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On March 23, 2007, yoga teacher Paul Cortez was sentenced to 25 years to life for killing his girlfriend. Now, friends, family and others have created The Paul Cortez Defense Fund in hopes to raise $75,000 for legal representation during the appeals process. Yoga Journal received a letter from yoga teacher Glenn Tucker and mind-body wellness expert Wendy Hilsen-Bernard, which reads: "The blatant injustice of this situation in stark contrast to the beauty of this pure-hearted yogi has galvanized us to take action on his behalf." For more information, visit www.freepaulcortez.org.
A recent Yoga Journal "Yoga in America" study shows that Americans spend $5.7 billion a year on yoga classes and products, including equipment, clothing, vacations, DVDs, books, and magazines. This represents an increase of 87 percent compared to the previous study in 2004. How much do you spend on yoga? Do you think classes and products are fairly priced?
An ad for a Ganesh Rudraksh pendant was banned in Britain, reports Asian Age. "The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), an independent advertising watchdog, ruled last week that the advertisement for the pendant had breached television advertising standards, which prohibit advertising for products or services within the recognised character of the occult." According to the ad, the pendant is supposed to ward off evil spirits and promote good health. The station that originally ran the ad said that wearing the pendant was "comparable to Christians wearing a cross." What do you think?
Yes, you read it right. You can buy t-shirts, flip flops, a yoga mat, and even a snowboard decorated with the phrase "f--- yoga." Barnaby Harris, founder of f---yoga.com, writes, " It started as a joke. My ex-wife was extremely passionate about her yoga practice. As a gag for her birthday I made each of us a f--- yoga t-shirt. She refused to wear hers. I wore mine for thirty-nine straight days and was stopped everywhere I went. A write up in The New York Observer and a photo in GQ Magazine got it rolling. " What do you make of it? Have you seen this merchandise before?
On December 5, I encouraged readers to visit www.volvoforlifeawards.com and vote for Matt Sanford. Well, guess what? He won! Matt will receive a $100,000 contribution to the charity of his choice. If you took the time to vote, I'm sure Matt appreciates it. Visit www.volvoforlifeawards.com for more on Matt.
Poet-yogis Kazim Ali, Susan Brennan, and Jeff Davis will discuss how yoga has influenced their poetry and informed their practice of conscious activism during the Split This Rock Poetry Festival in Washington, D.C. on March 20-23. For more information on the panel, called the "Yogic Path to Poetry and Conscious Action," visit www.splitthisrock.org.
Yogis Jason Magness, Sam Salwei, and Paul Cassedy of Team YogaSlackers have begun their attempt to cross the entire state of North Dakota using only the wind. In 21 days, the three will snowkite more than 390 miles to promote the wind energy potential of North Dakota. The expedition, named To Cross the Moon Expedition (2XtM), began at the Canadian border near Crosby, N.D. on Feb. 11 and will end with community celebrations in Fargo and Grand Forks Feb. 29 - March 3. For more information, visit http://2xtm.com/.
The Laugh Angeles newsletter is giving away a list of 150 laughter exercises. To receive the list and for more on laughter yoga, visit www.laughangeles.com. How many of you have practiced laughter yoga?
Feeling the mid-winter blues? Here are a few events to get you off the couch. (Not that you've been on the couch. You've been hanging on your yoga mat, right?)
Anne Lamott, author of the bestsellers Traveling Mercies, Operating Instructions, and Bird by Bird, will be reading from her new book, Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith. Click here for her touring schedule.
Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, will be joining Anne Lamott for two nights of conversation. Click here for more info.
Author and meditation teacher Sylvia Boorstein will be reading from her new book, Happiness is an Inside Job. Click here for her schedule.
The Jivamukti Yoga Center in New York is hosting its second annual muscial tribute to George Harrison on Feburary 24. Click here for more info.
Artist Marc Quinn has agreed to donate Red Sphinx, a white-bronze sculpture of supermodel Kate Moss in a "heart-shaped yoga pose with red lips," to an auction on February 14 for Red, the brand created by U2 star Bono to raise money to fight the AIDS epidemic in Africa, reports the Wall Street Journal. Another Quinn sculpture, Sphinx (not sure what the difference is between "Red Sphinx" and "Sphinx"), depicting Moss in what looks like Dwi Pada Sirsasana, received controversial coverage when it was unveiled in 2006 because Moss doesn't do yoga (a model posed for the artist) nor does she lead a very yogic lifestyle. Says Quinn, "Kate is a mirror of ourselves, a twisted Venus of our age." What do you think?
Have you heard of deeksha, or the Oneness Blessing? According to Arjuna Ardagh, author of Awakening Into Oneness, "Deeksha is a powerful transmission of energy, which rapidly accelerates the evolution of consciousness. Deeksha can be given by the Deeksha-giver placing their hands on the head of the receiver. It can also be given to a whole room of people at the same time, through intention, and it can also be given through the eyes." The oneness blessing was created by Sri Bhagavan who is head of Oneness University near Chennai, India. For more information, visit www.livingessence.com and www.onenessuniversity.org.
Apparel manufacturer Liz Claiborne Inc. is selling the prAna brand back to prAna's founders and Steelpoint Capital Partners for $36.5 million, reports Reuters. Liz Claiborne originally bought the prAna line in November 2005 for $34.4 million. How many of you buy stock in yoga companies? How many of you actually wear yoga clothes as opposed to random exercise pieces bought at different times and places?
Dangerous amounts of lead have been found in Ayurvedic medicines such as ghasard, a brown powder given to relieve constipation in babies, and mahayogaraj gugullu, for high blood pressure, reports the Associated Press. "In a 2004 study that found high concentrations of lead in Ayurvedic medicine, Boston University researcher Robert Saper bought 70 different Ayurvedic remedies at 30 stores within a 20-mile radius of Boston City Hall. One in five contained potentially harmful levels of lead, mercury and arsenic. In 2004, the CDC reported 12 cases of lead poisoning associated with Ayurvedic remedies in Texas, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, and California." If you are under the care of an Ayurvedic practitioner, be sure to ask about the purity of your remedy. Has anyone out there had a problem with Ayurvedic medicine?
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