In our Yoga Blog we will report on yoga news, trends and happenings throughout the world.
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Thursday, June 14, 2012 by Kathleen Bryant
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Summerize Your Yoga With Cooling Practices
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Ah, summer…the days get longer, the sun gets stronger. But
we can have too much of a good thing. Summer’s solar qualities (heat,
projection, activity) equate to sympathetic
nervous system stimulation. Obvious signs of overheating are feeling irritable,
distracted and, well, hot.
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Several recent studies suggest Bikram yoga may be effective
at improving numerous aspects of mental and physical health, including improved
sleep, physical fitness, mindfulness, and reductions in perceived stress.
Bikram yoga refers to the practice established by Bikram Choudhury, renowned
for its 105-108 degree environment and trademarked 26-pose sequence.
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A recent tongue-in-cheek headline blares, “Yoga
Quitter: Why I couldn’t say namastay in class.” Author Jenn Fields
describes arriving to her regular yoga class looking forward to her “happy yogi
energy” teacher Steph, only to find a dreaded sub in her stead. As an 11-year
practitioner, Fields was well aware of her “unyogilike” resistance, but her
“pissyness” upon arriving to discover her teacher was absent persisted. After
“bitterly down-dogging and up-dogging, head and heart out the door,” she snuck
out of class in a “stress-ball flurry,” hoping to find another class at a
nearby studio.
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Friday, June 08, 2012 by Amber Baker
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When Yoga Is Business
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Many yogis in New York City are grappling with the aftereffects
of another upheaval in their yoga universe. Earlier this month Pure yoga studio
fired popular teacher Marco Rojas in a manner he believes reflects their lack
of adherence to yogic ethics. Pure has dismissed the act as not even very
interesting, but it brings up some valid questions: is teaching yoga just
a job like any other, and should studios be held to the same principles we
expect teachers to exemplify?
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Wednesday, June 06, 2012 by Kathleen Bryant
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Ambassador of Bhakti Yoga to Tour N. America
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Last week marked the beginning of Mata Amritanandamayi’s
North American tour. Amma, as she is known, will
make appearances in 10
cities in Canada and the U.S., including Chicago, Dallas, New York and
Washington D.C. To date, Amma has traveled to hundreds of countries and cities
throughout the world, and wherever she goes, thousands of people flock to see
her.
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Between all the news flashes, status
updates, articles to read, videos to watch, and local, national, and global
tragedies to track, there is a stream of information constantly wanting our
attention. On top of that are the basic communications we must maintain to keep
our lives in order at work and home. Yet, even a twenty minute asana,
meditation or mantra practice can turn all of this noise off, recenter us, and help
us focus on what is important in our lives and let go of what is not. No matter what
the yoga practice looks like, we need
yoga; and this need increases in direct proportion to the increasing chaos and
media encroachment on our lives.
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Meditation is “making its way back
onto the yoga mat,” proclaims a recent NY
Times article, following years of yoga’s frenetic usurpation by the fitness
industry. The New York yoga community is cited as an example of practitioners
maturing in their practices, evidenced by an increased interest in seated
meditation. While an encouraging trend, the Times makes an unnecessarily rigid
delineation between asana (postures) and meditation. Some tantric and kundalini
yoga paths—for instance, Kripalu yoga—teach that asana may reflect and serve as
a path to higher states of consciousness. However, asana can be a hindrance and
source of mind disturbance if practiced in the absence of mindful,
compassionate awareness.
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Tuesday, May 29, 2012 by Kathleen Bryant
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Anusara: A Breath of Fresh Air
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Who isn’t familiar with the old adage that when a door
closes, a window opens? It’s been four months since the John Friend scandal
broke, and with developments of these past two weeks, it looks as if Anusara is
ready to throw open a window. A letter
posted by the Anusara Leadership Committee (LC) on May 19 announced that
Friend was stepping aside from Anusara and its trademarks, clearing the way for
a teacher-led school.
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Friday, May 25, 2012 by Kathleen Bryant
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Anusara: Out of Alignment
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Last week, the ongoing
Anusara drama added another episode when a
letter signed by John Friend was posted on Facebook. To many, the letter
appeared to be Friend’s attempt to downplay the furor and reestablish control
by disbanding the leadership committee
appointed to negotiate the future of Anusara. The social media response was
overwhelmingly derisive.
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Wednesday, May 23, 2012 by Amber Baker
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Not Your Typical Rave
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Forget everything you think you know about raves—unless you
think of them as a conscious gathering of like-minded folks striving for
enlightenment. The new raves are drug, alcohol, and smoke-free yoga-oriented
dance parties, and they are gaining popularity as an alternative to traditional
nightclubs.
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Friday, May 18, 2012 by Tosca Braun
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Has Yoga "Lost Its Soul?"
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A
recent op ed in Forbes Magazine gives voice to several differing perspectives
on the topic of the evolving “soul” of western yoga. Centered in an ideologically
diverse culture that shares the primacy of physical appearance, it is more
homogenous (asana-centric) than the multi-faceted, rich tradition of yoga as
practiced in its motherland. Yet practitioners here are more heterogenous, and
yoga means something different to every person (sparking routine protests from
Hindu advocacy groups).
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Tuesday, May 15, 2012 by Kristin Andrews
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The Unlikely Yogi
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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.
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Monday, May 07, 2012 by Kristin Andrews
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Untangling the Drama at Diamond Mountain
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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.
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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. |
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Tuesday, May 01, 2012 by Tosca Braun
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Yoga and Fashion: Common Ground?
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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.”
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