|
|
About 7,500 evacuees of the California wildfire went to Qualcomm Stadium where they were not only given cots, tents, water and food, but arts and crafts for children, crisis counseling, meditation, yoga, acupuncture, and AA meetings for adults. This has caused many to say that similar treatment should have been offered to the 24,000 people seeking refuge at the Superdome after New Orleans flooded. Thoughts?
Although you may prefer to practice yoga in contemplative silence, the music of Chris Brenne may change your mind. Brenne has developed a style of guitar-playing especially for yoga, creating "sound to inspire breath." He performs live at studios and yoga conferences, but you can also buy his CDs at amazon.com. For tour dates and to sample his music, visit chrisbrenne.com.
Yoga guru Swami Ramdev is against sex education in schools saying that it leads "children towards crime."
"Sex education has been dragging the children towards crime and if this situation continued, they would become dreaded criminals," he said during a recent press conference. According to Ramdev, children should take yoga lessons rather than sex ed. Does this make sense to you?
Seems Ogden, the Yoga Guy on YouTube, isn't the only one looking for love in yoga class. According to an article in London's Guardian, "classes such as 'social flow' yoga (after which students go for cocktails) are already up and running." In addition, there are yogi dating websites such as yogaromance.com and yogapassions.com. Anyone found their partner via yoga?
If you ever wished you could do Downward Dog with a decomposing body, you're not alone. According to the New York Times, this combination is a fantasy for some yogis. About 75 people showed up for an open casting call for the filming of a yoga zombie video. "The responses were like: 'I love yoga and I love zombie movies. I've been waiting for this!' It was the chocolate and the peanut butter thing for all these people," says director Jason Wishnow. Who knew? Anyone into zombie movies out there?
Yoko Ono urged the world to give peace a chance with the unveiling on October 9th of the Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland on what would have been John Lennon's 67th birthday. The plan is for the tower to be lit each year between October 9 and December 8 (the day Lennon was killed). Do you consider Lennon a yogi? Lennon spent time in India at Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram. Although later he seemed to turn against yoga when he wrote "I don't believe in Buddha, I don't believe in mantra, I don't believe in Gita, I don't believe in yoga." Thoughts?
Instead of staring at the board in the front of the classroom, kids at Fernbank Elementary School in Decatur, Georgia, are lying on the floor near their desks practicing yoga. That's because teacher Elisabeth Beckwith has linked the symbols of Greek gods to yoga poses. "It's a fun way for them to think about things," Beckwith says. "You know, it's healthy for them because they're getting the breathing right and getting the stretching right." Do you know of some other creative ways teachers have used yoga?
I can't think of a better way to spend a fall weekend than in Bozeman, Montana, taking a yoga for equestrians workshop. The program is run by riding instructor Annie Bolognino and yoga teacher Margaret Burns Vap. The first part of the session takes place out of the saddle on the yoga mat. In the saddle, you'll focus on yogic breathing to foster a relaxed yet alert posture on horseback, and explore a variety of yoga poses you can do when riding to instantly release tension and relax you (and your horse). For more information, visit www.bigskyyogaretreats.com/retreats/pages/cowgirl_yoga.html.
I recently stumbled across the website www.yogakitty.com. The "spiritual humor disclaimer" reads: "It is well known that almost all Yogis have a great sense of humor. Many great spiritual leaders have valued a good joke. We certainly wish to offend no one. Personally, we believe that anything worth taking seriously is worth making fun of. If you wish to complain, please feel free to do so publicly so that you will draw the most possible attention to our site." Funny or tasteless? Let me know what you think.
Kelly Neylan, a yoga teacher based in Columbia, M.D., has created an affordable line of yoga-themed T-shirts and tanks. "I was seeing $60 yoga T-shirts and just thought about how so many people who teach and do yoga can't afford this clothing," Neylan said. "I thought, 'I can do better than this.'" Her environmentally friendly company, BuddhiWear, offers garments for women, children, and infants, with products averaging around $20 each. For more information or to shop, www.buddhiwear.com.
Time magazine recently reported that over the past three years, 13,000 Americans were treated in an emergency room or a doctor's office for yoga-related injuries. Why do you think so many people are getting hurt practicing yoga? How many of you have been injured?
It's 8 a.m. at the Sigma Phi Epsilon house at the University of Missouri-Columbia: you wouldn't normally expect a bunch of frat boys to be up at this hour, never mind doing Sun Salutations with the campus yoga instructor. But morning yoga is just one of the changes at the Sig Ep house since the Missouri chapter adopted its "Balanced Man" program in 2006—just a few years after the university punished the chapter for hazing. "We're doing our best to destroy the frat boy stereotype," says Matthew Ontell, who directs the national Sigma Phi Epsilon initiative. "This is what Greek life is supposed to be about—holding men to a higher standard." If these guys are for real, I'm impressed. What about you?
We've heard of yoga for your back, yoga for menopause, yoga for any number of ailments, but a yoga facelift? "Face yoga" expert Marie Nadeau and author of The Yoga Facelift (Conari Press, 2007) says the concept is the same as doing exercises to tone your body. Humans have 190 muscles from the neck up, many of which are never used, so they get out shape. Studios around the country are beginning to offer face yoga. Is this practice a bit narcissistic to be called yoga?
|
|
|
Liability insurance and benefits to support teachers and studios.
Learn More »
|
|
Yoga Journal Presents:
Stay Inspired all year long with the 2008 Yoga Journal Wall Calendar – only $13.95
Buy Now »
|
|
Prizes include a spa vacation in Vermont,
a stained-glass window depicting the seven energy centers of the body,
Yoga DVDs, a yoga vacation in San Francisco and more...
Enter Now »
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
