Carol A Horton’s Yoga PhD

Needing to do this like I need the proverbial hole in head: I’m participating in Yoga for Smart People’s reading of Carol Horton’s Yoga PhD.

The book “explores contemporary yoga from the unique perspective of a political science professor-turned-yoga teacher.”

Find out more here.

Perfect, eh? Scroll below for the real deal.

I used quotes around ‘imperfect’ because I don’t think there’s such a thing as a ‘perfect’ yoga (asana) pose.

Mindbodygreen’s “27 Mind-Blowing Inversions From Rockstar Yogis” shows, well, 27 Mind-Blowing Inversions from Rockstar Yogis.

(I really wish we could retire the term ‘Rockstar Yogi’)

Any type of handstand, headstand and bootystand that you could think of is part of the article’s slideshow.  But Mindbodygreen isn’t the only place where you can find acrobatic feats of delight in all their postcard-worthy glory.

There’s nothing wrong with that.

But, what I worry about is that emphasis is placed too much on the ‘picture perfect’ pose: elegant arms, rippling muscles, hands supporting core-focused bodies in all their straightness.

I wanna see some f*ck ups.

Some outtakes.

Outtakes of folks falling over.

Outtakes of folks falling over and laughing.

Outtakes of folks falling over and laughing after unintentionally ripping one.

I want to see ‘imperfect’ poses.

I want to see my yoga…because my yoga sho ain’t perfect.

Mindbodygreen? Yoga Journal? Flow Yoga Mag? Yoganonymous?

Y’all in?

_{Oh there was more. Much more.}

Engenetics.net

As some of you know, I’m a big admirer of yoga teacher and thinker Kofi Busia. From his thoughts on real (emphasis mine) ‘power yoga’ to his translation of the Yoga Sutras, Mr Busia has made his mark as a yoga scholar. He’s been at it longer than a lot of “rockstar yogis” have been on this planet.

Mr Busia’s new (at least I think it’s new) site, Engenetics, takes his work further, delving into biology, ecology and other ologys.

Kofi Busia

I have only one complaint about the site: it’s way over my head.:-)

No. Really.

I’ve been looking through Engenetics.net for a good 45 minutes now. My head is about to explode just from the equations.

I told you my Mensa card wasn’t worth much.:-)

In any case, here’s the Facebook page for the site (nothing’s happening there at the moment), and here’s the Twitter page.

As for me, I guess I need to block out a weekend to read through all of this.:-)

Or a lifetime.

A rainy, snowy night in Zurich last week.

That is all.

“Continuous practice of pranayama will change the mental outlook of the practitioner and reduce considerably the craving of his senses for worldly pleasures like smoking, drinking and sexual indulgence.”  - Light on Yoga, BKS Iyengar (page 436, 1986 edition)

Bummer.:-)

A little bedtime reading

I haven’t posted in a while because I haven’t had anything to say. And I’m not the type to publish just to say “blah, blah, blah.”

But that may change (not the “blah, blah, blah” part, but posting in general). I’ve started a yoga teacher training course…which is interesting, because I’m not absolutely sure if I want to teach (Dear Buddha, I hope my trainer isn’t reading this:-)).

Maybe a rephrase is in order.

I’m not absolutely sure if I want to teach in a closed room in front of a group of students. I’m not sure if I want to merely teach asanas.

During the introductions in the first session, I described myself as a “Yoga Nerd.”  I have the utmost respect for those who focus on the asanas, but I find myself being pulled more towards the yoga philosophy portion of the course: The Bhagavad Gita, Light on Yoga and, of course, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are my bedtime companions.

I want to use what I’m learning to teach more than flexibility.  I want to go into battle with it, using my yoga training as a weapon against negative body image, the media’s representation of what they believe a woman should look like, stressful workplaces, etc.

It’s not about the movements.

In any case, here’s my reading list:

• Der Yogaleitfaden des Patanjali – Dr Reinhard Palm (my Yoga philosophy instructor)
• The Bhagavad  Gita (doing German and English. Help.)
• Light on Yoga – BKS Iyengar
• Light on Pranayama – ditto
• Yoga Anatomy 3D – Ray Long (freakishly good)

Any other suggestions?

…and even if it scares them.
- Me

Update: Here’s the link to the video. I deleted the embed due to the auto start scaring the crap out of me.

Beat (but invigorated) after our Yogabeats session. David is in the middle (white shirt). I’m the chocolate chip in the back.

David Sye of Yogabeats was in Zurich this week and I had the chance to take – no experience – a workshop with him at Ataia Yoga (organized by Angela Croce of Yoga for Life).

David is a one-man yoga party.

At first I was a tad skeptical, as I am with anyone who incorporates hip-hop and jazz into their asana repertoire.  When it works, it works.  When it doesn’t, a session can turn into a hot a$$ mess.

Note: No one has ownership over either of the genres, but I cringe when I see folks use urban music to forward their need to be seen as “hip.”

David proved me wrong. As a matter of fact, dude is a “brother from another mother.”

He started the session with what was more a call to action than a fluffy talk. To paraphrase (I should have taken notes): We live in fear, we operate in fear, we are slaves to fear. What would happen if we decided to let go of fear in general. Granted, have some common sense, but what would happen if we let go of our fear of smiling…

…of hugging

…of loving?

This hit a sensitive spot with me. When I first got to Switzerland, I was a serial smiler and hugger. But, being met with stares and questioned as to why I was smiling took its toll. I stopped smiling – at least as much as I used to. I gave in to my ego, which was another point David touched on. Our egos chain us, make us worry about what other people think.

F*ck them.

He also described how we work to support our cars, our houses, our bank accounts when it should be the other way around. We work to feed the beast. Nothing’s wrong with having nice things, but get them to enjoy them, not to complete your life. Get high from life, not from stuff.

We then got into his special form of asanas, normal movements supplemented with “micro-movements” (basically soft pulsing when holding a pose).  They were sexy and slightly cheeky (see video below) and fun.

Scroll to around 1:08 to see why I’ve got an interesting case of happy hips right now.:-)

But the asansas weren’t the highlights for me. David’s message was. In nutshell, and again to paraphrase: Don’t let anyone steal your joy…and don’t give in to fear.

Make sure to check out David’s work to bring peace to the West Bank: Yogabeats Conflict .

P.S. Why did I feel like I was channeling Patra when I did that “rolling downward-facing dog”?:-)

If roads were collapsing all across the United States, killing dozens of drivers, we would surely see that as a moment to talk about what we could do to keep roads from collapsing. If terrorists were detonating bombs in port after port, you can be sure Congress would be working to upgrade the nation’s security measures. If a plague was ripping through communities, public-health officials would be working feverishly to contain it.

Only with gun violence do we respond to repeated tragedies by saying that mourning is acceptable but discussing how to prevent more tragedies is not. “Too soon,” howl supporters of loose gun laws. But as others have observed, talking about how to stop mass shootings in the aftermath of a string of mass shootings isn’t “too soon.” It’s much too late.

From Twelve facts about guns and mass shootings in the United States.