passport to prana: sivananda yoga vedanta center montreal

February 10, 2010 in yoga | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

When I first heard about Passport to Prana, I was skeptical. 30 yoga classes, for $30, at some of the best studios in Montreal? There has to be a catch. But there isn’t! The initiative, which was conceived by Toronto-based yoga teacher YuMee Chung in 2005, is available in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and, now, Montreal (San Francisco, while not a Canadian city, was also recently added to the roster).

So how does it work? You get this little plastic card with a bar code, you activate the card on the Passport to Prana website, and you are enabled to attend one class at each of the participating yoga studios. There’s even a handy online tracking system, so you can keep note of which studios you’ve attended.

With my little passport in hand, I decided to start in my neighbourhood, Mile End, and work my way out. First up: an intermediate hatha yoga class at the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center Montreal. This is just a 3-minute walk from my house, and I pass it almost every day. This centre has historical significance, as it was the first yoga centre founded by Swami Vishnudevananda after he was instructed by his guru, the famous Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh, to bring the yoga teachings to the west in 1950s. He opened this centre in 1959, then went on to open the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Camp in Val Morin, an hour north of Montreal, which operates as the Sivananda world headquarters. Read the rest of this entry »

photo: yoga mats for haiti causes cynical internet buzz

February 8, 2010 in media, service, yoga | Tags: , | 9 comments

Photo by James Fallows, via theatlantic.com

The above photo (taken outside of a San Francisco yoga studio) has turned up on Boing Boing, Gawker and HuffPo today ~ and sensitive yogis, do not read the comment sections! Most of the mainstream buzz is loaded with mockery and derision, as the general public takes on the misguided intentions of yogis who might want to help out Haitians by donating their old yoga mats.

It’s just a photo and we don’t know the whole story… perhaps the studio is hooked up with Yoga 4 Trauma’s Project Haiti initiative, which has a cohesive and long-term plan to offer therapeutic yoga to survivors and responders. Perhaps somebody has come up with a way to transform bacteria-ridden old yoga mats into inflatable hospitals.

But at first glance, I’m reminded of an excellent blog post by La Gitane over at Yoga Gypsy in response to a recent article about “disaster do-gooders” sometimes doing more harm than good. As she points out, “As yogis and yoginis, we are particularly likely to want to reach out in tragic situations, to be proactive, to DO something that we feel can alleviate the suffering we see.”

Is shipping yoga mats to Haiti a thoughtful response to suffering? Or is it simply a self-serving act to get rid of unwanted items in our yoga rooms? As we’ve all been told countless times, the most effective way to support the efforts in Haiti is to send cold hard cash to reputed aid organizations (Red Cross, Partners in Health, Doctors Without Borders, Habitat for Humanity). How much impact could a used yoga mat campaign have on a country in need of rebuilding and healing?

yoga as entertainment?

February 3, 2010 in yoga | Tags: , , , , | 30 comments

A relaxing apres ski yoga sesh (photo: NY Times)

It seems to be yoga week at the NY Times. They’ve sure been devoting a lot of space to yoga lately. The latest, an article in the Feb 7 edition (in a feat of time travel magic!) looks at the increase of yoga classes in hotels and resorts.

Long popular at spas and retreat centers, yoga classes have been spreading to mainstream hotels, resorts and tour operators over the last several years. As the ancient stretching and meditation practice gained popularity, the travel industry began seeing dollar signs in sun salutations. Soon, yoga classes were showing up on the on-demand channels in Hyatts and Marriotts, and at the Kimpton hotel chain mats and straps were available to guests who asked. Spas and resorts began to tweak their yoga programs by hosting weeklong retreats with yoga masters like Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman, who attracted a cultlike following.

Now, with yoga becoming so mainstream, properties from chain hotels to bed-and-breakfasts are looking for new ways to incorporate it into their programs to pique guests’ interest and reach their wallets.

When I read this, my first thought was: jobs. It’s great that these hotels can provide work opportunities for the hoards of YTT graduates. This is one of the undeniably positive aspects of the mainstreaming of yoga: more work for more teachers. I would definitely take an opportunity to teach yoga in a resort setting for a season, and spend my free time snowboarding and hanging out in hot tubs. While I’m aware that most of the clientele may be looking for an apres ski stretch, rather than personal or spiritual growth, teaching them would still be a service.

But as I continued reading the article, I began to feel a little icked out. The article discusses how the travel industry likes to combine yoga with things like wine, skiing and whales (aka, “combo yoga”) to make packages more appealing (and lucrative). Says Kristen Ulmer, of Ski to Live, a retreat focused on the mind-body connection of snow sports:  “We’re a short-attention-span society. Just the yoga isn’t enough to keep us entertained or maybe not even enough of a draw in and of itself.”

Interesting. From spiritual practice to lifestyle to fitness activity… to entertainment? Is this the natural (de)evolution of yoga in the West? What do y’all think?

And for some more NY Times yoga lovin’ check out today’s “Answers from a Yoga Instructor” in the City Room blog. NYC yoga teacher Bryn Chrisman responds to a handful of questions posted by readers earlier this week (which is itself a very revealing indication of the popular perception of yoga… and what people expect from the practice).

review: inner life of asanas by swami lalitananda

January 31, 2010 in yoga | Tags: , , | 5 comments

In the winter, my tendency is to slow down and go inwards. The chilly Montréal air and long nights make me feel like spending a lot of time indoors ~ and correspondingly, my yoga practice has become slower and more restorative. I hold the postures, breathe, and allow whatever thoughts to arise.

The Inner Life of Asanas, a collection of columns by Swami Lalitananda originally published in ascent magazine*, is the perfect guide for this kind of internal process. The short essays in this book are based on the practice of Hidden Language Hatha Yoga, a reflective approach designed to illuminate the physical, psychological and mystical dimensions of key yoga asanas.

The book is made up of 26 postures, which have been organized into 5 thematic chapters: Awareness, Choice, Action, Devotion and Union. Each posture is structured with a short reflection/anecdote related to a greater theme, followed by a practice – a description of how to do the form of the pose (very basic and applicable to all systems of Hatha Yoga), keyword prompts and questions.

For example, the section on dhanurasana (bow pose) features an anecdote by Swami Lalitananda about service and putting ideals into action, relating the pose itself to the image of a bow. “I think about the bow and how it is created from a strong but flexible piece of wood, tempered and shaped to serve its purpose.”

She then gives us questions such as “What is your purpose? Can you find the place of balance where you exert effort and let go at the same time?” The practice itself is very loose and fluid, with no directions for timing or sequencing. The only expectation is that practitioners are working with a pen and paper, to capture their responses to the postures and the questions. Read the rest of this entry »

yoga for haiti: a compassionate response

January 28, 2010 in community, service, yoga | Tags: , | 6 comments

The winner of the YogaDorks for Haiti T-shirt design contest!

So yesterday was Yogis for Haiti day, a call to action initiated by the excellent yoga activist organization, Off the Mat and Into the World. It was an invitation to the global yoga community to practice in support of Haiti relief efforts. Yoga studios were encouraged to be part of the event and commit to donating a percentage of their earnings to Partners in Health. I didn’t participate because I only found out about the event on Tuesday, which wasn’t enough time to get organized, and I’m not a studio, and I don’t teach yoga on Wednesdays.

But even though I didn’t sign up for the official event, it was enough to inspire me to donate all contributions from my weekly Thursday community class to Doctors Without Borders, in support of Haiti relief (the class is always pay-what-you-wish, and all funds are donated back to rad’a, the space where I teach). I’ve been watching the yoga community’s response to the crisis in Haiti, and it has been really inspiring. This initiative and Project Haiti: Yoga 4 Trauma (which is a long-term plan for bringing yoga therapy to Haiti) are among the more united calls to action. On a smaller scale, I’ve seen some fundraising classes in my community, and there have been other, more creative responses, such as YogaDork’s excellent T-shirt design contest.

Yet, I also see that it’s difficult to rise to action as a united yoga front. And I can speak for myself in saying that I’m still kind of overwhelmed by the whole earthquake situation. I’ve been on a roller coaster of emotions since the news broke two weeks ago, and it even silenced my blogging. What could I say after such a tragedy? What could I offer? Blogging about yoga felt so very trivial compared to that kind of catastrophe. I have felt emotional overwhelm, powerlessness, media saturation, and finally “compassion fatigue.” I felt like I all I had to give is money (and some old clothes), and it isn’t enough, and there are so many logistical barriers that my teeny little contribution won’t even reach those who need it in time…

And then I came to see that this self-defeating way of thinking doesn’t serve anyone. I also began to feel a responsibility as a yoga teacher and member of my community to step forward and give what I can. Yoga. Not only for the people of Haiti, but for the people in my own community, who may have been feeling the same emotional drain and conflicted feelings as I have been, and may be in need of a little nurturing. And so, this afternoon I’ll be offering a heart-centred class with an emphasis on developing compassion for self and others. It may be just a small token, but it’s something.

What has been the response in your yoga community to Haiti’s suffering? What has been your personal, emotional response?

If you’re not able to make it to any of the yoga for Haiti events happening in your community, but still want to contribute in a yogified way, show your love with the official YogaDorks for Haiti shirt! All proceeds go to the Red Cross!

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