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Does yoga in schools violate religious freedom? This debate has landed in a San Diego, CA superior court, where plaintiffs allege a yoga program funded by a $533,720 grant from the Jois Foundation violates the separation between church and state. Plaintiff expert witness Candy Gunther Brown, a religious studies professor at Harvard, submitted a 36-page brief alleging that yoga comprises religious indoctrination, testifying that all forms of yoga share the religious goal of human salvation. With presiding Judge John Meyer, a confirmed yoga practitioner who has revealed he doesn’t see anything religious about yoga, the trial is shaping up to be an interesting one.
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Wednesday, June 12, 2013 by Shari Read
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The Importance of Knowing Your Breath
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You began to breathe just moments after being born, and someday your life will end with your very last breath. In between, your breath is always with you wherever you go. It is your most valuable possession and a trusted partner. But how often do you think about your breath? How well do you know your own breathing patterns?
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Friday, June 07, 2013 by Kathleen Bryant
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The Art of Yoga
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Yoga and art share something fundamental: inspiration. The dictionary defines inspiration as “divine influence.” When we practice yoga with an intention of drawing in spirit as we inhale, we set it apart from mere exercise. For artists, inspiration means being open to the muse, the higher intelligence that flows through the act of creation. Over the centuries, sculptors, painters, dancers, and musicians have explored the intersection between yoga and art, inspiring others with their vision. Some of these works will be highlighted this fall at the Smithsonian in an exhibit called Yoga: The Art of Transformation.
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Tuesday, June 04, 2013 by Tosca Braun
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Fifty Shades: Body as Temple
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Can embodiment be liberated from its strong cultural and historical associations with bondage, and honored as sacred unto itself? Most yogic lineages—as well as western philosophies—view life, embodiment, and the world’s temptations as problems requiring transcendence, postulating a combative relationship that is difficult, if not impossible, to resolve. Yet Srikula Shakta tantra, a South Indian lineage of philosophy, contends that life and embodiment are inherently divine, and should be delighted in and celebrated as such.
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Do you ever feel trapped by your body, as if it were something separate from you that you just have to live with? If the answer is yes, you aren’t alone. Philosophically, many cultural and religious traditions, including Patanjali’s Classical Yoga, conceptualize the body as bound to base lusts and desires that distract from loftier abstract moral and religious principles. Rene Descartes memorialized this with Cartesian Mind-Body dualism, which posits body and mind as comprised of distinct entities. Our cultural samskara (beliefs and patterns) thus perpetuate the notion that embodiment equals imprisonment. Unsurprisingly, this worldview aligns well with modern forms of yoga.
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Wednesday, May 29, 2013 by Tosca Braun
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Fifty Shades of Yoga: Body as Prison
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Ten years ago I shivered as I climbed into a giant birdcage, wrists bound. Crouching inside as I peered out for the camera’s glare, I marveled at the sense of familiarity. Imprisonment, enslavement; these were familiar friends, in body and soul. Relief briefly surged; in acknowledging my soul’s pain, the physical bonds afforded momentary release. For years I continued to engage my body in battle. Glancing in the mirror one day at the gym, I witnessed both physical beauty and hopeless emptiness staring back. Disciplining and perfecting my body had failed to free my soul. Yet this is the premise of a controversial new coffee-table book project, Fifty Shades of Yoga, which depicts shots of an unnamed, scantily clad, statuesque blonde executing yoga poses while tied in various rope configurations.
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When I travel, I think of T.S. Eliot’s inspiring words: “We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” This applies also to the inner journey of yoga, where we explore deeper dimensions of being on a quest for self-understanding. Just as a map can guide us up a mountain trail, a map of the nadis and chakras can help us explore the unseen realm of pranamaya kosha, the energy body.
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Tuesday, May 21, 2013 by Kathleen Bryant
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The Myth of Multitasking
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As Ferris Bueller observed, “Life moves pretty fast.” Isn’t this why we multi-task, to get more done in a day, despite an ever-mounting number of distractions? On average, each of us handles 100+ emails daily, with another 5,000 cramming our inboxes. Add phone calls, IMs, tweets, paper memos, meetings—it’s no wonder that U.S. citizens take fewer vacations than nearly every industrialized nation in the world. But evidence is growing that all this “productivity” is actually counterproductive—a sleep-stealing, concentration-scattering myth. And yogis aren’t exempt.
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Friday, May 17, 2013 by Ivey DeJesus
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Handstand: Turning My World Upside
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I toiled for the better part of a year to
conquer the handstand. Long into my yoga practice, I committed to landing Adho Mukha Vrksasana,
admittedly partly seduced by photos of yogis suspended against the force of
gravity by powerful arms and backs.
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We all have emotional trauma, and it seems the more my trauma releases and quietens, the more I can hear the pain of others. My body, breath and mind hold the memory of the patterns of trauma, not yet fully released. This residual energy primes me to the feelings and patterns of others. I can hear them more clearly. I can feel the energy of consciousness moving through the world.
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Wednesday, May 08, 2013 by Kathleen Bryant
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Liberate Your Soles On No Socks Day
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After a chilly spring, aren’t your feet itching to walk across the grass and bask in the sun? Here’s a good reason to liberate your soles: Today, Wednesday, May 8, is National No Socks Day. Yogis know it’s good to go bare, but on this day we have equal footing with everybody. Here are four extra incentives to toss your socks and love your tootsies:
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Friday, May 03, 2013 by Kathleen Bryant
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Finding OM Away From Home
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Have you ever traipsed around an airport terminal in search of a discreet corner for Sun Salutations between flights? Do you shudder at the thought of coming face-to-face with hotel carpeting during Down Dog? Then take heart, because it’s easier than ever to plan a summer getaway without getting too far away from your daily practice. Hotels and airports, recognizing that what’s good for you is also good for business, are rolling out the yoga mat to welcome enlightened travelers.
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Friday, April 26, 2013 by Kathleen Bryant
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Bring Nature Indoors With Vastu Shastra
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Is spring fever making you yearn to take your asana outdoors? If blustery weather is keeping you inside, consider adding nature to your indoor environment with the ancient science of vastu. Consultant Kathleen Cox, one of the first to introduce vastu to the West, calls it “yoga for your home.”
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Tuesday, April 23, 2013 by Kathleen Bryant
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Letting the Child (Pose) Be the Teacher
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If someone handed out awards for “most unappreciated asana,” the winner might be Balasana (Child’s Pose). In many yoga classes, this basic pose is used only for transition or rest. Often dismissed as “babyish” by asana enthusiasts, Balasana almost never gets the spotlight. And yet, it’s one of the most powerful poses in the yogi’s tool kit. Here’s why:
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Friday, April 19, 2013 by Kathleen Bryant
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4 Ways To Connect With Nature On Earth Day
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The first Earth Day was observed in the U.S. on April 22, 1970. Today, more than four decades later, a billion people worldwide mark the day with environmental activism and community events. If you’re looking for a yogic way to observe Earth Day, it doesn’t get much bigger than the Tadasana Festival, a weekend of yoga, music, and consciousness-raising in Santa Monica, CA. No travel plans? Check around for local events like yoga in the park and earth salutations. Or set aside some time to root your home practice in the imagery and energy of Earth:
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Wednesday, April 17, 2013 by Kathleen Bryant
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Coming Soon To A Theater Near You...
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Mark your calendars, and get ready to pass the popcorn. On May 8, One Track Heart: The Story of Krishna Das, a documentary about chant master Krishna Das, is set to open in movie theaters across the U.S. Directed by Jeremy Frindel (cofounder of the Brooklyn Yoga School) and distributed by Zeitgeist Films, One Track Heart has already screened at a film festivals, earning a couple of awards for Best Documentary. Yogis are sure to flock to the film but, now that KD has rocked the Grammy Awards, it’s fun to imagine even larger audiences getting in line to see a movie about the yoga path.
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Friday, April 12, 2013 by Kathleen Bryant
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The Gayatri Mantra: Let Your Light Shine
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What verse has been chanted daily for nearly 4,000 years? If you answered the Gayatri mantra, familiar to fans of Deva Premal and entered into pop culture by Cher, you’d be right. No doubt you’ve sung along, chanted it in an asana class, or even studied the Sanskrit words: Om bhuh, bhuvah, swaha/Tat savitur varenyam/Bhargo devasya dhimahi/Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat.
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Tuesday, April 09, 2013 by Kathleen Bryant
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Do You Need a Guru?
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“Who needs a guru anyway?” It’s a question Western yoga students often ask. But in the wake of yet another guru scandal, maybe we need to change the question to “What is a guru anyway?”
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Friday, April 05, 2013 by Tosca Braun
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Learning To Listen: Embodied Wisdom
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When most people think of the body, “divine” isn’t the first term to come to mind. Most major philosophies and religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, and classical yoga, view embodiment as a distraction, requiring control and transcendence through spiritual practice. Yet, some forms of tantra posit the manifest world to be an expression of God. These lineages contend that each facet of the self, or kosha—body, breath, mind, intuition, soul—is qualitatively distinct, yet simultaneously reflective of the same vast diamond of God-consciousness.
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Tuesday, April 02, 2013 by Tosca Braun
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Intelligence and the Body-Mind
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Does listening to your body facilitate addictive behaviors? Blogging last week in Part 1, we disputed yoga instructor Maya Georg’s contention to this effect. Some research actually suggests the body, left to its own devices, demonstrates a keen aptitude for self-regulation. Relatedly, yoga philosophy posits that addictive behavior emerges, not from listening to one’s body, but rather through samskara, ingrained habits or conditioned patterns that underlie thoughts, behaviors, and experience. These interweave the body-mind continuum and cannot be attributed mind or body in isolation.
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Friday, March 29, 2013 by Tosca Braun
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Is Your Body Untrustworthy?
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What does it mean to “listen to your body?” Irritated by the perceived glut of platitudes spouted by yoga instructors, a recent blog by instructor Maya Georg targets this as her top “yoga cliché.” Noting we must “never, ever buy into them,” she shares “If I listened to my body I would smoke four packs of cigarettes a day, drink a fifth of vodka, and eat nothing but chocolate ice cream as I lay on my couch.” While I don’t argue with Georg’s experience, I do take issue with her conflation of “listening to one’s body” with over-indulgence and debauchery.
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Practicing yoga has taught me many things. This week, I finally realized that it is acceptable to behave like an ass, as long you don’t try to deny the fact that your behavior is undesirable. This long overdue realization is probably the one and only pearl of wisdom I have taken from the teachings of Bikram Choudhury.
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This week marked the Spring Equinox, when days and nights are roughly equal, and the Northern Hemisphere is poised between winter’s icy grip and the intense heat of summer. Equilibrium, equipoise, equanimity—these qualities are also associated with yoga. And why not, since the very translation of Hatha Yoga implies balance? “Ha” refers to sun, “tha” to moon, and yoga means “to yoke” or “to join.” When we create equality between the opposites within (solar/lunar, hot/cold, hard/soft), we experience balance. And though it takes time to undo months of over-indulgence (or its opposite extreme, self-denial), yoga includes helpful tools that could qualify as first aid remedies. Here are a few:
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Tuesday, March 19, 2013 by Kathleen Bryant
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The Axis Of Asana: Exploring the Spine
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The spine is the physical and metaphoric axis of yoga. In fact, one way of viewing asana is that it’s designed to move the spine in all directions: flexion (forward bends), extension (backbends), lateral flexion (side bending), and rotation (twists). By manipulating the spine’s physical anatomy—bone, muscle, connective tissue, and nerves—we impact systems throughout the body. But there’s more to “the core” than muscles and bone.
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Friday, March 15, 2013 by Kathleen Bryant
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The Third Sutra: Revealing Your True Self
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“Be yourself.” Haven’t we all been given this advice at one time or another? Self-realization is one of the aims of yoga, described by Patanjali in the third sutra: “Tada drastuh svarupe avasthanam” or as B.K.S. Iyengar’s translates, “Then the seer dwells in his own true splendor.”
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Tuesday, March 12, 2013 by Kathleen Bryant
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Spring Cleaning: Get Back In Balance
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As spring approaches, you may feel the urge to set the stage for new growth by cleaning house or cleansing the physical body. Shaucha or purity is one of the foundational principles of yoga, and ancient yogis practiced six types of cleanses, known as the shatkarmas. Most of these should be undertaken only with the guidance of an experienced teacher. However, some yogic cleanses, combined with gentle ayurvedic practices, make an effective daily cleansing routine suitable for anyone who wants to release toxins and build agni, the digestive fire.
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Tuesday, March 05, 2013 by Kathleen Bryant
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4 Ways To Unleash Your Downward-Facing Dog
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Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) is one of the first poses that yoga students learn, on its own or as part of Surya Namaskara. Because it’s a familiar favorite, the tendency is to slip into Down Dog like a beloved pair of sneakers, often without noticing that the arches are sagging or the heels are worn down. To keep this asana fresh, approach it with a beginner’s mind:
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Tuesday, February 26, 2013 by Kathleen Bryant
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8 Ways To Prevent Yoga Injuries
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Last year
New York Times reporter William Broad started a firestorm of words by painting yoga as a body-wrecking fitness fad. The response from the yoga community was passionate and ongoing. Many teachers, however, regard yoga injuries non-news in the West, where we approach yoga primarily as a physical fitness regimen rather than as a system of personal transformation. To protect yourself from injury, focus on yoga’s history as “inner-cise” versus exercise.
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Friday, February 22, 2013 by Kathleen Bryant
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The Second Sutra: The Heart of Yoga
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When Patanjali outlined the practice of yoga two thousand years ago, he used a form of short, easy-to-remember sayings that could be recited or chanted as slokas, the Sanskrit root for the English word “slogan.” Today we know slogans as catchy phrases used to promote products or sum up larger ideas, like “It’s the real thing,” or “Be all that you can be.” But if yoga has one ageless, all-encompassing slogan, it’s Patanjali’s second sutra:
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Yoga in yet another treasured American institution, the military, has recently spurred frustration among evangelicals. Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council, expresses that “the military seems intent on driving religion out and replacing it with wacky substitutes.” No form of spirituality, Perkins contends, is “as constructive as a personal relationship with God.” These grievances highlight important ideological differences and misapprehensions as to what, exactly, meditation is. Do modern conceptualizations of mindfulness preclude “a personal relationship with God?” Or do they transcend such artificially-rendered binaries?
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