1.29.2012
One More Reason to Fly to San Fran
http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/01/27/the-zen-of-air-travel-san-francisco-airport-opens-yoga-room/
What's Your Style?
If you are new to yoga, all the different "styles" of yoga can be overwhelming. Where should you begin? And is all yoga the same? The truth is that no, not all yoga is the same. But all the different styles are very necessary, because all of us have different needs. Just like how we all need different diets based on our genetic make-up, lifestyles, and taste preferences.
Remember that there is no one simple prescription for health....or enlightenment!
Here is a little quiz to help you figure out which yoga is best for you. The quiz is by Alison Hicks (http://alisonhinksyoga.wordpress.com/)
This link to the quiz allows you to zoom in, which I can't figure out how to do on my blog (eesh):
http://dailycupofyoga.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/yoga-style-quiz1.jpg
I was really surprised that the quiz led me right to the style that I choose to practice most often. Does the quiz work for you too?
And here is a really helpful link from Yoga Journal about the different styles:
http://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/2984
1.28.2012
1.27.2012
1.26.2012
1.24.2012
Equinox Parody
Here is the recent Equinox video featuring Briohny Smith practicing in her underwear in her bedroom (uh ohhhh) that has raised such a stink in the yoga blogosphere lately. Inspiration or near-pornography? This is a great example of projection. How do you respond to this video?
And here is the humorist Michael A. Stusser's parody of the above video. Just as inspiring as Briohny!
1.23.2012
BirthMarkings
Learning to love and accept out bodies. This is the opening to a project by Margaret Lazarus exploring the changes in our bodies and the shift in our self image after giving birth.
Details of the complete project can be found at:
http://www.imow.org/economica/projects/story?key=6572
Thanks to Chelsea Kouns, a local passionate Asheville doula and friend, for passing this on. Chelsea (among many other titles) is the program director for Start From Seed, "A comprehensive, community based program rooted in the intention of increasing the quality of care women receive before, during and after pregnancy."
http://www.startfromseed.org/#!
1.22.2012
Dorkasana
http://www.yogadork.com/news/ultimate-yogadork-t-shirt-contest-winner/
From Yoga Dork blog's T-shirt contest.
From Yoga Dork blog's T-shirt contest.
I hear Lady Gaga looooooves yoga
Lady Gaga
I know I can't pull off that skin tight lace catsuit, but I definitely need to find a black mat and gold chain mat carrier.
Lulu stirrin' it Up
From http://blogs.yogajournal.com/yogabuzz/:
Lululemon Founder Resigns
Photo by The Globe and Mail
Lululemon founder Chip Wilson will step down as the company’s chief innovation and branding officer effective Jan. 29, according to a press release. Wilson will continue to serve as chairman of the board of directors.
“I remain deeply committed to the company’s continued success and given the strength we’ve built into the organization over the past three years, I feel comfortable leaving the company with Christine Day at the helm of a world class management team whom I fully believe will continue to elevate our world, ” Wilson said. Day, a former Starbucks executive, was named CEO of the year by The Globe and Mail Business Magazine in late 2011.
No reason was given for the decision, but the announcement comes after widespread backlash following a controversial decision to put the Ayn Rand slogan “I am John Galt” on Lululemon shopping bags last November.
Wilson, who started off creating a surf, skateboard, and snowboard clothing company, founded Lululemon in 1998 and headed its rise to become the fastest growing yoga-lifestyle retailer in the world, with 151 stores in North America, Asia, and Australia.
Recognized as one of Canada’s wealthiest citizens, Wilson, who made Forbes’ 2011 World’s billionaire’s list, owns about 10 percent of Lululemon Athletica stock, according to The Globe and Mail. That stock hit an all-time high yesterday after the company reported strong holiday sales, contributing to an increase of roughly 80 percent over the past year, CBCNews reported.
For those of you who don't know about the "Who is John Galt?" controversy, this is from http://www.lululemon.com/community/blog/who-is-john-galt/:
This blog post was written by and posted on November 2, 2011 at 10:22 am
who is john galt?
This question appears many times in Ayn Rand’s classic 1957 novel, “Atlas Shrugged,” and, curiously, it also appears on the side of our shopping bags currently in our stores.
You might be wondering why a company that makes yoga clothing has chosen a legendary literary character’s name to adorn the side of our bags. lululemon’s founder, Chip Wilson, first read this book when he was eighteen years old working away from home. Only later, looking back, did he realize the impact the book’s ideology had on his quest to elevate the world from mediocrity to greatness (it is not coincidental that this is lululemon’s company vision).
elevating the world from mediocrity to greatness
In “Atlas Shrugged,” Ayn Rand describes a society where people work and reside in government-controlled environments that are tightly regimented. Without realizing it, this control created a society of mediocrity; propagating a cycle of listless, uninspiredexisting as opposed to living. The character John Galt encouraged all of the world’s innovators and intelligent minds to go on strike from the increasingly controlling government in order to create a vacuum of brilliance, proving that independent creativity and free-will is critical for quality of life.
what john galt teaches us
While the plot in the book may sound radical and far-fetched, we place many of these constraints and limitations on ourselves which impede us from living our best lives. Think about it: we are all born with magical machines, aka human bodies, able to think, jump, laugh and run. We are able to control our careers, where we live, how much money we make and how we spend our days through the choices we make. Of course, there are situations sometimes where we aren’t able to control what happens to us. Life can be hard, challenging and unfair. What we can control, however, is our reaction. We can choose to rise up and be great.
Many of us choose mediocrity without even realizing it. We think we “have” to do things or “aren’t able” to do what we want. We create rules and experience fear when we dream of a life we love. Why do we do this? Because our society encourages mediocrity. It is easier to be mediocre than to be great.
What do we want to create for our lives right now? We can do it. It might be hard but there is nothing stopping us. Think about the reasons and excuses that come up when we envision our best lives; it is remarkable how manipulative and clever mediocrity can be, sneakily convincing us to continue existing without what we desire most.
Our bags are visual reminders for ourselves to live a life we love and conquer the epidemic of mediocrity. We all have a John Galt inside of us, cheering us on. How are we going to live lives we love?
And here is what npr had to say about it:
The Literature degree student in me LOVES this controversy. I think good job Lulu, way to stir the pot!
Baby Boomers Boomin'
Looking to my elders for guidance and inspiration:
B.K.S Iyengar 93 yrs old.
"If you have a knife that you do not use, what happens to it? It gets rust, does it not? If you want to go on using it, you have to sharpen it regularly.With regular sharpening, you can keep it sharp forever. "
-Iyengar "Old Age" The Tree of Yoga
Tao Porchon-Lynch Age 93
Tao has been teaching for 45 years and practicing for 70. "I am still a yoga beginner. I am still learning," she says.
Betty Calman, 83 yrs old
'Yoga keeps you young... Never have I gone to a yoga class and wished I was somewhere else, because I know I'm going to come out feeling on the top of the world. There'll always be yoga.'
A Snapshot of Yoga History
Here is a link to the flowchart that you can zoom in on.
Given that this is a very brief and abbreviated "history" of yoga...you can see that it's history is very complex. The next time someone asks me where yoga comes from, I plan to send them the link to this chart. It's just too complicated of an answer for me sometimes.
1.17.2012
Yoga IdeaPad
Lenovo (I have a lenovo laptop btw) has created what they are calling their Yoga IdeaPad, kind of a cross between a notebook and a tablet (get it, it's flexible?). I think it's pretty awesome, but I do tend to love all, okay most, things yoga...
(FYI: The Yoga IdeaPad does not actually have anything to do with yoga)
No Camel Toe
Lululemon got major flack for this one. What do you think...too crude? Crude or not, it's funny...
1.12.2012
Nods and uh-huhms to Sarah Miller
Read this after you read my last blog entry: Six Reasons to Ignore the New York Times Article on Yoga
http://www.theawl.com/2012/01/six-reasons-to-ignore-the-new-york-times-yoga-article
I love Sarah Miller (the author to the article above).
Here's another one by her I love called "Why Yoga Can Be So Irritating (But You Should Go Anyway):
http://www.theawl.com/2011/08/why-yoga-can-be-so-irritating-although-you-should-go-anyway
If you yoga on the reg, you will be rolling on the floor laughing at this one, and nodding and uh-huhming too.
http://www.theawl.com/2012/01/six-reasons-to-ignore-the-new-york-times-yoga-article
I love Sarah Miller (the author to the article above).
Here's another one by her I love called "Why Yoga Can Be So Irritating (But You Should Go Anyway):
http://www.theawl.com/2011/08/why-yoga-can-be-so-irritating-although-you-should-go-anyway
If you yoga on the reg, you will be rolling on the floor laughing at this one, and nodding and uh-huhming too.
1.08.2012
Danger...Yoga?
A recent article in the New York Times called "How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body":
We are doing everything we can these days to make yoga more hard core. "Hot" yoga, "power" yoga, etc. Come on people! Yoga is NOT hardcore. Rock climbing is hardcore-- kayaking, skiing , football, skateboarding.
Is yoga dangerous?
One of the main reasons I first started attending classes way back in 2001 was that I needed my own "thing". I was looking for some sort of physical practice I could call my own. I was in my early twenties, supple and stretchy already by nature, and yoga was the most un-intimidating "sport" I could put my finger on. It didn't require expensive harnesses and ropes, a boat, or a boy to lead the way.
The only thing I have found to be afraid of in my yoga practice is my own mind.
Can you hurt yourself in yoga? Of course. A great teacher, an experienced teacher, can help to show you how to avoid injuries. But always in your yoga practice, it is you hurting yourself, not something yoga has done to you. You control every factor when you are on your mat. If you injure yourself in your practice, it's because you aren't listening to your body, you aren't keeping your breath smooth and even, you aren't staying focused. If your practice continues to be about these things, this calmness and focus, then you can keep your ego at bay and you are very, very unlikely to injure yourself.
So don't be scared, get on your mat. And if it isn't extreme enough, go base jumping.
1.06.2012
Nah Imma Stay
"Yoga Girl" music video by Fog and Smog. So good.
"you need some visine for your third eye" bahaha
1.04.2012
Shit Yogis Say
This is an awesome spoof from lululemon, a spin from the "Shit Girls Say" (which is also hilarious and you should check out on youtube)
"I just got some really cool eyeshadow for my third eye"
Namaste motherf*ckers!
1.02.2012
Bad Habits
Above is a link to an article entitled "What Vietnam Taught Us About Breaking Bad Habits". The article discusses the link between your behavior and your environment, specifically about soldiers with heroin addictions after they returned from Vietnam. As those of you who know me well, addiction and recovery are issues close to my heart.
"Samskaras" is a yogic term that simply translated means "habits". These samskaras are both good and bad habits. They are like loops in our minds. We follow these loops all day- in the ways that we move, talk, think, perceive, and respond. We walk these pathways in our minds without realizing we are going in circles. We approach anything new in our lives, approach every new day, by reliving the experiences of the days before. We use our past experiences to create boundaries around the very complex and overwhelming world around us. But these boundaries/loops/habits can become binding. I have found in my yogic practice that the work lies not in releasing yourself from these binds, but in becoming aware of their existence. When you can begin to pull yourself away from your mind, can begin to see the patterns and habits as just that...then you can begin to see yourself as something beyond the thoughts and patterns in your mind. You can see that you exist beyond your mind. You can see that these patterns can be interrupted.
Perhaps this idea is how yoga can help addiction. We are all addicts. But we are all so much more than our good and our bad behaviors. So in the next few weeks of this new year, perhaps resolve to suspend judgement and see if you can identify any of these patterns in your own mind.
Good luck with those New Year's resolutions.
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