It was only a matter of time . . . During the month of June, the Salt Lake City dance company, SB Dance, performed "Yoga the Musical," a full-blown musical with an original book, music, lyrics, and choreography. The show is set in YogAngeles, where yoga has assumed the status of cult religion. Although the Salt Lake Tribune says the show is "scattered" and "misses the mark," how long until it appears in a New York off-Broadway venue?
According to a Washington Post article, Hillary Clinton's support team, self-described as Hillaryland, is a tight knit group of women that does yoga together once a week: "They have a personal connection virtually nonexistent among professional male colleagues. Even rarer: the weekly yoga class at the campaign's Arlington headquarters, open to all staffers." Does this make you more inclined to vote for Clinton?
If you missed celebrating last week's summer solstice with a 108 sun salutations, here's a second chance. On June 30, Project 108 will bring together participating studios, yogis, and online donors to help raise money for Iraqi children who have lost a parent in the war. The main event will take place in New York's Central Park. For more information, visit www.project-108.org. Why 108? For starters, the average distance of the Sun and the Moon to Earth is 108 times their respective diameters. For more on the significance of 108, see page 123 of the June issue of Yoga Journal.
This fall, a team of British academics, yoga teachers and practitioners will join forces to find out if a 12-week course of Iyengar Yoga can be used to treat lower back pain. More than 260 people between the ages of 18 and 65 who have had back pain in the past 18 months will participate in the trial. David Torgerson, director of the University of the York Clinical Trials Unit, told the BBC, "If the trial shows yoga to be effective then this low-cost treatment will have a considerable impact in the quality of life of patients with back pain." Which asanas do you find best relieve—or even prevent—lower back pain?
A juvenile court is Colorado is sentencing juvenile drug offenders to mandatory weekly yoga classes. Mary Jo Berenato, juvenile magistrate for the 8th Judicial District, believes over time these troubled teens will turn to yoga instead of drugs when faced with stressful situations.
Yoga has also been used to help adult inmates. See Wise Warden.
The findings of a new study conducted at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and McLean Hospital show that practicing yoga may elevate brain gamma-aminobutyric (GABA) levels. Low GABA levels are associated with depression, anxiety, epilepsy, and even Alzheimer's. Complete study information can be found in the May issue of the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.
Have you tried to banish the blues with yoga? Do you still have to take anti-depressants? Let us know.
According to entertainment news sources, "Saturday Night Live" alumni Mike Myers was kicked out of an L.A. yoga class because he couldn't stop laughing. Why? The yogi on the mat next to him was gassy. The actor explains, "This guy kept farting and I am not very mature . . . I'm the youngest of three boys and if somebody farts, it's funny." The yoga teacher was not amused, however.
Would you have wanted Myers to leave if you were in the class, or does the teacher need to lighten up?
How would you have handled the situation if you were the teacher?
Researchers in India recently have discovered that when migraine sufferers practiced yoga and pranayama, the frequency and intensity of their headaches diminished. The pain relief also helped alleviate anxiety and depression that can accompany migraines. Complete study findings can be found in the May issue of the journal Headache.
Which poses or pranayama do you find most helpful with headaches?
"Yoga, Inc.," the documentary about the commercialization of yoga by filmmaker John Philp, made its debut at the end of April at Hot Docs, the documentary film festival in Toronto. Clips are available at youtube.com.
Although most of the controversies covered aren't breaking news, the film exposes the warts of the American yoga industry in one convenient sitting: the Bikram copyright case, the franchising of yoga studios, inappropriate teacher/student relationships, and using yoga to market everything from shoes to underwear.
In the film, Trisha Lamb, director of research at the Yoga Research and Education Center in Middletown, Calif., says "One of the ones that kinda crosses the line for me is chakra panties. My question is, what next?"
What next, indeed. What do you consider crossing the line?
Viva Iyengar! From July 9th to the 15th, 54 yoga instructors (including 35 senior Iyengar teachers) from around the world will convene at the Santa Clara Convention Center in California to celebrate B. K. S. Iyengar and offer instruction to students of all levels. The list of teachers is a veritable who's who of yoga: Judith Hanson Lasater, Beryl Bender Birch, Seane Corn, Lilias Folan, Gary Kraftsow, David Life, Ramanand Patel, Shiva Rea and Rodney Yee, to name a few. Virtually all have at some time studied with Mr. Iyengar. For more information, visit www.yogacharya.org.
Yet another study that proves yoga does a body good: At Penn State they have found that women going through menopause who practice yoga feel better than those who don't. Yoga was "effective in enhancing positive mood and decreasing negative mood and also improving menopause-related quality of life," said kinesiology professor Steriani Elavsky, who led the study. But don't throw out your soy supplements quite yet: it wasn't conclusive whether yoga reduces hot flashes.
If you're a yogini who has noticed a difference, weigh in with your comments.
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