So I just don’t get how new age people fall for the hype that Obama is this messianic messenger from the light. I think he’s a cynical, calculating, power-hungry Chicago politician who parrots progressive talking points or whatever else is the flavor of the moment to get ahead. (Obama’s dramatic flip-flop on FISA is proof of this.)

Yet, here in California, it seems, the leftist new age has embraced Obama as the Second Coming of Krishna. Fortunately, most yoga classes I have been to have been pretty neutral for the most part, though they sometimes imply that perhaps the Democrat would be a better president, they almost never say so outright.

Not so for one Boulder, Colorado yoga studio: They have gone so far as to add Obama yoga classes to their schedule. Called “OmBama Yoga,” these classes are described as follows:

OMbama Yoga classes! Enjoy these radically inspiring all level yoga classes of incredible, heartfelt practices for change! Join us for an eclectic and joyful practice as we celebrate the upcoming election and the opportunity of participating in the political process with one another and invoking the spirit of Obama’s own phrase, YES WE CAN! The instructors who will be leading these practices will be sharing their unique styles and collaborating with one another to inspire and serve and support you in this election year!

Can I just say: OMmy??!!! This is a bit much.

I personally would like to see politics kept out of yoga. As I’ve admitted above, I am not a fan of Obama. But even if I was, I just don’t think yoga is the place for it. You can’t assume everyone (even a fellow progressive) likes your particular candidate. I think yoga should be inclusive, and open its arms to people of all beliefs and political stripes. I’d be more open to an OmBama Yoga class if there was a similar OmMcCain Yoga class to balance it out.

You’d think that with a woman running for president, someone would have come up with Hillary Yoga, but it seems that a lot of women prefer to go for the young good-looking man over the “reminds me of mom” older woman when it comes to politics. Sigh.

Perhaps this liberal yoga studio has found their OmBama class to be popular, but is it also chasing away other potential yoga participants? I will tell you that I have stopped going to the Agape International Spiritual Center here in Culver City until the election is over. I don’t want to go for spiritual upliftment just to get hit with random Obama commercials during the service.

Early in the primaries, when Hillary and Obama were fairly even, I got earfuls of hateful spew from a few young women - yes, women - in line at Agape, who were angry that Hillary was so presumptuous to want to be president. Then I entered into the sanctuary only to be bombarded with Obama advertisements from the guy reading the announcements. I had enough and have not gone back since.

I know Obama quickly became the progressive darling this year, but I think it’s wrong to assume that everyone who is into yoga and spiritual things is automatically an Obama convert. Personally, I think Obama is dangerous due to the cult-like effect he has on followers, and for precisely the reason that he has “inspired” his own yoga class, I’m steering clear of Obama brainwashing in my yoga and spiritual life.

The 12-week self-paced course is geared towards beginners (though I’d have to suggest it would be better for fitter beginners and not those with serious physical limitations), but experienced practitioners can also benefit. Each week begins with a video illustrating the various postures, followed by daily audio practices with PDF guides to show the poses.

Rodney and Colleen are happily married and it shows in their comfort and obvious joy in each other’s company. (I must admit - I’m a bit envious and wish I had a relationship like that!) They are very free and casual in showing the postures and yet quite specific.

I’m impressed by the comprehensive nature of the program. It is very well designed and executed, and definitely an excellent investment if you want to learn yoga from home.

I’ve only finished week one - I had gotten a cheap yoga pass at a local studio with a special and thus have been taking more outside classes than doing home practice lately - but the nice thing is, there’s no deadline.

I’ll perhaps review more later as I go.

I was having a really trying day (it was the day of a big eclipse, if you are into the astrology thing). For one thing, my apartment manager had pounced all over me because a psycho neighbor was complaining that I parked my car in the street. (Yes, in the public street. Long story.) When I got to the gong event, all I wanted to do was relax and de-stress from my emotional day.

I got to the event and placed my mat upfront where I could really get the benefits of the gong. The description of the event had indicated we would be experiencing some kundalini exercises as well as a full yoga nidra, which is a guided relaxation, yoga style. Then we would hear the gongs. I was so excited…until…

About 10 minutes after the hour, a young mother walked in with a toddler. I am not that great with ages but the kid was barely out of “baby” age, meaning she did not appear to be walking yet, and she was making loud “baby” noises such as “BAH!” or “DAAAAH!” or “OOO!” at odd moments. Even though the kid was all the way in the back, I could hear these piercing sounds all the way upfront. “Inhale!” the teacher would say. “DAH!!!” the kid would pipe up with no rhyme or reason.

I was pissed. There was no way I would be able to relax with that kid babbling on randomly like that, with no restraint. And it seemed to me (or perhaps I was projecting), that even the guest teachers themselves were a little surprised and concerned when the child was brought in. You can pretty much bet that any child who is already making “BAH!” and “DAH!” noises is at some point going to start screaming or carrying on in some louder fashion later when you least want them to.

Now, I realize that some spiritual people would say that this was an opportunity to develop patience, but for me it was an opportunity to speak up. I walked out to the front desk and told them that there was a toddler in there, and did they perhaps have some child care, because it was disturbing the event. They were very nice about it and said they would see what they could do.

I went back to the event, but I was stressed and upset from my day, and unable to relax or concentrate while waiting to see what happened with the child. It seemed that about 15 minutes had gone by without any entrance from the staff. At this point, I knew I was not going to be able to relax and enjoy myself with a kid making noises in the back, and I was getting madder at the minute. (Not spiritual I know, but hey, blame it on the eclipse.)

I’d finally had it, and walked back (in the middle of the class) and asked the mother if she planned on keeping the kid in there during the meditation. “Oh, she’s fine,” she said. “No she’s not,” I replied. “She’s already been making noise.”

At this point, I walked out and asked for a refund. I was upset and practically shaking. It wasn’t so much the specific incident with the kid, it was just the entire day coming down on me.

The two women at the front desk calmed me down and told me they were taking care of it. They had called Gurudhan, one of the Sikh teachers (and one of the oldest teachers there). He is an amazing man with a great sense of humor and a twinkle in his eye, and just the kind look he had on his face when he told me I could go back to the room put me at ease. The front desk helpers made me some tea, and Gurudhan went and arranged for the child to stay in the meditation room during the event.

So I went back in, finally, to a class with just adults and real silence at the right moments. It was to some amusement that I heard, off in the distance, the child screaming in the other room when someone opened the door briefly to use the bathroom.

The yoga nidra was wonderful, and consisted of a half-hour of guided visualization with the voice of one teacher, with no music or sound whatsoever. I can’t even imagine trying to do that with a noisy toddler in the back. The gong itself was sublime.

I apologized to the teachers and staff afterwards for making a fuss, but it seemed it was better for all that the child was put in the other room. She apparently finally fell asleep, which is what she probably needed much more than hearing the gongs.

I have to give Yoga West’s staff credit for handling me with such kindness, especially because I was one stressed out yogi that day. I left there feeling a million times better.

So excuse me if I’m not being more patient and spiritual here while I ask:

What is wrong with some parents these days? Don’t they understand that kids 3 and under should be in bed by 8 pm? As I’ve written here before, I don’t think toddlers and babies should be brought along to late-night yoga events. To me, it’s pure selfishness on the part of the parent. It’s not fair to the child, nor to the other people at the event.

I can only figure that the parent is either too cheap to pay for babysitting or is using the child to prop up their ego (nothing like having a cute little baby for people to coo at, if you want to get attention, I guess). I think some parents these days carry their kids around like accessories, much in the way Paris Hilton might carry around a toy poodle in a handbag.

Please do not tell me that the mother couldn’t afford a babysitter. If you can’t afford a babysitter, you have no business spending $25-40 on a special event.

I don’t mind kids in a class if they are old enough to do the poses and follow the class. At many Yoga West classes, I’ve found a lot of kids around 8-10 years old are brought in. While I do wonder whether this is what the kid really wants (or what the parents want), at least a 9-year-old isn’t going to disturb the meditation by running around yelling “BAH! DAH! DOO DEE!! DA!!!” at random moments.

A friend tells me that at her Buddhist centers, children under 16 are not allowed at meditations. I don’t think this is anti-kid. Much to the opposite. I think kids should be allowed to be kids, doing kids stuff and playing more than meditating. I think kid-focused yoga classes and meditations are more appropriate for the really young ones, classes that would happen during the day, not on a Friday evening ending after 9 pm.

But maybe I’m just old-fashioned in that way.

If you are looking to get started with Kundalini Yoga and you live in Los Angeles, I would heartily recommend her class. Even if you’ve done Kundalini Yoga for a while, you still might want to check it out. She gives a little movie review at the end of the class. She actually told us that surprisingly, she found the recent “Hell Boy” movie to be quite good.

I will never be the best yogini…I can’t do many advanced poses…my hamstrings are still tight (but loosening)…but I am enjoying teaching yoga. I feel I am a good teacher precisely because it does not come easy to me, and I understand the struggle to get into certain poses. I’d like to help more people who aren’t naturally fit, who have weight issues and health issues, people who could truly be transformed by yoga. It’s certainly made that kind of difference in my life, by being the way I climbed out of chronic fatigue syndrome as a full-on disability.

I like having men in yoga class. And no, it’s not about “hooking up” or anything like that. I like being around male energy. Too much female energy is stifling to me. And too much female energy in yoga can get twisted into yoga becoming about female vanity - something that’s all about having the perfect bod in the latest designer yoga clothes, rather than being about the yoga.

So more men in yoga, please. You are always welcome!

I know that my opinion is just mine, and that not everyone will feel the same way I do. But for the life of me, I could not see how a kundalini yoga video with a skinny girl in her underwear would appeal to the average American woman who might be trying yoga at home. The kundalini yoga is in and of itself weird enough that it’s going to be a hard sell to people who haven’t tried in the proper setting, never mind the rest of my issues with the DVD.

In looking through some of the mostly five-star reviews, which truly did seem to be a bit over-the-top, I found a thread in the discussion area. Apparently, people have tried to post negative reviews (or even just mixed reviews) for this DVD, only to get them erased.

This is apparently not an isolated incident. Multiple people have report problems. From one comment:

This product does not warrant its 5-star review percentage, which is greater than 95%. Review scores are being artificially inflated by salesmen. These salesmen complain to Amazon to have negative reviews removed, thereby inflating the overall review score. Amazon acquiesces because they know positive reviews sell products. The only loser in this quid pro quo is the consumer.

I’m sure one of the salesman’s attack dogs will soon take a bite at me. They will claim that my review (which has been deleted four times) contained no useful information — do not believe the attack dog. I know how to write and express my opinion in a civil manner, and it’s extremely disappointing that Amazon censors my review after I’ve taken the time to write it.

You know, I suppose it makes sense that Amazon (or people associated with a product) might censor negative reviews because they are trying to sell something. Still, I would hate to think that anyone associated with yoga would purposefully inflate their own reviews on Amazon. Unfortunately, when I see the kind of marketing skew that was done with this particular DVD, and the flashy, cheesecake nature of the product, I am sad to say it would not surprise me.

The moral of the story is this: Don’t take the reviews on Amazon to be gospel. An average product should have a variety of ratings on it. Even the best products should have a few one-star reviews here and there. If a product with a lot of ratings does not have balance in its ratings, then it’s likely that someone (Amazon, the product creators, friends of the creators, etc.) is skewing the results.

Sad, but highly likely. Buyer beware.

Miracle upon miracles! I could almost reach my knees with my forehead!

This is something that is easy for a lot of yogis, but it has been impossible for me. I am not quite sure what happened. My home yoga practice has not been stellar recently due to a heat wave last week, but all of a sudden, I’ve broken through a major, lifelong barrier!

I still have to bend my knees slightly to go that deep, but I am almost there! Wow!

I guess it just goes to show you - regular practice can make a huge difference.

And I feel it too…I feel like my body is turning to mush. But perhaps that’s just partial heat exhaustion.

I spent the day at the beach today cooling off. Finally, this evening, the ocean breeze kicked in and there’s cool air coming through my windows. Hurrah! It will get back down to a normal high 70s this week. Phew. Hey, that’s crucial when you live in a home that has central air.

Once you get out of the habit of doing daily home yoga, it’s hard to get back into it sometimes. So this is timely: Gaiam contacted me about a new online home yoga program with Rodney Yee, called the Gaiam Yoga Club…so I’m checking it out and will be reviewing it here. I’ve just logged in this evening to take a peek, and so far it looks pretty comprehensive and yet not too overwhelming. I really need something to get me motivated now…I don’t want to lose all the progress I made during my teacher training.

You know, my first clue was the midriff-baring woman on the front cover. I realize that short shorts and sports bras is the standard if you are doing Bikram, but I have never in my life been to a Kundalini Yoga class where anyone, teachers or students, was wearing skimpy outfits. If anything, most of the Kundalini teachers I have studied with are covered head to toe in flowing robes and turbans. While it is not a prerequisite to be a Sikh in order to teach Kundalini Yoga, I have to say most of my favorite Kundalini teachers are.

But in spite of my misgivings over the marketing, I gave the DVD a try. Euw. The cover was just a glimpse of what was to come. The actual beginning of the DVD features Ana Brett in her underwear, consisting of a silver lame camisole and boy shorts, dancing with her hair askew. She doesn’t have a bra on and her camisole doesn’t have a shelf bra built in, so that means her rock hard nipples are poking through.

She seems to be quite full of herself, with her smug expression, and anxious to display her body. Yet she doesn’t even have that great of a body - she’s a skinny fat person as they’d say. No muscle tone, no breasts even. She looks no more than 22 going on 15.

My young male readers who cry in outrage over my Namaste Yoga review will love this Kundalini Yoga version of soft porn. And I’m sure they’ll come here and go off on me for being “jealous” - but I can assure you, I had an almost anorexic-looking skinny body with no muscle tone back in my 20s and I’m happier with my body now, thank you very much.

So for me, the tone set right in the beginning of the DVD is exploitative and anti-spirit. I’m not interested in seeing Ana Brett dance around in her underwear. This is not why I do Kundalini Yoga. And heck, I’m not even interested in seeing Rodney Yee in his underwear. I really don’t want to see anyone, male or female, doing yoga in their underwear. (Bikram can get away with it, because the room is 110 degrees. But in normal weather, put some freakin’ pants on.)

After the silver lame travesty, Ana at least changes into different underwear for the workout, so at least her nipples aren’t poking out so much. It’s a colorful pastel outfit that doesn’t leave much to the imagination, and her butt cheeks are hanging out. (Though, for some bizarre reason, she switches to a sports bra just for camel pose…so we can see her belly better? Bizarre.)

And yes, the entire DVD is shot as if it is a Target commercial. Ana, in her pastel undies, sits on a pink rug that forms the center of a yellow daisy imprinted on a white floor. At the end, the daisy now has green leaves around it. Talk about pretentious!

The music fits the music video/commercial style of presentation. It is a somewhat jarring world beat that makes you think you should be at some sort of dance club. Every single time I started doing a spinal flex, and the music started, I felt like I should get up and move somewhere else.

Ana’s exhibitionism aside, how is the actual yoga? Well, Ana herself isn’t actually doing the teaching. Ravi Singh, who appears in the video only as a disembodied voice, does. And his instruction is for the most part clear and strong. (Ana only chimes in here and there for a few supplementary instructions.) I found myself wishing I could just do the workout with him, and not have her flaunting her self-satisfied self in my face. Yet, with the disconnect between his voice and her body made me feel somewhat uncomfortable. There was something in his voice that kind of creeped me out…maybe because it appears as if this man only wants to instruct yoga if he’s got a mostly naked young girl to do the poses for him.

The exercises themselves alternated between being way too easy and way too difficult for beginners. The first part of the DVD consisted primarily of spinal flexes. Hey, I like doing spinal flexes but not 10 different variations on them. We were then instructed to stop and meditate after each easy exercise.

Then came the Five Tibetans, which I have never actually done in any Kundalini Yoga class. These are way too hard for a beginner. Full camel pose with breath of fire is too much for a beginner. But at least in that section you can get a real workout. But the consistency of the DVD overall was just not that great. I found myself skipping forward at the end, because finally, I just got bored.

At the end, we’re told “Good job!” as Ana once again dances in her silver lame underwear. Her hair has been taken out of its pigtails and she seems to be patting herself more on the back than you.

Final verdict: If you are a young male who likes skinny girls, then you’ll enjoy this. I personally found this video to be an insult to Kundalini Yoga. It’s certainly not the type of Kundalini Yoga I’ve been doing at the top Kundalini Yoga studios in the world: Golden Bridge and Yoga West.

So I’m putting this video back up on Bookins, which is where it came from. (You can get my copy of the DVD for free there, for just $4.49 shipping.) Thank heavens I didn’t buy it new, as I would not want to put money in these people’s pockets.