both days, $50 for one day, and $55 if you schedule within 24 hours of the workshops. For more info: yoga-people.com or register at 718-522-9642.
How psyched were we after learning that Yoga Journal was nominated for a People’s Voice Webby Award for Best Magazine Website? What's so cool about these awards is that you, the online community, chooses the winner. At the risk of shameless self-promotion (and I'm taking the risk), please vote for us.
With that plug out of the way, I thought this would also be a good opportunity to link to my yogi comrades blogging in L.A. Here's my short list so if I've missed anyone, please let me know, pronto.
The Kareem Abdul-Jabbar blog at the Los Angeles Times is authored by the legendary hoops star, who also happens to be a long-time yogi. And believe me, he knows a lot more than just basketball evidenced by his learned musings about politics, African-American history and fitness.
For the girl about town, yoga socialite POV, visit Joni at Accidental Yogist. She seems to be everywhere at once and is happy to share details about her personal life as well as her yogic discoveries. The blog is also a great resource for calendar listings.
Namasteph is Stephanie and this yoga teacher in training posts about everything from Yoga Journal cover models to Christian Yoga. She's someone with strong opinions and as far as I'm concerned, that's a good thing.
Eugene's Digital Asana Project on his Om Shanti blog are sights to behold. Basically the guy is an outstanding acrobatic yogi. Check out the mind-blowing clips as he performs yogic feats like Urdhva Padma Mayurasana.
Last, but not least, Mahamondo has a real knack for discovering original and entertaining music and asana clips. LIke these street yogis:
Confession: When I was in high school, I was on a sort of cheer squad. We weren't very sophisticated but we did know how to move (Brooklyn in the house!). One summer, we scored some acrobatics training and learned to climb on each other and make pyramids and stuff. I weighed in at about 97 pounds (still do . . . ) and was always the one being thrown around.
I knew nothing about yoga or Eastern philosophy, but I did love the gymnastics we mixed in with hip-hop moves during our half-time dances, and I think learning ease and lightness in my body really helped when I got into yoga. I hung up my pom-poms ages ago (thankfully), but lately I have been having the urge to again be thrown around.
So, I got really excited when I found out that there is a weekly beginner's AcroYoga class at the Mission Yoga Sun Room (held Fridays until April 23, when it changes to Wednesdays). I went last week and had so much fun. We started with some warm-up asana, simple partner poses, and assisted handstands. But the real fun was when we got to take each other into Folded Leaf and Front Bird. Folded Leaf is when you drape your body over your partner's legs and hang there to establish balance (me, above); Front Bird is when you push against each other's hands and fly like Superman (another student, left). In the midst of all this, we all gave each other some nice shoulder rubs.
I am one of those students who takes my yoga very seriously (and I think that's important in terms of dedication and proper practice), but to feel this kind of playful freedom with asana was exciting and empowering. The teacher, Jeremy Simon, gave great instruction and kept things specific, safe, and also really fun. I only got to fly once, and I am definitely going back for more.
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As I mentioned some months ago, my long-time boyfriend was a yoga virgin. No more. A couple of weeks ago, of his own free, non-nudged will, he went and signed up for Jivamukti's beginner series.
When he got back from the first class, he sent me an email with the subject "Jivamuktilicious." I clapped, so relieved his first time had been good. For so long I had been hesitant to introduce him to yoga for fear that he'd have a bad experience; for this control freak, it was just too much responsibility. But here's what he wrote me:
"So i had my first ever yoga experience... I was greeted by a mellow, smiley young woman, who looked up my name on the computer and asked if it was my first time there. "Yup, I need to rent a mat, right?"
Once that was all taken care of and I was changed into my jammies [ed note: In lieu of anything stretchy, I told him his pajama bottoms and a t-shirt would be fine.] I went into this little room, about the size of a small studio apartment and people were laying out their mats. There were about ten or twelve of us, about 40% men, 60% women. One woman looked like she was in charge and I asked her what to do. She was an assistant and told me to get some blankets which seemed utterly mysterious, were we going to take naps? And some blocks and straps which were even more mysterious and seemed a little S&M.
Our teacher then arrived, the lovely Narayani aka Nicole Nichols whom had been recommended by the guy who took my Visa card number on the phone when I signed up. "Is anybody here for the first time?" I and another woman raised our hands....
We started with some omming, which was kinda cool since the teacher did it with authority and everyone just followed, including me. She also talked about finding enlightenment through yoga, saying it could be achieved in the here and now. She may have said it was through connecting the body and soul to the earth, or maybe that was just my interpretation.
I'm a bit of a yoga snob. Can't help it. That's mostly because yoga has come to represent much more to me than simply a fitness regimen. But sometimes I want to lift weights, speed walk on the treadmill, and crunch my abs on a fancy machine. So, yes, I have a gym membership at Equinox.
One of the reasons I picked the slick gym, is their yoga program (part of what the company has called their "aggressive yoga strategy"). Subsequently, it is one of the few chains that take yoga seriously with well-trained teachers and separate yoga studios equipped with props and pleasant lighting. In fact, just this week, I took an interesting "Iyengar Flow" class that had all the rigors of alignment, and just the right amount of vinyasa (and sweat) to satisfy fitness nuts.
Yet, I also stumbled upon this very strange Equinox ad campaign. All I'll say is this: it's called Fantasy Yoga and while the guy is ripped in all the right places, someone should really tell him to straighten his arms in Urdhva Dhanurasana. I'll leave any other commentary to you.
Whenever I see modern dance, I can always spot the yoga inside the dance. I'll nudge the friend sitting next to me and say, "Did you see that? That was scorpion pose!" Or dolphin pose. Or some variation of downward facing dog. Depending on the friend, they'll either say, "Yeah! Sweet!" or "Shhhh!" Still, I can't help but get excited when I see yoga on stage.
Enter: Tripsichore. I have only seen this London-based yoga dance company perform once before, when they came, in 2002, to the Cowell Theatre at Fort Mason. Led by choreographer Edward Clark, Tripsichore's sequences and movements are not just yoga-influenced, they are yoga-based. It's amazing to watch the intersection of the dancers' bodies as they tell a non-traditional story with the shapes of traditional asana.
Tripsichore is performing its show Merely Total Risk at Yoga Tree Castro on Saturday night, at 8pm. The show is about the creation of the universe, and also about one's personal experience with mortality.
Want a taste? The above is a clip from the other show that Tripsichore is currently touring, Insects.
Want to learn from the yogacrobats, themselves? Take one of the company's workshops this weekend: "Tripsichore Sun Salutations & Beyond" (on Saturday) or The Tripsichore 12-year Course Condensed Into One Workshop" (on Sunday) at Yoga Tree Stanyan. Or, if you can't make the training, check out the company's DVD.
This week is turning into mini awards season around me. On Sunday I found out a friend won a Pulitzer for her amazing reporting at the New York Times. (Bob Dylan also scooped up a Pulitzer--how cool is that?) And then Tuesday I learned that both sites I'm involved with were nominated for Webby Awards. Very different things, but all exciting nonetheless!
The place I do my day job--Beliefnet.com--was nominated in the Webby Religion and Spirituality category. And YogaJournal.com was nominated in the Magazine category--along with other fantastic sites: New York magazine, National Geographic, Make, and Dwell. Big stuff! Yay, congrats YJ.
I grew up in Quaker schools where competition was not encouraged, in the name of equality, two central Quaker tenets. So I've never really allowed myself to express my competitiveness (ok, unless you've played a boardgame with me, in which case--is that a vowel lodged in your ear? Sorry!).
But as we all know, recognition is nice. When it involves me, even tangentally, I've found it's especially lovely if I can circumvent my ego and recycle that joy by plunking it into my self-love piggy bank. Clink!
If you'd like to help turn the YJ "bank" into an actual win by voting for us between now and May 1st, that would be extra-clinky.
This weekend marks the first new moon of spring (April 5th at 2:55 PST). According to yoga teacher and astrologer Guru Jagat Kaur, this is an auspicious time to set intentions for the coming months and an ideal time to do some yogic spring cleaning.
That's exactly what we did in Kaur's Kundalini Women for Women's class Friday morning at Yoga West. The kriya was so powerful (brought up many emotions, yes) and refreshing too -- since it's designed to move out the old making room for the new. I thought I'd share the wealth. It's deceptively simple and really quite challenging, but in a good way, I promise. All that breath of fire is a grand way to feel your prana, too.
1. Sit in Baby Pose. Sitting on heels, forehead is on the ground in front of you, arms are pointing behind you resting at your sides. Lift up your neck and do Breath of Fire. 3 minutes (start with 90 seconds).
2. From Baby Pose, lean back until you are lying on your back (but still with your heels underneath your buttocks) and do Breath of Fire. 3 minutes (start with 90 seconds).
3. Chair Pose - feet flat on the ground, bend over trying to keep the back parallel to the ground and grasp your feet from the outside, reaching inside between your knees to do so. In this position, stick your tongue way out and do Breath of Fire through the mouth. 3 minutes. (start with 45 seconds and work your way up).
4. For the final five minute relaxation, sit in Easy Pose with your arms at shoulder height parallel to the ground, palms down, right arm resting on left while you breath very, very slowly; silently, mentally chanting: "Haree, Haree, Haree" on the inhalation, and silently, mentally changing: "Har, Har, Har" on the exhalation.
"Haree" calls upon the creative energy and "Har" is joining the God within and without.
This series is adapted from Harijot Kaur Khalsa's Kundalini yoga book, "Owner's Manual for the Human Body"
If you give this set a whirl let us know what you think. If you have any questions, Guru Jagat Kaur is standing by ready to answer any queries.
With the change of seasons, I have been feeling a little under the weather lately. So last Sunday night, I went on a search for that perfect relaxing restorative class. I fell upon this tiny tucked away yoga studio in the inner Richmond called Bend. Located in one room on the second floor of what seems like an office building, Bend is a tiny little peaceful studio with a warm local feeling. There were about 8 of us taking the class and we were at a cozy maximum.
The class I went to is called Candlelight Yoga and the room has lit candles all along the sides. The blinds were drawn but, due to the longer hours these days, light sneaked in anyway to our 6pm class. (I think that the candlelight effect, as pretty as it was, would be stronger in the 9pm classes).
With soft tunes in the background varying from Iron and Wine to Indian chanting songs, David led us through a deeply restorative practice, really allowing us to sink into the four or five postures that we practiced, which included supported child's pose, one armed frog pose, and a supported back bend. Because there were so few students, a lot of individual attention was given. The teacher was able to give us all adjustments, put sand bags on us, and adjust our props. We hardly did anything ourselves: talk about relaxation!
I found the class to be a great and gentle class for anyone feeling like their body or mind needs a rest; it's also a good way to end the night or weekend, especially with all the amazing Clement Street restaurants nearby for a light post-yoga dinner.
"I love this class," Erich Schiffmann tells about 40 of us who gathered at Exhale in Venice for a class called Free Form Yoga. "Free form means instead of me telling you what to do, you do what you've learned to do after doing what someone else told you to do." Sounds complicated but it's really quite simple; do whatever you feel like doing, just don't bug anyone else.
We start with a meditation and I'm immediately lulled into a calm state by Schiffmann's hypnotic, soothing voice. He's an unsung yoga hero here in Los Angeles with a loyal following among those who don't expect to see him on magazine covers or to release slick DVDs. Instead, he's a proponent of helping students find the teacher within which is exactly what we do while listening to an eclectic soundtrack that includes Bahramji-Sufi Safir, the Beatles, Roberta Flack, Eddie Vedder, Sinead O'Connor and yoga classics by Krishna Das and Jai Uttal.
The goal of all this? I’ll let Schiffmann explain it to you via the You Tubes because I’m not nearly as charming or entertaining.
All this to say, the class is liberating, fun and quite revealing.
Free Form class: last Wednesday of the month at Exhale Venice.
Poke around Schiffmann's website too. There's a swell community board with a wealth of information and lively exchanges.
When I was in Thailand a couple of years ago, I discovered the Thai Massage. If you've never had one, it's a type of massage during which you get stretched and bended into bliss—kind of like doing yoga asana, but you don't actually have to do anything. Since I've come home, I've been wanting to find a place to get Thai massage but it seems to be one of the rarer forms of massage practiced at most yoga studios. International Orange, however, offers a few variations of Thai massage and they also do something called a Thai Fusion massage, which incorporates the best of all worlds: the stretching motions of Thai massage, the smooth rubbing motions of Swedish, and the pressure point techniques of Shiatsu. I went for one last week with massage therapist and yoga teacher Christy Swenson.
Christy used Shiatsu compression and Swedish sweeping motions (along with signature aromatherapy oils) on my back and did Thai on my legs. While I was being massaged, I was positioned in various yoga poses, like Dhanurasana, Vrksasana, and half of Gomukhasana. She also did yoga while massaging me, literally climbing up onto the table and working on my back while she was in down dog! The massage was an hour and then she sent me home with a card that had a special mantra she wrote down for me, along with a couple of recommended yoga poses.
The benefits lasted well into the following week. I didn't only feel looser, but I actually felt my circulation working better than it normally does. International Orange also offers a 90-minute straight-up floor Thai massage, if you're more of a traditionalist. And the sauna there is also pretty sweet.
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I first went to India when I was 22. I knew nothing about yoga, but I had a transformative experience nonetheless, complete with my first contact with saddhus, a visit to the temple where Buddha sat under the Boddhi tree, and a visit to the Ganges to see the bodies burning on the ghats. My trip felt deeply spiritual ... but, as a recent college grad in a tumultuous love affair with a guy I met while traveling, it also felt completely confusing, raw, and, at times, ridiculous.
Hee that is in a towne in May loseth his spring. ~George Herbert 
After practicing yoga for a while, people often get the urge to bring their practice to others. But not everyone wants to become a certified yoga instructor, or even charge for classes. Some just want to teach others who need yoga, but don't have access to it in one way or another. 
Now that I have your attention.... I wandered into the 
A couple of weekends ago, when I went up to 
Yes, it's officially spring out there. Thank the great green goddess. That was a long one, no?
