Thursday, October 1, 2009
Blog Post Interruptus
I was writing a post and got side tracked in research -- yep, I actually look things up to write this blog -- it's not just coming off the top of my head -- until NOW. Basically writing to ask you (dear reader -- Juliana, or Mindy...if you get any text showing up in the post below. It is an article from Yoga Journal on Bikram. I ran into it because I was looking up the quote,"the most Exciting, Hard-working, Amusing, Glamorous Yoga class in the World." --- and I ran into this article in Yoga Journal. I was able to click "share" on their site, and the link showed up on my blog without text. Also, I kept looking for the date when the article was originally published, but Yoga Journal makes that impossible to find. This would have to be more than several years old (pre 2001) when Bikram's studio was still in Beverly Hills (previous to Todd Tramps and way before La Cienega Blvd) Please let me know if you can read it off my site. I think she (the writer of the article) does a good job at capturing Bikram's personality, but she was lukewarm on the yoga itself and I think because of it painted a rather biased opinion. It just annoys me that the Yoga Journal people allow an article to be entitled, "bad boy of yoga" -- What does that even mean? I will ask Bikram himself what he thinks of Asthanga since it has roots from India. I can easily believe that he puts down Power Yoga and all the other newbie yogas -- but who knows maybe he had another reason for not liking Asthanga. Whatever the case maybe -- I really am all for the Craig Villani quote,"All yoga is good yoga." Even with the yoga competition coming up, Diane states that Bikram and Rajashree are encouraging other yogis (not just Bikram practitioners to participate) -- and you know that people are practicing other forms -- (I have seem too many compass poses -- and that 'ain't in the 84!) -- in these competitions. Anyway, beside the point -- this is extemporaneous, after all.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
Hmm, text did not show up. If I were you, I'd just put in a hyperlink to the article (esp since it's 9 pages long) - http://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/328.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the article. I read that one ages ago. Parts of that article are totally fabulous. Its biggest flaw in my mind is that the author tries just a few classes, hits a road bump, and then stops. You just can't take someone out of their "intro special stage," so to speak, and ask them to give their complete opinion on the system. It's too SOON! They're not IN IT yet! They don't KNOW!
Hi, As I was reading the article I realized this came out at a time when Bikram was promoting his bad boy image. He like's it! Bikram comes from a perspective that any press is good press.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite media spot of Bikram's is his 60 minutes interview. By the time that came out in 2005 (I was in TT at the time) Bikram had polished his media skills. He totally charmed the 60 minutes reporter, no easy feat.
I wrote an article about three years ago and submitted it to a few magazines. I've published some stuff in the past. The article was about how Bikram Yoga helped mitigate my FDNY experience of Sept 11th. It was a poignant piece.
Yoga Journal wanted the article, but they edited it into a story of guys who used to work out in gyms and now do Yoga. It was a beefcake kind of piece, really trashy. They also removed all references to Bikram Yoga except the name of my studio. I withdrew the piece. They were unhappy.
I later told Bikram the above story and he said: "they better remove my name, I'll sue them".
Apparently there was no love lost between them. Since then, however, Yoga Journal has done an article, an interview with Bikram.
Go figure.
Yes, the winds of change!!! Charlie I am trying to be a voice in media for Bikram Yogis -- you're an inspiration. Hope to see you soon!
ReplyDeleteThe text doesn't post but the link goes to the article. I've read it before I think even before my first class when I was "researching" it. I honestly find that Yoga Journal is really fluff. Wouldn't it be amazing to have a Bikram Yoga Journal solely dedicated to those who practice this amazing practice??? I've thought of it often. How we could go into depth on the current research on the medical benefits of the postures and the effect of the heat. The mental/psychological aspect and the emotional healing. Monthly features on students who have made recent self-discoveries in their practice. Teachers of the month voted by the readership? A feature on a new studio opening? I'd buy that magazine!
ReplyDeleteYes, I believe ALL yoga is good yoga. I think if you really stand by this practice you don't need to trash any other yoga because you know eventually they will come to find this practice. I did. And you see the benefits in the light of it in the eyes of everyone who practices it. And I see the lack of that light when I don't practice it. Really it's visible and I've not seen that glow from any other yoga practitioner though I occasionally enjoy my downward dog stretch.
There is that interim beginning period particularly for those who have much healing to do where it is just SO uncomfortable and you think oh it must be something wrong with the yoga??? And then there are those that after months/years finally peel back the layers to the heart of who they are and this can equally be a difficult process to withstand. The hardest thing is to just get yourself to the door and then it all melts away into the mirror. How do you teach a new person that the hard way is the right way and there is no magic button to press for wellness? Blood. Sweat. Tears. Trusting the process. There is no time limit or deadline for reaching my ideal life. I can live it now within my choice and even in a 105 degree room with 40% humidity. Wow, it took many twists and turns and defeats in my life to come to this and I'm sure more to hold the standpoint - but I can only have faith that it is worth it. And "they" say this yoga isn't "meditative" - HUH! Ok - I'll get off my soapbox now - This got long!
Dear Ladiladida,
ReplyDeleteMy dream is to create a radio and tv show, why not a magazine? You are right on -- we need a voice. We Bikram pratitiioners have a need to discuss and share our experiences. It just seems to me that as Bikram yoga practitioners we do not get enough say in the media -- we are under represented. You are spot on -- I have heard it all: "Oh, you do that Mc Yoga" or "Your yoga is all about burning calories", or "Isn't this the easy yoga?" Thank you so much for your post -- it validates my staying up past my bedtime to write these musings and continue my efforts to create more in terms of platforms for HOT BIKRAM YOGIS!
Yoga (Sanskrit, Pali: yóga) refers to traditional physical and mental disciplines originating in India. The word is associated with meditative practices in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. In Hinduism, it also refers to one of the six orthodox (astika) schools of Hindu philosophy, and to the goal toward which that school directs its practices. In Jainism it refers to the sum total of all activities—mental, verbal and physical.
ReplyDeleteMajor branches of yoga in Hindu philosophy include Raja Yoga, Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and Hatha Yoga. Raja Yoga, compiled in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and known simply as yoga in the context of Hindu philosophy, is part of the Samkhya tradition.[10] Many other Hindu texts discuss aspects of yoga, including Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the Shiva Samhita and various Tantras.
The Sanskrit word yoga has many meanings, and is derived from the Sanskrit root "yuj," meaning "to control," "to yoke" or "to unite."[12] Translations include "joining," "uniting," "union," "conjunction," and "means." Outside India, the term yoga is typically associated with Hatha Yoga and its asanas (postures) or as a form of exercise. Someone who practices yoga or follows the yoga philosophy is called a yogi or yogini
yoga