Pattabhi Jois Memorial NYC, June 14, 2009

Entering Urban Zen for P. Jois Memorial

Jois the father

Jois teaching

Videos of Jois

Memorial

Sunday, June 14, ashtangis and the greater yoga community of New York City gathered in Donna Karan's gorgeous Urban Zen space in Manhattan's West Village for an evening of remembrances celebrating the life and legacy of Shri K. Pattabhi Jois. The white space was hung with long yellow scrims that caught the late afternoon light and brightened the windowless space. The black cushions on the floor were strewn with the petals of red roses, and garlands large and small framed sepia-toned pictures of Guruji at the front of the space. Food was served the back--delicious spicy popped rice with chutney, and samosas and chai. Four hundred people had RSVPd. Those who came were a good-looking bunch, with a lean, clean, healthy glow. Many had young children with them.  It was a grown-up yoga community, one that has weathered their initial zeal for yoga and matured into seasoned practitioners. Representing the yoga world were Alison West (Yoga Union), Leslie Kaminoff (Breathing Project), Michelle Demus (Pure Yoga), Hari Kaur (Golden Bridge), Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman (Urban Zen), James Murphy (Iyengar Yoga NY), Carlos Menjiva (Jivamukti), and someone from Bikram yoga. On the walls around the space, photos of Guruji, his family, his students, and his travels over the years played in a continuous loop. After Eddie Stern, Jois' long-time student, director of Ashtanga Yoga New York, introduced the evening, three Hindu priests changed a part of the Upanishads, 18 minutes of piercing, passionate sound meant to disperse the elements back into the world, to help Guruji on his journey. In the background of this austere music, was the sound of children chirping and playing.

"When a great person is born into the world, he affects everyone," said Stern. "Regardless of whether they follow his teachings or not."

Other speakers mentioned Pattabhi Jois' generosity as a teacher, the inclusiveness of his sangha, and his "sympathetic joy"---his availability to all who had even just a flicker of interest in trying yoga.

"He took complete delight that someone was growing through their yoga practice," said John Campbell, long-time student.Ruth Lauer-Manenti, a senior Jivamukti teacher, relayed the story of how she first went to Mysore to practice with Pattabhi Jois. "Sharon Gannon [director and co-founder of Jivamukti] had just come back from Mysore. She was thin, thin, thin. She looked kind of green and she had a dislocated shoulder. She said, Ruth, you gotta go. So I went the next day."

" 'Yes you can' was his message---it's what so many of us took from him," said Lauer-Manenti whose practice helped her to heal from a near-fatal car accident." He always wanted you to do your best, including making it to his birthday every year."

Jois believed---in fact, he lived the idea---that yoga is the science of transformation: 1% theory, 99% practice. Yoga is mind control: controlling your helter-skelter thoughts and practicing love (plus a 2hr, 6-days-a-week, demanding asana practice) instead. As he famously said, "Do your practice and all is coming."

Upper East Side: Hands Off the Crackberry

Pure Yoga May 2009

Stress levels on Upper East Side are rising, the NYTimes reported on Friday. Impulse buying is down, as is luxury shopping. And while yoga is doing quite fine, thank you, bad behavior in classes is on the rise. Put that crackberry down, Suzie! The NYTimes reports from Pure Yoga, the Asian-inspired yoga boutique owned by Equinox Fitness: "Ms. Demus has been battling a growing number of people trying to check their BlackBerrys and take cellphone calls in the middle of yoga sessions. Her instructors “gently” tell them to switch them off and perhaps take a break from their worries. “It’s great for them to realize that the world will continue spinning,” Ms. Demus said, “if they let go for an hour.”Image: Suzanne DeChillo/The New York Times Or maybe it's the space-ship lighting at Pure Yoga making them frantic?

Pure Yoga Hits Town and Everyone Says, "Wow!"

Here's a round-up of comments so far about Pure Yoga in NYC:

July 30, Fashion Week Daily on "the scene" at Pure YogaJuly 30, Yoga Journal blog, Valerie Reiss

July 7, New York Sun 

June 15, New York Magazine (in the shopping section, ahem)

Dec 30, 2007, New York Magazine

From blogs:A range of responses like the not so critical Om La La on June 18th, "I dont think you can do drop in classes, its membership only, but something to check out when it finally opens!  Plus if the yoga is good, $140 for unlimited yoga is pretty good!"... to Om Yoga trained teacher, Lauren Cahn,'s worry on June 13, "On another note, Pure Yoga hired two non ashtanga people to run their ashtanga program. I think this decision was made before Christopher was available. Pure made a very bad decision. I have been in touch with the people at Pure. They claim their selection of teachers is temporary and if ashtanga does not do well at Pure, they may change teachers..."...to the refreshingly blunt, Valerie Reiss writing on the Yoga Journal blog Samadhi & The City, back in January. Titled, "Pure Yoga? or Pure Insanity?" her entry reads, "The quote Equinox gave New York is incredibly telling: "we will continue to expand and pursue an aggressive yoga strategy." I will be curious to see more responses as this giant moves in.   

Pure Yoga opens June 25

Equinox Gym's foray into yoga only, customer-service oriented 20,000 sq ft yoga palace complete with mat wipe downs between classes will open next week in the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

If this location goes well, there will be many more locations of Pure Yoga, a business that originated in Hong Kong where it has done extraordinarily well.

You can bet that this is the beginning of something big. Their tag line is, "Many Practices, One Intention." Twenty-one different styles under one roof.

Remember when Yoga Works chain opened in 2005? You don't, right, because it seems that the Yoga Works franchise has always been around. That's how powerful they are. Changing the face of yoga.

For background on the how financing entered the yoga free market, read the story of Yoga Works in the NYTimes small business section, and in Yoga Journal, 2005.