namasteph yoga blog

Just a quick note on how appreciative I am that yoga helps me keep my feet healthy. I’ve seen the results of wearing high heels for a lifetime – my mom has a very painful hammertoe because of the shoes she used to wear when younger. In part because of yoga, I find myself very much enjoying my bare feet, and the more I do yoga, the less my feet want to “put up with” cramped or painful shoes (no matter how “sexy” those dangerous shoes look!).

You may have seen a hammertoe – it’s when usually the second toe is pulled way out at a funny angle, creating a v-like space between the toes. Hammertoes, I’ve discovered, are caused by weak muscles in the foot:

Weak muscles in the foot cause hammertoes. When the muscles become weak, leg muscles that are stronger take over, and pull on the toe until it is deformed. The tendency for hammertoes can be inherited from family, or caused by an injury. Arthritis, diabetes and alcoholism are some of the other conditions that may cause the foot muscles to weaken. Wearing shoes that are too tight, short, or the heels too high can cause hammertoes.

(Read more here…)

One of the best things to do for your feet is to work on your standing poses, especially balance poses like tree pose. By doing yoga regularly, you can hopefully avoid foot issues such as hammertoe, or at least help heal existing foot problems.

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Yoga Journal sent me a bunch of DVDs to review. Here’s the first: Yoga Journal’s Yoga for Well-Being With Jason Crandell.

While I think it’s great to go to yoga class, it’s really important to have a regular home practice for those times you can’t make it to the yoga studio. The trick is to find yoga workouts that are short enough to fit into a busy schedule. Hour-long yoga DVDs can be wonderful but have that factor of feeling like “too much” on a busy day. This is why I love having 20-minute yoga workouts in my DVD collection.

So if you’re like me and you want some short yoga videos, Yoga for Well-Being is a good addition to any home yoga DVD collection. There are three 20-minute workouts on one video, and since they can be played one after another, you also have an hour-long workout as an option.

These practices are fairly simple and easy enough for experienced beginners (more on that in a second) and intermediate or advanced users who want a simple but not overly challenging workout. One video (mental clarity) offers a 20-minute standing hatha practice, another (greater energy) provides a more flow-based routine, and then the final video (restful sleep) provides a slower practice that you can use before bedtime or as a cooldown from the other two videos.

You can mix and match if you want: Play two for a 40-minute practice or all three for a full hour. The full hour option is available on the DVD menu, though it seemed to me that perhaps it might be better to start with the flow-based practice instead of putting it in the middle, which is what happens when you click on “play all.” The sequences aren’t really designed to flow into one another and so if you do choose to do all three in one hour, you’ll find yourself repeating things, but that’s OK.

I like Jason’s voice and instruction, and he for the most part does a good job leading you through the practices. I didn’t feel rushed or that things were too slow; it was simply a nice, comfortable pace. He is also straightforward and doesn’t muck up his lingo with too much yoga syrup, which I appreciate.

There are a few downsides with the videos: The main one is that there are not enough backends…only bridge is practiced. There could also be a bit more variation with the standing postures. Also, I found that some of the poses were really not explained well enough variation for beginners. The biggest culprit here was the use of extended side angle pose, which was shown in its advanced version, with no mention of the alternatives. With a model being used to demonstrate the asanas, there was really no reason why a variation could not have been displayed. You will get no instruction on using blocks or modifications in these videos for the most part, though he did offer a suggestion with one pose (don’t remember which).

Also, he transitions you into sitting in rock pose, on your heels, for a period of time. This is tough for a lot of people. Once again, there is no mention of how you can modify this pose. (For the beginner reading this: You can insert a blanket between the hips and heels or just sit cross-legged).

I also would have liked to see the actual instructor instead of a pretty young blonde model who isn’t the actual teacher. Really, yoga producers, it’s OK to show a man teaching yoga. Rodney Yee stars in his own videos and that’s not a bad thing. You really get a better sense of the teacher’s personality when he or she is also shown doing the yoga, and assuming you like the teacher, to me it makes it more personal and helps me to connect more. And really, I don’t need to see my yoga teachers doing everything perfectly, if that’s the issue. I also like those videos where there are a few people being taught, and one or two students offer the different variations so beginners can see.

With those issues aside, I think this is a nice video to add to your yoga DVD collection, and I look forward to trying out his other videos.

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TEXAS YOGA ASSOCIATION PLANS MASS YOGA CLASS ON AUSTIN’S STATE CAPITOL LAWN AS THEY RALLY AGAINST REGULATION

The Texas Yoga Association will peacefully rally in support of bill to keep government from regulating yoga and invites yogis far and wide to join a mass yoga class on the State Capitol lawn March 16 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.

March 2011 (Austin, TX) – Over 1,500 Texans have signed a petition sponsored by the Texas Yoga Association (TYA) to pass House Bills No. 1839 by Representative Phillips and 2167 by Representative Murphy that aim to keep government from regulating yoga.  In support of moving the bills through legislation, the TYA invites yoga enthusiasts, state representatives and anyone who supports the future of health and wellness to practice yoga together on the Southeast corner of the Texas State Capitol lawn at Congress and 11^th Street in Austin, Texas on Wednesday, March 16, 2011 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. House Representative Eddie Lucio III will lead other representatives and staff to meet the yoga enthusiasts in promotion of a healthy lifestyle, and musician David Berkeley will be flying in from Atlanta to perform at the peaceful demonstration.

Operating on the premise that offering a teacher training program for yoga instructors classifies a yoga studio as a “post-secondary career school or college,” the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) began the movement to regulate training programs across the state.  Texas Yoga Conference President and Executive Director Jennifer Buergermeister states: “Regulation by the Texas Workforce Commission is not appropriate for yoga studios and does not benefit yoga students. Regardless of what stance is taken on this important issue, of whether or not there should be some standards regarding what a yoga teacher training program consists of, the State of Texas (Texas Workforce Commission) is not the proper entity to make that determination. By staging this peaceful demonstration, we hope to keep regulation out of our over 5,000 year old tradition.”

Buergermeister, who is based in Houston, will travel to Austin on a bus full of Houstonians that afternoon to lead the class. Her advocacy for yoga derives from a deep-rooted passion that yoga is for everyone and has the capacity to unite people. She believes Texas can become a “mecca for yoga” for visitors from all over the world to enjoy and is steadily working toward making this goal a reality.

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About the Texas Yoga Association:

The TYA is a not-for-profit, member-driven organization with a mission to serve the Texas Yoga Association members while advancing, supporting, and advocating for the art of yoga and meditation in Texas and abroad. Members believe in shifting old paradigms that include fear, greed and competition into healthy, sustainable systems by promoting unity and striving to facilitate global transformation through action by demonstrating broad reaching cooperation and support.

Further information about the TYA and the upcoming demonstration is available on theTexas Yoga Associationwebsite: www.texyoga.org.

**For media inquiries, interview requests or to cover the March 16 event, please contact Heather Wagner Reed at 713 208 3891 or heather@juiceconsulting.com.

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I was checking out a free yoga class at Yoga Yoga in Austin on Saturday on their big free yoga day event. The class, being free, was of course packed, and when the teacher asked how many people were her regulars, only one or two hands shot up. So the class was filled with people either new to yoga, new to Yoga Yoga, or new to her class. (I was new to her class.)

About halfway through the class she stopped to give us a short lecture about one of the poses. I don’t remember which pose, but I do remember the fall-out: I think out of perhaps nervousness or the tense energy she had brought into class with her, she suddenly exclaimed something like, “This is a great thing to do if you are having a shitty day!”

Whoops!

I think this was the first time I’ve ever been to a yoga class where the teacher actually sweared. Now, I’m not a prude, and on some level I think it’s silly that we get all hung up on certain words being taboo. They are just words – a combination of sounds – and it’s we humans who have made swear words into these horrible taboos.

That said, getting an earful of potty mouth while you’re doing yoga is probably not the most relaxing thing to experience.

The thing is, if this were a small, intimate class, that was with a group of people who all knew each other, and the teaching was less formalized and more casual, then maybe that would be one thing. But in a large class of 30-40 people, many of whom are sampling the class during free yoga day? Ouch.

I had overheard the teacher telling someone before class that she was a bit worked up over something that happened in traffic – either the traffic was bad or maybe she had a near miss. In this case, perhaps it would have been best if she’d found a quiet corner in the yoga studio to meditate and collect herself before class started.

I still enjoyed the class and would go to her class again, but I hope she didn’t seriously offend anyone with her slip.

I suppose this could be the start of a brand new kind of yoga: Swear Yoga. Where the teacher berates you to get into the poses properly. I.e., if you are spending a lot of time in plank pose: “Suck your f*cking stomach in, keep your fat ass up, and stop dropping your damn hips down, you pussies!”

Um, yeah, maybe not.

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I don’t think Yoga Alliance will mind if I share this article (below) they just published in their latest newsletter. On a personal note, I recently signed up for 500-hour training here in Austin, Texas. I was amazed at all the silly paperwork we had to go through, because of these ridiculous rules set up by the Texas Workforce Commission, rules that really didn’t have any bearing on yoga training. For example, I was required to give proof of my previous education, and by that, I don’t mean my 200-hour yoga teacher training certificate, but a high school diploma or college transcript. Seriously! What the heck does that have to do with yoga?! I also had to sign a document saying I had been given an official tour of the premises, ostensibly to save me from the horrible fate of possibly taking a training that wasn’t at a real “school.”

It is ironic to me that I came here from California, which gets a bad reputation by conservatives for being a “Nanny State,” but in California, I got half of my 200-hour training in my teacher’s living room. You can’t do that if you want to offer a yoga teacher training in Texas. Amazing.

Well, here’s some good news…from Yoga Alliance’s newsletter:

Texas Yoga Association Moves Yoga Closer to Exemption from Regulation in Texas

Late last week the leadership of TYA, working through their elected representatives in the Texas State Legislature, succeeded in getting a bill filed that will be the vehicle for exemption of yoga from state attempts to impose burdensome and intrusive regulation through the Texas Workforce Commission.  Here is what Jennifer Buergermeister, Roger Rippy, and Willy Collins, of TYA said in an update:

“We wanted to bring you up to date on the latest developments in the effort to get YOGA exempted from the TWC’s regulatory control. It has been a very long process, but we are finally going to get bills introduced that will take the issue to the Texas Legislature. Our first bill (Yoga Exemption Bill) should be ready to be filed later this week by Rep. Larry Phillips.Our second bill (Definition of Post-Secondary) should be ready to be filed early next week [Editor's note: this second bill has now been filed]. With the efforts of the Texas Yoga Association, and each and every one of you and with the help from Yoga Alliance, we are getting closer to reaching our goal of keeping Yoga free from Governmental control. There is much work to be done and we anticipate that the TWC and others will continue to push for regulation and will mount a strong challenge to these bills … Things are looking up and let’s cross our fingers and “yogi toes” that this bill becomes law exempting yoga regulation.

We would also like to thank John Matthews, current president from Yoga Alliance, for stepping forward to help us in our efforts. We were very proud to see YA come to our front yard and offer to be of service. Unity at its finest and gratitude is what we feel. Let’s change the law Texas!”

Inappropriate Government Involvement in the Teaching and Practice of Yoga is a Concern for All of Us, Whether We Personally Feel an Immediate Threat or Not

Various departments of government in many states are looking to yoga schools as a new source of revenue in hard times, often invoking a public safety or consumer protection mandate as rationale.  This has created a great deal of stress and hardship for many schools, particularly small schools.  Because so many schools are small and operate at the margin of profitability, there is a very real fear that heavy handed and ill-informed regulation will drive out of business otherwise viable establishments that are needed to meet the growing public demand for competent instruction.  If there are fewer schools there will be fewer teachers, and if there are fewer teachers there will be less yoga at a time when what is desperately needed is more yoga.

What Can You Do?

Stay Informed – If you teach or prepare others to teach, or if you practice and expect to be taught by someone knowledgeable and able, you need to know what the regulatory apparatus in your state looks like and whether it includes yoga within the scope of what it has authority over.  If it does, you need to know whether it actively regulates yoga, considers yoga to be within its scope but has traditionally ignored yoga, or – most importantly – is considering or planning to move to a more aggressive regulatory posture towards yoga in your state.

Organize – Establish relationships with other schools and teachers in your state and develop pro-active plans to shape how and whether your state includes yoga in what it believes it has control over.  Don’t wait until the regulators have shown their hand.  Our friends in Virginia, New York, Texas and elsewhere can tell you that once the state machinery is moving it is much more difficult to react.  Don’t wait until the wolf is at the door.

Educate your constituents – Make sure your students and your friends know what is at stake and find ways for them to be involved.

What Can Yoga Alliance Do?

Yoga Alliance sees this as a national issue that requires both national and state level strategies.  We joined forces with TYA in Texas because it provided an opportunity for us to be helpful.  There may be other opportunities in other states where we can also be helpful and if so we want to know about it.

We are working on a comprehensive catalog of state regulatory efforts that relate to yoga.  When we are finished we will publish it and keep it updated on our website.  You can help us with this project by providing information about the current state of regulation where you are.  If the regulatory environment in your state is friendly or benign, please let us know so we have examples of what that looks like.  Conversely, if you are being threatened by state regulators, let us know about that as well and we will reach out to leaders from the yoga community in your state to see if there is something that Yoga Alliance can do.

Parts of our annual conference later this year will be devoted to discussion of what is happening at the state level and how best to further organize our efforts at both the state and national levels, so if this issue is important to you please plan to attend the conference.

Don’t forget to Save the Date

The first annual Yoga Alliance teachers’ conference is to be held Oct 31 – Nov 3, 2011 at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort and Spa in Indian Wells, CA.

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I’m doing a chair yoga class at a local church. It’s an Episcopal church and not evangelical, so I don’t think people would freak out if I played a little Snatam Kaur at the class, but I thought it would be nice if I had some soothing Christian music to play. The thing is, I have no clue what is out there in regards to relaxing Christian music. I know there’s a ton of gospel and Christian rock and pop music geared towards Christians, but is there the Christian equivalent of a Deva Premal?

I’d like something simply pretty and soothing, and not hitting people over the head with the Jesus stuff (like “Shine, Jesus, Shine“), because members of the outside community are also invited. Choral music and Gregorian chant is great, but I also wanted something more contemporary that didn’t totally sound like church music. Music like this song from Taize is absolutely beautiful, but I’m looking for something with a little less choir-action.

In a quick Google search I discovered that the Christian equivalent of New Age music is called “Christian meditation music.” It seems that for softer, quieter pieces, the tendency is to play instrumental music (see the recommendations on this page). But I’d like to find something between harp music and Amy Grant.

I found some really nice free music at The Secret Place. It’s for something called Christian “soaking,” which I think means “soaking in the energy of the Lord.” Which sounds kind of like meditation, though I can’t be sure. The Secret Place music is probably the closest thing I’ve found for what I have been looking for. If you had it playing in the background, it would be relaxing and not come off as too preachy or over-the-top.

Prayerscapes also offers some free “Christian meditation music,” though it’s almost a bit too experimental for what I’m looking for. And that was about as far as I’ve gotten so far in my music search.

If you have any recommendations, please share in the comments.

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I went to my first White Tantric Yoga event on Saturday. It is a day-long kundalini yoga event where you do partner meditations. Despite the use of the term “tantra,” there is nothing sexual about it. (While it is encouraged to have men facing women for the rows of partners, anyone, male or female, can play the energetic role of the male or female.) The purpose of doing White Tantric Yoga, we are told, is to cleanse the aura and release karma.

I was a bit concerned about doing a day long kundalini yoga event. I had heard horror stories of people having to hold their arms up for hour-long meditations at White Tantra. But I was lucky – this event was relatively “gentle,” with the longest meditations being 31 minutes, with lots of breaks. I didn’t have much problem at all stamina-wise, though my partner struggled a bit. I wonder if it’s because the kundalini yoga I was taught in Los Angeles was more strenuous than how it is taught in Austin. I’m just used to long kundalini yoga meditations! So I made it through the day with flying colors and felt pretty darn good at the end of it. I didn’t have an epiphany or religious experience, but I did feel lighter.

I had not experienced a real “class” with Yogi Bhajan, as I had taken up kundalini yoga after his death. In White Tantric Yoga, they show Yogi Bhajan teaching (a recording, obviously), on a large video screen. He is a bit of a trip. I could tell he had very intense energy and was quite the character. Sometimes he was very humorous. Overall, I liked him and enjoyed his presentations, even when he was a bit “out there.”

This is where it gets a bit weird. The night after I had very strange dreams. This is where it may sound a little “woo-woo” but I swear Yogi Bhajan’s spirit came to me while I was sleeping. I wish I could say this was a good thing, but honestly, his energy felt too strong, almost like he was trying to penetrate my aura in a manipulative way. There were also evil spirits hanging around in my dream, and I called upon Archangel Michael to clear them for me. When I woke up, I felt like the spirit of Yogi Bhajan was trying to energetically connect with those who had taken the workshop, but that this type of beyond-the-grave connection was really not for me.

Now…this may all sound a little strange. But I really do think Yogi Bhajan tries to connect with students of kundalini yogi from the other side. I know that some teachers even claim to channel him. There’s also a form of meditation, called “tratakam,” where you stare at a picture of a guru, and this practice has been used in kundalini yoga with Yogi Bhajan’s picture. People definitely connect with his energy. You can even read comments on the Internet where people claim to be really uplifted by Yogi Bhajan’s spiritual energy. (Scroll to the comments at the bottom of this story to see some examples.) Some people really think he was the real deal.

Here’s my honest opinion. I love kundalini yoga, and I think what Yogi Bhajan did in bringing kundalini yoga to the world was a wonderful thing. But I don’t think Yogi Bhajan is totally from the light. In fact, I think he’s a bit of an imp. An imp is a mischievous spirit, like a fairy, that can be bad but not totally evil. A rascal. In some respects, I see Yogi Bhajan as a divinely-inspired devil. Someone who is doing the work of God but going about it through a bit of a paradoxically dark path sometimes. So I don’t think Yogi Bhajan’s intentions were always good, and I totally got a sense of manipulation from his energy in my dream.

Now. I don’t take well to that kind of manipulative, pushy energy. It does not work for me, and I don’t see that sort of “strong” energy as being spiritually inspiring to me personally. So my response to Yogi Bhajan’s energetic pushing was, “Thanks, but no thanks.” If I’m letting any energy in from another being, it’s only energy from the highest source, aka God, the Holy Spirit, or the Christ energy.

Other folks really get their groove on with Yogi Bhajan’s energy. Some people want to have someone on the outside directing them forcefully. So if they choose to make him (or anyone else) their personal guru, and it works for them, I don’t have a problem with it. I have had quite a few Sikh teachers who learned from Yogi Bhajan who are filled with love, light and happiness. He did something right. (You might want to read a blog post of mine from back in 2007 where I talk about how sometimes good things have to come through egotistical gurus.)

I realize there has been a lot of controversy over the years about Yogi Bhajan. Time magazine actually has an article online from back in 1977 that talks about Yogi Bhajan’s controversies. For example, he was known to order people to marry people they didn’t even know. I actually knew a woman who had undergone a “forced marriage” pushed by Yogi Bhajan – her husband ended up beating her. Not getting much sympathy from her spiritual community, she left him and the kundalini yoga for good. That’s a shame, but that kind of stuff did happen. Even years after his death, critics of Yogi Bhajan are still out there – there’s an entire website devoted to bashing Yogi Bhajan and his “tantric yoga.”

Here’s my thing. I didn’t know Yogi Bhajan. I don’t know what stories are true or exaggerated. I can state for a fact that I would have never lasted a month at any residential ashram where I would have been required to get up at 3 am, take cold showers, and follow a very strict regimen. Some folks who did do that are now angry that they did. Well, my feeling is, if you let yourself get too sucked up into any organization, you are bound to be disillusioned. Heck, the amount of drama at my old improv theater was ridiculous. People are human, and you put people into a closed community and you are bound to have problems. And giving your power away to any guru, no matter how well-meaning he might be, is also probably not the best idea. Maybe your guru really honestly believes that 3 am cold showers are good for you – and wants the best for you – but you hate it, do it anyway, and later feel resentful that you were “forced” to do it. But other people might have really loved it, and those people are carrying on that tradition today.

So I don’t feel I can fully judge Yogi Bhajan. I’m sure there’s some truth to the bad stories about him, and I definitely feel from his energy that he must have manipulated and pushed people – but so many people also felt like he transformed their lives. He wasn’t all bad, and he did a lot of good. All I know is, I feel I get a lot from my kundalini yoga practice.

The important takeaway here is you have the choice as to whether you want to fully connect with a guru on an energetic level. I feel we should be very careful and judicious when allowing any disembodied spirit into our energy fields. My personal choice is to limit access to only the highest energies, i.e., not human energies, but divine energies. Some folks will want to work with Yogi Bhajan’s energy. If you do that willingly, and feel you are benefiting from it, great. But don’t feel you have to give your power away to any guru, including gurus beyond the grave. If you allow him in, remember, you chose to let him in, and you can also ask him to leave when you feel you are done.

So should you go to White Tantric Yoga if you are concerned about opening yourself up to outside forces? I think as long as you are clear on your intentions then you should be OK. Ultimately, when you are chanting mantras such as “Wahe Guru” you are connecting with God. Chanting and meditation are simply tools. You can choose to use your meditation to connect you more with God. Or you could choose to connect with a guru. But it’s your choice. Being conscious and setting a clear intention is the key.

Postscript: I feel pretty good two days after my White Tantric Yoga. I feel clear and happy. It was totally worth it to me. I would probably go again, and if Yogi Bhajan tried to interrupt my sleep next time, I would tell him nicely, thank you for your concern, but I’m really OK on my path and don’t need that much hand-holding. I’m connected to the Great Guru in the Sky! Sat Nam!

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Got a NamaSTAY yoga towel to review the other day. I almost do not have the heart to break it in, because it’s so nice and clean. (I really need to wash my yoga mat!) This yoga towel is different than most others because it’s set up with sleeves on the ends that you stuff your yoga mat into. This is designed to keep the towel from slipping. The fabric is very thick and plush, and yes, it is very much like a luxury towel. It does not have any sort of “non-stick” nubbies or the like on the top or bottom – apparently the towel will soak up your sweat so you won’t slip so much.

I will try to review more thoroughly soon. I’ve been recovering from an illness and so I haven’t been doing a lot of strenuous yoga, which is when my hand slippage in downdog becomes a bigger issue. But I’ll try to give this (and some other yoga towels) a workout as soon as I can.

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Yoga has changed dramatically in the past 20 years. In some ways, it is barely recognizable from the “mainstream” yoga that used to be practiced in the 80s and early 90s. I am not even that old, but I remember a day when there were no hatha flow classes. No power yoga, no vinyasa flow…just plain vanilla hatha yoga and maybe a gentle class. Or kundalini yoga. That was it.

And that’s why I did yoga in my early to mid 20s – back in the early to mid 90s – because back then it was perceived as something you did to relax. However, as the 90s progressed, I started seeing yoga become “trendy,” and by the late 90s I had quit yoga and moved on to other things, not to return until 2006 when I started taking classes at a Sivananda school in Marina del Rey. Sivananda Yoga had not changed; it was still the basic 12 postures, but the rest of yoga sure had.

Now you can go to some yoga studios and find not one gentle class on the roster. Some places don’t offer any plain vanilla hatha yoga anymore – it’s all flow-based. I was looking around to see what sorts of yoga was available in Austin besides Yoga Yoga (which does offer hatha and gentle), and I found the schedule for Black Swan Yoga, which is filled with “sweaty yoga,” power yoga and even “candle sweaty yoga.” All the pictures of their teachers on the teacher training page had them doing impossible, gymnastic poses.

This saddens me, in a way. It’s not that I’m opposed to young people going to “sweaty yoga” classes, and I think vinyasa flow has its place, but if this is all yoga is being reduced to, that is not a good thing.

First of all, other than the initial OMMM you might do in an active flow class, often, you are so busy trying to keep up with the teacher there is no time for self-reflection. I’ve taken power yoga and I don’t feel relaxed at the end. I feel worn out. I’m straining my muscles, I’m trying to push through physical limitations, and I’m doing a workout. It’s not a spiritual experience. And I realized, after a while, that my body personally doesn’t need to work that hard to stay in shape – that the overwork that sometimes happens in a frenetic flow class actually ends up depleting me rather than energizing me.

I’ve come to the conclusion that overly strenuous flow classes aren’t the ideal yoga experience for me. I do enjoy a “flow” sometimes, but not if it ends up making me feel like I have to catch my breath in the middle.

Far too many yoga classes these days are designed for younger people who want a smidgen of the spiritual without the hard work of true self-reflection. They want go-go-go yoga. There’s also this disturbing trend of yoga as weight loss, which, in and of itself wouldn’t be bad, if it weren’t being marketed by skinny young yoga teachers as yet another way for young women to feel inferior about their bodies. Going to yoga class, then, isn’t so much about honoring your body, but punishing your body so you can burn as many calories as possible and lose weight.

The other problem I have with flow classes is that there is absolutely no time or space to really get into a pose and learn how to do it properly. Alignment falls to the wayside in speedy flow classes so often. You see people who don’t even know they need to keep their back foot down in Warrior I – I have seen students keep their heel off the ground in dozens of classes. The teacher does not have the time to actually teach the poses in depth. You just fly through them. I have to wonder how many injuries this causes in the long run – maybe injuries due to repetitive strain that people may not realize they are getting from improper yoga alignment.

Now. Don’t get me wrong. I think there is definitely value to having flow classes. But I hope that’s not what yoga solely becomes – a high-energy, high-impact, high-intensity workout. That would be very sad. We need slow, thoughtful yoga. And in this stressful world, we need more of it, not less.

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I’m stoked! I was checking Groupon and saw they had a deal for Hiking Yoga. What is Hiking Yoga? It is a combination of hiking and yoga. How cool! And it is just starting up in Austin. So I got my Groupon and will be checking it out soon (well, once the weather gets a little nicer). I’ll definitely share my experiences here after my first yoga hike. Neat.

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