I read this interesting article today about the lack of difficult/challenging yoga classes out there for advanced practitioners. (Thanks, Eric, for sending it to me.) This was a particularly interesting read for me because I have been frequently frustrated by how hard it is to find a strong and challenging yoga class these days, even in large cities where yoga is very popular. What’s going on? You’d think with the growing popularity of yoga, there would be more, not fewer, advanced yoga classes around. (more…)
This article in the NY Times addresses an important question that may be of special interest to yogis: What is the relationship between physical fitness and muscle bulk?
The general/popular belief seems to be that bulging muscles are healthy, and that smaller muscles are less healthy. I know some anxious yogis who still lift weights (despite advice to the contrary) because they believe that doing yoga alone does not help them to “bulk up” enough. Part of this thinking is true–You in fact won’t build Incredible Hulk muscles from doing yoga. But why think this is necessarily a bad thing?
Interestingly, this article claims that “bulk does not matter” when it comes to muscle health. And there seems to be a growing body of research to support this claim. This doesn’t strike me as all that surprising, though, especially when I look at older yogis who are neither bulked up nor sculpted, but who are nonetheless very strong, agile, flexible, and who look, feel, act years younger than their actual age.
Last week, the teacher who normally teaches my favorite Sunday afternoon 2/3 Vinyasa Flow class was out of town, so the studio brought in a substitute teacher. The sub was well-trained and perfectly qualified to be there, but about fifteen minutes into the class, she said something which kind of riled me. She announced: “If you’re here expecting to get the kind of class that [regularly scheduled teacher] teaches, you’re not going to get it, so get over it.” At first, I was a little annoyed by this, but then I just dealt with it; after all, there was not much I could do at the moment, and, besides, there’s always something to be learned from different teachers. But this got me thinking: What, if any, responsibility does a substitute yoga teacher have in terms of teaching/mimicking the class style of the regular teacher? (more…)
Filed under: Yoga News
Wii Fit, a new video game from Nintendo, is really causing a stir. I actually haven’t had a chance to play it yet, but I do know that there is a yoga module, which was reviewed recently by Cyndi Lee, founder of Om Yoga. She doesn’t seem to have very good things to say about Wii Fit, at least not with respect to its yoga module, but I am still very intrigued by the idea of a yoga video game. (more…)
Filed under: Yoga News
Mike Myers is coming out with a new film called “The Love Guru” on June 20th. In the film, Mike Myers plays a kind of spiritual guru, and, of course, the movie is a comedy. The film is already stirring up some controversy because of its portrayal of Hindus and Hinduism. I haven’t seen the movie so I can’t (yet) comment either way, but I’ll put up a more complete review of the film when it’s out. In the meantime, check out “The Love Guru” at his official website and on YouTube.
For a good laugh, check out Mike Myers doing yoga poses on “The Love Guru” website. Not bad form, but I think he could use a few pointers on “softening his face” and breathing through his nose instead of his mouth.
A few days ago, on my way to yoga class, I passed by a young man, probably in his late 20’s or early 30’s, who was puffing away on a cigarette, right outside the studio. I was a little annoyed because when people smoke out there on the sidewalk, smoke wafts up and comes into the windows. There’s nothing like taking in a mouthful of cigarette smoke while you are in Savasana… (more…)
