Yoga Without Borders, a Toronto-based yoga service organization dedicated to social change, is hosting its first Take Action summit on Saturday, January 28. With only 60 available spots, the event is already sold out, but it will be streamed online at livestream.com/yogawithoutborders.
The idea behind the summit is to bring together yoga organizations committed to social service and grassroots activism along with experts in networking and fundraising to help get their message out. Networking guru Donna Messer and social media expert Syerah Virani will be among the speakers.
“The idea is to gather and pool our resources,” says Salimah Kassim-Lakha [the director of Yoga Without Borders], calling it an opportunity to create a network that will be supportive and motivating.
“A lot of times grassroots activists stay within their own circles and don’t hear about what others are doing. We end up reinventing the wheel, over and over again.”
Among the seven organizations participating are: Freeing the Human Spirit, which has created a yoga program for Canadian inmates; Off the Mat into the World, which has recently focused on raising funds for Haiti; and Sangha of Hope, which uses trauma-sensitive yoga to help female survivors of physical, mental and sexual violence. (via healthzone.ca)
Dr. Gabor Maté, looking reflective (image via jonathandickinson.ca)
Physician and author Dr. Gabor Maté has collaborated with the Kundalini Yoga community to launch Beyond Addiction: The Yogic Path to Recovery in Vancouver, BC. The innovative four-weekend program “utilizes ancient Kundalini Yoga techniques coupled with an advanced nutritional and dietary approach aimed at balancing brain chemistry and glandular function,” according to The Vancouver Observer.
Dr. [Sat Dharam] Kaur, the originator of the program, says, “We are creating a research based program that can be implemented in treatment centres across the country. The Kundalini Yoga practices in the Beyond Addiction program help to nourish one’s relationship with one’s essential spiritual identity and develop inner strength in a supportive group setting so that the compulsion for an external substance or behaviour is relieved.”
A team of researchers, headed by Julia Wilson, will evaluate the effectiveness of the program and publish the results of their study. This will be one of the first research studies evaluating the effectiveness of a Kundalini Yoga based recovery program on substance abuse and addiction. (via The Vancouver Observer) Continue Reading
Jivamukti Yoga founders, David Life and Sharon Gannon: clothing optional, except when in yoga class?
Apparently Jivamukti Yoga studios in New York City have created a new rule for clothing requirements in yoga classes. According to Well+Good, “Our yogi source said the new rule stated that “people must wear tops in class and that see-through or overly revealing clothing was discouraged.”’
Oh yeah? Interesting that this should happen just weeks after a huge “scandal” about nude yoga advertising swept through the online yoga community. North American yoga practitioners are receiving increasingly mixed messages about the practice. And this is a huge and glaring example of the incongruency.
To add to the confusion, Jivamukti founders Sharon Gannon and David Life have often been photographed close to nude (but reportedly dress modestly when teaching classes). Hmm…
Advertising works. It does more than increase brand awareness and sell products. It also infiltrates our actions and behaviour. If images of half/fully naked bodies are normalized (and, we’re told, are “inspiring” and worth aspiring to), we’ll start seeing more skin in yoga classes. It’s that simple. When leaders in the community pose with minimal clothing, students follow.
Take it a little further, and we run the risk of creating practice spaces that aren’t safe or inclusive. It’s fine line.
Amy Ippoliti has decided to leave Anusara, announcing her resignation yesterday to newsletter subscribers and via social media channels. In a newsletter with the subject, “I’ve made a decision… You’ll want to open this,” Amy made a short announcement with a link to a blog post. She writes,
I have decided to Leave Anusara yoga.
It’s been a wonderful ride and one that has deeply influenced my life in infinite ways; however, I have found myself no longer in alignment with the direction of the organization.
Some of you will be upset with this decision, others will be elated, but one thing I can assure you is that I am not going anywhere. I am still Amy, and will continue in my mission to expand the horizons of yoga, and to teach from my ongoing practice as creatively as I know how, and in doing so, I will not compromise my personal values or commitment.
My calling is to help yoga teachers and practitioners of all styles. (read the rest of the departure blog post here)
The brief blog post, highlighted by a rather dramatic newsletter introduction, indicates that somebody may be looking for attention. However, YogaDork’s post on the subject has so far received only three comments, one of which was “Yawn…”
Following on the heels of last fall’s mass Anusara exodus (the resignation of Elena Brower, Darren Rhodes and Christina Sell), this announcement is going to make us all wonder about the direction of Anusara yoga. It’s also called into question the integrity of Amy’s delivery. As Carol Horton points on the IAYB fanpage, it’s “a weird combo of dramatic and public on the one hand, and devoid of sharing insight and info on the other.”
I think it also points out bigger questions about the fine line between the personal and the private – not only in the yoga world, but in our hyper-connected social media saturated world, where words like “transparency” and “authenticity” are overused to the point of being almost meaningless. How forthright should teachers be after making public declarations about personal decisions? How are students affected by these decisions? And is there a difference between leaving a tradition and leaving a brand?
Ah, if you can’t beat ‘em… satirize ‘em! Seattle-based humourist Michael Stusser has responded to the sexy Equinox ad in the best possible way – by stripping down to his skivvies and creating an amusing parody video. He has all the elements: the serene bedroom setting, the mysterious possible-lover under the covers, the music and the sequence. But the execution is much different.
I have to admit that I find this much more inspiring and courageous than the original. This makes me want to get on my mat, embrace my flaws and persevere through the practice. And it’s a not so subtle reminder to not take things so seriously. This video won’t sell any gym memberships (or anything else, really) but it provides a much-needed giggle.
Discover Michael Stusser’s writing work here. And thanks YogaDork for finding the video!
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