DJ Dave and the crew from Fog and Smog films (makers of the very clever ” Whole Foods Parking Lot ” video) are back, taking on yoga–and on the make for yoginis–with ” Yoga Girl .”  We spot Vinnie Marino and DJ Drez. Who else makes a cameo?

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Rapper’s Yoga Video

Canada’s Globe and Mail Report on Business magazine has named Lululemon Athletica’s Christine Day CEO of the year . This news comes after the Vancouver-based company was criticized in the media for its new “Who is John Galt?” shopping bag (a reference to the Ayn Rand novel Atlas Shrugged). Day, who came from Starbucks and has served as Lulu’s CEO since 2008, has overseen tremendous growth during her tenure. “Lululemon saw its stock climb to almost $60 this fall, up over 280% from when Day joined the company, and a whopping 250% gain year over year,” according to the article. Day points to the company’s stated values as a driving factor in that growth. “Investing in your health will pay big dividends for individuals and society,” she told the magazine, “elevating the world from mediocrity to greatness.” Of course, the anti-mediocrity sentiment led to Lululemon’s controversial use of the Rand quote . “I believe in a culture of personal accountability and not compromising your values,” Day said. “Atlas Shrugged is both about not accepting mediocrity and being personally accountable for the life you are creating.” But Lululemon has always used inspirational (or what the magazine calls “communitarian”) messages for their logos, such as, “The pursuit of happiness is the source of unhappiness” and “Friends are more important than money.” It’s this selling of ideals, and not just yoga pants, analysts say, that has fueled the company’s enormous success. “Compared to more price-driven products, Lululemon apparel gives its customers the feeling that they’re purchasing a lot more than mere ‘value,’” the article states. “Buy a Cabin Long Sleeve T-shirt and you’re involved in bettering yourself. Pick up one of those cute Lucky Luon headbands and you’re joining a community of like-minded people. … It’s a thing of virtue. Budget in other spending categories if you must, the brand seems to whisper, but don’t stop taking care of your body and building a better society.”

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Lululemon’s CEO of the Year

There are lots of things to love about the practice of kirtan. It’s a chance to practice devotion, experience a meditative trance, or even explore your connection with the world and a higher power. For some people, one of the most alluring aspects of kirtan is the opportunity to connect your voice with the voices of others–to really experience being a part of a community. This is exactly what Kirtan Central founder Daniel Tucker had in mind when he asked people from the kirtan community to submit videos of themselves singing the Krishna Das Classic “Ma Durga.” “As I pored over the videos, two things became evident: first, these people LOVE this song! Whether’s it’s love of Krishna Das, love of kirtan, love of Durga, love of singing, love of God… what’s obvious is the love, joy, and tenderness captured in each video clip,” wrote Tucker in a blog post. “And second: how deeply we crave to be part of something larger than ourselves! There was so much excitement to be part of the “choir,” and I believe that’s one of the places kirtan is healing us.” He accepted submissions from 108 people from around the world and the result is this awe inspiring video. Do you practice kirtan as a way to connect with your community? What are other ways you connect?

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Kirtan Chorus

We know that yogis are a passionate bunch, whether it’s going to extreme lengths to secure time on their mats or in fighting for a cause they believe in. Now one yogi is putting his own endurance to the test to keep a dream alive. Will Baxter, a financial-advisor-turned-yogin-social-entrepreneur who is trying to launch a yoga-bag company that will also help native Guatemalan women weavers, is one-day into his personal telethon (of the YouTube variety) to walk nonstop on a treadmill until the funds needed to launch the company are raised or until the campaign ends Nov. 22. I AM , Baxter’s sustainable-business-model idea, will sell naturally dyed yoga bags and straps woven by the indigenous Mayan women of the country, sharing 50 percent of the net profit directly with their communities. The seed money for the company will come through KickStarter, the funding platform for creative endeavors. Baxter needs to raise close to $25,000 more of the project’s goal of $45,000 before the fundraising period ends next week. Not unlike brands like Jade , a backer of I AM, Baxter appears to be the next generation of  yogis who hope to pair a business idea with sustainability and social responsibility. A new form of yoga off the mat?

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The Jerry Lewis of Yoga?

A few months back, we reported on the film YogaWoman, narrated by Annette Bening, which highlights how a new generation of female teachers are re-creating yoga in our the female image: flowing, nurturing, community-based, and activism-focused. Here’s more news about how the film has captured audience’s attention around the world: Since its release in September, Yogawoman has been selected for seven film festivals and been screened over 500 times around the world, from New Zealand to Japan throughout Europe and the US. Last month, the film won an award for best Feature Documentary at the Off Shoot Film Festiva l in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The film shows no signs of slowing down: It will show a the 2011 New York International Film Festival and the Traveller’s Three Elements Film Festival in Wroclaw, Poland. Filmmaker Saraswati Clere isn’t surprised about how the film has taken off. She tells Buzz: “In 1938, Krishnamacharya, the renowned yoga master from India, said; ‘It’s the women who will be carrying yoga forward to the next generation.’ These days, it’s female yoga teachers who are taking the lead and revolutionizing the face of yoga. I think this phenomenon of woman stepping up leadership roles is very timely. I was thrilled to see that the Nobel Peace Prize was shared between three inspiring woman leaders.” Join Yogawoman on Twitter and Facebook, or watch the trailer .

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Yoga Film Wins Documentary Award

Football, beer, poker … yoga? Let’s face it. In our country, yoga doesn’t exactly top the list for macho, masculine activities even though the practice was designed for men thousands of years ago. But several male yogis are working to make yoga more accessible (and possibly more culturally acceptable) for men. Last month, we told you about Activation: Yoga Conference for Men , which took place Nov. 11-13 in San Francisco. Last week, an article in the Boston Globe examined a different type of yoga geared toward men. BROga (the word combines the words “bro” and “yoga”) is strongly based on the physical aspect of yoga and shies away from using Sanskrit terms and the esoteric, less familiar parts of yoga. “This is not a dumbed down version of yoga,” BROga cofounder Robert Sidoti, who trained with Lulubandha’s Kira Ryder, told The Globe . “There’s a lot of movement linking the postures, but adding push-ups and variations of squats. People see the name ‘Broga’ and they think it’s just a bunch of idiots. But there’s integrity.”

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Downward Facing Dudes

How does a Bond girl get in shape for the rigors of her duties? Yoga, of course. The blogs are abuzz about Naomie Harris, the actress who follows in the footsteps of many before her– a Bond girl in the mold of Jane Seymour to Halle Berry. As part of her training regimen to get in shape for playing a field agent Eve in Skyfall , the 35-year old actress told the audience at a London press conference her secret: “I’ve been … driving cars and I’m stunt-fighting, and [doing] yoga to get my body really toned, and I’m firing guns: machine guns,” she said.

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A Spy’s Secret: Yoga

By now it’s common knowledge that yoga has its roots in Hinduism. For this reason one Seattle pastor says there’s no room for yoga in Christianity. Yoga is demonic, says Pastor Mark Driscoll, and it can’t be separated from its Hindu roots in order to make it acceptable practice for Christians. “Going to a yoga studio to practice yoga as a Christian is a bit like going into a mosque to practice Islam as a Christian,” he writes in a recent blog post . Driscoll makes his case by exploring yoga history and philosophy and citing both Hindu and yoga scholars and passages from the Bible. “My hope is that you’ll begin to see clearly how yoga at its core is much more than a physical exercise but rather a system of thought that contends against Christianity and subtly finds its way into our thinking, habits, and lifestyles,” he writes. This is not a new debate. While it’s probably safe to assume that few yoga practitioners believe that the practice is demonic, many agree with Driscoll’s view that yoga and Eastern spirituality cannot be separated. Even styles of yoga that appear to focus solely on the physical body or that use it as a tool for Christian worship are still in direct opposition to the Christian viewpoint that Jesus is the one and only way to salvation, according to Driscoll. Whether you agree with him or not, you have to admit he makes a compelling case.

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Can You Be a Christian Yogi?

Leslie Kaminoff never expected his humble yoga book to make a splash in 2007. But that’s not what happened. The book, Yoga Anatomy , co-authored with Amy Matthews, sold out its first printing in a month and shot to Amazon’s Bestsellers list, where it’s been ever since. The book is in its eighth printing, is sold around the world, with over 200,000 copies in print. This week, the second edition of the book has been released. We talked to Kaminoff, also the founder of T he Breathing Project , about the book’s makeover: Buzz: Were you surprised that your book has become such a classic? LK: Yes, we had no idea how popular it would be. Buzz: How is the 2011 version different? LK: We’ve added some things that we didn’t add because of previous space and time constraints. Amy has always been the coauthor, and now she’s acknowledged. There are two brand new chapters, and a lot of new material based on the feedback we got. We tried to be clearer and make it easier to navigate. Buzz: Do you think it’s even more relevant today? LK: More and more people drawn to therapeutic work, whether students or teachers, so we’ve noticed quite a lot more demand for higher quality anatomical information than people get in their regular teacher training programs. Buzz: What do you make of the book’s popularity?  LK: Anatomy cuts through a lot of the secular conversations that tend to go on in all of the different schools of yoga. The one thing we all have in common in our body. The function of the body is universal. Buzz: What is your goal for the book? LK: To be a resource for students and for anybody who works with the body. My greatest hope is for it to continue what it’s been, a success far beyond what anyone imagine, Kaminoff offers an online version of his anatomy courses at www.yogaanatomy.net.

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Yoga Classic: New & Improved

Photo by J.T. Liss (Photography for Social Change) They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. In our time, this might also be true of a video captured by smart phone or a 140-character Tweet. Yet, there is a sense of timelessness, of depth, when a moment is captured at just the right time in a photograph. All the narrative you need is right there. That’s what yogin J.T. Liss realized when he walked through the streets of Harlem. This former school teacher and counselor to at-risk youth saw beauty in human imperfection, in buildings weathered by time and neglect, in spaces and scenes that others might not notice. He saw stories everywhere that deserved to be told. “A photo can be more than just stimulates thought or evokes emotion,” Liss says. “It can be an advocate for change.” Liss’s Photography for Social Change combines his dual desires to tell these stories through art and to give back and support organizations whose missions he believed in.    This Friday, Liss joins New York blogger YogaDork in a benefit to support Off the Mat, Into the World, the not-for-profit organization founded by Seane Corn that uses the power of yoga and community to bring about social change. Liss will donate 25 percent from sales of his photos of a yoga-roadtrip across the U.S. this past summer to the organization. (The photos are also on sale online .) The event will be held at the Trump Bar in Trump Tower in Manhattan. Get details here .

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Photo Benefit for Off the Mat

If a yoga company approached you to make your dream mat, what changes would you make to the standard mat design? John Friend, the founder of Anusara Yoga dubbed by a July NY Times article as “the yoga mogul” for his business savvy, got exactly that opportunity with his partnership with yoga mat company Manduka. Friend’s biggest complaint about these sticky pieces of rubber was that they weren’t wide enough to give his students the support they need in some poses. Friend recommends students practice poses like Upward-Facing Dog with their hands wide apart to give a broader foundation and more optimal alignment for the shoulders. For many students, the standard 24-inch wide mat just isn’t wide enough, he said. The new by Manduka features 30-inch wide Manduka proLite and eKO SuperLight mats (and even a wider hand towel) to give practitioners more room to find optimal alignment. “You actually can have an inner opening by a piece of rubber on your floor,” Friend said in a promo video produced by Manduka. “I’m proud to say that everything about this mat will lead to the essence of your heart.” Of course, not everyone agrees that wider mats will lead them to the essence of their hearts. One Youtube commenter points out that wider mats mean fewer people will be able to fit comfortably into already packed studios. “Are you going to be the one who shows up for a packed class with a gigantic mat, bigger than everyone else’s? Who wants that reputation?” I guess one man’s dream mat is another man’s invasion of personal space. Would you buy this wider mat? Does a well-known yoga teacher’s endorsement make you more likely to buy a yoga product?

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John Friend’s Wider Mat

The news is everywhere, from USA Today to ABC: A study published on Monday shows that yoga helps with chronic back pain. Published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the study  showed that yoga and stretching equally help people with chronic back pain. In the study, 92 people took a weekly yoga class. Ninety-one took weekly stretching classes. Forty-five people got a book that gave exercise and lifestyle modifications. After 12 weeks, the people who took yoga classes and stretching classes both improved, while the “book learning” group didn’t. However, yoga wasn’t any more effective than stretching when it came to providing relief, which raises an interesting question: Is there a difference between yoga and stretching? Buzz asked Loren Fishman, MD, of Manhattan Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and  Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, who prescribes yoga to his patients.   “That is an excellent finding because it shows scientifically, and again, what we believed from our own experience all along–that yoga helps patients with non-specific back pain. And stretching does too,” he says. However, what the study didn’t measure–the psychological and behavior benefits of regular yoga–is what yoga practitioners know is unique about the practice. “It often takes more time for these types of positive changes to take hold.”

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Is Yoga the Same as Stretching?

While people everywhere are struggling to make ends meet yoga businesses continue to thrive, according to a recent report by CNNMoney . Low operating costs and growing demand are fueling the success of yoga studios, many of which are mom-and-pop operations that simply want to share yoga with their communities. Of course, the still-struggling economy and high unemployment rate are also good reasons for people to look for ways to manage stress and do some soul searching. The yoga and Pilates studio industry is expected to hit $6.5 billion by the end of this year, which is an expected annual sales growth of 9.5% between 2006 and 2011 according to reports by market research firm IBISWorld. But studio owners aren’t the only ones making a profit from yoga–just ask Asheville, North Carolina, entrepreneur Jason Scholder. Scholder is on track to make $1 million in annual sales by 2013 with his innovative yoga prop the Three Minute Egg, according to a recent article in the Asheville Citizen-Times . An alternative to traditional yoga blocks, the Three Minute Egg fits the natural curve of the spine. “I would like to see the Three Minute Egg in every yoga studio, in every Pilates studio, in every chiropractic office and physical therapy office in the world,” he told the paper. At the rate the industry is growing, it might be hard to keep up. Has the economy impacting how much you’re willing to spend on yoga classes and products?

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Yoga Biz Thrives Despite Economy

The little pink ribbons are everywhere this month. It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and yogis around the world are honoring the month with fundraisers, events, and campaigns. It makes sense: Studies show that yoga helps with lymphatic flow, breaks down scar tissue, and can help cancer survivors sleep better, feel more energetic and cut back on sleeping pills. “Overall, we know that women with breast cancer have an altered stress response, and yoga helps with this,” says Sara Gottfried, a yogi and Harvard-trained gynecologist. “If you have too many stress hormones flying through your bloodstream, we’re talking cortisol mainly, yoga has been shown to be one of the best tonics. Yoga will lower your high cortisol and raise your GABA, which is nature’s Valium.” Last weekend, yogis raised over $43,000 during Yoga on the Steps in Washington, DC. But it’s not to late to participate. At the middle of the month, yoga events are still happening around the country, with a focus on healing, education, and raising money for research. New York City; Columbia, South Carolina; and Garland, Texas: Pose for Pink events in these cities feature donation-based classes for survivors and other students to benefit T he Libby Ross Breast Cancer Foundation . On Oct. 23, for example, Pure Yoga East teams up with Zobha to host an afternoon class led by Kay Kay Clivio. All of the suggested donation of $40 will go to the foundation, and all attendees will receive a limited edition Zobha tank. On Thursday, Oct. 20, the Long Island Yoga Association will host a 7pm screening of YogaWoman at the Elwood Theater in Elwood, New Jersey, with guest host Tari Prinster, who is featured in the film. See the full list of Pose for Pink events here .   Los Angeles: On Oct. 29, Prana Yoga Center is holding a fundraiser from 12-1:30 led by Claire Petretti, a breast cancer survivor and Yoga for Hope activist. The suggested donation of $15 will be donated to City of Hope. Seattle: At Bria Pilates and Wellness Studio, people who bring in a recent mammogram will get 10 percent off of anything they buy. To honor Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the studio will be accepting donations during all of our classes and sending them to the the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. If you can’t get to an event, you can still help: When you buy a Jade Pink Yoga Mat, $5 will be donated for breast cancer research and education.

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Yoga and Breast Cancer Awareness Month

“What if you could be more virile than Hugh Hefner, more motivated than Tony Robbins, calmer than Buddha and cooler than James Bond?” Got your attention? That’s the hook for a new yoga conference just for men. Activation: Yoga for Men Conference will be held in San Francisco Nov. 11-13, and, as the flier predicts: This is not your girlfriend’s yoga. The conference, a collaboration between the International Yoga Therapy Conference and the Young Men’s Ultimate Weekend, is an effort to introduce this ancient practice to modern men, providing them with tools that the conference organizers believe are exactly what today’s men need. Presenters Scott Blossom, Ed Harrold, Carl Speizer, Antonio Sausys, and Mark Schillinger will tackle topics including focusing willpower, improving sexual health, increasing masculine wisdom and spiritual strength, and creating healthy daily routines. “Since yoga was once primarily the domain of men, we believe the way to lure men back is by creating confidential and sacred spaces where they can reveal themselves unmasked,” organizers Sausys and Schillinger explain on the event website . “This will give men the opportunity to practice yoga in ways that meet their unique psychological, physiological and anatomical needs.”

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Not Your Girlfriend’s Yoga

An organization doing some amazing work helping wounded veterans has just added another warrior to its ranks. From Nov. 4-6, Ana Forrest will hold public workshops in Tampa, Florida, to benefit the Exalted Warrior Foundation (EWF), a non-profit that has taught adaptive yoga to wounded warriors in military and veteran hospitals since 2006. On Nov. 7, Forrest will accompany EWF teachers to Tampa’s James A Haley Veterans Hospital, one of the largest spinal cord and trauma units in the United States, to meet and work with the wounded there. If you’ve even studied Forrest Yoga, you know that the classes emphasize being fierce, cutting through fear to get to the truth. Working with wounded vets fits right into to this philosophy. “Ana believes that warriors have a powerful place in a culture and society,” explains Elizabeth Pope, a Forrest Yoga teacher who volunteers with the Exalted Warrior Foundation. “In the Native American tradition, the warrior is a very honorable path. Anybody who takes care of the path should be honored.” Students come EWF classes with a range of injuries, including  amputations, brain and spinal cord injuries, and post traumatic stress disorder, and a host of other conditions. Classes include gentle breathing, gentle to more intense stretching, and meditation. “Faced with the demands of both a physical and emotional recovery, yoga allows newly disabled veterans to reconnect both with themselves and their loved ones,” the EWF website states. “These methods of yoga exercises, relaxation, and meditation are keys to wellness that the warrior can practice for a lifetime … [and] will help the warrior reintegrate into their community after leaving the care of the military, returning home to a potentially fuller and more productive life.” EWF works in military hospitals and rehabilitation centers around the country, including Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Portsmouth Naval Hospital, and Brooklyn VA Hospital.

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Ana Forrest Pairs With Organization to Help Wounded Vets

photo: J.T. Liss (Photography for Social Change) More people are taking their yoga off the mat and onto the street–Wall Street, that is. Since the beginning of the Occupy Wall Street movement on Sept. 17, yogis Russell Simmons, Deepak Chopra and Michael Franti have joined the masses and lent their voices and celebrity to the cause. Yoga teacher and activist Seane Corn joined the chorus this morning, leading nearly 200 yogis in a practice of community, solidarity, and change. “This gathering [on Wall Street] is not about being ‘against’ something or someone. It is about being ‘for’ unity, freedom of speech, and justice,” Seane Corn explained on her Facebook page on Saturday. Corn founded Off the Mat, Into the World , an organization “that uses the power of yoga to inspire conscious, sustainable activism and to ignite grass roots social change,” according to the group’s website. “OTM supports all societies rights to express dissatisfaction and ask for change. This is what we GET to do and is a right that we should cherish and protect. I am not for the 99% and against the 1%. I am for the 100% getting our shit together and remembering we are ONE.”

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Seane Corn Occupies Wall Street

This past Sunday, The New York Times dedicated real estate in its Opinion Pages to reflect upon what Vivekananda meant to yoga in the West, as the 150th anniversary of his birth approaches. Author Ann Louise Bardach reflects on how this seminal teacher, credited with introducing Vedanta to the West, spread yoga’s gospel: “If you’re annoyed that your local gas station is now a yoga studio, you might blame Vivekananda for having introduced ‘yoga’ into the national conversation–though an exercise cult with expensive accessories was hardly what he had in mind,” she writes. In the article, How Yoga Won the West , the author talks about how Vivekananda influenced many great minds of the day, such as Gertrude Stein and Leo Tolstoy, and laments the way modern yoga has veered from Vivekananda’s message that all souls are divine, while imploring Americans to “work and worship”: Yet precious few of the estimated 16 million supple, spandex-clad yoginis in the United States, who sustain an annual $6 billion industry, seem to have a clue that they owe their yoga mats to Vivekananda. Enriching this irony was Vivekananda’s utter lack of interest in physical exertions beyond marathon sitting meditations and pilgrimages to holy sites. To learn more about Vivekananda, visit the Vivekananda Vedanta Network. Photo: Vedanta Society of Southern California

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Vivekandana and Modern Yoga

Photo credit: Jasper Johal for ToeSox From the wide cultural misunderstanding of tantra yoga to controversial ads by some yoga-product companies, sex and yoga is a hot-button topic. The fire was stoked again last week in a series of news stories and blog posts. First, a post on The Daily Beast explored the topic of spontaneous orgasms during yoga class. While it’s no secret that people say their sex lives improve after a regular yoga practice, this was, well, perhaps a little too much information. Then, a group of high school girls in Loveland, Ohio stood up for their right to wear yoga pants after school administrators banned the stretchy pants as too revealing and thus a possible distraction from school work. The girls, dozens who said they were sent home or forced to change their clothes, maintained that the pants are comfortable and no more revealing than a pair of jeans. What do you think? Is it really possible to have an orgasm in yoga class? Are yoga pants too sexy for schools? Are there too many stories about sex and yoga in the media? And does any of this have anything to do with the practice of yoga?

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Sexy Yoga News

Congo is experiencing one of the deadliest conflicts on earth; four million people have been killed in the war there. What can we do about it? Yoga for Congo Women is a not-for-profit that helps women in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was started by Ann Richmond, who read an article in Yoga Journal about a woman who had traveled to Rwanda with Women for Women International, an organization that helps women survivors of war rebuild their lives. She went to the website and learned about the violence in Congo. “I was stunned, and felt ripped open inside. I had to do something,” she recalls. Soon after she participated in a Run for Congo Women , inspiration struck: “I could see how yoga could interweave with knowledge and empowerment in a truly unique and beautiful way. On that day, Yoga for Congo Women was born.” Last July, Ann became an official Women for Women ambassador, which means that she represents and advocates for the organization’s programs, holds benefits, raises awareness, and works as a media liaison. The organization had its first event last year in Denver: A one-hour yoga session for all levels, where people could donate, raise money, or choose to sponsor a “sister” through Women for Women. Sponsorship directly helps women in Congo thrive: They enter a one-year program through Women for Women International, which includes rights awareness training, literacy and skills training, food, medicine, and clothing, as well as emotional assistance to recover and heal from the atrocities they have experienced. After the training, they receive seed money to begin their own small businesses. The group has held eight events over the past year, with many more planned for the future. “I have been humbled at how it has grown already, thanks to the love of many people around the country (most of whom are not yogis in any way), and I truly hope to continue to see the Yoga for Congo Women movement grow and grow,” says RIchmond.  

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Yoga for Congo Women

If you’re looking for an easy way to give back to the world through your yoga practice, this year’s Yoga Aid Challenge might be just the opportunity for you.. On October 1-2, join yoga students across the globe to raise money for yoga nonprofit organizations that are making a difference in the world. Last year, the event raised more than $100,000 at more than 35 events across the county. This year the organization, hopes to double that! Proceeds will go to one of five deserving yoga nonprofits that are working to bring the practice to those in need from inner city schools and incarcerated youth to poor communities in Africa. How can you help? Find a Yoga Aid Challenge event near your by going to http://www.yogaaid.com/usa . Raise money for the charity of your choice, then participate in a two-hour class. If there’s nothing in your area, you can support one of the participants by making a donation. We want to know: How do you share your yoga with the world?

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Give Love: Take the Yoga Aid Challenge

Photo: J.T. Liss (Photography for Social Change) Sun Salutations in the late-afternoon sun. Hawks soaring high above. A light breeze cooling down the day while gentle drumming keeps the tempo. Around me, 60 yogis, woman and men, arch into Up Dog, faces radiant as they gaze skyward. Such was the idyllic scene at the recent Mind, Body, Spirit and Wine event at Wente Vineyards in Livermore, California. Leading us through the practice was the lovely Suzanna Spring from Cosmic Dog Yoga studios. And co-teaching on this perfect autumn day was Yogadork, the delightful and prolific New York yoga blogger and teacher. The event marked the confluence of passions for yogin-winemaker Karl Wente, whose love of the practice is something of local legend. Around the winery, Wente is known for his spontaneous expressions of asana, busting out an arm balance to make a point or kicking into headstand when too-long tasting sessions start to dull his senses. Yoga, he says, makes him a better winemaker, helping to cultivate the Beginner’s Mind that allows him to approach each wine anew, fully experiencing every nuance. Watch Wente discuss his yoga-and-winemaking philosophy here . Pairing yoga with wine is a relatively new trend that stirs some debate in yoga circles. But on this day, yogis flush from fresh air and asana happily sampled the Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Syrah Wente had chosen for a post-class tasting. Whether or not you agree with mixing your yoga with wine, it’s hard not to like outdoor yoga. Your inhalations feel deeper; the exhales extend further. Reach for the sky; bow to the earth. No walls, no boundaries. Practicing under an autumn-blue sky, surrounded by grapevines? A votre sante!        

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Yoga Under a Big Blue Sky

September is National Yoga Month. National Yoga Month was started in 2008 by Johannes R. Fisslinger, with the support from Rachel Levine at the National Institute of Health. Held each September, it’s billed as “an awareness campaign to educate about the health benefits of yoga and to inspire a healthy lifestyle,” according to organizer Sora No. While the month is coming to a close, there are still a lot of free events, concerts, film screenings, Global Malas, and other cool things happening until the end of September. For the culmination of the month, on September 30th the organizers have put together the first annual Time for Yoga Global Community Practice: At 7 pm local time, yoga students are encouraged to practice yoga as an international observance.  “A one-hour yoga practice will be followed by savasana beginning at 8 pm, and a 15 minute meditation for universal peace and well-being at 8:15pm,” explains No. “By participating during your own local time, a wave of yoga will take place around the globe.” Visit the Yoga Month website for events and classes. 

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September 30: Time for Yoga

Any woman with an Internet connection has access to the voices of today’s most influential yoginis, thanks to the Divine Feminine Yoga Telesummit . The free program, which launched with a week of live calls in mid-September and is now available online, embraces the idea that there is tremendous power in owning and cultivating feminine (source) energy and wisdom in your life. Featured teachers on the summit include Sally Kempton, Shiva Rea, Sara Avant Stover, Chandra Easton and others who draw upon the Divine Feminine in their yoga, their teaching, and in their own lives. The summit is the creation of yogi, activist, and former director of the Green Yoga Association , Laura Cornell. “I see the Divine Feminine as a medicine for us as women, and a medicine for our times,” she says. “”It’s just one more piece of pulling together the awareness of women in yoga and celebrating women, healing and empowerment. If we can heal women body and soul, we can heal the world.”

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Where Technology Meets Divinity

From innovative designs that promise to lend extra support and comfort to stylish cover ups that transition seamlessly from the studio to the street, it’s no secret that yoga fashions are becoming increasingly more sophisticated these days. But is yoga clothing stylish enough for fashion week? Apparently so. Fashion designer Vivienne Tam, partnering with Chinese sports brand Li Ning, presented a fashion yoga collection yesterday at New York’s Lincoln Center during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. The “modern women’s dream yoga collection” wasn’t shown with a traditional runway show, but a “‘Live Sculpture Garden,” led by yoga teaching duo Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman Yee. Twenty yogini models were wore the new designs while they performed a choreographed yoga routine led by Yee and Saidman. Tam, a longtime yoga student, said she created the collection when she had a difficult time finding fashionable athletic apparel that she could wear to the yoga studio and then to the office or anywhere else. “With my crazy schedule, regularly flying back and forth from Hong Kong to the United States, yoga has been the one thing that not only keeps me focused but provides me with a sense of peace and better energy,” she said. The reviews aren’t in yet, but this well-known designer’s foray into yogawear created a lot of buzz in the fashion blogosphere. If it hits, we’ll likely see other designers jumping on board. What do you think? Does yoga have a place in fashion? Or does pairing yoga and fashion take the practice a little too far away from its intended purpose?

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Yoga Collection Unveiled at New York Fashion Week

Deepak Chopra will be releasing a video game in November that promises to “enhance the mind-body connection” through interactive full-body motions and breathing techniques. Leela , which is a Sanskrit word that means “play,” will be available for both Nintendo Wii and XBox 360. It uses interactive meditations and exercises to help players relieve stress and find balance, and visual imagery to help facilitate these goals. You can also create personal mandala though the program. “I wanted to explore how you can use games to not only have a good time, but to increase that experience of flow and actually maximize your physical and mental capacity,” Chopra said in an interview with CNN. Would you buy a video game that guides you through meditations and breath exercises?

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Deepak Chopra Creates Video Game

This Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of September 11. Across the country, yogis are gathering together to reflect, remember, and honor the people who lost their lives and the families and communities who live with the effects of that tragic day. “I feel like I needed to get the word out that it’s never too late to lend a hand to those affected,” says Ashley DiMeglio, who organized a music and yoga event in Congers, New York, on Sunday.  ”Coming together as a yoga community not only heals with our yoga practice but brings us together to share in our hearts how we can unite together for this cause,” she says. For the class, whose proceeds go to September 11 Families’ Association , she asks people to bring a picture of a loved who who died or otherwise affected by events of that day. “The reason for this is to place the picture on their yoga mat to dedicate their yoga practice to them and to send healing energy out to those that need that it.”  Many other teachers and studios are offering free classes, or hosting fundraisers. Here’s just a sampling of the events happening on Sunday. If there’s nothing in your area, why not find a park, gym, or living room to be together, and remember? New York By Love Alone , a free day of meditation on Governor’s Island hosted by The Interdependence Project, the Shambhala Center, the Jewish Meditation Center of Brooklyn, The Village Zendo, Won Buddhism of Manhattan, Buddhist Peace Fellowship, and other  meditation and spiritual communities. Some of New York’s leading meditation teachers will provide guided instruction throughout the day. San Diego Yoga for 9/11 is a 3-hour yoga-and-meditation practice to honor the heroes and victims of that day, with proceeds going to the International Association of Fire Fighters Disaster Relief Fund. New Hampshire A 10th Anniversary Yoga Celebration at Zaanti Yoga and Meditation Studio in Wilton will benefit the New Hampshire campaign for a U.S. Department of Peace, and include meditation, mantra, and asana. Seattle Village Yoga is offering a free afternoon yoga class in honor of the day.  

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Reflect and Remember: Yoga on 9/11

The latest entry in the popular field of yoga memoirs is a wickedly funny book with one of the most memorable titles ever: “Yoga Bitch: One Woman’s Quest to Conquer Skepticism, Cynicism, and Cigarettes on the Path to Enlightenment.” The book chronicles a 25-year-old yoga student’s quest for enlightenment via a teacher-training program in Bali. For anyone who has ever fantasized that yoga could instantly transform them into a serene, lithe, uber-flexible and wise-beyond-their-years yogi, only to be rudely awakened to your real-time self doing a face plant on your mat, this story is for you. You’ll commiserate, cringe, and laugh out loud. Buzz recently spoke with the author, Suzanne Morrison, a writer and solo performer, who, 10 years later, is far less cynical but still has a lot to say about transformation, the marketing of yoga, and some of the more fringe elements of the practice. You went to this teacher training seeking transformation. Do you feel that you were transformed by the experience? I do. But if you go home from a yoga retreat believing yourself to be completely transformed, you should have that checked out. Your friends are probably making fun of you behind your back. That’s what Yoga Bitch is about, in many ways: it’s about waking up with yourself again after believing yourself to be transformed. Transformation is a long-term game. It’s something you can’t really see until you look back far enough. But I don’t think spiritual effort is ever a waste of time, even if you don’t see immediate results. One day you’ll touch your toes, having tried to get there for two years. Five years later you might notice that you’ve been slipping into meditation with less drama than you once did.  Last week my new favorite yoga teacher talked me into actually holding Side Crow for five seconds, and that made me feel like a whole new person–until I fell on my face, and then I recognized myself again. Looking back on your time in Bali, is there anything you wish you could have appreciated more that you didn’t at the time? Oh jeez, yes. I wish I had been able to notice that my ego was running amok after my first big spiritual breakthrough. I wish I had actually gotten enlightened. I wish I had seen the face of God while meditating and then marched into the future feeling great about myself. I wish I had thought to ask for the recipe for the amazing and forbidden coconut vanilla milkshake I became obsessed with. Most of all, I wish I had known towards the end of the retreat that 10 years later I would look back on my teachers in Bali and know that they were the best teachers I have studied with. They gave me a foundation in yoga philosophy that opened some incredible doors for me, both spiritually and intellectually. Physically, too–before Bali I looked like a dying dog in Plank Pose. Now I merely look like an elderly dog. Since you did your teacher training 10 years ago, yoga has become even more mainstream. Any thoughts about the yogification of popular culture? Well, it’s fascinating! I have an older friend who recently had a stroke, and his doctor prescribed yoga to help him regain some lost mobility in his legs and arms. I think that sort of development is pretty awesome. I am still conflicted about the way yoga has been used as a marketing device in order to sell everything from herpes medication to insurance plans. We are a nation of consumers, and right now many of us are deeply invested in consuming a particular health-and-wellness lifestyle. We all must be very exhausted or something, that we respond so profoundly to these yoga images, these wellness promises. But we do: if we are told a new car is going to make us feel nourished, calm, at one with nature and spirit because a woman in white is doing yoga next to it, a lot of us buy in. That image is seductive. It sometimes makes me feel like a huge chump. If I see a sun-drenched advertisement featuring a woman with perfectly clear skin meditating while her all-organic flax seed granola waits patiently for her, nestled in a beautiful ethnic bowl, I find myself wanting that granola. That granola, I’m convinced, is going to calm me the fuck down. I’m a total stooge. Then again, maybe it will calm me down. Maybe that granola has special powers. I want to believe in the power of the granola. During your program, you experienced kundalini rising, which for many practitioners is a kind of yogic Holy Grail. Have you ever recaptured that feeling?   I haven’t, although I did get overheated and pass out in the tub once, and it was kind of a similar experience. Seriously, though, I have deliberately backed off a little on meditation and pranayama. That was such an intense experience and I think there’s a part of me that is afraid to repeat it. Which is odd, because it was an amazing, spectacular event. I felt like I could bond with plants, suddenly. But I’ve tried to belatedly take the advice my teacher gave me in Bali. Lou said to let it go. He said that I shouldn’t try to repeat my kundalini experience or try and hold onto it or else it would actually hurt my meditation practice. And he was right: in Bali, I tried to hold onto that feeling for a long time, and it made meditation impossible, because I was always trying to recapture something lost. Now when I meditate I try and approach it as something new. I try not to compare today’s meditation to yesterday’s. This is actually good for my writing, too–one good writing day and you want them all to be like that. Without giving too much away, there’s a part in the book that discusses the health-preserving benefits of … urine therapy. Have you kept up with the practice? Hell no! Once was more than enough for me. Just the thought makes me gag. Interestingly, I recently spent time with my old roommate Jessica, who plays a significant role in Yoga Bitch , and she told me that she doesn’t do it anymore, either. She was hardcore. If she’s stopped doing it, I don’t think there’s a lot of hope for urine therapy to go mainstream. Read more from Suzanne Morrison at suzannemorrison.blogspot.com .

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A Q+A with the author of Yoga Bitch

Who says yoga can’t be funny? Certainly not Dan Damman and Chris Thomas. Together, they’ve written a “mockumentary” poking fun at the yoga world. Offering glimpses of the project through a series of videos , which are quickly going viral, they make light of the commodification of yoga, and the personality quirks of the people who practice it.  The idea started when Damman saw a postcard for a trademarked yoga retreat. He thought the idea behind it was kind of funny, “that someone was offering yogis the chance to embrace their vision, but if they didn’t, they might get sued.” Soon, Damman, a yoga practitioner himself, saw comedy in yogis everywhere, from the people breaking the speed limit to get to class to others rushing into class to steal a coveted spot for their mats. He and Thomas describe their project, called The Yogi™, as “a yoga-positive feature comedy about several fictitious yoga posers competing in the Pose Off of the Century.”   Damman says their work is a counterbalance to the idea that yoga has to be so serious. “When you see a situation that you’ve experienced, and you can relate to it, there can be comedy in it. With yoga, there is comedy because we have to battle our egos all of the time. We can’t observe ourselves, but we can observe other people, that’s how we learn about ourselves.” Visit The Yogi™  on Facebook.

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Yoga With a Sense of Humor

Over the weekend, Gawker posted this video of yogis demonstrating Acroyoga on a New York Subway. It looks like a good time. But the Gawker writer doesn’t think so. “We do not respect efforts to turn public transportation areas into bourgie personal gyms–or, for that matter, attempts to be ‘funny’ by making ‘jokes’ about the homeless. Way to reinforce a stereotype, you lithe shoeless wonders,” Gawker wrote. Ouch! The commentary might be a little harsh, but does the writer have a point? Is turning yoga into a public performance a pointless attempt to get attention? Or does it simply show a fun and lighthearted side of a serious practice?

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Gawker Calls Out "Yoga Morons" on NY Subway

There are many ways to live your yoga out in the world, but one of the most profound is to dedicate yourself to the service of others. If you’ve ever been drawn to the yoga of service, but wondered how one person can make a difference, consider the work of Paige Elenson, Baron Baptiste, and the Africa Yoga Project . The Africa Yoga Project began when Elenson was in Kenya volunteering as a yoga teacher for two months. When a civil war broke out there, she realized she wanted to stay and make a difference. Her teacher, Baron Baptiste, became a co-founder and offered his support to the program. “I’ve been to Kenya twice to lead teacher trainings for over 50 teachers who work for AYP,” Baptiste told Buzz. “They all now earn a living wage through teaching yoga and sharing their stories in their communities in Kenya.” Today, AYP offers more than 200 free classes a week to the people of Kenya through programs that serve young urban Kenyans, women, and others who need the practice. “This is really just the beginning of seeing how yoga can be seen as a global practice of empowerment and possibility and creation in our environment,” Elenson said. Elenson is one of several experienced Baptiste teachers who will be teaching at the Baptiste Power Flow Immersion at Yoga Journal’s Colorado Conference Sept. 19-21. The immersion, which is open to both experienced and beginning yoga students and teachers, offers the chance to study closely with Baron Baptiste and deepen the understanding of the Baptiste Yoga method. Classes like Elenson’s are designed to inspire and educate students about the transformations possible through yoga. “They are some of the most highly-skilled, deeply inspiring, and from-the-heart vinyasa teachers on the planet,” said Baptiste of the teachers involved in the immersion. “I’ve been close with each of these teachers for a long time and have watched the impact that their individual teaching has had in the lives of the many people they touch.” Have you ever wanted to change the lives of others through your yoga practice? What challenges have you faced?

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Africa Yoga Project Inspires YJ’s Colorado Conference

You may have seen the video of Yoga for Wine Lovers , which features an agile yogi practicing advanced poses while simultaneously downing a bottle of red wine. We’re not sure when it happened, but yoga and wine have become a popular pairing. Yoga teacher Dave Romenelli has carved a niche with foodies and wine lovers with his Yoga + Wine classes. Connecticut’s Chamard Vineyard hosts summer yoga classes outdoors in view of the vines. At the Wanderlust yoga-music festival, you can take a break from practice for wine tasting. And that’s only the beginning: other yoga-wine events are popping up at vineyards, studios, and yoga gatherings around the country. We are always fascinated at the way modern yoga integrates other aspects into the practice. But what does traditional yoga have to say about this particular combination? We asked James Bennitt, a Tantric vinyasa yoga teacher in Chicago, and a student of Rod Stryker.  ”There is no mention of alcohol in the yamas or niyamas,” says Bennitt. “However in Chapter 1, verse 59 of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, probably the most important text as far as the physical aspect of yoga goes, there is a list of ‘foods’ that are to be avoided by the yogi and, sure enough, alcohol is one of them.” Bennitt continues: “Believe me, I’m not happy about this as I love craft beer.” He doesn’t say that everyone has to follow these guidelines, but they work for him: “Personally, I have finally come to the conclusion that I feel better if I avoid alcohol all together.  Even small amounts on a regular basis are hard on your kidneys, adrenal glands and liver.  A glass of wine or beer once in a while isn’t the worst thing in the world, but when it becomes a habit, it is depleting to the system, not to mention clouds your judgment.  For me, yoga is very much about building energy as well as clarity–not depleting yourself of them.” How does alcohol fit in with your yoga lifestyle?  

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Buzzed: Yoga and Alcohol

To celebrate turning 40, yoga teacher Sadie Nardini wants to make a splash:  A flash mob in New York’s Times Square. Sardini has called for 40+ women of all shapes and sizes to gather at noon Aug. 18, strip down to their “boy shorts and tops” to show the world that 40 can be fabulous. “I wanted the 91 percent of people who don’t do yoga–yet–to notice the rockin’ anti-aging, fitness and confidence benefits of the practice,” Nardini told Buzz. “Instead of having a midlife crisis, we are inviting fierce 40-plus yogis to create a midlife transformation!” Flash mobs have become increasingly popular and yoga flash mobs are part of that trend. From events on college campuses to London’s Trafalgar Square , it’s a sure-fire way to get attention, whether it’s for a cause or just to create some buzz and change the conversation. On Aug. 24, New York City’s Storm Yoga, an non-profit organization that offers free yoga classes throughout the city, will hold a 3-4 minute Savasana Flash Mob in Grand Central Station, to demonstrate the power of simple stillness.   For those who witness a flash mob unfold, there’s an undeniable hypnotic, calming effect to watching a group of yogis silently come together and practice in unison. Like doing yoga itself. And that’s an impression that lingers. Have you ever participated in a yoga flash mob? What was it like? photo credit: danylophotography.com

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Yoga Flash Mobs Get Attention

If you’ve ever browsed a Lululemon Athletica store, you might be surprised that so many different looks could be created from stretchy fabric. From basic and simple to complicated and fashion-forward, the designers at Lululemon always seem to be dreaming up interesting new yoga wear. Whether you’re a fan or not, their designs are on often on the forefront of yoga fashion trends. Have you ever wondered how they come up with those booty-shaping yoga pants? The Lululemon Lab, located on the corner of West Broadway and Cambie in Vancouver, British Columbia, houses new design concepts, designers working on patterns, and even a team of 20-plus sewers putting together the next season’s clothing. Customers who visit get to see first-hand what goes into the designs, try them out, and provide feedback about the garments, which designers factor into their next creations. “The lab creates, makes, and sells its own line of clothing using the same Lululemon fabrics you know and love,” according to Lululemonlab.com, a website that shares photographs of the lab’s designs and interviews with the collaborators. “Its exclusive forward-thinking line is conceptualized by its very own team of designers, whose inspirations are rooted in local and international fashion as well as guest and athlete feedback.” The lab only makes between 10 and 100 of each piece, and only sells those garments from the lab’s showroom in Vancouver. A select few of these experimental pieces do make their way into the Lululemon stores everywhere. But the feedback that consumers offer influence the creations at the lab and the company as a whole. “Lululemon is based on guest feedback–this is a huge influence in creating our product,” says Lindsay Walsh, a product coordinator and designer for the lab. “The lab is our opportunity to collect that feedback on a daily basis.”

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Lululemon Lab

Does your yoga practice need a little artistic inspiration? Or does your museum-going need a little yoga? Either way, you might find yoga classes at an unlikely place–a nearby art museum. This summer and beyond, museums around the country are offering yoga classes as part of their programming. It makes perfect sense, according to the Cincinnati Art Museum’s Regina Carswell Russo. “The art museum is a place of reflection, a place to find solace and to go inside as you look at the beauty around you,” she says. “What better place to pair these two art forms: going inside to see the beautify within and coming into the space to see the beauty around you?” Russo, herself a beginning yogi, says that yoga at the museum is just another example that yoga should be adaptable. “People see that you can do a practice at home on your mat, in the park, in a studio, or at the museum,” she says. “It’s good to be able to find different and creative places to practice.” At San Francisco’s Asian Art museum, yoga classes are aligned with the museum’s goal of educating people  about Asian art and culture. “Some of our most successful programs are more spiritual, meditative programs, we have an incredible collection for that,” says the Asian Art Museum’s Allison Wyckoff. “We wanted to offer a yoga class to really get people thinking about the connection between our collection and this time-honored practice.” The classes, part of the museum’s family programming, also gives museum-going exposure to little ones. “It’s a great way to encourage families and kids to come to the museum,” says Wyckoff. In July, the Brooklyn Museum offered a three-series class to correspond with a current exhibit about Vishnu. While it doesn’t have any regular yoga classes, it is planning a screening of the film YogaWoman on Thursday, August 25. Museum yoga class locations vary widely: some are held in sculpture gardens, galleries, and rotundas, while others are held in community rooms and even reception halls. Here’s a taste of museums where you can find yoga. The Dali Museum in Saint Petersburg, Florida:  Yoga + Dali Classes, held every Sunday, take place in a room with a waterfront view. The Noyes Museum of Art in Oceanville, New Jersey: No Sweat Yoga Held every Sunday, you can pay per class or for a 6-class series. Asian Art Museum, San Francisco:  Yoga Flow Classes are part of the museum’s family programming, so everyone over the age of five is welcome. Cameron Art Museum, Wilmington, North Carolina: Yoga Every Thursday, yogis gather to breathe and sweat.

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Yoga at the Museum

Wanderlust , the popular outdoor eco-yoga-music event enterprise that has spawned road-trip destinations for adventurous yogis, this year expanded its three-day outdoor festival offerings to include mini Yoga in the City Festivals in cities around the country. Now Wanderlust has added one more to the mix: Las Vegas. To be held in September at The Cosmopolitan, a 3,000-room gaming resort, the event features Anusara Yoga founder John Friend (the Elvis of the yoga world?), Wanderlust cofounder and Kula Yoga NYC creator Schulyer Grant, and musical group Thievery Corporation. Being Vegas, it also features burlesque shows, “dance party beats,” and poolside wine tasting, according to a press release. We’re happy that all those Sin City visitors, tired from binge gambling-smoking-drinking and doing all that other stuff that stays in Vegas, will be exposed to some good clean yoga fun. But we were puzzled about Wanderlust’s “commitment towards making the most socially and environmentally conscious event of its kind” with this location choice. Wanderlust’s founders have set a high bar for their events as being models of sustainability–with comprehensive composting and recycling programs among other laudable efforts. Las Vegas, on the other hand, is a city where 90 percent of the power is generated from non-renewable resources . Its main water source, the man-made Lake Meade, is estimated to be sucked dry , via drought and increased usage demands, by 2021. It’s basically a city that wouldn’t exist without imported water, electricity, and well, just about everything else that makes a place sustainable. We asked Wanderlust cofounder Jeff Krasno about the choice to bring the festival here. From a creative standpoint, he explained, the Wanderlust brand is about being playful and unexpected. Vegas fits well into that notion. He envisions a raised platform where “people walking down the Strip will look up and see John Friend and 400 people doing yoga.” As an event planner, it just doesn’t get much better than that.   And as folks in the business of promoting a healthful, yogic lifestyle, “we like the idea of bringing a shot of inspiration and enlightenment into a place not usually associated with those things,” he added. As for Vegas’ reputation as a place lacking any kind of sustainability inclinations, Krasno said he was surprised to discover that there’s more here than meets the eye. The dancers and performers who work in the shows are active, healthy people, many of whom do yoga, he said. There are even a slew of Whole Foods Markets in the area. And when he went seeking local support for the event, “we got like 15-20 yoga studio partners in a day.” “There’s a scene for it there, underneath all the glitz and glamour,” he said. We applaud Wanderlust for bringing yoga to unexpected places–and heck, the spirited, creative vibe of the festival is quite Cirque du Soleil-esque. And maybe, just maybe some of those collective Oms will help raise the energy of the place. Come to think of it, perhaps Wanderlust is exactly what Las Vegas needs. Doesn’t Celine Dion’s run at Caesar’s Palace end sometime soon?   We just hope that the same Earth guardian spirit so beautifully celebrated at Wanderlust’s Lake Tahoe, California, and Vermont events, doesn’t get lost in the drive for playful and unexpected.  Keep it real, Wanderlust!

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Wanderlust Goes to Sin City

It seems like everyday we read about a new study showing what most yogis already know: yoga helps with a plethora of physical ailments. But we’re noticing a trend of new studies focusing on yoga’s ability to combat pain. This might be because yoga helps increase cortisol, a hormone thought to help with pain management. Or because yoga helps us to watch our minds instead of getting consumed by them. We’re happy that science is starting to back yoga’s benefits to relieve pain–the more people get turned on to the healing practice of yoga. Here’s a few recent studies: Fibromyalgia: The Journal of Pain Research recently published a study showing that yoga decreases chronic pain and the psychological effects of fibromylagia for women in the study. The participants practiced 75 minutes of yoga twice a week for eight weeks. The result? The women showed increased amounts of cortisol. Migraines:   A study out of University of Rajastan, published in the journal Headache, showed that yoga can help reduce the intensity and frequency of migraines. After the participants practiced a sequence of yoga poses, breathing exercises, relaxation, meditation, and mantras for three months, they reported migraine problems improved, as did their heart rate. “Scientists have been considering serotonin, a brain chemical, to be a crucial factor for headaches. They think low serotonin levels might cause blood vessels to dilate and cause migraines. And yoga is known to improve levels of serotonin,” said researcher Neha Sharma.  General Pain: The Journal of Neuroscience reported that meditation helps the brain deal with pain. It doesn’t take long: In the study, the subjects each took four 20-minute sessions to learn how to control their breathing and put aside their emotions and thoughts. We want to know: How has yoga helped you with pain?

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Yoga Helps Relieve Pain

If you want to be a Forrest Yoga teacher, you’ll have to do more than enroll in any ol’ 200-hour yoga teacher training. You’ll have to train with Ana Forrest herself. Then, you might be mentored by one of 20 Forrest Yoga Guardians, who have been handpicked and trained by Forrest to become ambassadors of the practice and mentors to less experienced teachers. A recent New York Times article described Forrest Yoga as a “rigorous style with no less a goal than curing the ails of the modern world.” Forrest Yoga Guardians help Forrest spread that message. “Each Forrest Yoga Guardian has gone through intensive training with Ana to learn the skills required to be a mentor for teachers,” explains the Forrest Yoga website, ForrestYoga.com . You can be certain that when Ana Forrest says “intensive training,” she’s not joking around. She’s the shamanic-high priestess-of-healing in the yoga world, blending Native American and other spiritual teachings with a warriorlike fierceness to, as she says on her site, “help people embody their Spirit, not go through life fragmented.” Forrest Yoga Guardians complete a rigorous training program. Erica Mather, 35, who lives in Harlem, told the Times that she had done a 200-hour training with Forrest, 400 hours of field work, a nine-day advanced teacher training, and a one-week Forrest Yoga mentorship training. She also meets with Forrest annually and serves as a mentor to others who are in the process of training. To many students, such high teacher-training standards gives Forrest Yoga credibility, but others are turned off by yoga styles that are so closely tied to one teacher’s persona. “Ugh! More proprietary yoga!” was the response to the article from Twitter user gogoyogini, a yoga teacher in Las Vegas. Read the full article . Photo credit: Federica Villabrega

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Yoga Intensive: Ana Forrest in NY Times

The producers of Yogawoman have announced that Academy-award nominated actress and yogini Annette Bening will narrate the film, which will premiere in major North American cities in September. Yogawoman illuminates the global phenomenon of how modern women have embraced yoga. Eighty-percent of American yogis are women. Yet most of the teachers who bought the lineage here are men. The documentary explores how the current generation of female yoga teachers are taking the practice and making it their own–empowering their female students every step of the way. That’s why the people behind YogaWoman recently launched their website, a portal for yoginis, says co-producer and director Kate Clere. “Yogawoman.tv is designed as a resource for all yoga women around the world to come together and share all their thoughts, writings and research on how yoga is changing women’s lives,” she told Buzz.  “It will be a one stop shop to find out what is going on with classes, retreats and workshops that support women with their practice.” As a community resource, the website also tells you how you can pre-order a copy, host a screening, and find out where the film will be showing at a theater near you. We want to know: How do the women in your life support each other’s yoga practice?

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New Yoga Film Narrated by Annette Bening

The producers of Yogawoman have announced that Academy-award nominated actress and yogini Annette Bening will narrate the film, which will premiere in major North American cities in September. Yogawoman illuminates the global phenomenon of how modern women have embraced yoga. Eighty-percent of American yogis are women. Yet most of the teachers who bought the lineage here are men. The documentary explores how the current generation of female yoga teachers are taking the practice and making it their own–empowering their female students every step of the way. That’s why the people behind YogaWoman recently launched their website, a portal for yoginis, says co-producer and director Kate Clere. “Yogawoman.tv is designed as a resource for all yoga women around the world to come together and share all their thoughts, writings and research on how yoga is changing women’s lives,” she told Buzz.  “It will be a one stop shop to find out what is going on with classes, retreats and workshops that support women with their practice.” As a community resource, the website also tells you how you can pre-order a copy, host a screening, and find out where the film will be showing at a theater near you. We want to know: How do the women in your life support each other’s yoga practice?

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New Yoga Film Lands Star

From Seattle to Syracuse, classes combining yoga and stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) are catching on with both yoga and water sports enthusiasts. News stories are popping up all over about the combination, which promises to offer a challenging twist on the practice of yoga. From what we can tell, it’s exactly what it sounds like: Yoga poses on a giant surf board. It looks like fun, but can it enhance your yoga practice? According to Austin, Texas yoga teacher Stphany Heeren, yes. Doing yoga on the water works your core in a different way as you try and keep your balance with challenging poses like Side Plank or even Headstand, she told NBC affiliate KXAN. It challenges your balance, forces you to be present, and gives you a chance to be enjoy nature. It sounds like a winning combo us. Not to mention, it would give you a great answer to the question, “Where’s the craziest place you’ve ever practiced yoga?” Watch the video below for a preview. Yoga paddle boarding becomes new craze: wane.com What do you think? Would you be willing to practice yoga on a stand up paddle board? If you have tried it, what did you think?

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Is Paddleboard Yoga the Next Big Trend?

It’s a winning trifecta: Yoga. Nature. Free. This summer, it seems like everyone wants to be with the trees, wind and sky while they practice. There’s nothing like balancing in Tree Pose, humbled and inspired by the real thing all around you. And even better, many outdoor yoga classes are free, many as an offering to the community. Across the country, yogis are busting out of the studio and onto the fields, parks, and lawns. Here’s just a few examples: New York: Taking Central Park by Storm Storm Yoga, a nonprofit that runs free classes in Central Park, wants to make yoga accessible to all: The classes are free, but yogis are encouraged to make a donation to a local charity that  runs yoga programs for under served communities. San Francisco: Yoga on the Farm Five days a week, San Francisco’s Hayes Valley Farm offers free yoga, weather permitting. Just show up with your mat at this urban farm.  Los Angeles: Canyon Asanas All yogis are welcome at Fire Groove’s weekly, free yoga classes at Runyon Canyon. The evening starts with an all-level donation-based class and ends with a DJ spinning tunes for a Spin Jam.  Austin: Full Moon Yoga For the 14th consecutive year, Charles MacInerney offers a monthly free yoga class that includes a hatha practice, meditation, and socializing to the light of the full moon. 

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Free Outdoor Yoga Classes

Is yoga blogging the new jnana yoga? At the Yoga Festival Toronto (August 19-21) a few of the most vocal yoga bloggers in the blogosphere will attempt to answer this question during a panel discussion called “Yogging Heads: The Cutting Edge of Yoga.” (Get it? Yoga + blogging = yogging.) Carol Horton of the Think Body Elastic blog, It’s All Yoga, Baby blogger Roseanne Harvey, and Elephant Journal yoga editor Bob Weisenberg will talk about what blogging about yoga means to each of them and discuss what it could mean for the yoga community as a whole. We’re all spending more time online these days and social media gives us an easy avenue to share meaningful information (often in the form of blog posts) and debate important issues. In a recent blog post, Horton suggested that the yoga blogging community could be adding a more spiritual element to a practice that in the West has largely been focused on the physical practice. “I believe the yoga blogosphere’s already proved itself to be an important development in the evolution of contemporary yoga, and that it has tremendous potential to become even more so,” she writes. If you read Yoga Buzz regularly, you are a part of this evolution she’s talking about. So, we’d love to hear what you think: Why do you choose to participate in reading/commenting/writing yoga blogs? Do you view it as entertainment, a way to socialize, or a meaningful way to express your views on yoga? Could be changing the way we think about yoga? Last, check out Roseanne’s video below as she demonstrates (with cutting edge technology!) how the Yogging Heads panel discussion might go.

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Is Blogging Revolutionizing Yoga?

The summer is halfway over. You might have a major trip planned, or a staycation where you while away the hours at home. You might have, like us, a list of books from the year that you just haven’t gotten around to. Whatever you choose for summer, a good book can make the summer just as memorable as a family trip to the beach or a double-decker cone. Here’s a few books that we think yogis will enjoy: For the creative. Writing Yoga : A Guide to Keeping a Practice Journal (Rodmell) by Bruce Black. An introspective book that explores where yoga, writing, and life meet. For the lighthearted. Downward Dog, Upward Fog (Alignment) by Meryl Davids Landau. A lighthearted novel about a woman who just can’t seem to stay on the spiritual path — something most of us can relate to.   For the balance-seeker. Yoga for Emotional Balance: Simple Practices to Relieve Anxiety and Depression (Shambhala) by Bo Forbes. Forbes, a therapist and yoga teacher, gives practical advice for working with both the body and the mind to address the blues.  For the scientific. Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer (Penguin): The author’s fascinating journey in the U.S. Memory Championship sheds light on the nature of the human experience. We want to know: What’s on your summer reading list?

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Summer Book List for Yogis

It used to be that if you weren’t near a yoga studio, you’d have to be creative about your own home yoga practice or pull from your personal library of DVDs. But with the proliferation of online yoga classes, self-directed yogis have their pick of classes, teachers, and technologies. The latest in the mix is NowLesson , a site that offers one-to-one classes where people can do yoga (or learn to play the mandolin lesson or speak Spanish!) over video chat with a live instructor, for $40 per class. Students find a teacher they like and arrange for an interactive class to fit their needs.  Have a teacher you already love and can’t bear the thought of missing your weekly class? Many teachers today are willing to teach privately over Skype. And for those of you who want to experience different teachers and styles  (and pay less money) there are numerous options, including streamed videos from a studio setting ( Yogaglo ); thousands of free instructional videos on YouTube, including those on the newly relaunched Yoga Journal YouTube channel; and, of course, there’s Yogajournal.com for free podcasts, Livemag videos, and more! We want to know: Do you download or stream yoga videos?

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Yoga Class Right at Home

It used to be that if you weren’t near a yoga studio, you’d have to be creative about your own home yoga practice or pull from your personal library of DVDs. But with the proliferation of online yoga classes, self-directed yogis have their pick of classes, teachers, and technologies. The latest in the mix is NowLesson , a site that offers one-to-one classes where people can do yoga (or learn to play the mandolin lesson or speak Spanish!) over video chat with a live instructor, for $40 per class. Students find a teacher they like and arrange for an interactive class to fit their needs.  Have a teacher you already love and can’t bear the thought of missing your weekly class? Many teachers today are willing to teach privately over Skype. And for those of you who want to experience different teachers and styles  (and pay less money) there are numerous options, including streamed videos from a studio setting ( Yogaglo ); thousands of free instructional videos on YouTube, including those on the newly relaunched Yoga Journal YouTube channel; and, of course, there’s Yogajournal.com for free podcasts, Livemag videos, and more! We want to know: Do you download or stream yoga videos?

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Yoga Class Right at Home

Back in 1991, while living in New York City and working as a television journalist, Suzanne Bryant took a yoga class to help counteract the stress of her daily life. Nine years later, she had enrolled in the ISHTA teacher training program, realizing that the calm and clarity the practice gave her was something she wanted to share. But it wasn’t until she learned that her mother had terminal breast cancer, and moved back to San Francisco to be with her, that yoga became more than an adjunct to her life–it became her best friend.  After her mother’s death, and still carrying her immense grief, she set out to explore yoga, from its roots to its modern application, to better understand the transformative powers of this mystical practice. Yoga Is is Bryant’s documentary of this exploration. It led her to India where she studied Ayurveda in Kerala, practiced Ashtanga Yoga with Pattabhis Joi and his daughter Saraswati, and met with Neem Karoli Baba’s son and learned about Bhakti Yoga, and back to the U.S., where she met with prominent Western yoga teachers such as Alan Finger, Shiva Rae, Dharma Mittra, Baron Baptiste, and many more;  Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman; and celebrities like Russell Simmons, Christy Turlington Burns, and Michael Franti, who have embraced the practice. At the heart of the film is the earnest search to understand what this ancient system of asanas, meditations, chants, and more, can offer each of us as we navigate through our lives. Yoga Is has screened in New York and Boulder, this week opens in San Francisco, and is slated to play in numerous other cities throughout the U.S. and the world in the coming months.

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"Yoga Is" Documentary

Back in 1991, while living in New York City and working as a television journalist, Suzanne Bryant took a yoga class to help counteract the stress of her daily life. Nine years later, she had enrolled in the ISHTA teacher training program, realizing that the calm and clarity the practice gave her was something she wanted to share. But it wasn’t until she learned that her mother had terminal breast cancer, and moved back to San Francisco to be with her, that yoga became more than an adjunct to her life–it became her best friend.  After her mother’s death, and still carrying her immense grief, she set out to explore yoga, from its roots to its modern application, to better understand the transformative powers of this mystical practice. Yoga Is is Bryant’s documentary of this exploration. It led her to India where she studied Ayurveda in Kerala, practiced Ashtanga Yoga with Pattabhis Joi and his daughter Saraswati, and met with Neem Karoli Baba’s son and learned about Bhakti Yoga, and back to the U.S., where she met with prominent Western yoga teachers such as Alan Finger, Shiva Rae, Dharma Mittra, Baron Baptiste, and many more;  Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman; and celebrities like Russell Simmons, Christy Turlington Burns, and Michael Franti, who have embraced the practice. At the heart of the film is the earnest search to understand what this ancient system of asanas, meditations, chants, and more, can offer each of us as we navigate through our lives. Yoga Is has screened in New York and Boulder, this week opens in San Francisco, and is slated to play in numerous other cities throughout the U.S. and the world in the coming months.

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"Yoga Is" Documentary

How do you put your spiritual practice to use in the face of danger? This is the fundamental question behind Fire Monks: Zen Mind Meets WIldfire at the Gates of Tassajara, written by former Yoga Journal senior editor Colleen Morton Bush. The book tells the tale of California wildfires that swept through California’s Ventana Wilderness surrounding Tassajara Zen Center . When the fires threatened to destroy the property, the center was quickly evacuated. Five monks, however, decided to risk their lives and stay. With meticulous detail and an open heart, Busch recounts the story of how these senior monks applied their Zen training, using mindfulness, presence, intuition, and faith to stay and guide the fire, in spite of grave danger.  We talked to Busch, a longtime Zen and yoga practitioner, about what she learned in recreating this emotional story, a process that generated more than 100 hours of interviews. “Zen is more about unlearning than learning, getting back to our innate clarity, compassion, and wholeness,” she says. “In working on a project that involved so many people, what I practiced with the most was how our relationships with one another are just as essential, and every bit as dynamic, as our relationship with our own minds on the meditation cushion.”

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Mindfulness in Action

More than three months ago, a murder at a Bethesda, Maryland, Lululemon Athletica store rocked the local community and the yoga world. At first, a coworker of the slain victim, Jayna Murray, reported that the incident was the result of a botched robbery attempt by a masked gunman. But slowly, her story began to unravel. Eventually, the same coworker, Brittany Norwood, was charged with the murder. Although the loss will never end for the victim’s friends and family, one chapter in this tragedy has come to a close. In honor of the victim, hundreds of people gathered on a promenade across from the Bethesda store on Saturday for an outdoor yoga class in memory of Jayna Murray. “She was such a positive person; she would not want us here being sad. There is no question about not mourning, but just living on with good, forward-moving energy,” yoga instructor Adam Pearlstein, who led the Saturday class, told Gazette.Net. Lululemon Athletica, which closed the Bethesda store after the murder, was eager to put the incident behind it. On its website, the clothing company announced the store’s reopening:   The re-opening will embrace the theme of “love” in honour of Jayna Murray. More than ever, we remain committed to the people of Bethesda and look forward to continuing to share with this community the same love, passion and grace with which Jayna lived her life. We want to know: How has the yoga community supported you during a crisis?

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Lululemon Honors Slain Employee

Over the past three months, a bizarre story has unfolded involving a murder at a Bethesda, Maryland, Lululemon Athletica store. At first, a coworker of the slain victim, Jayna Murray, reported that masked gunmen came into the store for a botched robbery. But slowly, her story began to unravel. Eventually, the same coworker, Brittany Norwood, was charged with the murder. Although the loss will never end for the victim’s friends and family, a chapter has come to a close in this tragedy. In honor of the victim, hundreds of people gathered on Saturday for an outdoor yoga class to remember her. “She was such a positive person; she would not want us here being sad. There is no question about not mourning, but just living on with good, forward-moving energy,” yoga instructor Adam Pearlstein, who led the Saturday class, told Gazette.Net. The clothing company, who closed the store after the murder, was understandably eager to put the incident behind them. On their website, they announced the store’s reopening:   It is with warm and grateful hearts that we are announcing the re-opening of our newly renovated Bethesda store on Friday, June 24. The re-opening will embrace the theme of “love” in honour of Jayna Murray. More than ever, we remain committed to the people of Bethesda and look forward to continuing to share with this community the same love, passion and grace with which Jayna lived her life. We want to know: How has the yoga community supported you during a crisis?

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Yoga Practice to Honor Slain Lululemon Employee

Summer’s here. This means extra time with kids, lazy days at the beach. Why not give them some books on the themes that yogis hold dear? We Are Like the Sky by Elisabeth Rose Wilds was inspired by the author’s own mindfulness practice and her work at a youth homeless shelter in Manhattan, where she has set up a healing arts center.  “I felt that there was a real need for children and youth to see the world through the eyes of love and learn to open their hearts,” she says of her first book, illustrated by Brian Dorr (also the illustrator of her current book.) Recently, we caught up with WIlds: Q: Tell us how you became a children’s author using spiritual themes? A: As I started teaching mind-body programs and mindfulness practices, I saw that the youth were receiving real benefits. For the first time they could remember, many of them expressed an experience of  peace and quiet.  It became very clear to me how powerful and life changing mindfulness practices can be, and how wonderful it would be to teach these concepts to younger children. The youths that I work with still have some emotional storms to endure, but they have some tools to help them “reset”  – mindfulness is one of these wonderful tool Q: How did yoga/meditation influence the words and the pictures? A:  A key to mindfulness practice is finding that quiet place within, which allows us to observe our thoughts. In the book, the quiet place within is represented by the sky (feather) and our thoughts and resulting emotional states are depicted by weather patterns. The book teaches that we can we can always find that quiet place within, regardless of the storms that our thoughts are producing.  We can regain our balance, and begin again, living with greater awareness on a moment by moment basis.  Q: What is your hope that children take away? We hope that children will develop an awareness of how their thoughts impact their emotional well-being and learn how to access that quiet place within to rebalance and begin again.

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We Are Like the Sky

Yoga and Buddhism stem from the same Indian lineage yet remain distinct spiritual paths. Still, there’s natural crossover between the two disciplines, and mutual respect among practitioners of each. This relationship is beautifully celebrated at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center–an oasis of mindfulness nestled some 20 miles inland from California’s Big Sur coastline in the Ventana Wilderness. Photo of Tassajara’s yoga studio courtesy of Margo Moritz margomoritz.com While Tassajara primarily serves as a Zen teaching monastery, from April through September, its doors open to the public to enjoy the site’s natural hot springs, abundant hiking trails, meditation instruction, and some seriously delicious vegetarian food (mealtime is a much-anticipated event here). Guests attend workshops that explore mindfulness as it relates to relationship-building, cooking, art, writing–and yoga, which has become one of the most popular workshop themes. The folks behind Tassajara, a branch of the San Francisco Zen Center, have made such a commitment to its yoga program that they just built a gorgeous eco-friendly studio, complete with cork flooring heated by piped hot-spring water, solar electricity, tons of natural light–it’s even stocked with Manduka Eko-Lite mats.  On a recent visit, I had the good fortune to test-drive the just-opened studio in a class with San Francisco’s Diego del Sol, who was teaching a three-day yoga and Zen retreat with Tassajara’s head of practice, Greg Fain. The class was great, and pretty intense. I’ll admit, somewhere during our umpteenth Sun Salutation variation, my mindfulness strayed into a daydream about a post-class soak in the hot springs.  But then, Savasana. Pure sensation. Nothing but idle awareness of the sound of Tassajara Creek rolling by and dappled sunlight playing across my closed eyelids. I think I reached a Zen state! Combined with endless surprises from the world-famous kitchen (what 1970s vegetarian didn’t own the Tassajara Bread Book , not to mention the center’s gorgeous contemporary cookbooks ), stunning natural beauty, and absolute serenity, this is a destination yoga retreat center well worth the drive.  And what a drive it is. Tassajara is located in a canyon, 14 miles down a winding, unpaved mountain road. (There’s a shuttle for those without 4-wheel drive or who are squeamish about off-road adventures.)   Three years ago, the center was threatened by a summer wildfire that swept through Big Sur, eventually taking out 162,818 acres . The fascinating story of a heroic band of Tassajara residents who stayed behind to defend the property is chronicled in a new book, Fire Monks , out in July. Lucky for all of us, Tassajara still stands, ready to share its bounty with anyone willing to venture deep into the forest–and into their own hearts.  

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Where Yoga and Zen Meet

James Fox began teaching yoga to prisoners at San Quentin State Prison in California nine years ago, where he founded the Prison Yoga Project . Recently, he’s been traveling around the country training others how to teach in a prison setting. We caught up with James before his June 18-19 training in New York City, “Working with Incarcerated Communities,” where he’ll instruct people about how to teach yoga in prisons, addiction recovery facilities, halfway houses, and other rehabilitative facilities. Are your trainings just for yoga teachers? They are for serious yoga practitioners. They may not necessarily be a certified teacher,  but they want to be of service in some regards. Why is there so much interest in teaching yoga in prisons? The yoga community in general is looking at karma yoga as the next step in their personal evolution. They know they are getting a lot out of the practice, and at a certain point, a part of the yoga is tradition is to give it back. I know that’s been my path. I’m always interested in going to populations who haven’t been exposed. There is a whole economic paradigm shift in this country, where it’s becoming more and more obvious that the under served populations aren’t being afforded the same opportunities for health and well-being. And here we are with this incredible practice, and yogis are stepping up. How did you end up teaching at San Quentin? I was contacted by the Insight Prison Project to set up their yoga and meditation program. I still teach for the Insight Project. While they focus on rehab and the whole restorative justice movement, I focus on yoga. What are the benefits for prisoners? The big focus in on impulse control. How does a yoga practice assist those whose major issues are addiction and violence? It all comes down to impulse control, to learning how to pause, learning how to deal with difficulty. If you are experiencing difficulty in a pose and coming up against your limitations, how do you work it out and work through it? Anything else they take away? Another focus is in really understanding yourself as a whole person, [and] yoga really helps support integrating the mental, emotional, and physical. It leads to a greater understanding that we are this whole person, not just thoughts going through our heads, but feelings going through our hearts and sensations going through our bodies. We hear these things in a yoga class, but populations like prisoners need to hear this kind of thing. It’s simple wisdom that they can apply to their lives. To me this really brings it home, to the core of one’s healing. If you can’t get to the Prison Yoga Project training in New York, look for future trainings in San Francisco. Or pick up Fox’s book:  Yoga: A Path for Healing and Recovery or sign up for the Prison Yoga Project Facebook page. We want to know: How does yoga help you with impulse control?

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Yoga in Prisons

Stories of corruption, tear gas, and police action don’t usually end up in Buzz. But this was the scene this weekend in New Delhi, as the popular Indian yoga guru Baba Ramdev embarked on a hunger strike to end government corruption . Tens of thousands of people across India, Europe, Africa, and the United States joined Ramdev in a strike that began on Saturday in protest of alleged Indian government corruption. On Sunday, the police responded with tear gas into the crowd of more than 40,000 Ramdev supporters. Police detained Ramdev, guru to millions of followers in India, then later deported him back to his ashram in Haridwar and banned him from entering Delhi. Now on his fifth day of not eating, the spiritual leader said he wouldn’t eat until the government returned millions of dollars illegally stashed abroad and imposed tough penalties on those who continue to put their money in safe havens, and, in a seemingly un-yogic twist, has threatened to arm his supporters.

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Yoga Guru Protests Corruption

The blogs are buzzing about the identity of the father of January Jones’s baby. We don’t care about that. We just love it when we spy celebrities like the “Mad Men” star, who is featured in the upcoming X-Men movie, star clutching a yoga mat. We hope that this gets people buzzing about the benefits of prenatal yoga instead!

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January Jones Does Prenatal Yoga!

“For some yoga practitioners, the body is a sacred vessel that should not be tainted. For others, the skin represents a blank, movable canvas for tattoos displaying thoughts, texts and deities that inspire and inform their practice,” Emily S. Rueb writes in the forward of  “A Moveable Canvas,” a photography portfolio in The New York Times, showcases the devotional artwork of yogic tattoos. Piotr Redlinski’s lovely black-and-white photos feature Jivamukti Yoga School co-founder David Life and other yogis who wear their passion for the practice, literally, on their skin. 

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Yogis Bare All

Wanderlust photo by Tinywater It used to be there were yoga conferences and there were music festivals. But now, yoga music festivals are road-trip destinations for yogis, activists, and music lovers to converge and celebrate their shared passions. Here are a few hot-ticket events on our radar this summer: Hanuman Festival: With teachers like Seane Corn and musicians such as Suzanne Sterling, the Hanuman festival adds yoga, music and seva to the mix in Boulder, Colorado. June 16-19 Wanderlust: The popular destination festival that started in Lake Tahoe, California, this year also rolls into Bondville, Vermont.  Krishna Das, Michael Franti, and Andrew Bird will entertain the masses, while and John Friend, Rodney Yee, and Seane Corne will get you bent into shape. Deepak Chopra will even be there. A month later, the festival returns to California with a similar lineup. And If you can’t make either festival, the show goes on the road, with Wanderlust events around the country. Bondville, Vermont: June 23-26;  North Lake Tahoe, California: July 28-31 Liberate , also in Vermont, is a 3-day outdoor camping extravaganza. Lower key than Wanderlust, Liberate is family-friendly event that has non-stop music and more than 15 yoga workshops. August 18-21 Evolve Fest , a “4-day celebration of the creative human spirit” happens in Vernon, New Jersey, with a mission of raising consciousness through yoga, music, art, and meditation. September 2-5

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Season of the Yoga Music Festival

In an amazing transformation of hardwork and will, 35-year-old opera singer Olivia Ward won Season 11 of the Biggest Loser by dropping 129 pounds. Check her rocking Vrksasana (Tree Pose) … though we wish she wasn’t resting her foot on her knee joint. Yoga is part and parcel of the of the five-month journey that contestants undertake on their path from obesity to health. Biggest Loser trainer Bob Harper, who studied with Bryan Kest, is a huge yoga advocate, and has made a couple of yoga DVDs . Outgoing trainer Jillian Michaels released her own high-octane yoga DVD this spring. Ward told Us Weekly that she plans to keep the weight off with five to six spinning workouts a week. We hope someone gives her a yoga mat!   photo credit: NBC

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Biggest Loser Busts Out a Yoga Pose

Miami Heat hoops star LeBron James recently credited yoga for his peak physical performance. In an article in the Miami Herald by Joseph Goodman called “LeBron James’s big ’secret’: yoga,” the superstar 250-pound athlete says that yoga contributes to his stamina on the court: “Does it work for everybody? I don’t know,” James said Friday. “I’m not a guru about how to be in the best condition — don’t let me sit here and tell you that. But it works for me.” We can’t say for sure, but we suspect that James’s yoga practice might also be cultivating a mental attitude of presence. When asked about his future in the NBA, he said: “I can’t live in the future, I’ve got to live right now.” Very yogic, indeed. We want to know: How has yoga changed how you perform other athletic pursuits?  

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LeBron James: Yoga Keeps Me Fit

Last October, yoga teacher Lisa Rueff headed to Haiti to help out after the earthquake.  “Haiti has truly captivated my heart, she told Buzz. “The Haitian people exemplify gratitude, strength, and perseverance.  Amidst so much heartache, the Haitians choose to celebrate life, hope, and love as they continue to sing, dance, pray, and embody faith.” Inspired by her visit, Lisa and her global volunteer organization YogaVentures are heading back from June 20-16th to help build the Jacmel Children’s Center, a collaboration between Haitian community leaders and Americans like Rueff. The Center, primarily for kids who were orphaned by the quake, will be an eco-efficient place that will provide food gardens, housing, class room facilities, recreational areas and dining facilities. Rueff talked to Buzz about the transformative experience: “Inspired by their courage and love of life, I wanted to make a difference, but knew I could not do it alone,” she says. “As a yoga teacher, I invited my yoga community to join together and help make this children’s center a reality.” Get involved.  Join the Haiti Yoga and Volunteer trip , attend a fundraising event like the Collective Hearts Yoga for Haiti event in Rueff’s hometown of Marin County, donate to the Jacmel Children Center by purchasing a “Brick of Love” for any denomination or join the Collective Hearts Facebook page. Says Rueff: “I am amazed and beyond grateful for the enthusiasm, support and heroic effort of the yoga teachers, practitioners, studios and sponsors who have joined together to share in the vision of The Jacmel Children Center.” We want to know: What are you waiting for?

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Yoga Teacher Helps Heal Haiti

In the age of YouTube, it’s fun to sit back and watch a video of twins talking or a cat using the potty. But KarmaTube wants videos to do more than entertain: they view video as a medium to inspire action–either in the world or in your own heart. The website features videos that both pull your heartstrings and make you want to jump out of your seat and do something: Recent ones showed how some creative kids in Thailand started their own football team; a project that provides handmade hats to orphans in South Africa; and how one woman found art to help heal after the loss of a child. After each video, KarmaTube suggests ways you can create change based on what you just saw, whether this means thinking about tackling a problem in a new way, or volunteering in your community. Visit here to watch a video, suggest a video, create a video, or spread the word. We want to know: What do you do that inspires Karma Yoga (the yoga of action) in others?

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KarmaTube: Be the Change

Hunger. Reincarnation. Yoga. Cooking. Prayer. Restraint. Family. Fasting for Ramadan: Notes from a Spiritual Practice , a new book of insights and meditations by yoga instructor and Oberlin College creative writing professor, Kazim Ali, touches on these parts of the human experience. Writing about the Islam occasion of Ramadan, Ali articulates the process of fasting from dusk to dawn: “Twenty-nine or thirty days to explore the line between the interior of the body and the surrounding world, to think about what is brought to us and what we owe,” he writes. He also compares the process to yoga. “[Yoga] is a practice, not unlike fasting, that allows us to practice linking the inside-the private experiences of the body and the mind-with the outside, the pulsing, breathing, actual world.” Even if you’ve never fasted in your life, Ali addresses the other way we deny our appetites–something most human beings can relate to. We want to know: Have you ever denied your appetite? What was the result?

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Mediations on Fasting

” Let’s roll some eggs and do some yoga !” exclaimed First Lady Michelle Obama, from the White House balcony on Monday morning. The theme for this year’s annual White House Easter Egg Roll was “Get Up and Go!” a reflection of the First Lady’s nationwide campaign against childhood obesity through exercise and healthy eating.   So get up and go they did. Yoga instructors from around the country led children through modified poses like Peaceful Warrior, Cow, and Butterfly. Sessions ended with a gratitude circle followed by a Downward Dog Tunnel for the kids to crawl through, which one little boy proclaimed, “The best ride of all!”  This is the third year that the Yoga Garden has been included in the Easter holiday celebration. Leah Cullis, the program’s organizer, was thrilled to have the chance to share yoga once again in America’s backyard: “We are all excited and honored to be in the nation’s capitol to share the many benefits of practicing yoga and an empowering message to our country’s youth.”   Perhaps unsurprisingly, this was not the first time on a yoga mat for many of the children. “I like to do stretching and bending in my yoga class,” said Oliva, age five, whose mom and sister also practice yoga.   Near the end of the day, the yogis got a special nod as Mrs. Obama (perhaps a yogi herself?) paused at the Yoga Garden, and with palms together and head bowed, acknowledged everyone there with a quick ” Namaste .” Watch a video of the day here . -Guest Blogger Peg Mulqueen   Photo credits: Drew Xeron

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White House Easter Yoga

Anusura Yoga founder John Friend has announced the fall opening of an worldwide center for Anusara Yoga in Encinitas, California. Friend told Buzz that the center will include an 8,500-square-foot state-of-the-art studio, a soundstage for talks and concerts, and plenty of workshops, trainings, and gatherings, and will host visiting scholars and master teachers of other disciplines.  Friend invites yogis of all kind to come and “co-create some positive energy during this critical time on the planet.”   Friend calls this California outpost the realization of a lifelong dream. Encinitas has been a spiritual magnet for modern yoga, the place where Paramhansa Yogananda wrote the iconic Autobiography of a Yogi, and that has attracted many of yogas modern leaders, including  Pattabhi Jois and Tim Miller, and even George Harrison and Ravi Shankar. Friend, who has licensed 300 certified teachers and 1,000 Anusara-Inspired teachers, seems to be the next in line.  Watch John’s video explaining the center here. We want to know: Do you believe certain places carry higher spiritual energy?

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Anusara Yoga Heads to Encinitas, CA

It isn’t often that your doctor takes off his coat, puts on shorts, and leads a yoga class. Unless your doctor is  Loren Fishman, MD. Fishman is the medical director of Manhattan Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in New York City, author of several yoga books, and a pioneer in the treatment of piriformis syndrome, rotator cuff tears, and back pain. And twice a week, Fishman, who studied directly with B.K.S. Iyengar, personally teaches therapeutic yoga poses to small groups of patients. Fishman, who recently spoke at the1st International Conference on Yoga for Health and Social Transformation in Hardiwar, India, also conducts yoga therapy webinars with Ellen Saltonstall. Their next, “Creating a Safe Yoga Practice: Keys to Preventing and Healing Shoulder Injuries,” will play May 2 and 9. He recently spoke to Yoga Buzz.   Q: What immediate benefits do you see after a patient does yoga with you? A: It sounds almost corny, but after about 10 or 20 minutes the patients have better color and look younger. They become more willing to try poses they wouldn’t have dreamed of before. It’s amazing to watch people who have been in pain and feel lousy become decidedly more upbeat. Less pain and anxiety, better balance and range of motion almost always accompany the first session. Q: Tell us a success story with one of your patients. A: Lorraine had been teaching yoga in New Jersey for 10 years, but had been unable to raise her right arm beyond 60 degrees for seven of them, due to rotator cuff syndrome. I showed her a maneuver derived from the Iyengar teaching of Headstand and she was able to lift her arm painlessly to 180 degrees within 2-3 minutes. Eighteen months later she was still raising her arm completely, painlessly and happily. Q: Do you see a future where yoga is universally prescribed for back pain? A: Back pain is a symptom with many causes, with different, sometimes contrary treatments. Identical examples of severe sciatica may be caused by spinal stenosis and herniated disc. Flexion is good for spinal stenosis, and dangerous with herniated disc, while extension is good for herniated dIsc, but dangerous in stenosis. So you need to know the diagnosis; prescribing yoga or surgery or anything depends upon that.  Therefore my crystal ball has people that can identify the cause of back pain properly prescribing yoga for it. And quite frequently! Yoga therapists need to learn a good deal of medicine; medical people need a lot of practical information about yoga. Visit YogaSpirit for more details about Fishman’s webinars. We want to know: Are your medical doctors aware of yoga’s benefits?

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When Medicine and Yoga Meet: Q & A with Loren Fishman, MD

You voted, we listened. The yogis with the most votes have been named the top five finalists in Yoga Journal’s Talent Search. They are: Shannon McGee Paducah, Kentucky Casey Van Zandt New Orleans Marcelo Tessari New York Vanessa Pattison Sacramento, California Mark Gonzales San Francisco Read more about them here . From these five, Yoga Journal’s editors will choose a winner who will be flown to our San Francisco office and participate in a photoshoot to be featured in the pages of the September issue. Make sure to pick up your copy to find out who it is! Thanks to everyone who participated. We had almost 3,000 talented, passionate yogis submit their photos and share their stories with us, and with all of you. We are awed by the amazing yoga talent out there. Congratulations to everyone. Namaste!

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You Picked ‘Em! Talent Search Finalists Announced

Yogis around the globe will be celebrating Earth Day on Friday. After all, yoga and caring for the Earth go hand-in hand. As Green Yoga Association founder Laura Cornell tells Yoga Buzz, “Yoga starts with the Earth. Period. Our bodies are made from the elements of the planet, our blood from its waters, the air we breathe from its atmosphere. We are not separate. When we recognize this deeply, we are on our way towards the first step of yoga–ahimsa.” . This Earth Day, take your love of the planet one step further–and take action. Many studios are offering up free and donation-based classes, live drumming, and community events. Here are a few other ways you can thank the Earth: 1. Become a Yoga Energy Activist. Shiva Rea invites you to respond to the ongoing energy crisis by commit yourself to becoming an Energy Activist Watch the video here. 2. Practice Yoga Outside. Feel your feet connect with the ground, the wind in your hair, and give gratitude to Mother Nature. 3. Unplug . Forsake television, turn off the lights, cell phone and computers, and spend time with your friends or family instead. 4. Reduce Water Consumption. Think before you flush and cut five minutes from your shower. 5. Dedicate Your Practice. Set an intention for your practice, and send lovingkindness to the Earth. To read these ideas and more, visit Shiva Rea’s Yoga Energy Activism , Green Yoga, and Global Green We want to know: How will you celebrate Earth Day?

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Yogis: Take Action On Earth Day

D oes yoga steady your heartrate? A new study out of The University of Kansas shows that yoga decreases episodes of cardiac arrhythmia, an irregular heartbeat whose symptoms can include chest pains, dizziness, heart palpitations, and shortness of breath. The research was conducted by Jeannie Drisko, MD and Dhanunjaya Lakkireddy, MD. (The latter grew up in India with a yoga-teacher father.) Here’s what they did: Participants with arrhythmia spent three months doing their normal exercise routines. Over the next three months, they attended three yoga classes a week, which included pranayama, asanas, meditation, and relaxation. At the end of the study, not only did the frequency of irregular heartbeat episodes decrease, but the participants also reported less anxiety and depression. Lakkireddy says: “These findings are important because many of the current conventional treatment strategies for atrial fibrillation include invasive procedures or medications with undesirable side effects.  Success with these therapies varies widely, and they are often only modestly effective in controlling heart rhythm. It appears yoga has a significant impact on helping to regulate patients’ heart beat and improves their overall quality of life. Any intervention that helps in reducing or controlling the arrhythmia burden in atrial fibrillation can have a huge impact on public health.” We want to know: What health issue has yoga helped you with?

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Yoga May Help with Irregular Heartbeat

People around the globe jumped into action to support relief efforts and aid to the victims of Japan’s devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and those efforts continue. Yogis have been helping in their own unique ways, with donation classes, fundraisers, and even a Bakesale for Japan , which raised almost $125,000 and counting. For her part, Sarah Baroni, a yogini and jewerly designer in Arcata, California, decided to create the Healing Pendant and donate 100 percent of the net proceeds from its sale to the organization Direct Relief International. “We make jewelry, it’s just the most logical thing for us to do to do our small part to help,” Baroni says. The pendant’s three charms–a dove, a Biwa pearl, and amethyst–represent peace, regeneration, and inner strength, qualities that Baroni wishes for the people of Japan right now.  “I wanted something that felt really healing and peaceful,” she says. Have yogis in your community pitched in to help Japan?

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Yogis Aid Japan’s Tsunami Victims

The Wall Street Journal recently reported on the growing trend of yoga for kids. Not only does it improve their flexibility, but it also helps them focus better on schoolwork: In January, Paul Ecke Central Elementary School in Southern California added yoga to its curriculum for 650 students at $20,000 a year. Principal Adriana Chavarin says she has seen how calm and centered students are after practicing the techniques. At a recent assembly, students were getting restless as they sat on the floor. Then a few sixth graders spontaneously led the rest in yoga poses and breathing exercises. “Every kid in the audience quieted down,” says David Miyashiro, the district superintendent. “It’s a different language they all speak now.” We want to know: Have you noticed this trend in your area? If so, tell us how it has changed someone’s life.

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WSJ: Yoga is Good for Kids!

For the fifth year in a row, Shambhala Mountain Center will host “Courageous Women, Fearless Living,” a retreat for women touched by cancer. With meditation instructor Acharya Judith Lief, integrative medicine physician and professor Victoria Maizes, yoga instructor Linda Sparrowe, and yoga and sacred movement teacher Sofia Diaz (all shown below), the workshop includes include mindfulness meditation instruction, integrative medicine, and yoga and movement classes. The program started in 2006. “Originally we talked about creating a program for women with breast cancer, but quickly realized that breast cancer gets the lion’s share of research money as well as public recognition and support,” says Sparrowe. “So we made the decision to reach out to any woman touched by any kind of cancer. We wanted something that blended Buddhist meditation (specifically in the Shambhala tradition), yoga, nutrition, info on holistic therapies, being in nature, and the power of coming together as women.” The program, which runs Aug. 23-28, is open to a wide range of women dealing with cancer: Those who have just gotten their diagnosis, who are in the middle of treatment, who are in remission, and women whose cancer has returned. “Because of the nature of the retreat, we encourage caretakers to come as well,” Sparrow says. “We’ve had women bring their sisters, their best friends, the moms or daughters,  and their hospice workers. We’ve had as many as 65 women and as few as 36.” Partial scholarships are available for those who are unable to bear the program cost, which ranges from $745-$1,495, depending on lodging. “Eileen Fisher has contributed every year and this year has given us a whopping $10,000. We’re hoping to match that,” says Sparrowe  To get an application or donate, visit Shambhala’s site.

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Courageous Women, Fearless Living: A Healing Retreat

“You go into any yoga class in the West, and it’s filled with women. And it’s so ironic, women were never part of the yoga tradition at all,” says author Linda Sparrowe in YogaWoman , a new documentary film by sisters Kate and Saraswati Clere. Yoga traditionally was indeed a male practice. But that has dramatically changed, and YogaWoman documents these stunning changes. With interviews from an all-star cast of female yoga teachers from around the world, such as Shiva Rea, Angela Farmer, Sharon Gannon, Seane Corn, and Cyndi Lee, the film shows how these pioneering women are leading the way to empower a new generation of yoginis. It seems that yoga and women is a topic that is close to many a yogini’s heart: “The trailer is going viral with 9,000 views in the last two weeks!” says Kate Clere. The film isn’t out in wide release yet, but you can visit the site to watch the trailer, pre-order a DVD, get resources about yoga, or join the YogaWoman forums. You can also sign up to host a viewing at your studio or elsewhere in your community.  We want to know:   How are women taking yoga and making it their own?

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YogaWoman, Hear Me Roar

“Yoga is the union of mind, body, and spirit, resulting in expanded awareness,” Deepak Chopra told me yesterday. Well, not exactly directly to me. I was watching a new app on my iPhone called Authentic Yoga . In bite size pieces, the app delivers yoga’s philosophical side by Chopra, who explains everything from higher states of consciousness to raja yoga. Then with Chopra narrating, superstar Yogini Tara Stiles models the asana sections, with routines for back pain, tight hamstrings, tight shoulders, and less stress. It also offers different routines for beginner, intermediate, and advanced practitioners.   I haven’t spontaneously dropped to my mat, iPhone in hand, to do the poses yet. But it is nice to have 5,000 years of wisdom in my pocket: Next time I’m having a hard day, I might just access it: “When you are in touch with your spirit, when you are in touch with your soul, in touch with your divinity, then you have a state of consciousness that is called Grace,” says Chopra. “Nature supports you, God supports you, you have spontaneous fulfillment of desire, and you harness the power of attraction.” Who couldn’t use a reminder once in a while? We want to know: Do you mix technology and yoga?

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Authentic Yoga at Your Fingertips

Designer Donna Karan has long ties with the yoga world. But the latest connection is a plea from yoga master B.K.S. Iyengar to change the way she does business. The animal activists at PETA report that Iyengar recently wrote Ms. Karan a letter asking her to stop the practice of using rabbit fur in her designs: “Being a devoted student of yoga, undividedly practicing my method and compassionate at heart, may I request you to follow the principles of yamas and oblige by dropping furs, which are violently removed from the living animals, so that those animals which have the right to live, live in peace. ” So far, PETA hasn’t heard back from the designer. “We think it’s really contradictory that she is contributing to one of the more heinous industries in the planet,” says PETA’s Ashley Gonzalez. “We have footage of animals being electrocuted and skinned alive. I would think these would go against every principle of respecting the earth, the environment, and life that goes along with practicing yoga.” We’re be very curious to see how the influential American designer and yogini responds not just to PETA, but to the great Iyengar himself.   We want to know: As a public figure and a yogi, do you think Donna Karan has a responsibility to stop using fur?

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Iyengar to Karan: No More Fur

Every night, I give my five-year old son a blessing based on the Buddhist loving kindness prayer. May you be safe and protected from harm. May you be happy with peace in your heart. May you be healthy, able, and strong. May you go easy through sunshine or storm. He usually rolls over, and goes to sleep. But last night, he looked at me and seemed to have decided that I, too, needed a little love. He put my chin in his hand, and brought his mouth to my ear. Then he proceeded to say the blessing back to me. It was a profound moment. Incredibly, had never thought of actually saying this nightly blessing to myself! I put so much effort into taking care of my kids, the house, my husband, my work, and my home. Sometimes I forget that I need, I deserve, the same kind of love right to come flowing back to myself. Today, I’m going to try to show myself the same love that I show everyone around me. I think it just might pay off. We want to know: How can you show yourself love in everyday moments?

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A Nightly Blessing: Love Thyself

Every few years, stories about possible regulation of yoga teachers and studios surface. This time, it comes from the Great State of Texas. Recently, the Texas Workforce Commission sent out letters to various studios, asking them to become state-licensed career schools regulated by the TWC, explain why they are exempted–or shut down immediately. That’s when the Texas Yoga Association stepped in, arguing that regulation doesn’t apply to yoga and creates undue financial and administrative hardship on studios. “The bottom line is that regulation by the Texas Workforce Commission is not appropriate for yoga studios and does not benefit yoga students,” says TYA. Sign the petition “Keep Government Out of My Yoga” here. We want to know: Do you know where your state stands on regulation? Why are you for it or against it?  

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Don’t Mess with Texas (Yoga Teachers)

Photo of Russell Brand and David Lynch by Evan Sung for The New York Times We love it when meditation–such a solitary pursuit–gets some public recognition. That’s what happened in an article  by Irina Aleksander from The New York Times, which centers around how British comedian Russell Brand has discovered Transcendental Meditation (TM). In doing so, the article touts the benefits of meditation, including lowering blood pressure and reducing stress, and then quotes celebrity meditators such as Dr. Mehmet Oz and Susan Sarandon about why they meditate. Brand said that he meditates twice a day for about 20 minutes each session. He’s not the only one, apparently: The article says that the numbers of TM practitioners has tripled over the past three years. “Transcendental Meditation has been incredibly valuable to me both in my recovery as a drug addict and in my personal life, my marriage, my professional life,” Brand said. We want to know: How has meditation benefited you?

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Russell Brand Meditates!

In today’s world of breakneck technology, I’ve noticed that everyone is talking about “integration:” How do you get your Facebook Page and Twitter  account to work together? How can you sync up your iPhone with your computer address book? How can you share content for your email newsletter and your blog? Yet every time I hear the word, I think of another use: the idea of “integration” for human behavior. Beyond technology, how do we integrate the things that really matter? I asked Chris White, a pediatrician and the founder of Essential Parenting , to tell me more about integration when it comes to health and human behavior:  As a student of Dr. Dan Siegel and the founder of a parenting model that combines Buddhism, attachment theory, and Interpersonal Neurobiology, he calls integration “the linkage of differentiated parts.” When these parts link together, he says, you become more adaptable, flexible, and harmonious.  “All systems must be integrated to function well,” White says. “Our very health and sense of well-being depend upon it.” He continues: “The body does not work well unless its different tissues and organs are communicating and working together. The same is true for the brain, the mind, a family, and a society. For more explanation, check out Dr. White’s blog posts on  . Or watch Dr. Dan Siegel talk about integration. We want to know: What does “integration” mean to you? What areas of your life feel integrated — and what areas need some work?

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Integration for Humans

As yogis, we wish for all people to be happy, safe, and healthy. A touching story from Nashville Public Radio talks about how yoga helps wounded soldiers coming back from Iraq and Afganistan piece their bodies and their lives back together. For many veterans, yoga is a subtler and gentler approach toward health. Beyond visible physical wounds, many soldiers suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, which the stress relief, body awareness, and serenity of yoga can address: “At first, I was skeptical because I liked running six or ten miles a day, just doing it the 101st way,” says Spec. Michael Stefan. “But the positive thing is for me to focus on what I can do to overcome symptoms of PTSD, rather than getting stuck in a rut, self-centered, ‘oh me’ mentality, which I used to have.” We want to know: What aspects of yoga do you think could benefit veterans the most?

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Yoga Helps Wounded Soldiers

Yoga was a hot topic at the 7th annual Integrative Healthcare Symposium . From yoga in the military to a planned teacher training in Haiti to an explosion of web applications for medical professionals to introduce yoga to patients, the practice is reaching deep into America’s most venerable institutions and professions.   “It’s phenomenal how rapidly yoga has spread into acceptance in mainstream health care,” said presenter John Weeks, editor of the I ntegrator Blog and executive director of the Academic Consortium for Complementary and Alternative Health Care.   Some of the highlights:   • A more holistic paradigm for overall military fitness has been called for by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen. One possible model is The Wellness Inventory, which was featured as an exemplary assessment in a report commissioned by Mullen, and provides a holistic overview of a patient’s needs for purposes of customizing wellness plans. Things like movement, breathing, feelings, and the ability to transcend situations are among the considerations measured by the inventory. “It’s all yoga-the original system of holistic health,” says Jim Strohecker, co-creator of the web-based inventory and a lifelong yogi and one-time student of Swami Muktananda.   • The Center for Mind-Body Medicine, in Washington, DC, has trained “120 doctors, nurses, priests, and voodoo healers,” in Haiti following the devastating 7.0 earthquake there in January 2010, in practices such as guided imagery and yogic movement and breathing, said center founder and longtime yoga practitioner, James Gordon, MD. The center is working on a plan to also offer yoga teacher training there.   • Yoga is finding it’s way into medical practices through a number of other web-based applications, such as LiivMD, which employs video instruction from well-known yogi and mindfulness figures such as John Friend and Joan Borysenko to guide patients through poses and concepts.   Yoga may play an even larger role at next year’s symposium, with a planned presentation about the benefits of the practice in therapeutic settings. Dr. Woodson Merrell, the M. Anthony Fisher director of Integrative Medicine, Continuum Center of Health and Healing in New York City, and chairman of the symposium, said integrative providers “feel like yoga is a foundation for accessing inner wisdom and healing capabilities. It’s fundamental.” By Nancy O’Brien                    

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Yoga Makes a Splash at Integrated Healthcare Conference

Helping women overcome issues like poverty and abuse leads to education and leadership. And this can transform the world. This is the idea behind the annual Care Conference, where artists, politicians, and thought leaders come together to talk about why helping women heals the world. For the first time this year, the Care Conference will kick off with a yoga class with Off the Mat, Into the World’ s Seane Corn, Hala Khouri, and Suzanne Sterling. With both groups focusing on grassroots social change, they are perfectly aligned. “It’s going to be a great way to get participants energized and ready to take action on issues affecting girls and women around the world,” says CARE’s Sarah Moser. The conference takes place on March 8-11th — in conjunction with International Women’s Day — and features appearances by Melinda Gates, Laura Bush, Judy Woodruff, India.Arie, Michael Franti, and others. After their conference class, the dynamic Off The Mat trio will then teach an intensive called Yoga, Purpose & Action, at Washington D.C.’s Flow Yoga Center . We want to know: Do you think yoga has the potential to transform the world?

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Help Women, Heal the World

Balancing the business and spiritual sides of yoga has always been a delicate one. An article in Business Week broaches the scramble for yoga teachers to trademark their yoga styles, citing that “out of the 2,213 trademark applications containing the word yoga, more than 2,000 have been filed since 2001.” The original yogi to trademark his style is Bikram Choudhury, who got a lot of slack at the time for his desire to “own” his series of poses. But now, the trend has caught on. From BROga® to Hillbilly Yoga®, many teachers are choosing to go the Bikram route. Hanel then broaches the underlying message: that yoga is going mainstream. As the Eastern mystic practice has spread from hippies to soccer moms to Metallica fans (yes, there’s Metal Yoga™), aspiring gurus are seeing an opportunity in the $6 billion U.S. yoga market. “Yoga today is where the Food Network was 15 years ago,” says Ava Taylor, whose Brooklyn-based Yama Talent manages the careers of 41 ambitious yogis. “Many of these teachers will cross over into the mass market.” We want to know: What do you think of trademarking yoga styles?

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Trademarked Yoga Is All The Rage

Larry Schultz, founder of It’s Yoga studio and developer of the signature practice known as Rocket Yoga, has died. He was 60. Schultz founded It’s Yoga in San Francisco in 1987, creating a vibrant hub for a growing yoga community in the San Francisco Bay Area. Known as one of the foremost Ashtanga Yoga teachers in the West, he also taught thousands of classes across the U.S. and abroad and shepherded more than 1,000 Ashtanga Vinyasa students through his rigorous 200-hour teacher training course. In the 1980s, Schultz traveled with and taught yoga to the band the Grateful Dead.  Schultz studied with luminaries such as Tim Miller, David Williams, and K. Pattabhi Jois, and was best known for developing what become known simply as The Rocket, his unique spin on Ashtanga Yoga poses and sequencing that culminated in an intense, sweaty, and much-beloved advanced yoga practice. Over the years, yoga students of all kinds flocked to his studios (he facilitated the opening of 12 studios altogether). Advanced students came to practice on their own, while new students that included Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, artists, students, and entertainers came to explore this mysterious practice. In an open letter on the It’s Yoga website, Schultz shared his vision for teaching: There is nothing more satisfying to me as a teacher than to watch the glow with which people arise from Savasana. Often people walk into It’s Yoga with worry, stress and tiredness written all over their faces but when they leave, they show the effects of Ashtanga Yoga: they feel better and look better, lighter, freer, more relaxed and energized. This is why to me, teaching Ashtanga Yoga is a kind of self-realization; every time I lead class I, as a teacher, grow and express the insights of my own yoga. I see people take in the practice from various different angles and develop, change and transcend their limitations, realize their possibilities. “Larry was a warm and generous person,” remembers Yoga Journal Senior Associate Editor Jennifer Rodrigue, who took his teacher training. “One of his greatest contributions to the yoga community was giving people the courage to own their personal practice, encouraging people to honor the past and to live in the present.” David Kyle of It’s Yoga Puerto Rico, remembers his teacher: “His passing has taken many by surprise,” he says. “His life here has influenced thousands to search within themselves for their inner guru. He is an inspiration to us all.”   Combining his signature mix of humor and discipline, generosity and firmness–and above all, kindness–Schultz delighted in introducing his students to the practice, traveling around the globe, and spreading his gospel of yoga’s healing and restorative powers. “Larry was dedicated to yoga with every cell of his being,” says Eddie Modestini, who created with his wife, Nicki Doane, Maya Yoga. “He was a wild, joyous, funny, charismatic yoga teacher who turned many people on to the practice. He left us too early. He is loved by many and will be missed.” “It’s a huge loss,” says San Francisco yoga teacher Stephanie Snyder, who says that Schultz referred to yoga as a party to which all were invited. “He was an entryway for anyone to come into yoga. He made it accessible to all. He was an institution.” Schultz is survived by his wife Marie.

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Iconic Bay Area Yoga Teacher Dies

Competitive yoga has always been controversial. But that never stops the United States Yoga Federation from hosting its annual Yoga Asana Championship. And this year is no different. On March 5-6, more than 105 yogis from around the country will gather in Los Angeles to compete for the title of the 2011 Yoga Asana Champion in different categories, including male, female, and youth divisions. Such competitions have been happening in India for years. Bikram Choudhury, creator of Birkram Yoga, has championed their acceptance in the U.S. Choudhury’s wife, Rajashree, a five-time winner of the All India Yoga Championship, is the president of the USA Yoga, which sponsors the event and aims to get yoga accepted as an Olympic Sport. Event competitors are judged on physical perfection in their execution of asanas:  T he focus of the 2011 Yoga Asana Championship is physically demanding–similar to a gymnastics floor exercise–and competitors are judged on the perfection of the pose, its difficulty, their poise and composure, and the grace of movement both into and out of the position. We want to know: Does the idea of a yoga competition seem counterintuitive or just a natural outgrowth of the physical practice of yoga?

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On Your Mark, Get Set . . . Pose!

” Eat mostly plants, especially leaves .” Everyone has certain “food rules” that they live by–including bestselling The Omnivore’s Dilemma author Michael Pollan. After his wildly successful book last year, Food Rules : An Eater’s Manual, which gave us nutritionally sound, easy-to-remember gems such as eat your colors and the whiter the bread, the sooner you will be dead , he’s calling for submissions for an expanded version. His newest tome will include food rules submitted by readers.   Submissions are due by Sunday, February 27. Winners will be credited with their “rule” and receive a signed copy. Yogis, have any rules to share? Submit your food rule here We want to know: What’s your favorite food rule?

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What Are Your Food Rules?

In a bit of political news, the topic of yoga recently reached our country’s capital. California Republican Darell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is proposing amendments that would ban government-funded studies on health issues, including whether video games improve the health of older people, the impacts of a soda tax–and the effects of Integral Yoga in treating hot flashes for menopausal women. At this point, no one knows if they will be passed. According to an article in Politico : Typically, the lawmaker argues that the study is a waste of taxpayer money and the administration–or the researcher who won the grant in question–counters that the research is important for disease prevention or treatment. We want to know: Do you think it’s important to have government-funded yoga studies such as these?

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Giving the Ax to Yoga Studies?

It used to be that a big part of succeeding in the business world meant schmoozing with higher-ups on the golf course or after work at the bar. But according to writer Dana Schuster in The New York Post , yoga is the post-modern, post-golf way to get ahead with your bosses and climb the corporate ladder. At least in Manhattan. Explains corporate consultant Amy Hedin in the article:  “An executive might use golf as an icebreaker with a potential or existing client; it’s really more about drinking and socializing in a relaxed atmosphere–but yoga makes more sense for an executive seeking to take a pre-existing relationship to the next level.” Jamie Schutz goes even further in his praise for intra-office Bikram, which he started doing three months ago with two colleagues. “It creates a loose environment so that the next day at work, you’re a cohesive unit,” says Schutz, a  director of business development. “It is a healthy experience, as opposed to going out to a bar.” We want to know: Have you ever done yoga with your bosses? Have you done yoga to get ahead professionally, and if so, how did it go?

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Is Yoga the New Golf?

“This sh** is hard,” says one NBA player when describing yoga in an article in the online magazine Slam about the growing interest of yoga in the NBA. Some teams have on-site teachers during the season, while others direct their players to practice during off-season. In the piece, author Kyle Stack talks about how yoga helps NBA players deal with the intense stress and strain of their job–and the clash of cultures that can happen when yoga meets the money, fame, and pressure that goes with professional sports. ” That there is even one NBA team which has a yoga instructor on the payroll is fairly surprising,” he is quoted as saying. “Yoga has a fundamental association with nature and soft music and showing one’s sensitive side. That doesn’t jive with an NBA environment that is filled with aggressiveness, even ruthlessness. ‘Soft’ doesn’t work; NBA players can read through someone trying to tap into their inner self. ” We want to know: Should yoga adapt itself to its environment or remain true to it’s original format?

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Yoga in the NBA: Culture Clash or Savior?

In our culture, we associate one day of year with love, Valentine’s Day. We most often direct this love toward another person. But us yogis like to practice Bhakti Yoga–known as the yoga of love and devotion–every day of the year. More than just a single day, bhakti is an entire practice dedicated to love. It teaches us that we can have union (the meaning of word yoga ) when we devote ourselves to connecting with love. This love could come from anywhere, explains San Francisco yoga teacher Rusty Wells. “Bhakti is the yoga of love and devotion to the god of one’s own unique understanding,” says  Wells, who teaches a style he calls Bhakti Flow. “There’s no dogma involved. If you have devotion in your life, you know where to put your attention, whether it’s to a god, person, nature or anything else.” Loving ourselves is the first step. Instead of looking for love, remember that we are love. When we can unconditionally ourselves, we can unconditionally love the object of our attention. We want to know: How will you practice Bhakti Yoga this Valentine’s Day? Where will you put your devotion?

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The Bhakti of Valentine’s Day

Yoga is more than a practice; it’s a cultural phenomenon. So I love when yoga shows up in the news. And it can’t get any higher-profile than the Oprah Winfrey Show. To celebrate Oprah’s birthday, actress Jennifer Aniston showed up with a yoga mat–personalized with Oprah’s five dogs! Before giving her the mat, Aniston says: “You know how you give out your favorite things? Well, one of my favorite things is yoga!” We want to know: Do you think moments like this give yoga more exposure? And that it’s good for advancing yoga in America?

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Aniston to Oprah: A Yoga Mat!

Science has spoken. A new study published in Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging shows that subjects who meditated 30 minutes a day for eight weeks had measurable changes in parts of the brain associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress. According to an article in The New York Times, “How Meditation May Change the Brain:” M.R.I. brain scans taken before and after the participants’ meditation regimen found increased gray matter in the hippocampus, an area important for learning and memory. The images also showed a reduction of gray matter in the amygdala, a region connected to anxiety and stress. A control group that did not practice meditation showed no such changes. We want to know: Meditation improves your memory, makes you feel better about yourself, and reduces stress. What is holding you back from meditating?

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Study: Meditation Changes Your Brain

From February 4-6: His Holiness The Dalai Lama will initiate The Buddha Maitreya. Maitreya is the Buddha of Universal Love, and the goal of this teaching is to bring abundance, peace, and joy to the planet. For this event, taking place at a monastery in India and documented by Elevate Films , The Dalai Lama has called ten thousand monks from around the world. Of course, most of us can’t attend. But you can do your part, thanks to  Do As One. This site hosts online “breathing rooms,” where people can sign in and join others breathing; current breathing rooms include Laughter Room and Om Room, among others. “I had a vision of having a billion people breathing together synchronously,” says Do As One co-founder Rabia Hayek. “And then I realized with the Internet that I could actually do it.” The goal is 10,000 people breathing together at any given time. For this week’s happening, Hayek encourages everyone to log in and join the Universal Breathing Room anytime during the 4th, 5th, or 6th to take part. We want to know:  Do you think breathing together has an effect on the planet?

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Breathe with the Dalai Lama!

Last week, I started walking through the door of my Pilates class. Just as the door almost shut behind me, I heard the sound of funky world music coming from another room. I gave the teacher an apologetic glance, backed out of the room, and found myself in a huge roomful of people laughing and dancing and moving en masse to a really loud Afro-Cuban beat.  The moral isn’t to shun your Pilates class. (I went back the next week.) But for me, it’s clear that I need to have more fun. Since then, I’ve been trying to practice The Art of Silliness. Even though I often feel weighed down with responsibility, I’m trying to find small ways that I can bring a silly, childlike quality back into my life. Here’s my modest Art of Silliness list:  1. Host a nightly “dance party” with my kids before bed. 2. Go out with my girlfriends–even when I’m “too tired.” 3. Smile with joy during a tough asana practice instead of grimacing.  4. Play charades. We want to know: What’s on your Silly List?

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The Art of Silliness

Many people can get up in arms about yoga being used to sell products. But I think that we yogis can laugh at ourselves, too. And laugh is what I did when I saw this advertisement from PEMCO, a Seattle-based insurance company. PEMCO, has brought yoga into the fold, with Type A Yoga Girl, one of five characters in their new ad campaign. The moment the meeting ends, she’s off — with hair in a ponytail and a yoga mat wrapped so tightly under her arm it’d take two downward facing dogs to rip it away from her. She’s going to find her inner peace. So don’t even consider getting in her way . We want to know: Is there truth to this stereotype? Do you think Type A personalities are more attracted to yoga than other types? Does this ad offend you–or make you laugh?

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Type A Yoga Girl?

Did you ever wish you had a more solid foundation of knowledge about yoga philosophy? After all, yoga isn’t only about a healthy body–it’s really meant to be a vehicle to liberate the mind, elevate consciousness, and reach greater states of expansive awareness. Even if you’ve gone to a teacher’s training, you probably have only scratched the surface of the vast body of yoga philosophy. That’s why I love the idea of the certificate in yoga philosophy offered by the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, which starts again in February. The course focuses on everything I wished I knew more about, including the Eight Limbs of Yoga, a historical overview of modern yoga’s move from East to West, classic tantra philosophy, and the Bhagavad Gita. The faculty is a yoga dream team, including Sally Kempton, Carlos Pomeda, Gary Kraftsow, Scott Blossom, Laura Cornell, Kate Holcombe, and more. Of course, not everyone interested in yoga philosophy can get to San Francisco, but there are other options for study under the tutelage of some great, learned teachers. Christopher Key Chapple, a professor of Indic and Comparative Theology at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, created the  Yoga Philosophy Certificate Program there. There are also some trusted sources for home study, including the distance-learning programs developed by scholar and author Georg Feuerstein’s Traditional Yoga Studies , and Nicolai Bachman’s The Yoga Sutras: An Essential Guide to the Heart of Yoga Philosophy . Now, yoga philosophy isn’t lightweight stuff. It helps to have the guiding hand of a teacher versed in the tradition and the camaraderie of people with whom you can discuss what you’re learning. Why not start a yoga philosophy book club, starting with books by these experts? The effort will be worth your while. Learning about the foundational aspects of yoga will enhance your practice–and enrich your life. What are you favorite ways to learn about yoga philosophy — books, DVDs, classes, or classes, or workshops?

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Go to Yoga Philosophy School

Indie actress Michelle Williams is spreading the gospel of yoga for stressed-out single mothers in need of a sanctuary where they can rest and rejuvenate. The actress, who stars in the new film Blue Valentine , says that yoga helped her grieve the loss of Heath Ledger, the father of her daughter, Matilda, and gave her strength to be a single mother. As a result of her experiences, along with two local yoga teachers she’s launching a pilot program in Boston, called The Yoga for Single Moms Project. The Project offers childcare so moms can practice, and practical suggestions for a home practice specific to the needs of single mothers who just can’t get away. We want to know: How does yoga help you with your parenting?

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Actress Michelle Williams Launches Yoga Center for Single Moms

How many of us have struggled with weight and eating? In Ravenous: A Food Lover’s Journey from Obsession to Freedom , YJ staffer Dayna Macy offers us the searingly honest story of her battles with compulsive eating. To discover the root of her overeating, she takes a journey to food artisans, farms, slaughterhouses, and her family home to discover that overeating isn’t  a battle she must win — but a journey she must take in order to know and understand her hunger. In the book, the author makes peace with her appetite and her body — a big part of that is her yoga practice. We sat down with Dayna to ask her a few questions before the book’s publication on February 1st. Q: In Ravenous , you take a yearlong journey to uncover the origin of your food obsessions. How does yoga relate to this journey? A: Yoga brings you back into your body.  It is the opposite of binging, where you eat to escape or check out. This is why the practice is so powerful. Q: How does the mindfulness you learn in yoga help you make good food choices today? A: It is not possible to eat wisely if your mind is elsewhere. Do you need to eat bread now, or protein? Are you really hungry, or just bored? Are you satisfied, or will you continue to eat to full or even stuffed? This is the gift of mindfulness — it is being present with what is. Q: Tell us how yoga has helped you replace the negative “samskara” (thought patterns), with positive ones, surrounding food :   A: My body has a tendency towards the kaphic qualities of slowness and heaviness. So one of my yoga teachers, Scott Blossom, gave me an active practice to balance out these tendencies. I took this notion of practice to counterbalance my tendencies of overeating and began to measure my food. So I am retraining myself to understand what a portion is. The practice of yoga helps brings the mind and body back into balance. Q:  Timothy McCall, a medical doctor and author of Yoga as Medicine , once told you, “Yoga teaches you not to get lost in your stories. Yoga helps you see clearly and receive the direct experience of yourself. Not the story you make up about yourself, but your true experience of who you are.” Tell me what this means to you now, after your journey : A: We all have pictures of who we think we are, that includes how we are embodied. I have been overweight for a long time, and, I assumed that  that was just how I was embodied. I see now it’s not true. I also see that I am curvy by nature, and at this stage of my journey, I not only accept it, I celebrate it. Learn more about Ravenous and about Dayna Macy . We want to know: How has yoga helped you understand and accept your body and your appetites? 

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Are You Ravenous?

The creativity and loving energy yoga community never ceases to amaze and inspire me! A few weeks ago, we reported on the Yoga Flash Mobs happening around the globe to raise awareness about the Africa Yoga Project, whose goal is to create peace among tribes in Africa. From Santa Monica to Nairobi to London, through the snow, sun and in the streets, yogis young and old gathered to “lead the change.” Here’s the inspiring  video , featuring Baron Baptiste, that shows how yogis came together from around the world, to honor each other, and spread the simple yet profound message of peace.   To donate or learn more, visit The Africa Yoga Project. We want to know: How do you Lead the Change?

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Watch It: Yoga Flash Mobs for Peace

Ever since Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, spoke out against Christians doing yoga , the blogosphere has gone wild. If you haven’t heard about it yet, the story revolves around an article on Mohler’s website, where he wrote: “When Christians practice yoga, they must either deny the reality of what yoga represents or fail to see the contradictions between their Christian commitments and their embrace of yoga.” Here’s an update: Since that story broke, the Wall Street Journal followed up with a poll that posed the question: Should Christians Practice Yoga? The result: 71.8% said yes, and 28.2% said no. And in a December 30th article by highly-regarded scholar Wendy Doniger, I s Yoga a Form of Hinduism? Is Hinduism a Form of Yoga? she highlights the issues this debate has brought to the forefront, especially that some American Hindus think American yoga isn’t Hindu enough, while others like Mohler think that yoga is too Hindu. We want to know: Do you think of yoga more as exercise, or as a spiritual practice?

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WSJ: Should Christians Practice Yoga?