Yoga Tips

Dear Aunt Yoga,

My teacher used to use an “intention” for each class, such as grace, self-love, forgiveness, compassion, etc. She would work the intention into the entire class. It really helped me to have something positive to focus on while doing the poses. Is this a common practice? Is there a list of recommended intentions?

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Stefanie Syman’s book examines how yoga, the centuries-old spiritual discipline, became a fitness routine for American athletes, C.E.O.’s, movie stars and soccer moms.

Last week’s New York Times feature on John Friend and Anusara yoga (see The Yoga Mogul) has generated quite a lot of chatter on the internet this week, including rebuttals from top Anusara teachers Christina Sell (via her blog) and Elena Brower (via YogaDork) and, finally, John Friend himself (via his blog). The unfolding story continues to make fascinating reading, and, as Friend notes, it’s all bound to raise the profile of Anusara.

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The YogaDork knows it’s important to stretch — and to smile, too.

When you’re dedicated to your fitness routine, weeks of 90-something weather is no obstacle.

Check out my review of yoga teacher Kimberly Fowler’s new book, The No Om Zone: A No-Chanting, No-Granola, No-Sanskrit Practical Guide to Yoga. Fowler is a well-known Los Angeles-based yoga teacher. She is the founder of the Yoga and Spinning (YAS) Fitness Centers in LA and has made several yoga workout DVDs, including Yoga for Athletes. Her mission, as the book’s subtitle makes plain, is to make yoga accessible to those who are uncomfortable with yoga’s reputation as a touchy-feely and/or overtly spiritual pursuit.

In honor of the birthday of Shri K. Pattabhi Jois, this week’s pose is the one I most associate with Ashtanga yoga: chaturanga dandasana. Of course there are many poses in the Ashtanga primary series, even more in the second series, and so on, but between just about every pose you’re going to hit that chaturanga again. Practice Ashtanga and you will get some very strong arms.

Is yoga about exercise or spiritual meaning? John Friend, the creator of the Anusara school, says it should be both — and make money besides.

Two books on how yoga was packaged and promoted in different ways in America, depending on the audience and the era.

You must read this fascinating article about Anusara yoga founder John Friend from The New York Times: The Yoga Mogul.