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

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

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

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

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

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

Turnier in Stuttgart-Möhringen SportRegion Stuttgart e.V. Wo gibt es Yoga -, Golf-, Selbstverteidigungs- und Squash-Anbieter, ein Fitnessstudio oder eine Tanzschule in der Region Stuttgart? Auf der Seite www.citysports.de sind bundesweit über 170.000 Angebote für aktive Freizeit und ein gesundes Leben zu … und weitere

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Turnier in Stuttgart-Möhringen – SportRegion Stuttgart e.V.

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

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

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

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

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

Hunger. Reincarnation. Yoga. Cooking, Prayer. Restraint. Family. Fasting for Ramadan: Notes from a Spiritual Practice (Tupelo Press. 2001), a new book by yoga instructor, creative writing professor, and activist 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. With his background in yoga, the author refers to fasting in relation to the yogic idea of brahmacharya, or sexual restraint. He says that such restraint that doesn’t cause harm to others can’t be limited to just sexual behavior. “In other words, your relationship to the community and world around you has to switch from contesting and confrontation to acceptance and receptiveness.” Even if you’ve never fasted in your life, the book talks about the ways we deny our appetites — something anyone can relate to. We want to know: Have you ever denied your appetite? What was the result?

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Fasting for Ramadan

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

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

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 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!

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

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

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?

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!

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!

I love tracking the ongoing debate about who is teaching the “right” kind of yoga–and who isn’t. And that’s exactly what I found when I opened the weekend The New York Times and read the article ” Rebel Yoga ” about Tara Stiles, a celebrity yoga teacher, author of the how-to book, Slim Calm Sexy Yoga, and Manhattan studio owner. After setting up the idea that she focuses on the physical practice of yoga, the article then talks to her supporters and her critics: Supporter: Deepak Chopra We are both nonconformists who have incurred the wrath of traditional yogis. A lot of the criticism is resentment of her rapid success. I have been doing yoga for 30 years. I have had teachers of all kinds. Taking lessons from her has been more useful to me than taking yoga from anyone else. Critic: Linda Sama, author of the blog Linda’s Yoga Journey Don’t even try to sell me on the ‘yoga for the masses’ excuse; it’s pathetic, and, frankly, she should be ashamed for allowing herself to be talked into shilling for this trash. That is, if any convincing was really necessary–somehow I doubt it. But if asked about it, I am sure we would hear the typical higher-lighter-brighter-peace-love-dove-I’m-just-bringing-yoga-to-the-people” talk. And then we hear from Stiles herself : I feel like I’m standing up for yoga. People need yoga, not another religious leader. Quite often in New York, they want to be religious leaders, and it’s not useful. Here, people want to sit and talk about yoga; it’s very heady. It’s very stuck, very serious. I was never invited to the party anyway–so I started my own party. We want to know: Will yoga move past a place where people have to take sides on this kind of issue? And where do you stand?

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Tara Stiles: Yoga Friend or Foe?

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?

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?

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?

At age six, most kids are taught by some kind of teacher. But in an unusual role reversal, an Indian six-year old IS a teacher. A yoga teacher, that is. The Daily Mail calls Shruti Pandey t he world’s youngest yoga teacher: she’s been teaching since the tender age of four. Today, groups of 30 adults–businesspeople, teachers, and housewives–flock to her 5:30 am classes at the Swami Brahmachand Saraswati Kaivalya Dham Ashram in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh in India , to soak in some of her youthful wisdom.  “It feels good when people follow my instructions,” she told the paper. “I got interested in yoga after seeing my brother doing it. I tried picking it up myself, but it was too hard. So I asked my parents to send me to yoga classes.” We want to know: Do your favorite yoga teachers teach by intuition, or by experience? 

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The World’s Youngest Yoga Teacher?

We don’t always have two hours to go to a yoga class. Especially now, when the holidays are gearing up, along with our nervous systems. When you need to decompress but only have a little time, Wisdom FIlms has an answer: 3-5 minute films that calm your senses. With award-winning cinematographers and composers, these small films are narrated by inspiring teachers Deepak Chopra, success coach Bob Proctor, Thich Nath Hanh, and Mahatma Gandhi’s grandchildren, Arun & Sunanda Gandhi. So if you can’t get to a rushing river, have it come to you. Learn more, watch a sample, or purchase for $39.96 at Wisdom Films. We want to know: What is your antidote to holiday stress?

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An Antidote to Holiday Stress

I love the energy and buzz of urban life. But I’ve notice that sometimes after a day out in my beloved city, I feel more drained than when I take a vigorous two hour hike in the mountains. So I wasn’t surprised to read about recent research from Harvard Medical School that shows spending a few minutes on a busy city street can affect the brain’s ability to focus and to manage self-control. That makes sense, because all of the stimulus takes up a lot of the brain’s processing power.  According to an article by Scott Edwards that appeared in On The Brain:  Directed attention fatigue is a neurological symptom that occurs when our voluntary attention system, the part of the brain that allows us to concentrate in spite of distractions, becomes worn down. People suffering from directed attention fatigue can experience short-term feelings of heightened distraction, impatience, or forgetfulness. When the condition is severe enough, people can exhibit poor judgment and feel increased levels of stress. What to do about it?  Next time I’m going to head for the streets, I think I’ll head for the hills instead. Research shows that only 20 minutes in nature is a remedy for getting the brain to recover from directed attention fatigue. When you are overtaxed, overstimulated, overwhelmed,  what will you do? 

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Study: City Living Changes the Brain

Want to experience rare private yoga classes with Jivamukti founders Sharon Gannon and David LIfe, a six-month membership to their studio, and “The Jivamukti Enlightenment Kit,” which includes books, CDs, mats, clothes, and accessories? How about a membership to Eddie Stern’s Ashtanga Yoga school plus one private a month for a year? Or Cyndi Lee’s “A Place to Call OM” package, which includes a 10-class card to her studio plus a weekend workshop?  Head to Tibet House’s annual benefit auction at Christie’s in New York City. This year, the items auctioned off include not only rare art and a safari for two, but also yoga packages from generous and prominent yogis in the community. The goal is to entice people to donate to Tibet House US, which is aimed at promoting and preserving Tibetan culture.  With famous yogis like Sting and Donna Karan as members of the honorary chair committee, portions of the proceeds will go to Tibetan Children’s Village, which educates poor Tibetan children in exile.  We know everyone can’t make it to the event (or the $175-$225 ticket price). But click here  to see other ways you can support the work.  We want to know: How are the yoga teachers in your community giving back? 

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Tibet House Auction Offers Yoga Packages

The folks at the Australian-based YogaAid have dreamed up a large-scale nationwide yoga event on September 18th and 19th to coincide with National Yoga Month. The two-hour yoga classes around the country will be taught by 12 local yoga teachers to benefit charity. While the biggest events are being held in Chicago, New York, Miami, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco, organizers say that more than 20 others will happen around the country. Participating in a Yoga Aid Challenge is easy: Log on to www.yogaaid.com and click the red button for the United States Yoga Challenge. Here, you can register to create a profile page.Then people can visit your page and donate–all online. The idea is that students raise money for charity in advance of the free class. (Many well-meaning charity events actually lose money, because the cost of putting on an event eats into the profits.) YogaAid’s model is funding the event so that all of the money raised goes directly to the chosen charities: Off the Mat, Into the World, Africa Yoga Project, 4OneWorld, and Yoga for Youth. Beyond raising money, the organizers hope that the event will have a ripple effect, sparking the desire in each student to serve in their community. Karma Yoga (the yoga of service) is one of yoga’s eight limbs. How do you find ways to serve in your family or community? Let us know. And to get you in the giving mood, Yoga Aid and MC Yogi have paired up to create the tune, “Give Love.” Download the MP3 for free by going to yogaaid.com and clicking on the blue box at the bottom right hand corner. Nora Isaacs is a Bay Area-based health writer and editor.

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Give Love! Join a Nationwide Yoga Aid Challenge

The Cowboys’ football stadium was over run with 400 yogis this weekend. Saluting the sun and lunging their hearts out to help raise money for breast cancer, these yogis raised more than $10,000 and showed the country what yoga can do. Don’t mess with yogis, y’all. As Nerissa Knight reports from CBS 11 : While the Dallas Cowboys were preparing to meet the Chargers in San Diego on Saturday night, hundreds of women converged on Cowboys Stadium in Arlington to heal their bodies and minds, and they did it all for a great cause. It was the largest yoga class in Texas. And tickets to the event raised more than $14,000 to help in the fight against breast cancer.

 “It’s a great feeling to be here and help raise money,” said Dawn Dixon, who participated in the class. “I’m a survivor myself and I know what it feels like. “While coach Wade Phillips leads the Cowboys, yoga instructor Wade Morisette (brother of recording artist Alanis Morisette) led a group of about 400 people, mostly women, in the house that Jerry built. The football stadium was the perfect place for them to practice yoga and help others, thanks to the Dallas County and Greater Fort Worth affiliates of Susan G. Komen For the Cure and Indigo Yoga.
 “I’m a breast cancer survivor and I feel great to be here,” said class participant Lisa Prescher. “I feel like it’s a personal accomplishment, and I’d like to share it with others. “More and more women are using the ‘downward facing dog’ to take a bite out of breast cancer, and attain emotional and spiritual strength. “Breast cancer is really running through our population right now,” said yoga instructor Brooke Hinkle, who was at the Saturday class. “Yoga is a very powerful practice. It will not only strengthen the immune system, but strengthen the whole body.” “It was a great time and a great practice,” said class participant Melissa Sexton. “It was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed it.” The group plans to hold a similar event on Sunday at the Fort Worth Zoo. Tickets are $35 each.

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Don’t Mess with Texas’ Yogis

Two interesting, and strikingly different articles caught my eye in Sunday’s New York Times . The first, a book review by Pankaj Mishra that somewhat negatively reviews the rise of yoga in the United States. Whether in the streets of Mysore or on Fifth Avenue, yoga cannot be disentangled from specific histories or specific cultural and economic practices. Of course, the more vulgar aspects of its inevitable commodification in the United States, like $1,000-a-night yoga cruises, ­ought to be deplored. Certainly, the civic or political virtue that results from limber, yoga-toned bodies is not yet measurable. And it would be nice if American followers of yoga, who increasingly define the future of this Indian discipline, would at least occasionally seek something like spiritual transcendence. And the second, a glowing interview with Anusara founder John Friend by Mimi Swartz . The first time I encountered John Friend was at a workshop at a Woodlands community college nearly 10 years ago. At the time I was practicing a stricter form of yoga, and Friend’s joke-cracking and mind-boggling acrobatics — he is famous for his handstands — were something of a revelation. Yoga could be . . . fun ? As Friend led us through the poses, he spoke in a soft voice, insisting that we contain divinity within ourselves and must discover and express our inner goodness to fulfill our obligation to better our world. How to do so was never expressly stated — except for practicing yoga, of course — but I left the workshop feeling better physically, mentally and emotionally. I didn’t know at the time that this was my introduction to what others call “the cult of John.” If Friend could be compared with anyone outside the yoga world — and I am not sure he would like this comparison — it would be Joel Osteen , the magnetic evangelical megachurch minister with the feel-good message and a book-and-television empire. Osteen’s God is loving and forgiving. Osteen doesn’t get hung up on dogma, and thus everybody is welcome. I, for one, am happy to see yoga being discussed in the mainstream media. Glad that it is a part of our culture and open to debate. It’s good to know that people are thinking about these things and that makes it more likely to reach a deeper stream in our society. What do you think? ps- John Friend (@anusarafriend) plans to post his response to the interview today!

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John Friend and Yoga in America

Getty Images Starting you kids out young in yoga sounds like a great idea, but would you bring your child to a hot yoga class? In case you haven’t heard, Bikram’s self-proclaimed “torture chambers” are a series of twenty-six postures in a 104-degree room for 90 minutes. It is an extreme workout. Instructors say it’s natural to feel nauseous, dizzy and maybe even black out. This blogger from MomLogic.com starts investigating after a mother brings her four-year-old to the weekend hot yoga class. “At the beginning of the class, this little yogi was trying each of the moves, naturally having trouble holding any pose. By 15 minutes into the class, the poor thing was playing with her water bottle, spraying herself and rolling around on her towel. I am in my mid-30s, and I can barely stay focused for the hour and a half. So I totally understood how this little one was bored out of her mind. As the class continued, she got up and down and tried more moves. Of course her mom kept trying to correct her, but the instructor insisted that she let her daughter learn on her own. Meanwhile, I was hot as hell and wondering, Is this healthy for the child? So of course, back at work, I just had to get an expert opinion. Pediatrician and momlogic expert Dr. Alanna Levine said the following: “I do not recommend that young children participate in Bikram yoga . Children handle high temperatures differently than adults. They have a higher surface-area-to-mass ratio, which means they absorb heat more than adults do. They also have a smaller blood volume, which makes it harder for them to dissipate the heat. Lastly, they have a slower rate of sweat production than adults, and sweating is a mechanism to cool us off. Children are not ‘mini adults’ — and should not be treated as such.” I thought it was only fair to call up the Bikram Yoga College of India and talk to someone there. Jessica, 32, has been a Bikram instructor since 2008. Here’s how our chat went: ml: Does Bikram have a minimum age requirement?  Jessica: There are no strict rules, as long as the child is quiet and well-behaved. There’s a youth category for the annual Bikram competition. Bikram, the founder, has three children, and they all started doing “hot yoga ” at a very early age. ml: How old was your youngest student ever? J: I haven’t have any younger than 9 or 10. Sometimes younger students wait outside during  the standing series and come in for the floor series. ml: How would you respond to our doctor’s claims that Bikram is unhealthy for kids? J: With any physical practice, you should have a doctor’s recommendation. A decision to do Bikram should be taken person by person. It’s case by case. What do you think? Do kids as young as 4 belong in a hot- yoga class? Have you ever brought your child to yoga ? What types of yoga are acceptable?” Read more here .

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Hot Yoga for Kids?

Watch the latest news video at video.foxnews.com Yoga and mysticism: Not the kind of thing you see much of on Fox News. But, lo! Andrew Harvey appeared on the “Fair & Balanced” network on May 7 to speak about his new book, Heart Yoga: The Sacred Marriage of Yoga and Mysticism . The great teacher –former professor of religious studies at Oxford, epic spiritual quester, multi-dimensional mystic, and founder of the Institute of Sacred Activism–kept his eyes closed during much of the segment. Maybe this was to maintain inward focus while sharing his vision of helping anyone who practices yoga “taste and feel the divine energies in their bodies.”  Or maybe this was to shut out the cluelessness of his host, religion correspondent Lauren Green, who fumbled with her headset,  and mmm-hmm, right, mmm-hmmed her way through Harvey’s explanation of the chakra system, and bumbled every reference to yoga life (”Most of us in the West are used to a yoga that just helps us to lose weight…is it Brikum? Beerkam?). One wonders what die-hard fans of Newt Gingrich, Karl Rove, Sarah Palin, and Mike Huckabee must have thought of Harvey’s explanation  that all of creation is “a shattering white diamond light that is actually manifesting the whole cosmos” and that the human body itself is “dancing light consciousness.”  Once can only hope that those who tuned into the clip by accident were touched–if only a little–by the profound teachings of a modern master. Tune in by design, and you surely will be. –Hillari Dowdle

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Light on Fox News

No question: The Gray Lady has gone ga-ga for yoga. Monday’s New York Times Sunday Styles section features an above-the-fold feature on the “yoga rock star” (not really) Greg Gumucio and his East Village studio, Yoga to the People , which offers classes on a donation-only basis.  These kinds of “dharma yoga” classes have long been an occasional offering at enlightened studios around the country–providing access to those who might not be able to attend class otherwise. The Times’ story, penned by Mary Billard, includes a running list of other New York studios that offer donation-based or reduced-cost yoga, including Strala Yoga , Yoga Vida , and Do Yoga and Pilates . But it overlooks Dharma Yoga Brooklyn , which opened in Park Slope in March.  Every class on that studio’s schedule is donation-based–even the mats and towels are available for whatever fee you care to offer, and a donation-based bookshop is in the works. Dharma Yoga co-founder Lily Cushman (her partner is Jeremy Frindel) has every confidence that donation-based yoga will continue to thrive in the outer boroughs, too–it may even shape the future of American yoga.  As is the case with Yoga to the People, higher class attendance means viable monetary yield even though some students may choose to donate nothing. “When people ask how we’ll make it, we just say we have faith–in ourselves and in our students,” says Cushman. “It’s so nice to spread the teachings and give back to the people.”  What do you think of donation-based yoga? Is dharma yoga available where you live? Is this the yoga wave of the future?

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Dharma Initiative

Possibly the biggest debate in the yoga community is around food, ahimsa (non-harming), and health. Today’s New York Times includes an in-depth article on the wide range of ideas and philosophies surrounding yoga and food. Can you be a yogi who also appreciates a burger every now and then? What about wine? Chocolate ? Some say yes, some say no… The debate continues. No matter where you stand on the issue, it’s hard to argue with this quote by Dave Romanelli:  “What yoga teachers do and what chefs do is not so different. We take everyday actions like moving and eating, and slow you down so you can appreciate them.” Achieving stillness and peace amid the distractions of life, he said, has always been the higher goal of yoga. How does yoga inspire your diet? See also: Are You in the Closet? Exotic Chocolates + Fine Wine = Meditation   Do Plants Have Feelings, Too?

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Can Foodies be Yogis, Too?

Americans are taking a pick-and-choose approach to religion these days, according to a recent Pew Reseach Center study. The study found that “more Americans nearly six in 10 Americans from all religions mix their faith with New Age and Eastern beliefs, like astrology, reincarnation, and the spiritual – not just physical – benefits of yoga,” reported ABC news . One of the biggest debates in yoga today is whether the practice can be considered a religion . I think most would agree that there’s a spiritual aspect to yoga, but isn’t that different than religion? What do you think?

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Should Yoga Be Included in Religion Study?

Since the recession began, there have been many stories about how people have turned to yoga to help with unemployment. First, yoga studios saw an increase in students. Then, as unemployment numbers sky-rocketed so did retreat enrollments . Unemployment has definitely impacted the yoga community, and it does not seem to slowing down any time soon. The latest news , is that a former Bear Stearns broker, who was inspired by yoga during his time job searching, decided to completely change career paths to open a yoga studio in New York City called Yoga Vidya NYC. It might be a bad time for the economy, but it seems like the recession is giving people more time for yoga. In my book, that’s a big positive! What do you think?

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The Unemployment Factor

If you know anyone who doubts the power of yoga, show them this video from CNN (below). Project Air , an organization that teaches yoga to HIV+ women in Rwanda and helping genocide rape survivors and their children, has seen dramatic results. The organization has reached thousands of HIV+ women and children, and was recently endorsed by the UN–the first time the UN has ever given formal endorsement to a yoga initiative. To learn more about Project Air and their mission to expand into the Eastern Congo visit project-air.org .

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Yoga Helps Rwanda Rape Survivors

The shooting at the army base at Fort Hood that resulted in 13 lives lost and 30 people wounded was a tragedy that saddened the nation. But in the last year, the leaders at the base have been experimenting with new ways–including yoga–to help soldiers deal with the stress and pressure that comes with their jobs. In the aftermath of the shooting, they hope the “resiliency campus,” which in a huge facility that offers programs like yoga, aromatherapy, and video games with traditional counseling,  will help troops recover from the tragedy, reported the Wall Street Journal . “The campus … is designed to impart a new army philosophy focused on nurturing soldiers’ body, mind and spirit,” Brigadier General William Grimsley told the Wall Street Journal . “It marks a radical shift from the philosophy under which the army operated for years.” As a yoga student, I feel like any shift toward nurturing “body, mind and spirit” is a good one. What do you think?

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Can Yoga Improve Soldiers’ Mental Health?

Is yoga a fitness regime or a spiritual endeavor? This is the question at the root of a debate brewing in Missouri, which recently became the first state to collect sales tax on yoga classes, according to a report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch . Here’s an excerpt from the article: “At issue is a Missouri statute that mandates a 4 percent tax on fees charged for athletic events like Cardinals games, fitness club memberships and other entertainment, amusement or recreation businesses. Yoga teachers say the service they provide is not recreation, but a form of physical preparation for meditation, based on ancient Hindu texts, with the ultimate goal of spiritual enlightenment. But even yogis concede the American interpretation of yoga that has blossomed, especially in the last 30 years or so, has become popular for its stress-reducing properties and physical health benefits.” It’s a debate we’ve been having in the yoga community for ages, and both sides have compelling arguments. Do you think yoga classes should be subject to state sales taxes?

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Missouri Taxes Yoga

Good Morning America recently featured yoga as an effective therapy for kids dealing with with both cancer and ADHD . Though no one knows exactly why yoga is an effective treatment, says the report, but it might have something to do with how yoga helps the brain regulate the stress hormone cortisol. Watch the video here , and please share your healing yoga stories by commenting below.

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Yoga Helps Kids with Cancer and ADHD

The newest professional athlete to give yoga a try is basketball star Shaquille O’Neal. The Cleveland Cavaliers center tried a class in suburban Cleveland, according to the Associated Press . He needed two mats to accommodate his 7-foot-1, 325-pound frame. (The studio will be special ordering a 100-inch-long mat for his next class.) “I’m the worst yoga student in the history of yoga,” O’Neal said. But if he was out of his element, imagine how his teacher must have felt trying to come up with appropriate modifications for the basketball player. “He’s got some tight hamstrings,” his teacher Tami Schneider, owner of Cleveland Yoga in Beachwood told the AP. “He’s obviously a big, strong man. He told me he doesn’t stretch very often and that was pretty apparent. I’m looking forward to working with him to get him into some deeper stretches.” I bet it will help his game! What do you think?

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Shaq Tries Yoga

Slate magazine’s site Doublex.com recently featured an article about the trials and tribulations of being a yoga teacher. We all know making a living as a teacher isn’t easy, and with teacher training enrollment up during a down economy it sounds like the competition for teaching gigs is going to keep growing. (From a supply and demand standpoint, that also might mean lower pay for the teachers who land those gigs, which would make it harder than ever to pay the bills.) “If you want yoga to pay your bills, you’ve got to leave the deep breathing and asanas at the door and do the capitalist hustle,” writes the article’s author Anna Sale. My question is for the yoga teachers who read this blog. Do you feel like you’re doing a “capitalist hustle” these days, juggling many different small jobs just to pay the bills?

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Teaching: It’s Harder Than It Looks

Two followers of Baba Ramdev have bought the Scottish island of Little Cumbrae with plans to establish an “international yoga camp” there, reported the Guardian.co.uk . The island will be renamed Peace Island. According to this article in the Daily Record , there will be an opening ceremony on September 27. Do you like the idea of having a whole island devoted to yoga? Or is it a little much?  

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Isle of Yoga

If you live or work in a city, you know how difficult it can be to find a moment of quiet. Between the buses, sirens, and people chattering it can seem like an impossible feat to even make a phone call, much less stop for a sun salute or meditation break. City noise is one of the reasons behind a new yoga class held at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. “There’s very little quiet place left in the city,” class organizer Rick Castro told CBS news. “This is a place where you really can just come and just be with yourself and meditate.” (Please watch the video by clicking here .) “The spirits are with us,” he added later. “They come through us.” The class costs $20 and will take place every Tuesday at 7 pm. What do you think? Does this align with the yoga philsophy on death and dying? Or is it creepy?

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Class Gives New Meaning to Corpse Pose

A Columbia, SC museum is hosting a yoga class in the middle of an art gallery. Doing yoga among beautiful pieces of art enhances the senses says Rikki Donahue, the yoga teacher who will lead classes at the museum through September 9th. “You notice the vastness of the canvas, the colors and the mixture and your senses are so much more aware,” Donahue said. Would you take part in a class like this? For more information visit wltx.com or watch the video below.

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Art + Yoga = Bliss

By YJ correspondent Nancy O’Brien. Yoga Journal, tracking down furtive reports that a yoga teacher had been arrested in a Michigan crackdown on unlicensed teacher training programs, has learned that state police appeared at Dancing Feet Yoga in New Buffalo April 30 with a warrant for the arrest of studio owner Don Wenig. The charge: operating a proprietary school without a license, which carries a penalty of up to 90 days in jail or a fine not to exceed $1,000– or both.   Michigan’s Proprietary School Unit had informed 28 yoga teacher training programs across the state on the need for licensing. “You have seven days to comply,” the letter warned.   ” A detective showed up during a class with a warrant for my arrest,” Wenig told writer Nancy O’Brien Friday. At the studio, Wenig posted a cash bond of $250 with Detective Douglas Kill and was ordered to appear in Criminal Trial Court in May, according to Berrien County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Mike Sepic.   ” There were not handcuffs on his wrists. He wasn’t thrown into jail,” Sepic said, “but technically, it was an arrest.”   Wenig pleaded not guilty May 28. His case was scheduled for trial July 9, but during a status conference three days earlier, Wenig changed his plea to guilty in an agreement that will wipe the criminal misdemeanor off the books if he completes the arduous licensing process within 60 days, according to Sepic. Wenig said he’s “working on it,” adding with a laugh, “I’m glad to be free.” Freelance writer and editor Nancy O’Brien, a former Opinions editor at the New York Daily News , teaches yoga in New York, specializing in issues of illness and recovery and graceful aging. She has taught at Bellevue’s World Trade Center Clinic, the hospital’s Parkinson’s support group, a Bellevue psychiatric outpatient program and the New York Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation.

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YJ Exclusive: Michigan Yoga Teacher Charged with Criminal Misdemeanor

If you’ve always wanted to become a yoga teacher but the stars haven’t aligned to make it possible, this might be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for. Yoga Works , the yoga studio chain with 23 studios in California and New York, and Zobha , the yoga clothing company, are offering a need-based yoga teacher training scholarship in January 2010. This pilot program will be for the Yoga Works 200-hour teacher training at the new Walnut Creek, California location (that’s near San Francisco, for those of you who aren’t familiar). ” The scholarship will be available to individuals who are excellent candidates for the program, but may not have the means to make it a reality,” said a recent press release. When I learn more about the application process, I’ll be sure to let you know. Other teacher training scholarships (Click the links for more info.): YogaBasics.com awards a teacher training scholarship for $600 twice a year. Scholarships are available for Yoga Journal conferences .   Have any of you have benefited from a teacher training scholarship program? What about a work study? Also, let us know of any other yoga scholarship programs out there!

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Teacher Training Scholarships

It’s not news that states are cracking down on yoga teacher training programs and asking (in some instances demanding) that yoga schools pay the same licensing fees vocational schools like hairdressing and massage therapy schools pay. After Michigan gave yoga schools two weeks to pay up back in March, Virginia and New York quickly followed suit. Obviously studio owners take exception to the licensing fee, and some have even had to close their doors because they couldn’t afford it. However, studio owners and teachers in New York have decided to fight back, according to a recent article in the NY Times . Nearly 100 teachers and studio owners from all different styles of yoga have formed the Yoga Association of New York. “Within days, Joseph P. Frey, an associate commissioner with the [NY] State Education Department, said in an interview that the department would suspend the licensing effort, allow the classes to continue and instead lobby for legislation adding yoga to a list of activities that are exempt from regulation,” reported the Times .

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All Together Now

The gay rights debate has made its way into India, where a high court recently ruled to legalize homosexuality. And, according to The Telegraph , Swami “Baba” Ramdev isn’t thrilled about it. He filed a petition to India’s Supreme Court asking that the ruling be overturned. “[Homosexuality] can be treated like any other congenital defect,” he told The Telegraph. ” Such tendencies can be treated by yoga, pranayam and other meditation techniques.” The ruling offends the structure of the Indian value system, Indian culture and traditions, as derived from religious scriptures, he wrote in the petition.

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Swami "Baba" Ramdev Says Yoga Can "Cure" Homosexuality

When most people think of workplace benefits, health insurance, vacation days, and 401ks come to mind. But office yoga classes have been a benefit in some workplaces for years. For example, Kim Orenstein , a yoga instructor in Nevada, has been regularly teaching yoga in offices for eight years. Employers say yoga helps with productivity and even can help keep costs down. Personally speaking, having access to a yoga class during my work day has helped my practice grow by leaps and bounds. It’s so convenient, I can’t justify missing many of them, and it helps me keep my cool the rest of the day. Do you have access to yoga classes at your place of employment? What are the pros and cons?

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Workplace Yoga

Upon waking for the last day of the conference, we learned that Sri K. Pattabhi Jois , 93, has passed. The official announcement is posted here , and you can find up-to-the-minute memorial posts and reactions from students worldwide here  via twitter.

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In Memory of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Father of Ashtanga