I'm not exactly your typical yogi. When I’m stressed out and
need to blow off steam, I grab a bottle of wine and a pack of cigarettes. I’ve
tried a few yoga classes over the years—any exercise involving a ten minute nap
at the end is my idea of a good workout session. But I’m the one in the class
who likely ate a cold piece of pizza for breakfast. It’s probably fair to say
that I’m an unlikely yogi. Basically I’m the Bridget Jones of the yoga world, and this is my diary.
Geshe Michael Roach, spiritual director of Diamond Mountain University and Retreat Center, has broken his silence regarding the death of Diamond Mountain University student Ian Thorson. The incidents of which read like a Hollywood thriller--a three year spiritual retreat in the desert and a married couple dealing with issues of alleged domestic abuse said to be fueled by spiritual influence. Both are asked to leave the retreat grounds, their whereabouts are unknown for two months until an emergency phone call is made from a cave in the middle of the desert.
Remember how it felt to be a
teenager—the hormonal fluctuations you didn’t understand, the
social pressure from peers, teachers, and family members, your
looming emergence into adulthood and the ultimate responsibility of
yourself? Whether you were the type to act out or to tow the line,
these years are often hard in a way that we can only recognize in
retrospect. Imagine if someone pulled you aside during this time and
taught you to meditate. In Brooklyn, a unique partnership is doing just that.
A recent article by yoga instructor and
fashionista Meghan Blalock sets out to establish the “shared
truths of fashion and yoga.” She argues that
“contrary to appearances, the two enterprises share a core truth:
they are vehicles by which one can both discover one’s core self
and endlessly re-shape one’s identity.” Blalock then describes
preparing to take a 5:30am hot yoga class during her teacher
training, for which she found the most crucial aspect of preparation
not adequate sleep, sustenance, or hydration, but finding the
“perfect outfit;” something that “helped [her] feel fierce,
strong, nearly invincible.”
Listen to spiritual icon Ram Dass as he shares stories from life, talks about his new book, and continues inspiring people to live to their full potential. The author of the popular book Be Here Now will discuss his own spiritual journey, from working with Timothy Leary at Harvard to meeting his guru, Neem Karoli Baba. The special three-hour interview with Oprah Winfrey will include a full showing of Fierce Grace, the documentary that illustrates how his faith helped him recover from a massive stroke.
This book's unique approach first takes you through the basics of practicing yoga and then teaches you the poses in the context of a yoga practice sequence. With this sequence based learning approach, you can easily jump from section to section and learn only as much as you wish to practice, or you can progress page by page to begin and deepen your practice of yoga in a linear progression.
According to a pilot study by Jessica
Noggle and colleagues at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard
Medical School, yoga
classes have positive psychological effects for high school students.
Given that mental illnesses often begin to develop in the teenage years, “yoga
may serve a preventive role in adolescent mental health,” shares
lead author Jessica Noggle, PhD.
Muhammad Rashid, a prominent Muslim
community activist in Queens, has stirred
controversy in Muslim communities by publicly
extolling the benefits of yoga. Many of the immigrants in Jackson
Heights, Queens are first-generation immigrants who consider yoga to
be a Hindu (and forbidden) practice. Yet a fatwa issued by a council
of Malaysian Muslim clerics four years ago which sought to forbid
yoga on the basis of Islamic law was forced to amend the edict to
allow “yoga as exercise” and prohibit only the use of Sanskrit
and chanting, following
demand by the Sultan of Malaysia and popular outcry.
A recent Hindu endorsement of Colorado
elementary schools’ inclusion
of yoga into elementary schools has raised questions
about yoga’s alleged status as a secular practice. Rajan Zed,
President of the Universal Society of Hinduism, urges “all
elementary-middle-high schools of the nation to incorporate yoga in
the lives of the students.” Colorado's inclusion of yoga into elementary schools vis a vis
“yoga themed recesses” and “brain breaks” is being
spearheaded by The Wellness Initiative, which offers yoga
classes for students and has partnered with 34 schools and
institutions in Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, and
Jefferson counties. While Colorado may be the first state to
systematically offer yoga classes in multiple elementary school
settings, other states and programs have quietly been making
in-roads.
If there were a metaphor for the
driven, hectic pace of urban life in the twentieth-century it well
may be heat, produced by the friction of ever-increasing intensity,
mounting to-do lists, and competition that can characterize and
accompany “success” in these environs. Little wonder, then, that
hot exercise, including yoga, has taken urban regions NYC and LA by a
storm. A
recent NY Times piece cites a number of increasingly
hot upscale fitness classes formed to satisfy obsessive devotees who
prefer to exercise in sweltering temperatures. Why, pray tell?
Beliefs about the alleged detoxification of heavy sweating, increased
challenge and accompanied caloric expenditure of heat-based exercise,
and the appeal of heat melting muscular tension are all popular
draws.
New York yoga studios breathed a
collective
sigh of relief in 2010 when the “Yoga Bill” was passed,
which exempts yoga (including teacher training programs) and martial
arts studios from state educational certification requirements. But
they’re gearing
up for another battle, as the state has recently
audited them under the premise that they should be subject to same
kind of tax (4.5%) as fitness studios.
While there are many excellent male
yogis in the US, a large portion of our society still views asana
as an activity mostly practiced by women. Thankfully, the imposition
of this gender-bias on yoga is breaking
down in many sectors of our culture, perhaps
most notably in the highly male-dominated armed forces. As the
therapeutic use of yoga has slowly gained acceptance from the
military over the past several years, it has repeatedly been shown
to help both active soldiers and veterans deal with the affects and
stresses of their profession.
My reaction to receiving the “The Ultimate Yogi” 12-disc set in the mail was “Wow, this is a serious box of yoga DVDs!” The professional production of this whole package is impressive, as is its intention to be a comprehensive yoga program including yogic breathing, meditation, diet, and lifestyle recommendations. The videos are gorgeous and were shot with an experienced crew on a beautiful film studio set in Bulgaria.
The smallest victories are often the
most profound—like learning to walk or blowing out your first
birthday candle all on your own. Accomplishments like these can
change a person’s entire outlook on life, yet many of us let
moments like these slip by without even noticing. We would notice if
they didn’t happen, as their absence would change the direction of
our lives. For children with special needs it may take years of
concerted effort to achieve these goals, so you can bet the moment
doesn’t go unnoticed. Thanks to a growing number of yoga teachers
dedicated to working with people who have special needs, more
and more of these moments being celebrated.
Caregivers for Alzheimer’s patients
typically experience greater levels of loneliness, exhaustion,
stress, and depression. A new
study from the University of California, Los Angeles, finds that
just 12 minutes of daily yoga practice (Kirtan Kriya meditation) over
eight weeks appears to improve mental health and telomerase activity,
a marker of cellular aging, among family dementia caregivers.
Ashtanga Yoga, founded by the late and
esteemed Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois, affectionately called Guruji by his students, is famed for its intensity and
rigidity. A
simmering conflict between an affluent sponsor of Jois’s acclaimed
legacy, his successor and grandson Sharath, and longstanding Ashtanga teachers has
the community tied in some knots.
Heart disease is the leading cause of
death in the United States and in many parts of the globe. In a
landmark move that may positively impact US citizens with heart
disease, Medicare
approved the Ornish Program for Heart Disease as a form of intensive
cardiac rehab in 2010. The Ornish program teaches participants
the importance of a meatless, plant-based diet, regular exercise,
yoga, meditation, and social support.
In an inspiring
illustration of the power that one selfless act has to change the
world, one woman’s African vacation started a chain of events that
is changing the lives of schoolchildren, incarcerated
women, orphans, women
entrepreneurs, and others living in poverty in Kenya. In 2006, former
NYC yoga teacher, Paige Elenson, was on safari with her family when
she saw a group of kids doing handstands from her vehicle. She hopped
out of the car and joined in with her yoga practice. This simple act
of being playful and present in the moment eventually led to the
creation of the Africa
Yoga Project, whose
mission is “to
use the transformative benefits of yoga to empower vulnerable
communities in Kenya.”
New York Times journalist William
Broad’s contentious claim that the origins of tantric hatha yoga
reside in “medieval sex cults” was crucial to set the frame for
his subsequent and inaccurate equation
of yoga with sex. This was explicitly rendered in
his assertion that yoga practice is responsible for the recent sexual
misconduct of Anusara founder John Friend and other philandering yoga
gurus. In a further misstep intended to provide credibility to his
questionable thesis, Broad provides little more than old and obscure research that allegedly shows yoga to increase sexual desire.
Sex and Yoga: According
to NY Times journalist William Broad, the two terms
are interchangeable. In a poorly-researched article masquerading as
science journalism, the writer claims the origins of hatha yoga
reside in “medieval sex cults,” an allegation that has been
rigorously protested by yoga and tantric scholars Ramesh
Bjonnes, Katy
Poole, and Christopher
Wallis.
What you notice first about this kirtan/chant album are the beautiful vocals. Luna’s singer-songwriter background is evident in her masterfully controlled and emotive voice. The backup harmonies and the subtle, yet lush, choir add further richness and depth. The instrumentation on this album is equally fantastic, with an elegant blend of Eastern and Western instruments.
No good scandal comes without important
lessons for those affected by it. In this case, the matter of
integrity takes center stage—the integrity of a leader, his senior
teachers, and the broader yoga community of which we are all a part.
The recent, very public outing of the questionable behavior and
business practices of Anusara Yoga’s charismatic leader, John
Friend is a gold mine of juicy lessons, timely reminders, and issues
that the yoga community should be discussing. With
the implosion
of one of the most profitable yoga empires ever, we are left with
the question, at what point are we required to admit our mistakes and
take responsibility?
The stage has been set for the perfect storm: the charismatic leader, the devoted followers, the extensive trainings that require significant monetary investments to earn the right to claim your affiliation. The yoga community is once again abuzz with rumors, accusations, and worry over the integrity of a beloved guru.
If you buy into some of the marketing
out there, it may seem that the purpose of yoga is to get thin and
flexible enough that you can contort your body in odd ways while
wearing little clothing and still look good. Certain brands even like
to claim that yoga is a cardio exercise and will help you lose
weight, essentially promising that you too can be that thin and look
good in spandex, if only you try. If you actually practice yoga,
hopefully you realize that is far from the point. As fun as it may be
to think that yoga can fix just about anything, do we really need it
to?
Midterms,
finals, SATs: Most of us undergo examinations at some point in our
lives, along with the requisite increases in stress. Stress has the
unfortunate side effect of weakening the immune system, as many
sniffling students can attest. A recent study found a 12-week yoga
intervention to protect against the impairment of cellular immunity
and autonomic nervous
system changes
caused by examination stress.
This video program is an excellent resource for those who suffer from mild to moderate depression. The DVD is full of great content, and the main menu is organized into two sections: Lectures and Practices. The lectures are very well done, and they explain the neurological and psychological origins of depression and how yoga therapy (including breathing, chanting and mediation) can be used to treat this disease. There are two yoga sessions in the practice section: Physiological Rebalancing (51 minutes) and Shifting Mood and Self-Concept (38 minutes).
“Brain Wave Vibration Training” (BWV): It sounds like something from a science fiction novel. But BWV is part of the controversial Dahn Hak system, and refers to a practice comprised of flowing, meditative movements of the head, neck, and body. A recent study comparing BWV to mindfulness meditation training and Iyengar yoga found BWV to uniquely improve depression and reduce the amount of time it takes to fall asleep after lights have been turned off (sleep latency).
Recent research offers evidence that meditation may be more effective than medicine in treating ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Dr. Sarina Grosswald, a cognitive learning expert and pioneer in this research, explains that medications, such as Ritalin or Adderall, only temporarily suppress ADHD symptoms while in the bloodstream; yet, a regular meditation practice not only relieves symptoms, it can actually help address the underlying problem, a lack of neural integration.
Mental flexibility, patience, adaptability, and the ability to handle stress are often cited benefits of yoga and meditation. These are also some of the same skills many employers look for and hope to cultivate in their employees. People who have or are able to develop these practices may be seen as an asset to employers for these reasons, and they may even cost less to employ. Ohio State University researcher Maryanna Klatt led a pilot study which found that six weeks of guided workplace meditation and yoga can lower feelings of stress by more than 10%. She believes these findings are also significant in understanding and improving the way people handle stress in the workplace. “If they can’t change the external events in their life, they can instead change the way they view the stress, which can make a difference in how they experience their day-to-day life,” Klatt notes.
According to a recent study, Kripalu yoga that incorporates spiritual and ethical guidelines (integrative yoga) may be more effective at decreasing anxiety-related symptoms than yoga taught without these principles (exercise-based yoga). Integrative yoga also appears more effective at reducing levels of the hormone salivary cortisol, which is an indicator of stress. This is the first study indicating that yoga practiced in its original context may provide additional benefits over yoga that is divorced of its spiritual origins.
To help you with renewed efforts to practice yoga in the new year we have created a Weekly Yoga Planner for you to print and use. You can use this yoga planner as a guide for the following: • Schedule your yoga practices and classes. • Document your intentions, goals, and reflections. • Keep track of your progress.
A recent article by NY Times science journalist William Broad claims that “a number of commonly taught yoga poses are inherently risky,” following on similar sensationalist claims in recent weeks. As in the latter case, Broad’s assertions are poorly supported and fail to consider the broader context of yoga’s benefits. In a possible effort to plug for his upcoming book, Broad takes a careless approach that may turn many off to a practice that has numerous proven benefits.
A recent study suggests that intensive and sustained meditation may boost the activity of telomerase, an enzyme responsible for telomere length and maintenance. Reductions in telomerase and telomere length have been linked to aging, psychological distress, and other health problems such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
As research studies continue to validate claims of the many benefits of yoga, there are still skeptics out there who try to dispute them. A recent article in the online journal Independent Woman, Chrissie Russell posed the question “Is Yoga Actually Bad for You?” citing two studies which she states didn’t show yoga as effective relief for back pain. Closer examination shows that both studies actually showed that yoga is an effective way to treat lower back pain. While one study’s results showed that that yoga wasn’t more effective than a simple stretching class, the primary researcher stated that she may have confounded her own results by making the stretching class too much like a yoga class, rather than like the typical stretch classes found at most gyms.
In a small victory won by yoga studios which offer classes resembling Bikram Choudhury’s trademarked 90-minute, 26-pose heated yoga flow, the US Copyright Office has determined that yoga poses and sequences cannot be copyrighted. The decision was reached in response to litigation filed by Bikram against several yoga studios alleged to infringe on copyright laws. Bikram’s lawsuits also claim violation of teacher-certification agreements and trademark infringement, signifying the Copyright Office’s decision will not end the litigation any time soon.
Our
Yoga for Beginners book takes you through the basics of practicing yoga and then teaches you the poses in the context of a yoga practice sequence.
Free Newsletter
Premium Content
Our membership site is chocked full of detailed yogic information and deluxe features. Take our membership tour to find out all of the benefits of joining.
New Users
To get the most out of our site, we suggest you take some time to explore before jumping into the practice. Browse our yoga 101 section for general info on the history and types of yoga, then start exploring asanas the physical postures used in hatha yoga. Remember to breathe and always start your yoga practice with a brief meditation. Questions? check out our yoga message board. If you are new to yoga, please read our Yoga for Beginner's page
Yoga Scholarships
To encourage and support the development and training of great yoga teachers we have created a Yoga Scholarship program. If you need financial assistance for your 200+ hour yoga teacher training please apply for our scholarship. Partial scholarships are awarded twice a year to qualified candidates.
Yogic Wisdom
When the breath wanders the mind also is unsteady. But when the breath is calmed the mind too will be still, and the yogi achieves long life. Therefore, one should learn to control the breath.
Subscribe to our RSS feed to keep informed on all new updates to YogaBasics.com.
In order to use our Newsfeed you need to cut and paste the URL into a RSS reader or use your browser's RSS "subscribe" button.
Ahimsa, the yogic practice of non violence must be adhered to when engaging in the practice of hatha yoga. Respect your body's limitations and inner wisdom, if something feels wrong or dangerous, please do not do it. Please consult your health care practitioner before starting a yoga, pranayama or other exercise program.
All contents copyright 2001-2012 Timothy Burgin and Yogabasics.com. All rights reserved. Om shanti peace.
Subscribe to our RSS feed to keep informed on all new updates to YogaBasics.com.
In order to use our Newsfeed you need to cut and paste the URL into a RSS reader or use your browser's RSS "subscribe" button.
