I would just like to say that I was thoroughly inspired by the demonstration that Ana gave. I have watched it four times so far. You could feel the the sense of awe and appreciation from the crowd even in the video. I am curious as to who the band was that she used, the second track was especially good. Would anybody be familiar with them? Thanks

This demo of love from Ana is just amazing! I saw her do a similar demo at the conference last May and am still in awe of her strength and joy in yoga. Thank you Ana and YJ for sharing.

Wow, that was amazing. I have watched the video clip several times and also shared the viewing with some of my colleagues. We are still in awe of Ana's demonstration of the asanas. The sound track blends nicely with the sequence of the asanas. A very big thank you to Ana Forrest and the Yoga Journal.

Francis Suraweera, Brisbane, Australia.

Wow! I'm with Brian... What's the second sound clip? It's just fantastic.

Ana's movements are rich in beauty and adventure. Thank you YJ making this available for all to glimpse her balance and expertise. Thank you Ana for leading with integrity and vision.

Inspiring is a good word.

At the end of the video-clip I had tears coming up so emotionally touched I was by Ana's way of spreading magic which brought back all these memories from my FTT '04 in L.A. Living in Berlin it takes a lot of discipline to stay connected to her spirit and circle - so Yoga Journal THANK YOU SO MUCH for supporting and THANK YOU Ana for visiting Berlin in November '06. Namaste, Sonja

Sorry - but this is not my idea of inspiring yoga.
Instead, it comes across as exhibition gymnastics - impressive, but not spiritual.

The music is a distraction, almost like theatre.

Not for me.

Beautiful, inspiring and motivating. I would also love to know about the music.
Thank you for sharing this...I can't stop watching it!

An exhibition is useful for some practical people who dont understand much about yoga..Ana is surely inspiring ..

Hi from France.
Beautiful demonstration,...but why call it yoga ?
yoga is an inner path, nothing to do with showing off.
I agree with Rick.

I would have to agree with Rick, it is beautiful, certainly impressive but spiritual? No. I would be more inspired by a clip of a 60 year old, recovering from bilateral knee surgery doing a few asanas ~ That is the true spirit of Yoga.

Ana is a talented and gifted yogini, but what is the standing ovation at the end of the demonstration about? The demo seemed srange and all about Ana, and not from a place we are learning true Yoga comes from. I hope this is not the new direction Yoga is taking.
Great music!

Completely amazing and uplifting. Truly inspiring.

What makes yoga spiritual is not the viewer's perspective. This is about Ana, her path. It may not equate with your own or the 60-year-old recovering from knee surgery, but that is the beauty of a spiritual path it is individual in nature but ultimately serving the same goal. The beauty of her demonstration can reflect the unity she is striving towards while practicing her yoga, perhaps we can seek the same unity in our own practice.

in peace,
Dianne

I thoroughly connected with this video and also believe that this is Ana's path. The exhibition was her way of sharing HER yoga. I was inspired by the demo and even tho my practice is no where near this level I have reached many a body and spirit high through my own flows that I can only imagine what this brings to her. Thank you for sharing it with us!

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Living in a tiny city in the middle of no where....You brought tears and magic and inspiration to my being. Breast Cancer survivor 5 yrs, knee replacement and back surgery! thank god for you, Yoga Journal and my 25 years of practice and all my beloved teachers . Joan rosen RYT 500

Ana obviously has a positive experience of herself doing her asana and that is great. What can be hard for some though, is experiencing themselves positively when observing her extraordinary abilities, this then becomes an obstacle (or lesson) for them in their yoga. I also would love to know about the music - it is important to credit and thank such artists!

Demonstration has long been a part of yoga. Iyengar and Krishnamacharya demonstrated asanas in India. It's a way to show others what's possible, a way to inspire others. The standing ovation came across as a spontaneous outpouring of appreciation by the audience.

Certainly her asana practice and focus are astounding. And I do not doubt that Ana Forrest's practice is deeply spiritual to her. But is this our goal as yogis?

Of course it's true that everyone has their own unique path, and for some that means doing handstand-wheel walk-overs. But I think there's an implicit suggestion in these yoga conference demos that "advanced" yoga practice looks like Cirque de Soleil. I think this is a dangerous suggestion, because it emphasizes the physical dimension of yoga and plays into our desire to have powers (siddhis). It is akin to Sai Baba materializing gold watches. And like the consistently skinny women that grace the cover of Yoga Journal, it is another message to stiff men that "yoga is only for flexible women". Which is a shame.

The West is already so obsessed with image and performance - we don't need more encouragement to covet flashy poses.

Perhaps strangely, although I certainly do not have a practice like this, I feel very happy and inspired that somebody else does.

Nick, we can call ourselves acrobats, or contortionists, not yogis if our goal is not the spiritual quest that is illuminated in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras as well as other ancient texts.

True, the images we are shown are extraordinary but if we are to give into our desires to have powers then we are losing sight of what the path of yoga is all about; a cleansing act of said desires, wants and needs that our ego begs us to partake. We have a choice not to choose our desires. We have a choice to not feed our ego with disdain over images that seem unattainable. Instead we can choose compassion, love and unity so that we might hedge closer to Samhdhi and integration.

If these images and video clips are arousing us to think that "yoga is for flexible woman" then maybe we should look at why we feel that way instead of denegrating the 'flashy poses'.

in peace,
Dianne

None of us are denigrating Ana's poses or the path that she has chosen. But I do know from many years of teaching yoga that beginners to this path and those with physical issues (hence the 60 year old with knee surgery) tend to become very discouraged when they see a demonstration of this sort and will even lay aside the path as unattainable. Now, this is true, Dianne that you and I know that each persons way is different and we each should accept our own abilities and limitations; but also, I think that we should help as many of the unawakened place their feet on the path as possible and show them that it is attainable instead of discouraging them with difficult poses.

One thing I must say, This demo certainly demonstrates how Yoga benefits the body and keeps it young and flexible long past the time that our "youth obsessed" society considers a person entering middle age ~ gee what is it now, 35? HMM. If Ana has been teaching Yoga since 1974, she is certainly past that number and still can show us the countless number of ways that Yoga benefits not only the mind and the spirit but it also keeps the body young!

What a farce! I'm afraid the whole thing looked like a failed attempt at interpretive dance to me. But then yoga demonstrations are a pretty anti yogic activity, aren't they?

Gosh, Dianne, have you asked yourself how you'd feel about buying a magazine that featured older, less lithe, perhaps cellulitic or physically challenged people practising yoga on the cover? (And no Iyengar family members allowed. Perhaps Yoga Journal could surprise us one day?

Not impressed with her gymnastics, dedication, strength, wrist bands, outfits, helpers or the intensity on her face. Her classes were impersonal, show offy and made me limp with so much wasted effort. I am sorry so many people are witnessing this as Yoga.

Dianne raises an excellent point. If you have the power to materialize gold watches, you can also choose not to materialize gold watches. Siddhis are not to be feared. On the path to kaivalya, they will occur. The problem is the desire for and attachment to them.

I am almost always the only "stiff male" in a room full of "flexible women" and the only time that poses a problem is when my ego turns it into a problem.

Okay, denegrating was a strong and unsuitable word here.

Perhaps we could look at how we view these demos and photos-be it lithe, flexible, strong or not, to see not our own reflection of how we feel towards them but instead how they are a personal physical reflection of the Truth in the practitioner in that moment.

And Tom, you're right, it's our egos that turn these images into problems, not the images themselves.

in peace,
dianne

I wrote to Ana's website to enquire about the terrific music played during her demo. Here is their response:
The music that Ana played was created by her husband Jonathan. It is a
compilation of songs that Ana enjoys when doing her own personal practice.
Unfortunately, it is not available for sale as copyright permission would
need to be obtained from the original artists before such an album could be
made. In Ana's yoga demo DVD 'Embodying Spirit' she had original music created for this very reason.

Having just watched the video, my initial responnse was the "oh wow--amazing," followed by "humm...this sure isn't yoga I relate to," followed by "a little theatrical." Reading the blog, the initial posts are all positive, inspiring, etc. reactions. I thought geez is there something wrong w/me because I sure didn't feel that way. Just then, I come across the lst negative reaction and, "Oh, it wasn't just me--someone else was not as inspired as I." I have read through all comments. Positive responders seem to be floating on some "higher level" here, whereas negative responders appear held accountable for their negativity. Followed by a postive responder's attempt to convince the negative responder to say see it's really "just this," and "she's doing that," and "it doesn't mean," etc.--it really was positive! Thought: Why are those who are not inspired by what they see seen as ones who must be convinced that "if you just think about it another way, YOU, too, will see how postive and inspiring her demo was"? Is my negative response necessarily an ego problem? I think not. I am pretty darn happy w/my practice and, yes, love the idea of advanced poses for myself someday. Negativity is getting a bum rap!! A little tongue-in-cheek, but ...think about it. I can not like or appreciate the demo but still appreciate her ability, her path. LOVE Yoga!--big time positive on that! Love to all & happy bending, stretching, "contortioning," relaxing, and holding those poses.

I checked Ana Forrest out about 2 years ago when I wanted to find a teacher I respected, had integrity, came from a place of compassion and practiced what she preached. I found all of these things in Ana Forrest.
After participating in a week long spring renewal, I decided that Ana did indeed have all the qualities above mentioned, and was the person I wanted to study with. I say these things, because I have had the oppporutnity on many occassions to study with her and learn. She is indeed a woman of strength, integrity, spirit and purpose. Ana's yoga practice is a way for her to express who she is in this lifetime....

Well put, Puma.

I was neither impressed, intimidated, nor touched. Isn't that the goal? Unattachement to feelings? I was however, in appreciation of the demonstration. It crossed my mind, however, what was Ana's motivation for the demonstration? Hmmm, we do not know, so please do not put 'words in Ana's mouth' by assuming she was 'sharing' her path. We simply do not know. Light and Truth to all!

I've known Ana for the last 6 years or more. Tough I agree that yoga is not about gymnastics, yoga journal and media uses poses to advertise themselves into the 'outside' world. Who better than her to do it? I've been practicing with her (not taking classes but actually doing our practice together) for the last few years and I don't know anybody who respects more yoga than she does. By the way, I recorded a compilation cd for her and she included on her demo one of those songs. If the one you're all talking about is 'Amagents' by Brenda Fassie, then, there you have it, it's the last song of the demo. You can buy a putumayo compilation called World groove (I normally don't like compilations) but this one is a true gem. Hope it helps!

Thank you, Carmen, for sharing the music info.

Wow, I was the first posting on this blog interested in finding out who the second song was during the demo. A lot has been written since then!!! Thank you Carmen for posting the artist.

I thought the entire demonstration was completely egotistical. I attending her workshop as well and got the same feeling. It was a show for her and her assistants- not about the students at all. Is Yoga now a practice of Cirque du Soleil because I saw no other elements of the practice of yoga during her class? Completely disappointing if you ask me, although I loved all the other instructors that taught over the weekend. Other teachers showed us the true essence of yoga, as Ana taught us a bunch of yoga tricks.

Some people think the video was gymnastics and/or inappropriate. I am the farthest thing from a pretzel, however I feel her energy and it will motivate and inspire me. The music was too cool. I am going to a workshop with Ana this weekend - LUCKY ME.

It is very beautiful. Can somebody tell me where to get the sound track? Who is the band? Many thanks!

I have only been practicing yoga consistently for the last 6 months,so it may be inappropriate for me to offer comments at this stage of my development. However,I will share my thoughts on what I observed of Ana's demo.

I am unsure if what I saw was "standard" yoga or not. But I am reasonably sure that what I saw was a person who was incredibly in tune with her body.It seemed as if her mind and body were in unison.Having researched, briefly,her website,she appears to have overcome a great deal of adversity in her life.I cannot judge if her demonstration was spiritually based but then again, should any of us make such a judgement?As I understand it,spirituality is an individual expression of one's search for unity with creative forces/processes greater than one's self.So how do we know what was in her heart or what were her intentions while performing the demo?I don't think that we really can or should speculate in this area.

To me, the more critical commentary seemed reminiscent of some of the heated discussions that traditional martial artists have when they see non-traditional practitioners give demonstrations. Some martial artists only want to learn to fight and are very much into their bodies.Others focus on the internal aspects of the arts.I have learned from both types of instructors.I think that I learned from Ana's demo.And not just physical things either.Just because I can't do the things that she can, doesn't mean that I won't be able to express myself and grow in the practice of yoga and maybe one day transcend who I am at this moment.

In closing, I think that some of my classmates are less flexible than me in some asanas because I came to class having some martial arts experience. Yet for other asanas,others with no prior experience, are more flexible than me.I have found that the beauty of yoga is that it takes us all as we are.I find joy in practicing with my group and we seem to enjoy each other's progression over time.Yoga is now an integral part of my life. I consider it a gift and am very thankful to my instructor for her instruction.Maybe one day,before I pass to the next level of existence,I will be able to comfortably assume some of the the more advanced yogic asanas.But for me, that is not the goal.Any number of things may occur which prevents that from happening.But Ana's demo has provided me with additional inspiration to make the effort to bring my spiritual,physical and mental capabilities into unison.If this unison occurs, then everything else is gravy.