Miami--What Kind of Yoga?

Miami. In this town, even the mannequins have boob jobs. What kind of yoga can you expect where opulence is mistaken for elegance? A mile of bronzed thigh atop a 5” stiletto; lots of mascara and highlights; tight, tight jeans. Little goatees. Flash and glitter. Reflecting pools, royal palms, sequestered cloth cabanas. Here where beach culture and night life vie for dominance, are sun salutations a variant on sun worship? Is it all spray-on tans and tiny spandex shorts?

Yoga in some ways is the same wherever you go: the same poses, the same instructions---sometimes down to the exact metaphors ("open your feet like a book"). But the flavor changes from city to city, and certainly from instructor to instructor. In Miami, where new money, hot bodies, and Latin beats pulse up and down Ocean Drive, what did I discover? Ashtanga.

Ashtanga, the austere, physically rigorous, 6-day a week practice, imported from Mysore, India. This is the bedrock. And then, sprinkled on top, a few variations: a little vinyasa, a little power yoga, a few hot yoga classes, some Jivamukti (which, by the way, is an ashtanga variant).When I was in Miami last week, I practiced at Miami Yoga Shala, Miami Life Center, The Standard hotel, and Synergy Center for Yoga and Healing Arts.

Coming up: a mini review of yoga in Miami. From a guided ashtanga class to a surprise didgeridoo chakra cleansing---stay tuned!

New Year, New Money

How are your new year's resolutions going? Do any of them include improving your relationship to money?Well, all of us, rich and poor could use some help in that department. Perhaps especially yogis.Upcoming: some free or affordable help from cool people including yogi and financial adviser Brent Kessel and Spencer Sherman, co-founders of Abacus Wealth Partners.I saw Brent speak at the New York Yoga Journal Conference, May 2009, and loved what he had to say. Smart cookie. Here's what's on offer right now. Check it out:

1. Vicki Robin's Conscious Money Speakers Series, Weekly 1-hour teleclass workshops with a dozen top conscious money teachers including Bill McKibben,  Brent Kessel, David Korten, John deGraaf, John Robbins, Lynne Twist, Olivia Mellon, Spencer Sherman, Trent Hamm, Victoria Castle, Hazel Henderson. $12 per class or $79 for the whole series. A great deal! Free introductory teleclass on January 11th. Series begins January 18th.

2. Heal Your Money Karma, #1 course on DailyOm.com. Brent Kessel and Spencer Sherman offer 8-weeks of invaluable financial tranformational tools through a pay-what-you-can structure.

3. Money Matters: The Business of Yoga, Yoga Journal Conference, San Francisco, Thursday, January 28, 2010, 2:45-3:45p. Led by Brent Kessel. Great for yogis who want to live more consciously in all ways, or yogis considering opening a yoga center.

Related Posts:"It's Not About the Money,"Brent Kessel, Money Guru, Interviewed on Frugaltopia

ATTEND THIS MEETING TODAY (if you're a new york yoga teacher)

Yo, New York yoga teachers! This meeting today is for you. I'm in Miami, but YOU need to be there!

"We need yoga teachers to help determine the future of yoga in NY. We are at risk of having our future decided for us, without our voice," say the organizers, the lovely Liz and Mel of Yoga High. "Whether you are for or against licensing, it is important we hear your thoughts and ideas on how we can all be involved in the process.  This will ensure that when regulation happens, it does so with intelligence, compassion and a deep respect for the yogic traditions."

They mean the issue of New York State passing legislation requiring yoga studios to obtain costly licenses to run teacher training programs. "So please come to a meeting specifically for NY yoga teachers to discuss licensing, health insurance, pay transparency and any other issues you feel passionate about. As a yoga teacher, dealing with these issues can sometimes be a very isolating experience. This is our chance to come together to talk about something that we love and how we can all continue to enjoy a yogic lifestyle."

IT’S CRUCIAL THAT WE COME TOGETHER NOW. YOGA IS AT RISK. EVERY SMALL STUDIO IS AT RISK OF CLOSING IF LICENSING PASSES WITHOUT US GETTING INVOLVED.

"This is our last chance to meet and discuss these issues before the vote goes to the state senate. We can use our collective voice to buy us time to have input into how, where, and when regulation happens. If not, yoga in NY will become very limited and there will be fewer choices and a bottom line corporate approach."

The meeting for just teachers will be Wed. January 6th 2010. 12 - 1pm.

"We encourage you to stay for the Yoga For NY meeting that will be held immediately following from 1-3pm."

The meetings will be held at YOGA HIGH 19 Clinton St. between Houston and Stanton. (Ave B turns into Clinton Street South of Houston) 212-792-5776F, V to 2nd Ave or F, J, M, Z to Delancey

***If you're a yoga teacher, please forward this on to other teachers you know and to studio owners where you teach."

THANKS everyone. (Non-yogis welcome to volunteer for Yoga for New York, too, you know.)

TimeOut NY Reviews My Basics Class!

It's payback: after writing about other people's classes and techniques I've been reviewed in TimeOut NY's Fitness Issue, 2010. It's a nice little write up.Jonathan, the shy English reporter, had no context at all to understand what he was getting into, because......he had NEVER done yoga before. The word "vinaysa" was just a bunch of letters to him. Oy! Putting me to the test.But he did well. In a class of 17, he selected a spot at the very back corner of the room where I slid him props and---a good student---he took child's pose as needed. We all had a good time. Thanks for coming, Jonathan.And thanks GO Yoga for having me as a teacher these past 7 years. (Come to GO's 10-year anniversary party, Saturday, January 16, from 6pm on.)

The Review: Go Yoga

Types of yoga offered: Vinyasa, plus a creative interpretation of different schools.Name of class: Basics with Joelle HannLength: 90 minutesWhat to expect: A brisk yet beginner-friendly session, capped off with a Maya Angelou poem and a group omLevel: Yoga newbies can do it.The verdict: Joelle Hann used the dimmable lighting and music to good effect, controlling the mood of the room. She also watches over her students with a sharp eye, supplying blocks and straps and correcting alignment. You’ll sweat during the more active part of the class, but you’ll leave feeling limber and relaxed, rather than fatigued.—Jonathan Shannon

Read more from the Fitness Issue

Yoga 2009: 10 Highlights

What happened last year?

Did it pass like a kidney stone or like savasana? Lots of subtle changes for me personally, and a big leap into the blogosphere for Yoga Nation. Part of me wishes I had a time machine to go back ten years (if I knew then, what I know now...) and another part looks forward to the madness and the mystery of a new year.But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's see what happened in 2009....

1. Fierce Club opened in Nolita. Sadie Nardini, of Bon Jovi yogi fame, not only opened her own kick-ass studio in Nolita last March, but later in the summer she also joined up with YAMA, an agenting enterprise for enterprising yoga teachers. Yes, folks, the future is here...

2. The movie, Enlighten Up!: A Skeptic's Journey into the World of Yoga, launched to mostly positive reviews (and some grumbling from yoga teachers) proving that yoga can entertain Americans for at least an hour and a half on the big screen. Director/yogini, Kate Churchill, and skeptic/subject, Nick Rosen, tussle and tumble around the world looking for the truth about yoga

.3. Inappropriate Yoga Guy "Edited" Yoga Journal. Yoga Journal spoofed itself in this 5-part online mini-series in which the unforgettable, and wildly inappropriate, Ogden, took over the inimitable magazine offices as a hazardous (and sometimes naked) "guest editor." Went live April Fool's Day.

4. Sri K. Pattabhi Jois passed. One of three Indian grandaddies of modern, Western yoga, 93-year-old Pattabhi Jois, passed away in May, and was fetted through the early summer. The memorial held at Donna Karan's Urban Zen headquarters on June 14 in the West Village created even bigger buzz than the first ever NYC Yoga Journal Conference in May.

5. Licensing Issue ravaged New York---and is not over. Should yoga studios pay large sums of money to New York state to be "licensed" to train yoga teachers? Widely seen as a pitiless money-grab, this proposed legislation threatens to shut down many tiny yoga studios that rely on teacher-training programs for basic income. (For this issue, yoganation was also a momentary guest-blogger on the illustrious YogaDork.)

6. On the other hand, Brent Kessel made clear that yoga and money can live happily together. Financial advisor and long-time ashtanga-yoga practitioner, Kessel wrote a practical, inspiring and possibly profitable book called It's Not About the Money (which it never is: it's always about the junk in your head). Read my interview with him on Frugaltopia.

7. The inaugural Wanderlust Yoga and Music Festival rocked Lake Tahoe in July. This ingenious festival blasted open indie minds and took over taste-making in the yoga world. Who said yoga can't be radically cool? Driven by yoga and music-exec power couple from Brooklyn, Wanderlust will happen in three locales in 2010. Thank you, Yoga Journal (San Francisco), you may now hand over the reigns. The young uns' (uh, Brooklyn) got it from here.

8. Celebrity Yoga Teachers---Problem? In late August, YogaCityNYC sent me to report on the Being Yoga conference upstate. The question: Is a media-friendly yoga teacher the natural outcome of yoga’s presence in America’s consumer culture? The peaceful yoga crowd at Omega had a lot to say. READ my final article. .....(One source said: “I've never had a PR agent or invited myself somewhere. Everything has happened because of the shakti manifesting in me.” The next day I got a message on Twitter inviting me to review her latest DVD.)

9. BKS Iyengar turned 91. Really, you need to see Enlighten Up! the movie just for the scenes of Iyengar talking about the meaning of yoga---not empty New Age spirituality, but real internal work, with a few beads of sweat and social service thrown in. For his 91st birthday, this tremendous force of a man requested that students hold a fundraiser to benefit his ancentral village of Bellur. If everyone gave $3, more people could eat.

10. The Yoga Clothing Wars continued with lots of news about LuluLemon throughout 2009. Their stock was up, their stock was down. We loved them, we were peeved. Mostly we were conflicted about the giant success of a giant "women's activewear" company. Good news: they have excellent yoga clothes for men. More good news: they are inspiring small yoga clothing companies, too. More good (-ish?) news: they are EVERYWHERE. Planet Lulu!!

HAPPY 2010, yogis and yoginis! Here's to a happy, healthy, inspired, productive, restful, and OM-ing new year.

Considering a New Year: 10 Resolutions

I haven't been able to stop thinking about new year's resolutions. Maybe because last years' were unexpectedly potent. Over Christmas dinner last week (at a table surrounded by friends), I remembered one of them: "Be better friends with the friends I already have." Huh, it worked. I also made some new friends. How great is that? (I raise a toast.) The other was to start a meditation practice. After 20 years of attempts, I finally did it. Sitting every day! (Thanks for the method, Alan. Thanks for the prodding, Vanessa. Thanks for the company, Tim.)

So, here's what I've been thinking about this week for the coming year. Take it or leave it---it's free. Here's to a happy new year---and an inspired decade.

1. Keep a small notebook---a small one that fits in my pocket. Write down ideas, events and thoughts of the moment, lists, words overheard, sights overseen. I started this in November at the suggestion of a writing teacher (thank you, Victoria) and it has blazed some interesting new trails. How much was I censoring myself? A lot.

2. Break out of the routine for one hour every week---even if it means walking down a new block (which in fact I love to do). In 2010, I'd like to shake things up; keep the brain and spirit fresh. Visit new parks, museums, bookstores etc. Cheaper than a ticket to Rio de Janeiro, too.

3. Use a key phrase for comfort.  Sometimes I have a mantra from my meditation teacher and then I forget to say it. But it could also be a phrase someone---anyone---has said that was moving. Health psychologist Kelly McGonigal, for new year's 2006, said, "one of the most moving experiences I have had was when one of my teachers said it to me – “Whatever happens, you can handle it.” Another good one is from ad exec, Paul Arden: "Start being wrong and suddenly anything is possible. You're no longer trying to be infallible."

4. Take on a reasonable amount---and no more. This week I set out to do a reasonable number of tasks each day instead of a superhuman number. It's been fantastic. Lo-and-behold, I've been getting more done and feeling friendlier, too. (It sure helps to get to work at noon.)

5. Check in weekly to see where I am and what's ahead. My own personal 1:1 staff meeting. I've set Friday afternoons for this weekly accounting. It's actually pretty fun, and it helps manage the overwhelm. Another good idea from Victoria.

6. Use iCal on my laptop and on my iPhone. Getting my schedule out of my head and onto "paper" clears some space.... for all those thoughts that I need to get down in my notebook! (See #1.)

7. ... also it's *really* interesting to see how much junk I'm carrying around in my head. I would like that junk to stop jabbing me in meditation, so I'm excited to put it down somewhere. (The creative company Behance has all kinds of strategies, apps, and stationary to help with this very thing---thank you, Jocelyn Glei!)

8. Inbox zero! Again: inbox zero!

9. Annoying people and situations (hello, crowded subway) offer a chance to learn and grown---I know, I know, SUCH a cliche! But there's a catch: they are opportunities only if I can stay vulnerable. It is challenging not go into habit---and so, interesting. Heart forward!

10. Open your eyes. For one minute every day, see who and what is around you. This summer I noticed an overgrown corner lot at S1 and Driggs. I've lived one block from it for probably 10 years: in July it was lush vines, weeds, morning glories, and leafy tree branches spilling over the fence. It was wonderful to walk past. I found myself taking detours to stroke the cat-tails, smell the flowers, inhale the green. Even if you've seen your local spot or your trusted people a 1,000,000 times, see them again. Recall the native greeting in Avatar, "I see you."It's great to open your eyes.

Stubdog: Half-Price Yoga?

According to the ad copy on Flavorpill's "thehookup," Stubdog offers half price tickets on music, comedy, dance, special parties---and YOGA.

Is that yoga classes, yoga events, yoga fashion trunk shows? Not clear. A quick search of the site turned up zero offerings in any of their cities currently (Houston, Los Angeles, Dallas/Ft Worth, New York). But a half-price anything is worth it these days. So I pass it along to you, dear reader. Maybe while you're waiting for a yoga class to pop onto the list you'll catch an Afro-Cuban extravaganza or the next Eddie Izzard?

Stubdog for Event Tickets - Houston, Los Angeles, Dallas/Ft Worth

Bollywood 101

Bollywood 101, a great film series, has been happening this fall at the Ossining, NY, Public Library. The last screening is this Saturday at 4pm. Don't miss it! It's run by my friend and colleague, former punk rock East Village 80s bartender chick, grammarian supreme, and all around excellent person, Carolyn Lengel.

With her husband Mike Enright, and daughter Harriet, they not only curate the film series, they make these great YouTube videos as promos, interviewing themselves (here Harriet delivers her commentary while hanging laundry) and Bollywood experts while showing clips from the featured film. From Carolyn's message:Escape to the Ossining Public Library at 4 p.m. on Saturday, December 5, for the grand finale of the "Bollywood 101" film series, LAGE RAHO MUNNA BHAI (2006), a completely charming movie about a Mumbai gangster who falls in love and begins to see visions of Gandhi. What better way to get in a holiday mood?Even if you can't make it to Ossining, you can join in the fun from the sidelines. Watch theYouTube videos and join Bollywood 101 on Facebook. Stay tuned!

Eating Meat--or Not?

It's true that I eat meat: the humanely raised, grass-fed kind. I have been surprised by how many restaurants offer it. There's even a full on BBQ place that's all organic near where I live. In fact, to eat good meat that's not full of hormones, antibiotics and that won't contribute to any being's misery has been my New Year's resolution for a few years running. (Sometime towards the end of the year I find myself at a dinner party or in Chinatown breaking it, hence the need for a re-up.)With the end of the year approaching there comes a slew of help from the New York Times, and, of course, literary star, Jonathan Safran Foer whose recent book is Eating Animals, and why we shouldn't.

I have to confess that these days I eat mostly vegan anyway. No dairy, no sugar, no meat, no wheat (not that vegans avoid gluten). It's not quite a question of ethics, but what is easier to digest. And what will keep me healthier now that it's plague season. (The subway: H1N1 incubator?) According to the Times, 1% of Americans in 2009 are vegan, and it's getting easier and easier to find vegan food. Not just at ethnic resautrants such as Indian and Thai, but in mainstream America. A 17-year old Long Island boy---a vegan---managed to instigate a slew of vegan fare at his father's pizzeria where he works. It attracted a vegan crowd. Moo-Cluck Bakery on Long Island sells retail and wholesale. And it's not just the vegans who like their cakes: the bakery owners, "took a box of several dozen Moo-Cluck cookies to a family Christmas party of 30 people last year, intending it for a vegan relative." The vegan arrived too late to enjoy the gift. Half an hour after Ms. Cummings brought them into the house, the cookies were gone, she said. “All the nonvegans ate them.” If cutting out meat, dairy, and sugar seems dire to you, consider this: vegans eat cookies like everyone else. Here's a cookbook to prove it: Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar: 100 Dairy-Free Recipes for Everyone’s Favorite Treats by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero (Da Capo). That's sounds like holiday fun (though the reviewer of her sister's vegan cookies in this article thought they tasted "like homework.")Decide for yourself. Make your own resolution.

Receiving the Medicine Buddha Initiation

medicine buddha

Dalai Lama, photographed by Tenzin Choejor, Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama)

Guest post by Viniyoga teacher,  Linda Prosche

The Dalai Lama visited Long Beach Convention Center at the end of September and I attended the Saturday two hour session to receive the Medicine Buddha Initiation. Usually, Tibetan physicians receive this initiation, but it also works to give laypeople more healing powers, too.

"If one meditates on the Medicine Buddha, one will eventually attain enlightenment, but in the meantime one will experience an increase in healing powers both for oneself and others and a decrease in physical and mental illness and suffering," says Lama Tashi Namgyal.

Some 5 days later, the glow of the experience still wrapped around me. A Buddhist friend who'd scored front row seats confirmed this: “Once you have been touched by His presence, your life will never be the same.” I wondered, “Am I different, now?”

Although, I am not a Buddhist, my personal yoga practice helps me to compassionately release my habituated conditioning which no longer serves me.  Is it possible that I could have swapped out a bad habit for a better one just by listening to this man? Apparently, he is not just any man. When I entered the Center in the company of thousands I felt the quiet hush of meditative reverence. My other feelings are harder to describe: I found myself serene, humbled and in a state of awe.  Awe at the sheer simplicity of this man in robes with his back towards us in preparation for his offering. He began with a simple message.  “Take care of the earth, it is your only home. Be kind to one another and don’t kill things.” Then he asked who would be interested in the initiation and 90% of the crowd raised their hands.It was a bit funny. I shot my hand up only to wonder, what is he really asking of me? In a culture of sensationalism and drama what did I have to do and how much would it cost?

Again, his requests were simple and if I was not able to do them all, he explained, I could do less. How tolerant!He then began the Medicine Buddha Mantra which I was unfamiliar with.  But I joined in. We seemed to go on chanting for hours, between wakefulness and deep sleep. Then, without skipping a beat, he said, “That’s all. Goodbye." I was stunned. But then again, what else was there to say? I just wanted to sit in the delicious reverberation of the mantra. I returned home and the next morning made my way over to Starbucks.

I noticed the pleasant mantra rumble still floated through my brain.  I also noticed that I chose a new nutrition bar over my habitual chai latte. The bar was called NICE. Can you believe it? Was it a message to me, prompted by His Holiness? Maybe I had changed! Later that morning a student asked what I had learned from my visit with the Dalai Lama. I reached into my bag and tossed the nutrition bar her way. I said “This is his teaching: be NICE to one another and share love and compassion on the earth just as easily as I shared this nutrition bar with you!” Of course she laughed and I felt that infectious giggle so many people have experienced in the presence of his joyful being. And then I did something very different. Just like the Dalai Lama, I said, “And that’s it. Good bye!”  It was that easy and that simple.

guest post by Viniyoga teacher, Linda Prosche

Happy Diwali Message from President Obama

jalebi

Diwali party, the Hindu festival of light, was last Saturday. I helped a friend prepare for his Diwali party by picking up food from Jackson Heights, Queens: trays of saag paneer, spicy lentils, rice, tubs of chickpeas, and sweets such as jalebi (which seems to be 100% sugar spun in pretzel-shapes, fried, and dipped in sweet red syrup and is kind of like eating a tasty neon sign).

Last week, President Obama showed his chutzpah by delivering first-ever presidential wishes for the Diwali festival. He addresses Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs and even citing Sanskrit verse (a chant you might recognize from yoga class!). It reminds me of watching Queen Elizabeth give her Christmas Day speech from Buckingham Palace on TV as a kid (true story) but way, way cooler. Watch President Obama's message for Diwali here:

LuLu or Cult: Clothes Call?

The NYTimes Style section today (The Critical Shopper) goes after the LuLu culture, focusing on the boppy, sunny, perky, happy, can-do, yes'm attitude of the staffers. The writer walks into the flagship store in Manhattan (sounds like the set-up to a joke) and "A nanosecond after I entered, a spunky girl greeted me with a “Hi!” as if she were my life coach or wife." His take is that it's all a bit culty. Not just out on the LuluLemon-covered streets (which is what New York Magazine's juicy LuLuLemon article this past summer was talking about), but in the store itself.LuluLemon works hard to create such boppy attitude in its educators, with personal growth coaching that sometimes includes a session at Landmark Forum.

This is not very “yoga,” but it is to be expected if you are to create a brand that appeals to the public on a global scale. Lululemon understands that we like our enlightenment to be results-oriented, self-esteem boosting and comfortable so that we can flop on the couch after doing our inner work and watch “Grey’s Anatomy.”

Hmm, true: how many of us like our enlightenment to be results-oriented? Many, I'd guess, though we'd never say, "Oh, checked in with Brahman, supreme cosmic spirit from Hindu Vendanta philosophy this morning, cross that off today's to-do list."Aside from using the word relentlessly relentlessly (well, twice, gad zooks! "relentlessly sunny", "relentlessly cheery"), he also does his bit to give the back story on Chip Wilson and review the clothes. He likes the selection of men's clothes. He seems to practice yoga himself. He's a fair reviewer, not beneath a bit of ribbing:

Some of the get-ups are insanely garish. Run Ultra pants have black and white swirly striped panels over purple fabric and look like something Patricia Heaton wears on one of her 14 sitcoms; cropped bottoms with green plaid fabric around the waist is fine if you want to look like a Scotch tape dispenser while you are in Uttanasana.

Any Lulu article must discuss the unusual materials in their clothes, and Albo obliges. And, like the NYMag writer, he takes a shot at the purpose of wearing those hot pants anyway (hint: it's not all about "wicking away moisture"):

The materials, with names like Silverescent and Luon, are obsessed with wicking away sweat and therefore suit the typical yoga-goer’s secret mantra: I am willing to bow to an elephant-headed god, but I refuse to look skanky when I walk to my car after class because there might be a hot guy around.

It seems we can't get enough of LuLu, even if we're making fun of her: she's an easy entree into yoga culture for, well, people who perhaps relate more to the lifestyle aspect of yoga than the, say, sutra-studying aspect. And she provides an opportunity to play in the entertaining contradictions in this yoga-saturated moment.

Global Mala NYC--It's Happening

Apologies to readers outside of the city, but I was complaining about New York's meagre showing for Global Mala earlier this week, so I feel the need to amend. Last night I got notice that we're not as lame as it seems.Jivamukti and Integral Yoga Institute have taken on the challenge, and will present NYC Metro Area Global Mala Yoga for Peace Event (a mouthful--and a concert/kirtan) at Baruch College's Mason Hall, Sunday, September 20th, 6 - 10pm.Your $15 donation goes to Animal Mukti, a spay and neuter program established by Sharon Gannon at the New York Humane Society.  (This event is looking for volunteers, hint hint.)

Earlier in the day, Yoga for Peace will host an outdoor mala from noon til 3pm---that's right, 108 sun salutations at Battery Park. You need to pre-register and send in your $20 (see the website).

The evening event is a concert and kirtan featuring some key Jiva figures such as Shyamdas (who appeared in the yoga movie, Enlighten Up!) and Sharon Gannon. Swami Ramananda, president of the Integral Yoga Institute, will speak and so will  Sri Dharma Mittra.All big vegans and vegetarians.So, there you go folks! Global Mala NYC is on.

Celebrity Yoga Teachers--Problem?

Late in August, YogaCityNYC, a New York yoga blog, sent me to Omega for their Being Yoga conference. There, I interviewed a lot of high-profile yoga teachers---Shiva Rea, Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, Dharma Mittra, Sharon Gannon and David Life, Tias Little---about what they thought of their status in the yoga world. (Rodney Yee was there, too, but he wasn't giving interviews.) Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidmain, photographed by Michael O'Neill for Vanity Fair, June 2007 I also interviewed Glen Black who has taught and practiced for 38 years but in contrast to everyone else, has actually avoided the spotlight.The result of my weekend in Rhinebeck, NY? An article on celebrity yoga teachers. What do we do with them? What do we think about them? Is a media-friendly yoga teacher a natural outcome of yoga's presence in America's consumer culture? Turns out the peaceful yoga crowd at Omega had a lot to say, as well...Read the article and send in your thoughts.... had any experiences with"celebrity" yogis?

Global Mala--Not Just an LA Event (though you gotta hand it to them....)

The Global Mala event---108 sun salutations, done in public, with a lot of other people, to live music---will happen next weekend, Sept 19 & 20. The LA crowd---particularly the sun-dosed teachers and musicians working out of the Santa Monica/Venice mothership---have really got their act together for it. Their event is *huge*. And no wonder, since it was conceived of by Shiva Rea, who teaches out of the Exhale Center for Movement in Venice, and has the backing of her local folks such as Hala Khouri, Saul David Raye, and Govindas and Rhada. Nonetheless, there will be Global Mala events all over---not just in the US but in Canada, Japan, and South Africa. From the press release: "On September 19 and 20, the Global Mala Yoga for Peace Project, whose purpose is to unite the global yoga community, will implement events throughout the world in honor of the United Nations International Day of Peace. Forming a “mala around the earth” through collective practices based upon the sacred cycle of 108, the mission of the Global Mala Project is to raise both funds and consciousness for some of the most pressing issues facing the world today." In New York, the event is organized by Exhale Spa, too, and will take place at 150 Central Park South (212-249-3000). But it looks like a *much* smaller affair. The LA extravaganza is described as "a 4-hour ritual with 108 sun salutations and kirtan music." For a mere twenty bucks you can get a premium seat (seat?) in front of the stage with goodies thrown in.New York, what are we doing here?

September is Yoga Month.... Move Your Asana

So, I realize September is already flying by (ack!), but..... September is also the National Yoga Awareness Month and this year that means you can get free classes somewhere near you.Thanks to the Yoga Health Foundation you can get a free week of yoga (at participating studios) from Sept 1 until Nov 30, 2009. See yogamonth.org. (Teachers and studios--you can also sign up to offer a free class.)

Sept 09 Yoga Month

Free is a great price---and a great way to check out new studios. New York studios are having several events---check out the New York calendar here.

September is Here! Ack!

Summer is my season. When the weather turned over the weekend, and the sting of September was in the air, I admit I felt heartsick. My season was so short, and so weird this year. I didn't quite get enough. Never even made it to the beach!But, September is here and yoga nation is back. My impromptu dog-days hiatus from blogging is over (you can even need a vacation from blogging and from Twitter), and I'm ready for a fall season of yoga news, yoga quirks, and yoga love. Watch for my upcoming piece on YogaCityNYC about celebrity yogis! Up next week. In this space, I'll have news from the American Viniyoga Institute (where I'll be over Labor Day), plus a video of John Friend trying slackline yoga, an interview with the makers of the next yoga film---and more, folks, and more, and coming your way....Namaste!

As LuLu Gets the Squeeze, Hyde Keeps It Real (or at least small)

Hyde yoga clothing 3

Hyde yoga clothing 2

Hyde yoga clothing

There's nothing wrong with visibility, there's nothing wrong with success. Or is there? We yoga folks seem utterly torn about LuLuLemon. As the yoga clothing company surges from being a cool, innovative business, to an annoyingly ubiquitous logo, yogis, studios, and even New York Magazine (see last week's "Lust for Lulu" feature article) have been experiencing some queasy feelings. When did yoga clothing become "active lifestyle wear for women"? Up in arms for LuluLemon. (Photo: Summer Starling/Courtesy of Lululemon)

This week, A.K. Kennedy, founder of Hyde yoga clothes, reminds me that not long ago, well-made, comfortable yoga clothes were hard to find. "I was that person who didn’t want to spend $70 on yoga clothes. So I bought them at Old Navy and was annoyed that they didn’t fit very well." "There was hippie dippie organic clothing, or Nike stuff, or if you did find something that worked, you couldn’t find it again."

In early 2005, A.K. began designing and manufacturing yoga clothes part time (she had been designing rugs, and before that, working in the corporate world). Lulu wasn't quite on the scene (in the U.S.) yet. By the end of 2005 she was full time and had 4 samples in organic cotton---2 tops, a pant and a pair of shorts. Now Hyde has standing orders with 85 studios and employees three staff (including A.K.). They work out of a modest Lower East Side office. Not the Lower East Side office. 

"We have a lot of fun and everyone does everything—we all went out to Wanderlust together. On photo shoots, my boyfriend is the photo assistant." On LuLuLemon, A.K. says at first studios were excited to carry clothes specifically designed for yogis and yoginis---and well-made, too. But as the company has grown bigger, there's been some brand fatigue."

Some studios tried retail for the first time because of LuLu. Now they want to try something different and maybe a little less expensive. "Hyde has such a different point of view. We're less sporty and totally all organic except for a little bit of Spandex. We're not quite active lifestyle wear. "

Originally, A.K. wanted to offer much less expensive clothes. But the realities of running a small, quality business made that impossible. "We could make cheaper pants but we would be sacrificing something to do that—we would have to sacrifice quality of materials and we just don't want to." Hyde's most expensive pant is $69. LuluLemon's signature Groove Pant is $98. "I want to be under $60 but we’re small so our minimums are not quite high enough to come down in price."

"I used to pick up a cute, organic dress from a small company and think, 'Why the hell is this $250?' and I'd put it back. Now I know that company is paying rent, using unusual material, and probably paying a premium for not meeting factory’s minimums for small production run." "It's changed the way I shop—before I would have put that dress down and bought something from a bigger company. Now I spend money on the smaller company and feel good about it."

Wanderlust Not Woodstock; Props from NYTimes

A bristling bouquet of Wanderlustees arms raised in high lunge. That's what you see on the front of today's NYTimes Arts section, some high profile coverage of yoga's rock'n'roll bonanza last weekend in Lake Tahoe. What's more, John Friend and Duncan Wong front the pack of sun drenched yogis gathered for class at the top of Squaw Valley Mountain to put their arms vigorously in the air. (Love the headband, no-shirt, sunglasses, crushed straw hat look of yogis practicing outdoors. See the physical paper today and the multimedia show on the Times' site.)

For all those likening the festival to Woodstock Festival from 1969, the yoga at least has a pretty updated feel to it---even if joints were also smoked in the non-yoga hours. (And according to my sources, the Kula village had an almost bougy vibe at times, Burning Man flashbacks (for some) notwithstanding.) Wanderlust 2009, Woodstock 1969 Reconciling the inner rocker with the outer yogi wasn't a problem for most people says the Times ---and most people I've talked to who were out there. In fact, I'd wager that strict righteousness that keeps yogis from rocking out (literally and metaphorically) only describes a few yogis these days, not the majority. That's just some kind of bad hype that's been hanging around. Shiva Rea rocks out on the main stage. All color photos by Jon Hyde for NYTimes. The Times article points out some of the downsides of the festival---the head-scratching combo of indie music (and its fans) and yoga (with its devotees).

“Frankly, when I heard about it,” said Mr. Bird, the singer and multi-instrumentalist who was a headliner on Sunday, “my first reaction was, is that going to work, because some of the bands don’t exactly spell inner peace, musically — nor do I, lyrically.”

The rapper, Common, who replaced the sick Michael Franti last minute, was too lewd for some yogis, and some musicians such as Kaki King could not get their heads around the yoga angle.

“I’m not going to do the hippie dance,” said Kaki King, the Brooklyn-based guitarist and singer who performed early on Saturday on the mountaintop stage. “I’m going to put shoes on and I’m not going to drink any mold” (a reference to kombucha, a fermented tea). And, she continued, “I’m not going to do any yoga.”

Mold! We love mold. But even if it wasn't all peace and love, the true spirit of yoga and love of a good time shone through for most. Gregg Gillis, the mash-up artist who performs as Girl Talk, and whose shows resemble a raunchy spring break party, is about as far removed from peacefulness as possible. But many festival-goers said they got the same rejuvenating charge from raucous dancing as from mindful breathing.

“These are audiences with open minds,” Mr. Gillis said. “Even if they’re not into it, they’re not there to critique it. And if they like it, they’re not embarrassed to get into it.”

The future is looking bright for Wanderlust, which almost broke even in its first year---in the middle of an enormous economic depression. Not bad, not bad. And 2010? Well, they are "already considering expanding Wanderlust next year, to three events on three mountaintops."

Yes, those hills will surely be alive with the sounds of yogis and music.

Wanderlust Could Be Yoga's Burning Man, says Ashley Turner

Yoga ticket sales at Wanderlust are closed as of Saturday afternoon, though tickets for music are still available. The yoga is hot, hot, hot!In fact, Wanderlust is smoking hot, says Ashley Turner, LA native and bi-coastal yoga teacher who spent Friday and Saturday hanging with yogi friends at the festival's yoga village.I spoke to Ashley this morning. Because of a scheduling snafu (she had to teach down in SF on Sat), Ashley didn't end up teaching at Wanderlust this year. But she did attend the Friday night VIP party for teachers, artists, and sponsors, as well as the launch part for YAMA (yoga artists management agency. Yes, I know!!!! Weird!)

"Wanderlust is just a very cool idea. I don't know why we haven't had yoga conferences like it before," says Ashley who includes live music in her Friday night classes at the legendary Exhale Center for Sacred Movement, in Santa Monica. She sees the blend of yoga and music as the way of the future. "I just had time for one class, and I practiced with John Friend under a big tent in the yoga village right before sunset. The breeze was going with that hot summer air. It was amazing to practice in the elements like that."

LEFT: John Friend sees a woman crying during his session. She's joyously moved. From Ossumnis on TwitPic. RIGHT: Yoga Tree tent, Janet Stone class. From Phyzzyoga on TwitPic. Turner didn't have time for any of the big-ticket music events, so I asked her what the scene was like in the yoga village.

"The yoga village was amazing. Most of the teachers and a lot of the participants are staying in the village. You literally walk out the door and there are tons of restaurants and shops. Then at night with bands playing it had a Burning Man edge to it."

"There were people in costume, on stilts, it's a whole other artistic edge happening. That vibe adds another dimension to yoga, too. It's like the mystics and wanderers wandering around us. It was so magical. My favorite thing was being with all of my peers from throughout the country converging at one point. All my best friends were there." Schuyler and Jeff [Wanderlust organizers] really nailed it. “This is the next generation of yoga."