e-Sutra Bulletin Board

This is the latest collection of items posted by e-Sutra members using Blogger's "comments" feature. This Bulletin Board Post always remains at the top of the blog, and every week, I send the full batch of Bulletin Board listings out to our 2,200+ members, with the newer ones at the bottom, and the expired ones deleted.

The Simple Sutras with Navtej Johar at The Breathing Project

Friday, May 9, from 3:30-5:00pm and 5:30-7:00pm
at The Breathing Project, New York City

Navtej is an old friend of mine from the days we were both training with Desikachar. We are privileged to host some classes for him on the rare occasions when he passes through New York.

He is an amazing individual, and a gifted teacher who's work I can recommend without reservation. I urge you to join us for the two classes he's teaching here next Friday. I hope to see you then!

click here for full info

Yoga's Next Twist - an Olympic Sport? from WSJ.com

Up until now, whenever I hear about someone wanting to make Yoga a competitive Olympic event, I've written it off as a typical Bikram publicity stunt. Well, according to this Wall Street Journal article, it seems that New Delhi has designs on a summer Olympic bid for 2020, and the Indian Olympic federation is serious about adding Yoga as a demonstration sport. Sound crazy? Consider this:

"Host countries were once able to add an official event to the Olympics, which is how judo made the jump in Tokyo in 1964. They could also promote particular sports by making them demonstration events -- which over the decades meant exposure not just for baseball and taekwondo but also Icelandic glima wrestling (Stockholm, 1912) and Basque pelota, a sport for two players, a ball and a wall (Mexico City, 1968). The right to include demonstration sports in Olympic programs was abolished after the 1992 Games. Still, China will be staging an unofficial event in the martial art of wushu at the Beijing Games this year....The Korean martial art taekwondo is in the Olympics...it began as a demonstration sport at the Seoul Olympics of 1988 and became a full event 12 years later -- though it has far fewer participants than yoga. And that's just the start of (the) list of Olympic events that yoga surpasses...."

I don't know what's crazier, Yoga at the Olympics, or the Olympics in Delhi in August...

Please share your reactions. I wold love for this to generate the lively discussion it deserves.

PDF of Chennai Online Desikachar Interview

This is a PDF file of the interview previously posted on e-Sutra. Thanks to Gail Ogden for preparing the file.

Amy Matthews and Breathing Project featured in New York Magazine!

You Walk Wrong By Adam Sternbergh

It took 4 million years of evolution to perfect the human foot. But we’re wrecking it with every step we take....

...Six students, of which I am one, have gathered in a studio at the Breathing Project in Chelsea, to learn how to walk properly. “Walking itself is the intentional act closest to the unwilled rhythms of the body, to breathing and the beating of the heart,” wrote Rebecca Solnit in Wanderlust: A History of Walking, and this is what we’re aiming for, more or less, as we circle the room slowly, in our bare feet, under the eye of our instructor, Amy Matthews. She’s a former dancer who now does private movement therapy, as well as teaching yoga, anatomy, and kinesiology classes as part of her Embodied Asana workshops....

Chennai Online Interview with T.K.V. Desikachar

"Where is the delusion when truth is known? Where is the disease when the mind is clear? Where is death when the Breath is controlled? Therefore surrender to Yoga" - T. Krishnamacharya

TKV Desikachar, had the privilege of living and studying with his father. For over 45 years, TKV Desikachar has devoted himself to teaching yoga and making it relevant to people from all walks of life and with all kinds of abilities. His teaching method is based on Krishnamacharya's fundamental principle that yoga must always be adapted to an individual's changing needs in order to derive the maximum therapeutic benefit. Full article, including video clips of the interview, here.

"Yoga Anatomy" Booksigning and Workshop at East West Books in NYC Friday, April 11

Drop by, and say hello tomorrow. I'll be signing books at the Cafe in the bookstore from 7:00 to 8:00pm. Location: 78 Fifth Avenue @ 14th Street New York, New York.
At the same location, I'm also teaching a 3-hour Intro to Yoga Anatomy Workshop on Saturday, April 12 from 12:00 - 3:00PM. There are spots still open...click here to register.

THE M.E.L.T. METHOD INTRO CLASSES AT THE BREATHING PROJECT

SATURDAY APRIL 12, 11:00AM-12:30P-OR- FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 6:00-7:30PM

I can personally recommend the work of Sue Hitzmann, creator of the M.E.L.T.Method™. This Saturday, and also Friday, April 25, you can experience Sue's easy-to-learn method of self-treatment for the connective tissue system at The Breathing Project in NYC. The MELT Method™ helps create a pain-free body using manual therapy concepts, specially designed foam rollers, and MELT hand and foot balls.
All levels welcome. Space is limited, and you can use the link below to pay via PayPal.

Cost: $40.00

Click here to register.

For more information about MELT, including regular classes and other special events, go to:

www.meltmethod.com.

Apple "Get a Mac" ad: Yoga

Judy Greer plays the yoga teacher, joining Justin Long and John Hodgman in one of the most hilarious spots yet. I guess the moral is that even a trained yogini can lose her cool when confronted with a balky, bloated operating system (full disclosure: I've been a Mac user since 1989).

Stroke of insight: Jill Bolte Taylor on TED.com

This fascinating 18 minute presentation by Jill Bolte Taylor, "The Singing Scientist," is an account of her experience of a 1996 left hemisphere stroke. She watched as her brain functions shut down one by one: motion, speech, memory, self-awareness.
Taylor spent eight years recovering her ability to think, walk and talk, and has become a spokesperson for stroke recovery and for the possibility of coming back from brain injury stronger than before.
I have a few friends who were at the recent TED Conference, and they agreed that this was the most popular talk of the event.
I found the video of her talk very moving, but I find I must take issue with her presentation of hemispheric dominance as an "either-or" choice. I don't know if this was her intention in this brief presentation, but she definitely gives the impression that the entire planet would be better off if we spent more time in right-hemisphere dominance - a place even she refers to as "La-La Land." I prefer to view the goal of spiritual practice as a state where the hemispheric functions are balanced, with the ability to easily shift "right" or "left," depending on the needs of the present moment.
Let's hear what you think.

Tom Myers returns to The Breathing Project!

There are few teachers I can recommend as highly as Tom Myers. Once again, we are very pleased to host his New York workshops here at The Breathing Project. If I wasn't so excited about presenting at the SYTAR event in Los Angeles that same weekend, I'd be really bummed out that I have to miss Tom this time around.

There are a few spaces left for both workshops. Don't miss your chance to study with this groundbreaking teacher!

Friday, March 7 from 9am-5pm GAIT ANALYSIS

Manual and movement therapists all benefit from being able to analyze the body in motion. What parts are moving too much? What is moving too little? In this one day-workshop, we will explore and practice seeing postural compensation as it presents itself in gait pattern.

Click here to register ...

Saturday/Sunday, March 8 /9 - 9am-5pm INTRINSIC MUSCLES OF THE PELVIS

This hands-on workshop explores the logic and application of pelvic biomechanics to assessment and treatment of structural/postural imbalance. Open to practicing manual therapists with 3 years of experience.
Click here to register ...

Lunga, contortionist performer from "Africa, Africa"

So far, this is my favorite contortionist video, displacing the beloved "Yoga Girl." Lunga's first move on the floor is the most spectacular entrance into pigeon pose I've ever seen. See if you agree.

Some follow-up research revealed that Lunga is 17 years old, and claims that she required no training to arrive at this state of flexibility, which she calls "...a gift from God." My thanks to Alison West, who first e-mailed me the link with the subject header "Holy Mackerel." Indeed.

Best Buy Bodhisattva

This wonderful piece of writing is one of the best contemporary descriptions of one-pointedness I've seen in a while. Who says you can't reach samadhi through a video game? Any dissenting opinions? Post a comment below. Once in the full article, be sure to click on the "ego clip" link to see what it looks like to play this game on the expert level.

from: "Gamers with Jobs" Best Buy Bodhisattva
by Julian "rabbit" Murdoch
Best Buy during the holidays....there's the Guitar Hero 3 setup...As I stare wistfully down the PC game aisle, the posse approaches. Four teenage boys...not so much walking, but dancing, like poised ballerinas...as one and with purpose, they stop in front of the GH3 shrine. Choreographed in their movements, the smallest of the clan hands the well-used Gibson Les Paul reverently to the leader.

"OK Kyle, here you go."

I see Kyle move through the selection screens, and my heart jumps to my throat. "Through the Fire and the Flames" on Expert....As the stage swirls on the screen, a calm comes over Kyle. His face slackens a bit. He closes his eyes...300 note streak. 400 note streak. 500 note streak...
.....3, 4, 5 minutes into the song. Kyle slips deeper into what is clearly a state of Samadhi; He no longer perceives a space between himself and the game. There is no him. There is no song. There is no guitar...

Free Classes at The Breathing Project January 9!

FREE CLASSES with Leslie Kaminoff author of the best-selling book, Yoga Anatomy!
Please join us on Wednesday January 9th for a full afternoon of free classes for yoga teachers, their guests, and other students interested in Anatomy and Breathing. Leslie will be teaching Yoga Anatomy at 2pm, ABC's (Application of Breath-Centered Yoga) at 4:15pm and Open Yoga at 6:30pm. You do not need to be part of The Breathing Project's Advanced Studies program to attend and no pre-registration is required.

Location: 15 West 26th Street, 10th floor New York City

Times: 2:00pm, 4:15pm, 6:30pm

Good Article on Yoga Therapy from Friday's Globe and Mail

John Kepner, Executive director of IAYT is quoted in this article. When I forwarded it to him, he seemed pleased with it, except for the title, which I also think is a bit hokey:

"Heal me: the latest yogic mantra"
(click the link for the full article)

From Friday's Globe and Mail (Toronto)

by WENCY LEUNG

January 4, 2008 at 1:31 AM EST

VANCOUVER — Michael, 50, of Vancouver was well aware yoga can improve flexibility and fitness, but he was unprepared for the cathartic release of emotions he experienced during his first yoga therapy session.

As he lay on the floor while yoga therapist Danielle McDermott gently stretched his body, Michael, who had been suffering from anxiety attacks and paralyzing feelings of inadequacy at work, suddenly began twitching uncontrollably....

In a clinical yoga practice, physiology meets philosophy

Samarya Center in Seattle holds a fundraiser..so it can treat returning soldiers severely injured in Iraq. If the author's experience is any indication, they will be in unusual hands — and they need not be true believers.

By Cynthia Rose (from Crosscut Seattle.com)

To locate the Samarya Center, you cross the street at the Langston Hughes complex on Yesler Way in Seattle, resist the lively conversation outside the Kemaw Grocery, then stop at a two-story building before the Home of Great Bar-B-Q. Here, doors open into a tranquil world of healing that, ironically, was forged by rebellious punk energy. Samarya dispenses an unconventional form of healing – a marriage of traditional yoga practice and neuro-physiology – formally know as Integrated Movement Therapy. This permutation of yoga evolved from service to those in need: mental health and hospice patients, kids with autism or psychoses, adults who face multiple sclerosis, AIDS or other health challenges....

Financial Realities and Occupational Hazards

Old-time readers of e-Sutra will remember J. Brown's contribution to the "Yogis Behaving Badly" thread - one of the most lively discussions we've ever had. Below, I've pulled out (and re-arranged) excerpts of his latest essay, which I'm sure will resonate with many of you. Please click on the link to read the entire piece on his website, and feel free to post your comments here.

Financial Realities and Occupational Hazards by J. Brown
published in the IAYT December 07 issue of Yoga Therapy in Practice

I find myself in an increasingly smaller group of people who are actually able to support themselves solely teaching Yoga...I am a senior teacher at several Yoga centers, and after mentioning I was looking for more work, they were kind enough to offer me another class or two, leading to a schedule of 12 group classes at a total of six different centers...Soon I was teaching at full capacity: seven days and an average of 20 lessons a week.

Increasing my workload did bring in more money. However, after a few months of maintaining this schedule, a number of physical conditions emerged, including plantar fasciitis, chronic inflammation in one wrist, and what I believe to be the onset of arthritis in my hip. Under normal circumstances, these conditions would be perfectly manageable, but, given the rigorous schedule I had taken on, the required amount of rest was simply not available.

Not wanting to sacrifice any income, I instead explored changing my physical patterns, demonstrating less and actually sitting for brief periods of time while teaching. These changes did help improve the situation, but, after symptoms persisted for several more months, I felt compelled to scale back my schedule so I could address them...

...I am left with two sobering realizations:
(1) There are only so many classes I can teach in a week and only so much I can charge per class, and (2) There is most certainly a point of diminishing marginal utility to asana practice....

...Still, houses and kids cost a lot. My work provides deep spiritual satisfaction, just not ample funds. Teaching Yoga is a wholly different skill then generating wealth. The notion that there is big money to be made from Yoga is perhaps true in the context of corporate business more than heartfelt practice.

Ultimately though, Yoga affords benefits that no amount of money ever could; bearing the pecuniary burden of my trade is simply the opposite side of the coin, and, as corny as it may sound, I believe in limitless possibility.

FREE Class and Demo of Korean Yoga at The Breathing Project

Recently, I was contacted by a group of Korean yogis who wanted myhelp in getting their book and videos released in the USA. Apparently, their "Cosmic Revivification Yoga" is widely practiced and medically endorsed in South Korea. As a way of helping them get the word out, I've invited them to present a FREE open class at The Breathing Project. Please let as many people as you can know about this. I'd like to fill the room for them.

Date: Tuesday, December 18
Time: 6:30 - 8:30PM
Location: The Breathing Project
15 West 26th Street, 10th floor
(Between Broadway and 6th Ave.)
New York City
Cost: FREE
RSVP via e-mail

The Breathing Project studio is looking for a partner program

The Breathing Project, the NYC studio I founded in 2002 , is moving into the second 5 years of its lease. Due to an increase in rent, and an increase in available class times in our studio, we've decided to seek a local yoga program that may be looking for a wonderful new home.

If you are an e-Sutra list member in the NYC area, please circulate this notice to anyone you know who may be interested. We are currently meeting with prospective partners, and hope to begin this new phase of our mission by the new year.

A Great Partnership Opportunity!

The Breathing Project, a beautiful, sunlit yoga studio in the heart of Chelsea is seeking a partnership with a yoga or movement-based training program in need of a new home.

Our main studio is 24x29’ (about 700 sq feet - 30 students on yoga mats capacity), and is equipped with mats, blocks, straps, blankets and other props. There is also a small storage area, skeleton and anatomical models, massage tables, whiteboard, stereo system, a/c and 24-hour heat. There are two bathrooms/changing rooms (one with shower), kitchenette with stove, refrigerator, and sink, and a comfortable reception and retail area. We've created a warm, non-pretentious atmosphere with interesting people.

Your program would have access to new clientele, training and marketing opportunities as well as possible non-profit partnership for fundraising, special projects and grant writing. Available immediately. For information about studio scheduling, rental rates and other questions, please e-mail: leslie@breathingproject.org

Yoga Spirit Tele-class with Leslie Kaminoff Tomorrow Night

How to Practice (and Teach) Individualized, Breath-Centered Yoga, Even in Group Settings
Date: Thursday, November 29
Time: 9:00pm EST / 6:00pm PST
Register

Tele-class Description
Breath is life. Breathing brings energy into the body, and creates movement in all the vital organs. Breathing is also one of the main ways for the body to release toxins. Breathing is essential to all asana practice.

In this tele-class, Leslie will share some of his specific, practical breathing strategies based on nearly 30 years of experience teaching groups and individuals, with an emphasis on how to practice or teach these skills even in group settings. He will suggest that asana practice be viewed from the perspective of breath awareness and breath re-patterning. All levels of Yoga students and Yoga teachers will be able to deepen their practice and teaching by experimenting with a few of these simple techniques.

Another brain-twister: The McGurk Effect

Here's another example of our brain's capacity to "fill in the blanks" for us, when it it presented with partial, or conflicting input. (Video via Arnte)

In the case of the "spinning" dancer, the missing third dimension of depth was added to the 2-dimensional image, which made it appear to spin. In the McGurk effect, conflicting auditory and visual input is "averaged" to create a truly phantom perception. The "McGurk effect" was first described by Harry McGurk and John MacDonald in "Hearing Lips and Seeing Voices", Nature 264, 746-748 (1976).

You will need to play the video several times to get what's happening. Most adults (98%) think they are hearing the sound "DA" when they view the video. This is an illusion. Play the video again with your eyes closed, and notice what sound you hear. Then, play the video again, this time with the sound off, and try to guess what sound he's making just from the visual image. Then, play it once more, with the sound on, and your eyes open. Did you perceive three different sounds?

In reality, what's happening is this: the soundtrack is playing the sound "BA-BA," which is a labial consonant. The video is showing the image of "GA-GA" being pronounced - a gutteral consonant. When the brain is presented with this conflicting auditory and visual input, it "averages" them into "DA-DA" a dental consonant (part-way between gutteral and labial). Some people hear "LA-LA," which is a labial semi-vowel, but the principle is the same. A small percentage of people seem to be immune to this effect for some as-yet-unknown reason. Please comment about your experiences.

A personal Invitation to SYTAR: The 2nd IAYT SYMPOSIUM FOR YOGA THERAPY AND RESEARCH

SAVE THE DATES!
March 6-9, 2008 Los Angeles, California @ The LAX Hilton

Dear e-Sutra Readers,

IAYT's SYTAR is a unique meeting of its kind; a meeting for Yoga teachers, Yoga therapists and those involved with health care and Yoga research. Please join me at this landmark event for our field. I will be joined by over 35 other top-knotch presenters.

The IAYT / SYTAR meeting is designed for Yoga professionals to learn, meet, discuss and practice among like-minded peers. For those of you involved in any type of Yoga research, this is a perfect opportunity to get published. Accepted works from any area related to Yoga therapy will be published in a special supplement to the International Journal of Yoga Therapy, which will be distributed at the Symposium.

• For complete SYTAR information, including on-line registration, please visit www.iayt.org
• A limited number of early bird registration discounts are still available.
• Call for research abstracts deadline is november 1, 2007
• Discounts are available for IAYT, NAMA, ACVA, GYA and YA members

I look forward to seeing you there...

Leslie

Reflections on the "Right Brain-Left Brain" optical illusion

After focusing a bit more on the "spinning dancer," I've come to a few conclusions:
At first, I was able to "switch" the direction of her spinning, but not in as voluntary a way as I would have liked...it seemed too random to me.
After about 3 minutes of inquiry, I was able to observe that she is not spinning at all.
The image is 2-dimensional. Spinning is a 3-dimensional perception that my brain was superimposing on what was really happening. The image actually just flips back and forth from side to side. When I realized this on a purely cognitive level, I was able to make her do anything I wanted, completely at will.

Her extended leg appears to be moving toward and away from me, and by focusing on the brief moment of pause at the end of each leg swing, I can stop her from spinning altogether, and simply make her kick the leg back and forth. In my head, I can say to her in my best choreographer's voice: "Kick, kick, kick, spin, spin, spin, kick, kick, kick, spin, etc. - and she'll dance exactly as I want her to.

What I find interesting about this, is that I was able to override a seemingly entrenched perceptual process with a simple cognitive insight. Can anyone else reproduce this?

"Right Brain vs Left Brain" Optical Illusion

The Right Brain vs Left Brain test ... do you see the dancer turning clockwise or counter-clockwise?

If clockwise, the theory is that you favor the right side of the brain and vice versa.

Apparently, most people initially see the dancer turning counter-clockwise. I initially saw her spinning clockwise, but with a little practice, I was able to change the direction of the spinning at will. What is your experience?


(via The Daily Telegraph)

When Yoga Hurts - TIME MAGAZINE

The dialogue seems pretty accurate: "release" is often used by teachers and students as a euphemism or rationalization for injury. The other favorite word is "opening." Do you have any injury stories of your own? Please feel free to comment.
Click on the title link above to read the whole story.

By Pamela Paul

Amy Toosley was standing in a split pose when her yoga instructor gave her leg a little prod. "I heard the loudest pop I've ever heard, and the instructor said, 'Ooh! Good release, huh?'" Toosley recalls. "Not really--I could hardly walk." With her hamstring muscle snapped, Toosley, 32, avoided yoga for the next three months, and almost a year later, she is still in pain.

Bad-mouthing yoga seems like begging for a hit of unfavorable karma. But with more than 14 million people practicing yoga or tai chi nationwide, up 136% since 2000, orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists and chiropractors across the country are dealing with the increasing fallout from yoga gone awry. Over the past three years, 13,000 Americans were treated in an emergency room or a doctor's office for yoga-related injuries, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission...

30 minute CNN Talk Asia Interview with B.K.S. Iyengar

This extensive interview contains some interesting dialogue with the 88 year-old master. It aired during a half-hour segment of CNN's Talk Asia program.
The first segment opens with the famous 1938 footage of T. Krishnamacharya's practice (previously featured on e-Sutra) but curiously, neither the interviewer, nor Mr. Iyengar mention Prof. K. a single time during the entire interview.

You must endure a 15-second advert at the beginning, but the three segments should play continuously in your browser. The segments are:
A history of yoga (7:57) CNN's Anjali Rao interviews Yoga Guru B.K.S. Iyengar on his history of yoga - A yoga establishment (8:22) B.K.S. Iyengar tells CNN's Anjali Rao why he named his yoga establishment after his late wife - Yoga technique and philosophy (5:55) Iyengar talks to CNN's Anjali Rao about yoga techniques and philosophy.

From the New York Times: Yoga Is More Than Just Showing Up, but That Does Help

Congratulations to Nora Issacs for this breakout piece, which received national distribution.

By NORA ISAACS
Published: September 6, 2007

AFTER taking just a handful of yoga classes, Lisa Lew didn’t know the plow from the plank and wasn’t overly impressed with the age-old discipline. Still, she decided to tag along with a co-worker for the first day of a promotion at Levitate Yoga, a Manhattan studio, where students had committed to 21 consecutive days of yoga.

Ms. Lew, a 36-year-old administrator for an investment bank, sweated and stretched through three weeks of poses — all for a promotional price of $120. She fought aches and soreness, got stronger, and afterward she felt reborn: she lost waistline inches, but also shed stress and her tendency to overreact....
(Click here to read the entire article on the NYT website)

Benefits of Laughter Yoga with John Cleese

Kaminoff's yoga anatomy book surprises forecasters

This press release was just issued by my publishers, Human Kinetics. We are all a bit overwhelmed by the immediate acceptance and great reviews of my book, Yoga Anatomy. I especially wish to thank readers of e-Sutra for their support of the Amazon sales. We've been the #1 Yoga book on Amazon for most of the past 2 months, and sales are still going very strong. We've even cracked the top 200 overall on Amazon, clocking in at #192 in all of books this past weekend!

PRESS RELEASE
Champaign, IL

Leslie Kaminoff knew yoga practitioners would find his book, Yoga Anatomy, insightful, but neither he nor publisher Human Kinetics expected to sell 31,000 copies in the first four months. Conservative forecasts had placed its yearly sales at half that mark, and its sales strength continues, with 8,000 copies sold in September alone.

While many forecasters would expect a book with such pin-pointed subject matter to sell primarily through yoga channels, Yoga Anatomy was greeted with respectable upfront national purchases at Barnes & Noble and Borders. Now, Costco has also selected the book for a December promotion in its stores.
(click "Read more!" to see the rest of the press release)
I'm thrilled at the great reception our book has had so far," comments Kaminoff. "We've packed a lot of information into it, but in a very accessible format, so people seem to be appreciating that combination." He commends Sharon Ellis' for her illustrations' role in the book's appeal, as well as Amy Matthews' brilliant asana analysis. "We all worked very hard on creating this book, and it's been very gratifying to see it selling so strongly."

Beyond the numbers, the anecdotal feedback to the book has also been extremely positive, including a review in the October, 2007 Yoga Journal calling Yoga Anatomy "an essential book for any serious student of yoga who delights in the details of asana."

Readers have also posted overwhelmingly positive reviews on Amazon.com, where the book's sales rank has been strong since its release. "This would be a great manual for any yoga teacher training program as well as for anyone who would like to 'see' what is happening in each asana," includes one review.

Kaminoff, an internationally recognized specialist in the fields of yoga and breath anatomy, is founder and head instructor of the Breathing Project, a New York City-based studio dedicated to the teaching of individualized, breath-centered yoga practice and therapy.

In Yoga Anatomy, Kaminoff and medical illustrator Sharon Ellis depict the most common asanas with full-color, detailed anatomical drawings and expert instruction to provide a deeper understanding of the structures and principles underlying each movement--and of yoga itself.

For more information on Yoga Anatomy, call (800) 747-4457or visit Human Kinetics.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Yoga Anatomy
Leslie Kaminoff
2007 · Paperback · Full Color · 232 pp
ISBN 978-0-7360-6278-7 · $19.95

Patty Lehn
Publicity Manager
217.351.5076 x2248

Alexis Koontz
Publicity Associate
217.351.5076 x2405

SYTAR Registration Now Open! March 6-9, 2008 Los Angeles

There are 190 early bird registrations still open for this wonderful event. We were completely sold out earlier this year, so I highly recommend getting your registrations in early.

I will be teaching the first practice session: "The Warrior Series - A Breath Centered Morning Vinyasa" to the entire group on Friday morning, and I will be hosting one of the private luncheons later that day.

If this isn't Yoga, it should at least be a new Olympic event

My favorite moments begin at 3:19 - the human jumprope!...and then, the wheel pose from hell. Thanks to John Kepner for forwarding this to me a while ago.

Please refer to my previous "Yoga Girl" post for a very nice discussion of the "is it Yoga?" question. "Yoga Girl" generated the most comments (32) of any post in e-Sutra's blog history.

Yoga Anatomy at "Bodies, the Exhibition!"

Saturday, September 29 - 1pm to 4pm, 5pm to 8pm

Come to a Special Yoga event at "Bodies, the Exhibition," and meet Leslie Kaminoff, Amy Matthews, and the team that brought you the best-selling new book, "Yoga Anatomy."
There will be a free book signing, talk, slide show and Yoga demonstration in the exhibit hall's lobby from 1:00 to 4:00PM on Saturday, September 29th. Afterwards, join Leslie and Amy for a special guided tour of the amazing Bodies Exhibition from 5:00 to 8:00PM. The cost of the tour is $40.00, and all proceeds go to the Breathing Project's Advanced Studies Program scholarship fund.

Book signing, Talk, Yoga Demo: 1:00 to 4:00PM
Guided Tour of Exhibit: 5:00 to 8:00PM

Location: South Street Seaport Exhibition Centre 11 Fulton Street, NYC (at the corner of Front Street)

Cost: Book Signing, Talk, Demo: FREE (books will be on sale at the Exhibition's book store)
Guided tour of Exhibit: $40.00

Click here to register via e-mail

New York Book Release Party for Yoga Anatomy next Wednesday July 11th!

Come get your copy of Yoga Anatomy and meet co-authors Leslie Kaminoff and Amy Matthews at The Breathing Project in New York City on Wednesday, July 11 starting at 6PM.

Snacks, drinks and personally signed copies of the book will be available. As a fundraiser for The Breathing Project, two one-of-a-kind prints by the book's illustrator Sharon Ellis will be raffled off.

Bring as many friends as you like, but PLEASE RSVP by Monday, July 9th.
Location: The Breathing Project, Inc. 15 West 26th Street, 10th floor (between Broadway and 6th Ave.)

David Hykes this Wednesday and Saturday at The Breathing Project

We are privileged to welcome back the amazing David Hykes to The Breathing Project in New York City for two programs this week. As always, I give my highest recommendation to these, or any other programs with this modern master of Harmonics and sound.

On Wednesday, June 6th, David will be taking over my evening class time to lead "Essential Harmony and the Spirit of Awakening." This session integrates the universal sacred music called Harmonic Chant with sound yoga, mantra, breath and sensory awareness practices, movement, and healing harmonization.
On Saturday, June 9th: David will conduct a "Harmonic Meeting," combining a concert program, awareness practices, and participatory group Harmonic Chant.

Each session is $35. Click here to register

"Yoga Anatomy" available from Amazon!

The long wait is finally over! e-Sutra has been inactive for the past 2 months due to the final work on my new book "Yoga Anatomy" published by Human Kinetics. It is currently at the printer, and will be available in 3 weeks.

Upcoming Toronto Teachers' Workshop with Leslie Kaminoff

How to Practice and Teach Individualized, Breath-Centered Yoga in Group Settings

This is a new workshop that I've designed especially for my first-ever scheduled visit to Toronto. It promises to be a rich and rewarding learning experience for all of us.

Date: March 30 - April 1, 2007
Time: Friday: 7:15 to 9:15pm
Saturday: 9:30am to 5:00pm
Sunday: 9:30am to 4:00pm

Location: The Yoga Lounge TORONTO

Workshop Description
Breath is life. Breathing brings energy into the body. Breathing is also one of the main ways the body releases toxins. Breathing is essential to all asana practice. In this workshop we will explore asana from the perspective of breath awareness and breath repatterning with an emphasis on how to practice or teach these skills in group settings. All levels of yoga students and yoga teachers will be able to deepen their practice and teaching.

Our weekend includes:

• Sessions that will be devoted to cultivating increased breath and body awareness. We will emphasize the development of observation skills, both of oneself and others.
• Practice sessions interspersed with periods of individual focus and partner work, and how to apply the insights gained to group classes.
• We will discuss the anatomical, philosophical and spiritual basis for Yoga and breath work.
• We will also explore how to creatively use sound to deepen breath and body awareness.

Register

Is gender really an issue at SYTAR?

In my opinion gender, per se, is not the real issue here. The type of genitalia a person possesses is about as relevant to their value as a presenter as whether they have an innie or an outie belly button. Many males have a distinctly "feminine" perspective, and vice versa, and this was in ample evidence in the SYTAR presentations.

I think it's important to not get caught up in the masculine vs. feminine argument either. It's very easy to put these labels on differing perspectives, and tie those labels to whatever axe we feel needs grinding. It's ultimately a polarizing view that takes us away from each other, and away from Yoga - which after all, is about integration and seeing beyond the obvious.

Actual Yoga is neither masculine nor feminine, and I believe the only relevant distinction in this discussion is Yoga vs. non-yoga.

Regardless of their gender, or "masculine/feminine" perspectives, if someone is willing to discard or minimize the essence of what makes Yoga unique, special and effective - i.e.: RELATEDNESS - they are (in my view) taking us outside the field of Yoga. If it were me choosing, a prospective presenter's ideas on this issue would be the primary determining factor in the selection process.

This, more than anything else, is what I found questionable about a few of the presenters at SYTAR. What are we to think of a teacher who's focus is on what we should do as a profession to make ourselves acceptable or credible in the eyes of the rest of the world, and who utters not a word about honoring and protecting the very thing that makes our work unique: the student/educator relationship? I found this "relatedness" theme also largely missing from the research design and presentations, mostly because it was one of the variables that they had to "control" for in order to make the studies reproducible.

I've always said that anyone who's opinion really matters has long since been convinced of Yoga's efficacy in a wide range of therapeutic applications (by anyone, I mean upwards of 15 million members of the general public in the USA). Who are we still trying to prove this to? Doctors? Hospitals? The government? Insurance companies? Some honest inquiry into the real motive behind these research studies could yield some enlightening answers.

I'm not suggesting that we shouldn't do research into the effectiveness of Yoga; I just think we can find ways of designing better studies that tell us something we don't already know. For example, I'd love to see a study that INCLUDES the student/teacher relationship as a central element. Here's a study: given identical sequences to teach, does an experienced teacher get better outcomes than a novice teacher? If anyone wants to do this study, I'd be happy to help, because I'd really like to know the results - even if they challenge my basic assumptions about teacher training.

As always, please feel free to share what you think....

Responses to "Gender Politics" Post

Here are three responses to the "Gender Politics" post from last month. They are from Janice Gates, Nischala Joy Devi, and Scott (he apparently doesn't use a surname).

Click the title link above, or "Read More!" below to see the responses.



Janice Gates said...

Greetings Megan and All,

I am so glad this topic is being addressed here. I recently completed a book that was born from my own frustration around the underacknowledged contribution that women are making in the field of yoga (Yogini, the Power of Women in Yoga). As someone who has done extensive research on the role of women in the history of yoga as well as the role they are playing in the evolution of yoga today, I was acutely aware of how easy it is to default to our deepest conditioning - with the men in more prominent roles defining the field and discussing the future of the profession with the women in more ´supporting´roles. As Vice President of the board of IAYT, I regret that I had not insisted more vocally that women be more prominently represented at the symposium. The positive side of this is that the gender imbalance has highlighted some issues that I feel are now ripe for discussion. Additionally, the board and everyone involved in next years programming are wide awake to this issue (from my own input as well as that of many attending) and it is being addressed as we speak.

Some questions I have been reflecting on that may inspire some collective self-inquiry:

1. What is the role of lineage and empowerment from the teacher/guru in becoming a yoga teacher or yoga therapist?

I find this question particularly relevant as the teachings of yoga we are most familiar with in the West today,while not gender specific themselves, have primarily been passed through male lineages for centuries and are now being spread - widely - through women. Most of these women come from an extremeley different culture and life experience than that out of which the yoga teachings arose. Bringing this topic forward for discussion could both acknowldge the value of, and simultaneously demystify, what may sometimes be held up as he ultimate teaching credential.

2. What are the experiences, qualities, skills and expertise that women are bringing to the field of yoga therapy that have yet to be acknowledged or defined?

At the symposium, Nischala Devi so beautifully pointed out that even if we have the highest standards for yoga therapists, and teachers have extensively studied the yoga texts, intuition and compassion are essential components in the student-teacher relationship. These qualities are not gender specific, yet they are often considered feminine, or soft, and not given equal weight in relation to intellectual knowledge.

3. And, lastly, in this evolving field of yoga therapy - which was described several times by presenters as the process of becoming aware of negative patterns that no longer serve us and transforming them into more positive ways of being - how can we, as a community, men and women together, become free of the conditiong that no longer serves us and realize our collective potential as a profession?


Peace,
Janice Gates

author of Yogini, The Power of Women in Yoga
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Nischala Joy Devi said...

Dear Leslie, Sisters and Brothers in Yoga,<