Tag-Archive for » vinyasa «

Apr
21

Has It Really Come to This?! Patenting Asanas

With yoga having become the big business that it has, I guess it should come as no surprise that the nation that brung it should take steps to preserve at least a little of the ancient art’s integrity.

According to the Times of India, India has made available a list of 1,300 newly registered yoga poses, compiled to prevent the ancient postures from being exploited for commercial purposes by patent pirates.

Scouring 16 ancient texts, including the Patanjali Yoga Sutra and Bhagwat Gita, scientists at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research ( CSIR) have compiled a database of asanas consisting of video and text records in order to protect them from being patented elsewhere.  Already in the United States, the patent authorities have issued more than 130 yoga-related patents, 150 copyrights and 2,300 trademarks related to the ancient practice.

These asanas will all be included in the digitalised Traditional Knowledge Library (TKDL), set up by the council to collect and record traditional treatment therapy knowledge. Medicines and yoga asanas registered with it enjoy the status of being patented.  ”How can someone else patent these asanas which are a part of our traditional treatment therapy knowledge? They should not be allowed to use them for commercial purposes,” said Dr Gupta, of the TKDL.

In India, the centuries-old tradition is still being taught free in public parks and it comes as an outrage to Indians to see these ancient poses, marketed by “gurus” for commercial purposes, alleviating everything from back pain to stress to sexual dysfunction.

30-40 of the most popular asanas will remain in the public domain but poses from another 20 ancient texts will be added to the protected database.

Read more…

 

Category: Articles, Blog, news, yoga  Leave a Comment
Dec
17

The Balancing Series… Love on One Foot. Part 5: Natarajasana… Dancer’s Pose. Oh Yeah.

bal-dancerI’ve been known to wax enviously about this posture and those who are able to enjoy its full potential… but despite my own challenges in the posture… ILOVE IT!

I consider it the most beautiful- strong, graceful, intense.

Myself, it takes some time resting in Tadasana- Mountain Pose to gather myself before I embark upon this energetic journey that is Natarajasana.  Breathe… fix gaze… breathe…

With gaze fixed, supporting foot- let’s say, left- is grounded toes spread, weight centred throughout all points from heel to balls (ahem…;)  Reach for the right foot with the right hand, gently grasping around the inner arch.

In tandem, the torso and leg being raised pull in opposite directions simultaneously out and up, the heart reaching forward.  The left arm is extended forward guiding the torso.  There should be a delightful energy- a blissful tension- as the leg and torso work to extend opposite one another, while engaging a graceful arc in the back.   Ooooohhhhh… tingles!  Yes, tingles… I said I LOVED this posture!

The supporting leg is strong and long, the head of the thigh bone pulled up deep into the hip as it provides solid foundation.

If you’re more ambitious, or more flexible, the arm extended forward can also reach back to grasp the outer arch of the foot, drawing the shin again, both out and upwards. Strong.  All the while, the heart reaches up… as though a string is attached pulling towards the ceiling.  Yum.

Category: health, Postures, strength, yoga  One Comment
Dec
08

If I’d Known Bikram Was Coming….

I’d have cranked the heat… but it is Canada, after all!

bikramIn our neck o’ the woods we’ve seen celebrities of all stripes, most notably the whole Twi-hard phenomenon as they make their homes locally (roughly) to film the monster vampire franchise.

Anywho… a celebrity nearly as big, at least in his own mind, and certainly more interesting, recently graced our northern shores.  With mouth, cocked and loaded, attitude and cash in abundance, the ‘bad boy’ founder of Bikram, Bikram Choudhury, did Vancouver.

“It takes six hours,” the Los Angeles-based yoga mogul said, before laughing: “And I buy all the junk. I love it, you know?”

Here to conduct a lecture as well as judge the Western Canadian Hatha Yoga Championships- who knew?!- Master Bikram, whose efforts and commitment have manifested in a veritable empire founded on heat, sweat and just plain balls(!), boasts more than 350 affiliated studios around the world and the devotion of millions.  Without doubt, were it available to me and given my penchant for celebrity yogis, I’d probably be sitting sweaty and happy on the Bikram train as well.

The roots of Bikram’s methodology lie in a childhood devoted to hours of practice, where he became more and more aware of the positive effects of heat on his body and it’s response to yoga.

“When room is more hot, then I can sweat more, I can stretch more, I can push more, I can go more deeper and deeper and inside the body, it hurts less and you never get injury,” he said, recalling early days in India when he’d shut doors to keep in the heat.

“So I developed this with my own practice,” he said. “Years and years and years and years.”

Guru to any number of celebrities, Shirley McLain chief among them… oh, and Tiger Woods as well, along with the likes of Madonna, Elle Macpherson and the lovely George Clooney.  Despite his roster of notable clientele, when it comes to giving them the celebrity treatment, Bikram states emphatically,

“This is the way I run my kingdom: my way or the highway,” he said in a tone that leaves little room for dispute. “I don’t listen to anybody. You need my help: Come to me, shut up, forget who you are. I will take care of you. And I do my job.”

For anyone perhaps considering taking Bikram to a more competetive level, take a peek… Here’s Mari Dickey, number one woman at the competition.  A little inspiration:

Category: news, people, strength, Trends  One Comment
Oct
26

Sanctuary… Conveniently Squeezed into 2X6

yoga_001

As I resume a regular routine of practice- the autumn always seems the season where I am most prone to structure- it occurred to me this morning that, regardless the disorganization or mess surrounding me, on the mat, if I allow, it all seems to dissolve into the atmosphere.

Not having an appropriate space, or an appropriately neat and tidied space, has always provided me with a handy dandy excuse to sit around watching Oprah with a bag of Miss Vickies put off practice, often delaying it until the day just gets away from me and then it’s time for bed and I collapse into the arms of JayLenoDavidLettermanConanOBrianDailyShow a good book and off into dream land with noble yogic intentions for the next day, where FOR SURE I will tidycleanvacuumredecoraterenovate the perfect space to best enjoy my practice.

more »

Category: Practice, strength, surrender  Leave a Comment
Mar
23

Snot Begone!! Some Yogic Solutions.

too congestedI don’t want to characterize myself as a fair-weather yogini… or, to be more precise, a fair-sinus yogini… but in the spirit of full disclosure, I do believe I am.

The first signs of a cold are one thing.  I work through it, snuffling and snorting a little, until I get back my breath.  Several minutes into Sun Salutations I can count on the excess runny boogers fluid draining away… somewhere.

However, once I am suffering with full-fledged head congestion, I give up the yogic ghost.  I just have no patience for struggling for breath through a narrow passage  in my snot, the diameter of the head of a pin… and only one nostril. Nothing cramps my Ujaii style like a nose full of sticky goo.

I recall asking a new yoga instructor years ago, having spent an entire class fighting with my stuffed head, what her best recommendation was for getting the most out of a practice when congested.  After first a long hesitation, and then stammering, her suggestion was ‘well, maybe, holding Downward Dog?’

Erk!  Yes.  Nothing like draining all of the fluid clogging my head…. back into my head!  And so, in the years since, I have managed through congestion, or more often, bagged it altogether once the thickness in my head and the gasping and choking for breath just became too bothersome.  Ahhhhh… holding Child’s Pose… now, that I can see.

more »

Category: Articles, health  One Comment
Mar
01

Look and Feel Younger… Anti-age With Yoga!

Use yoga to stop the clock!

Slow the signs of aging and feel younger with a simple yoga regimen. These are huge claims, but as someone who has had, shall we say, an undulating habit of practice, there’s nothing like the feeling of a body fresh from the mat.  And the various positive effects last throughout the day.  Without a doubt a regular practice has effects that extend far beyond just the hours following….

Eight years ago, when Sharon Gothard Weisman turned 40, backaches, dark undereye circles, forgetfulness, and fatigue made her feel more like 60. In the hope of finding anti-aging relief, Weisman took a yoga class. An hour later, she felt more relaxed than she had in years. She’s been doing yoga three times a week since and says, “I have more energy, strength, and flexibility than most women half my age.”She recently ran into an old high school friend who asked, “Don’t you get older like the rest of us?”

Many women try yoga for stress reduction, but they stick with it because it makes them feel–and look–younger, says Larry Payne, PhD, a yoga director at Loyola Marymount University and coauthor of Yoga Rx. Unlike traditional exercise, yoga blends anti-aging moves that improve circulation, balance, flexibility, and strength with meditative techniques such as deep breathing. “My students call yoga a natural face-lift,” he says. “It cleanses, relaxes, and restores.”
Read more of the advantages of yoga….

Category: Anti-aging, Practice, Tri training  Leave a Comment
Feb
18

Practice. Schmactice.

Perhaps if I had a dog that required yoga-ing, I’d take my commitment to a regular practice more seriously.  But, alas, my lovely beast of a dog would rather be walked than yoga-ed.

And as a result of this tender, gentle, affectionate, needy beast’s need for exercise, it is given priority in my day.  Just about every day.  As it should.  On those days that I am unable to fulfill my commitment to her, we both feel it.  Guilty.  Irritable. Just plain not right.

The benefits to walking are abundant.  As are the benefits to yoga.  Unfortunately, however, I don’t have a pair of big, brown doe eyes staring at me, following me, urging me to be sure I get in a practice everyday.  Perhaps there’s a business idea in there somewhere…. What I have is the wondrous feeling, laying in savasana, my body limp and damp, and sinking into the floor, longer, lighter and more invigorated than before.  Not eager eyeballs, just the joy of well-being.

So, as I talk myself down from the “Doh…I haven’t practiced in a week already…” ledge, it is this feeling I have to keep in mind when I am putting it off and putting it off, a seemingly perpetually unchecked activity in my dayplanner, with morning disappearing into lunch, lunch fading into afternoon and afternoon evolving quickly into the mayhem that is the late day activities, supper and bed-time rituals.

It’s the feeling of light and opening… and it’s as essential to me as our walks are to my lovely beast of a dog.

Although, to my credit, my daily meditation has taken hold as something of an early morning habit.  Wonderful.  Not unlike most, mine is a mind full of thoughts and images in freaking TechniColor and SurroundSound, even at five in the morning, I still enjoy aspiring to the stillness.

Just me, a freshly lit fire in the fireplace… and my lovely beast of a dog.

Category: Good Intentions  Leave a Comment
Feb
16

Yoga… Playful and Fun!

yoga kidsIf you thought yoga had to be silent and solemn, you and your kids haven’t tried a new brand of “om.”

Whether your child needs something extra to help manage stress or simply wants an avenue of expression outside of competitive sports, yoga for kids is a top alternative, says Marsha Wenig, founder of the internationally acclaimed YogaKids. “There are about 1,000 poses in traditional, physical yoga,” she says. “We use about 200 of them.”

Continue reading….

Category: Blog  Leave a Comment
Feb
09

I’ve Found Shiva

I have made no bones about the fact that I am a Baron-o-phile. No doubt about it, when I was searching for a practice that worked for me- meaning I felt was accessible and that my body responded to, stumbling upon Baron Baptiste was a blessing.  OK… so it’s hard to stumble upon Baron, he’s pretty much everywhere.

For some reason, however, Baron hasn’t been speaking to me lately.  I live in the sticks and rely on books, CD’s and DVD’s for my yogic guidance… in addition to what I know and practice independently.  Rather than trying to fit in a class and the drive it requires to get to, I am more inclined to pop in a disc.

Recently, I climbed out of the shoe in which I must live and experienced for the first time the magic that is Shiva Rea.  shiva rea fluid powerI had heard of her before certainly… open Yoga Journal and her name is nothing less than a fixture, from columns to advertisements to conferences.  But blinded as I was with all things Baron, I never really considered another teacher in my living room.  But after the need for something different, I took a leap of faith.

And a wonderful leap it was.  I am utterly entranced with her Fluid Power and the flexibility of the matrix approach to customizing my practice.

It’s been a wonderful, graceful addition to my existing practice. I’ll enjoy giving dear Baron a bit of a break.

Category: Blog, Products  One Comment
Jan
27

New! All New!

A new site design… to represent our renewed vision and spirit!

Mommy Om is shaping up to be the formost presence of yoga for families on the web.  In addition to first hand accounts of parent’s practice, with or without their children, Mommy Om will provide a wealth of resources for introducing and involving your children in the remarkable world of yoga.

Category: Blog, Practice  Leave a Comment
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