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Sharon Stone is taking some major heat for a comment she made at the Cannes Film Festival about the earthquake in China and karma. Her comment is below. Does she deserve the current backlash? And was her use of the word "karma" correct? Dhammadassin, a teacher at the London Buddhist Centre, told the BBC, "To invoke karma is more to do with our desire to nail things down and find someone to blame. But that's not ours to do."
Sharon Stone: "I’m not happy with the way the Chinese are treating the Tibetans, because I don’t think anyone should be unkind to anyone else, and so I have been very concerned about how to think and what to do about that, because I don’t like that. And then I’ve been just concerned, oh, how should we deal with the Olympics, because they’re not being nice to the Dalai Lama, who’s a good friend of mine. And then all this earthquake and all this stuff happened, and I thought, ‘Is that karma?’ when you’re not nice the bad things happen to you? And then I got a letter from the Tibetan Foundation that they wanted to go and be helpful, and that made me cry. And they asked me if I would write a quote about that and I said I would, that it was a big lesson to me. That sometimes you have to learn to put your head down and be of service even for people who are not nice to you."
If you know anything about mindful eating, you are probably familiar with the Indian term rasa, which literally means taste. More subtly, rasa is defined as the "juice" of any object, its "marrow" or "sap." A new phenomenon, called "flavor tripping" by gawker.com, defies the very idea of rasa. "Flavor tripping" involves ingesting a Miracle Berry, which contains an active glycoprotein molecule. When the berry is eaten, this molecule binds to the tongue’s taste buds, causing bitter and sour foods consumed later to taste sweet. This effect lasts between thirty minutes and two hours. Parties, where guests first eat a berry then sample lemons, limes, grapefruits, pomelos, rhubarb, dill pickles, and cheeses, are growing in popularity. For more info, visit www.miracleconnect.com. Have you tried a Miracle Berry? Do you want to?
This just in: yoga and horoscopes can lead to possession by Devil. "Father Jeremy Davies, exorcist for Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the leader of Catholics in England and Wales, says that activities such as yoga, massage therapy, reiki or even reading horoscopes could put people at risk from evil spirits," reports The Daily Mail. In his new book, In Exorcism: Understanding Exorcism In Scripture And Practice, which is published by the Catholic Truth Society, Fr Davies writes: "‘The thin end of the wedge (soft drugs, yoga for relaxation, horoscopes just for fun and so on) is more dangerous than the thick end because it is more deceptive – an evil spirit tries to make his entry as unobtrusively as possible." Do you think this is funny? Sad? Offensive?
 Nintendo released the Wii Fit game on Wednesday (see my original July 25, 2007 post). Players use a wireless balance board, which is reminiscent of a bathroom scale, to practice yoga, strength training, and aerobics, in addition to balance games such as Ski Slalom and Tightrope Walk.
My husband found the review copy on our doorstop Wednesday morning, and had it hooked up in 45 minutes and had gone running and skiing before I even had a chance to look at it. Naturally, I was most interested in the yoga component. But first, I chose a Mii character that would be my on-screen personality (Gema) and completed a body test that revealed my BMI (20) and my Wii Fit Age (eight years younger than my actual age. Yahoo!). Then it was on to yoga. There are 15 yoga poses, but only four were “unlocked.” I needed to practice for a certain amount of time before the next yoga pose was available to me. After doing Deep Breathing, Half Moon, Warrior, and Tree Pose two times each, I was allowed to practice Sun Salutation and Standing Knee pose. But after 65 minutes of practice, I still didn’t have access to the other nine poses, which was frustrating. Even though I executed the poses “perfectly,” I could not move to the next level until I had exercised the required amount of minutes.
As I did each pose, the game could tell if I was balancing correctly or if I was favoring one leg or another. In fact, it is easy to become more focused on the Balance Indicator than doing the pose properly. At the end of each pose, the game gave me a ranking of Yoga Newcomer, Yoga Novice, Yoga Trainer, or Yoga Master. It also ranked me against my past performance and other yogis who used the game earlier. My friend, Grace, didn’t like this feature. It made her feel too competitive, she said.
The balance board is two inches high, and it was a little strange doing Warrior Pose with one foot elevated on the board, and the other on the ground. But at the end of the day, I do think Wii would be a fun way to help beginning to intermediate level yogis develop a home practice. Wii Fit, with the Wii Balance Board, retails for about $90. To play Wii Fit, you must first have the Nintendo Wii game system, which costs about $250.
Funnyman Christopher Guest, best known for his mockumentaries such as Best in Show and This is Spinal Tap, has contributed to yoga teacher Cyndi Lee's new CD, OM yoga Mix 2. Guest has started a new band called the Beyman Bros and together they created the song "Tulong" for the CD. There are also two tracks by chanting legend Krishna Das. To sample the CD, visit www.dharmamoon.com/OMYM2.html. What's next: a yoga mockumentary?
According to India's Economic Times, many Russians are turning to yoga, particularly Iyengar Yoga, to combat the stress of their increasingly fast-paced lifestyles. "Iyengar Yoga is propounded and promoted across Russia and former Soviet Union-ruled regions. It is a common sight to see thousands of Russians attend yoga workshops in St. Petersberg, Moscow and Yekatarinburg." Has anyone ever taken (or taught) a yoga class in Russia??
According to chicagoist.com, Janet Weiss is suing yoga teacher Wendy Sadler for receiving "severe and permanent injuries" during Sadler's class at the Northbrook YMCA. Sadler allegedly "grabbed and maneuvered" Weiss in a way that caused permanent damage. Sadler trained at the Himalayan Institute in Honesdale, PA. Have you heard of any other yoga teachers being sued? Do you think it will hold up in court?
A new study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, recommends regular, moderately intense exercise such as walking, strength training, and yoga to alleviate pain caused by fibromyalgia and arthritis. The study had 135 women exercising three times a week for four months, initially for 30 minutes and increasing to 60 minutes. Pain was reduced by 45 percent after 16 weeks. It can be hard for people living with pain to get motivated to exercise. Has anyone experienced this or had success teaching students with chronic pain?
Mayor Gavin Newsom wants to occasionally close a 3 1/2-mile stretch of road in San Francisco for yoga, bicycling, jogging, and dancing. "Instead of bringing people to open space, we bring open space to people," Newsom told the San Francisco Chronicle. Newsom wants to roll out a pilot program from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on a couple of Sundays in August or September. Good idea or logistical nightmare?
One-of-a-kind yoga mat bags, decorated by more than 20 celebrities, are up for auction on eBay. All proceeds will benefit The Libby Ross Foundation, which aims to make a significant difference in the lives of women afflicted with breast cancer through support programs, research, and early detection. The auction ends on May 15th. Let us know if you make a bid!
Nancy Portuga Jamello teaches yoga to teenage students at the California School for the Blind in Fremont.
Many of the students slouch because the constant fear of running into objects and losing their balance can produce an over-arching spine. Yoga gives them the chance to not only work on their posture and balance, but also to exercise without worrying about the space around them. "The students can't necessarily play a sport or go for a run in the park, but they can practice yoga on a towel in their rooms," Jamello told The Mercury News. "They can work up a sweat in one spot." Has yoga helped someone you know who is sight-impaired?
Yogini Djoeke Van Der Werf led Beirut's first Iyengar Yoga workshop at Mont La Saade in Ain Saade on Saturday, reports The Daily Star. "For the yoga community of Lebanon this is a premier event," said Lina Shuman, the workshop's organizer. According to Shuman, Iyengar Yoga has not been formally taught in Lebanon before. The intent was to provide stress relief from local political and social tensions.
Synergy Yoga Studio in Encinitas, California, is closing after 16 years of business amid allegations of abuse and brainwashing, reports 10news.com. Some students and employees claim the studio's founder, Peri Ness, is running a cult and considers herself a prophet. "People had to bow down to her. They were instructed to basically worship her. If she walked in a room, everyone needed to be silent. It was very bizarre behavior," says former student Terry Rondberg. Yoga teacher Outi Pulkkinen explains, "In martial arts, you honor your master. You honor the teacher who has trained the teachers below them, who then pass on their learning and it's unchanged. It would be ridiculous to call all martial arts studios in global earth cults." What do you think? Anyone have the inside scoop?
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