Posts Tagged ‘representation of yoga’
2011 yogi of the year!
Fake Time Magazine cover image by YogaDawg. Original image taken by J.T. Liss, via yogadork.com
When not quoting right wing ideologues, lululemon apparently enjoys co-opting protest language when it suits them. (image: Toronto lululemon store, taken by James Hamilton, via torontogp.blogspot.com)
Since the blogosphere and mainstream news picked up on lululemon’s adoration of Ayn Rand’s ideology last week, there has been a lot of curiousity about the underlying philosophy of the ubiquitous “yoga-inspired” clothing company. Interestingly enough, this PR scandal landed just week’s before lululemon CEO Christine Day was named CEO of the year by the Globe and Mail’s Report on Business magazine. A profile of Christine reveals some insight into the company culture and how they craft their success.
The profile starts off with some scene setting:
…On a sunny Saturday afternoon in Vancouver, you could pop into any store—the flagship Kitsilano location, for example—and, by doing nothing more than people-watching, easily get a sense of what underscores its success.
What’s notable here is that it’s not just shopping that you’re hearing. It’s community building. And if you have any doubt that Lululemon is deliberate in encouraging this sensibility, you need only read the slogans that adorn their shopping bags, advertisements and websites…
Then it launches into lululemon’s business strategy and how it mystifies investors and stock market watchdogs. Clearly, this CEO of the year accolade is well deserved ~ with Christine Day at the helm, lululemon has made some impressive growth. “…It is her performance as CEO that has mesmerized analysts and the markets,” writes Timothy Taylor. “With 122 stores in Canada and the United States, and 100 more now under consideration, this is a company well on its way to mass popularity. Lululemon saw its stock climb to almost $60 this fall, up over 280% from when Day joined the company, and a whopping 250% gain year over year.” Continue Reading
Yoga mats at #occupywallstreet: a symbol of solidarity & unity? photo by J.T. Liss via yogadork.com
The yoga mat: ubiquitous signifier of the yoga practitioner. All those other signs (stretchy pants, Krishna shirts, Om tattoos) don’t really mean anything, but how often do you find yourself smiling at someone on the street just because they have a mat slung over their shoulder? Or excusing someone’s blissed out daze because their mat indicates they may have just come from the studio? Of course, with price tags of $75US and up, the yoga mat has also become a status symbol and, at times, indication of one’s place in the exclusive “yoga club.” But maybe there’s more to it than that.
Earlier this week, at Seane Corn’s appearance at Occupy Wall Street, the yoga mat took on another meaning. While Seane spoke, people raised their mats in the air in an apparent gesture of solidarity and unity. For the first time in history, the yoga mat became a symbol of protest and a demand for change.
In honour of the evolution of the yoga mat, I’m happy to do a little giveaway of said product. Manduka contacted me about their new line of “fall colours,” and while I’m not sure what means (can we expect more seasonal colour variations? pleasant pastels for spring, perhaps?), it’s a welcome change from the dreary old black Manduka Pro. And I love giving away stuff!
So, I have one eKO Mat, made of biodegradable natural rubber, for a lucky IAYB reader. All you have to is answer the following question: What does your yoga mat mean to you? Is it your sacred space, a holding place for your intentions, your daily foundation? Is it simply some cushioning between your knees and the hard floor? Do you have a story about your current mat? Where have you taken it?
Write your response in the comment section before 9am EST, Monday, October 17. One name will be drawn at random.
If you were to land on the lululemon website today, you might think they’ve jumped on the naked yoga advertising bandwagon (which, seriously, is so 2010). But their banner image series is a response to the hype surrounding Vancouver Canuck player Ryan Kesler’s upcoming nude photo spread in October’s ESPN Magazine. In an apparent gesture of solidarity, lululemon ambassador Jenn Thiel shed her luon and allowed herself to be photoshopped for an amusing but kind of incongruous spoof on the photo. Even stranger was the random insertion of Jenn’s form into all the other images on lululemon’s rotator: pulling a giant zipper, standing beside winter jackets.
At least she isn’t actually posing in an asana. And let’s hope lululemon doesn’t integrate this look into their next ad campaign…
via Vancity Buzz
(click the image above to watch the footage on britishpathe.com)
In this charming video footage from the 1950s, ballet students practice yoga to “control the body, discipline the mind and assist concentration” at the Legat School of Ballet in England.
Madame Legat (Nadine Nicolaeva Legat), former prima ballerina in the Russian ballet, introduced yoga exercises as part of the school curriculum because she believed yoga was beneficial to ballet dancers. As modern practitioners know, yoga “increases elasticity, heightens concentration, helps to co-ordinate mind and body and helps the body to relax.”
British Pathé is a fascinating news and video archive, documenting every aspect of global culture and news since the 1890′s. These newsreels were shown in cinemas before the invention of television, and covered everything from fashion to warfare and sport to travel. The collection of 90,000 rare video clips filmed between 1894 and 1977 on the British Pathé’s website are an interesting and enjoyable journey through 20th century culture (and a great way to procrastinate!).
Thanks to Maggie from Yoga Festival Toronto for unearthing this gem and sharing on Facebook!
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