Category Archives: Yoga

February 6, 2011 · 4:19 pm

Database to foil yoga copythieves to launch – Boing Boing

Interesting….

From BoingBoing.net:

A open Indian database of all yoga postures will go live soon. It’s intended to serve as a reference for patent and copyright offices around the world who are petitioned by the likes of Bikram Choudhury with patent and copyright applications for individual postures and sequences of postures. The Times of India article is somewhat confusing in that it mixes patent and copyright freely. I haven’t heard of patents being granted on yoga postures, but there have been many stories about the controversial practice of copyright offices allowing registration of choreography copyrights for sequences of postures:

In order to stop self-styled yoga gurus from claiming copyright to ancient `asanas’, like Bikram Choudhury’s Hot Yoga — a set of 26 sequences practised in a heated room — India has completed documenting 1,300 ‘asanas’ which will soon be uploaded on the country’s Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), making them public knowledge.

Around 250 of these `asanas’ have also been made into video clips with an expert performing them.

According to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research ( CSIR) and Union health ministry’s department of Ayush, “once the database is up online, patent offices across the world will have a reference point to check on everytime a yoga guru claims patent on a particluar `asana’.”

CSIR’s Dr V P Gupta, who created TKDL, told TOI, “All the 26 sequences which are part of Hot Yoga have been mentioned in Indian yoga books written thousands of years ago.”

He added, “However, we will not legally challenge Choudhury. By putting the information in the public domain, TKDL will be a one-stop reference point for patent offices across the world. Every time, somebody applies for a patent on yoga, the office can check which ancient Indian book first mentioned it and cancel the application.”

via Database to foil yoga copythieves to launch – Boing Boing.

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January 13, 2011 · 10:12 pm

Don’t Worry – Your Zodiac Sign is Not Wrong | Daily Astrology & Adventure by Eric Francis

People seem to be freaking out over a report that the Zodiac signs are changing…

Eric Francis, from Planet Waves, explains this isn’t the case….

In a lot more detail than I, at least, need to know…

I wish I could put out a press release announcing that the world is flat, and send astronomers scrambling — to return the favor for when an astronomer sends out a press release announcing that your zodiac sign is wrong. That’s what happened this week when the following went viral faster than the dude who got rich dancing around like a dork in 34 countries:

Astronomer Parke Kunkle says that due to changes in the Earth’s alignment the dates of many zodiac signs have changed, according to NBC. In addition, there may be a 13th Zodiac sign: Ophiuchus. Kunkle says that as the Earth and Sun slowly move the signs gradually change, as expected. The change didn’t happen over night either. The 12 signs were designated to different periods of the year almost 3,000 years ago, when astrology began, and since then the Earth’s position in relation to the sun has changed.

Either this is a joke or Parke Kunkle is truly ignorant of his own science. It’s probably a bit of both.

The tropical zodiac is in the inner wheel, the sidereal zodiac is in the outer wheel. Notice how they are ‘out of alignment’ by about one whole sign — to be exact, 23 degrees. This is due to precessional movement, which shifts the two zodiacs by one degree every 70 years.

There are two zodiacs in common use. Kunkle is describing what is called the sidreal zodiac: the backdrop of the stars. It’s not the zodiac used by most Western astrologers; it’s the one used by Vedic astrologers, the kind in India, and a few in our part of the world. The two zodiacs are offset by about 23 degrees. I’ll explain why in a moment.

Here in the West, we use a zodiac that follows the seasons. It’s called the tropical zodiac. It’s based on the position of the Sun’s rays and the tropics — that’s why it’s called tropical. There is another one, based on the positions of the stars. It’s called the sidereal zodiac. If Kunkle doesn’t know this, it’s like a race car driver not understanding the concept of a tire. If so, he also doesn’t understand a long list of other concepts that must make it very difficult for him to do his work. Well, that’s what grad students are for.

via Astrology, Horoscopes, Monthly Horoscopes, Weekly Horoscopes, Daily Astrology Blog, | Don’t Worry – Your Zodiac Sign is Not Wrong | Daily Astrology & Adventure by Eric Francis.

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January 1, 2011 · 1:05 pm

Steve McSwain: 10 Mantras for a More Meaningful New Year

This is an interesting article, from Steve McSwain,for people who don’t do resolutions, but still look to the New Year as an opportunity for self improvement and awareness…

A mantra is a sound, syllable or group of words which, when recited, are regarded as capable of producing spiritual transformation (or so says Wiki). Actually, mantra is a word common in the eastern world and is itself made up of two words: man meaning “mind,” and tra meaning “instrument.” So, a mantra is “an instrument of the mind.”

In eastern religions, and to a lesser degree in the mystical traditions of Christianity, meditators use mantras to center themselves and so bring health and wholeness to the inner self (or, greater unity between the mind, body and spirit). Benedictine monks regularly use scripture in this fashion. For example, they might recite in meditation over and over again the words, “The Lord is my shepherd” (from the 23rd Psalm).

In my own experience, I have made it an every-morning practice to meditate and recite the following mantras. This is the first time, however, I’ve actually written them down. This was itself a wonderful discipline.

In many respects, a New Year’s Resolution is a kind of mantra. But, like mantras, resolutions must be practiced daily if you’re serious about them becoming your way of living. Which is why, my first mantra is…

More, including the actual Mantras:   Steve McSwain: 10 Mantras for a More Meaningful New Year.

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Filed under Holidays, My Journey, Religion, Social Commentary, Yoga

December 6, 2010 · 9:27 am

Just Breathe: Body Has A Built-In Stress Reliever : NPR

Just a Holiday reminder!

There are plenty of ways to relieve stress — exercise, a long soak in a hot bath, or even a massage. But believe it or not, something you’re doing right now, probably without even thinking about it, is a proven stress reliever: breathing.

As it turns out, deep breathing is not only relaxing, it’s been scientifically proven to affect the heart, the brain, digestion, the immune system — and maybe even the expression of genes.

Mladen Golubic, a physician in the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Integrative Medicine, says that breathing can have a profound impact on our physiology and our health.

“You can influence asthma; you can influence chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; you can influence heart failure,” Golubic says. “There are studies that show that people who practice breathing exercises and have those conditions — they benefit.”

He’s talking about modern science, but these techniques are not new. In India, breath work called pranayama is a regular part of yoga practice. Yoga practitioners have used pranayama, which literally means control of the life force, as a tool for affecting both the mind and body for thousands of years.

MORE:   Just Breathe: Body Has A Built-In Stress Reliever : NPR.

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October 20, 2010 · 7:41 pm

YogaSlackers take a Rest Day – Kinda’ | Wend Magazine – iWend

Yoga Teachers:  Don’t be getting any ideas….

 

From the accompanying article:

This past weekend, we were busy.  Sam, Chelsey and I hosted the largest gathering of advanced acroyogis (blend of acrobatics, yoga, and flying massage) that has ever converged in Arizona. We taught and practiced for nearly 10 hours a day on Saturday and Sunday. It was a beautiful sight, to see so many people pushing themselves and trusting each other. Chelsey and I taught a very difficult sequence – possibly the most difficult acrobatic flow that has ever been publicly taught in a workshop setting. We demanded a lot from ourselves, and even more from our students. They did not disappoint.

Sunday night, as we finally made our way to bed after midnight, we looked forward to a sleeping in and waking up to a lazy rest day. Our friend and majestic bodywork Guru — Charlie Roach (Four Rivers Massage 520.406.4703 – worth visiting Tucson for!) — has been working on us off and on over the last year and urged us to take a bit of a rest. The acrobatics, constant race training and serious yoga practice had been taking it’s toll. We were still not fully recovered from the 1080 miles of the YES tour. We all joke about being super-human, but our shoulders, hips, and wrists were all feeling the overuse.

I slept until 7:30, which seemed pretty late since the previous week Chelsey and I had woke at 5:30 AM every morning to practice. I taught a yoga class at 8:00, intending on a leisurely breakfast and lazy afternoon. Unfortunately, Sam and Dan (yogaslacker from Minnesota who was in town for the Acro workshops) showed up to my class, and insisted that we take advantage of Dan’s last day in town. Suffice to say, I am gonna need another rest day after my rest day….

More:   YogaSlackers take a Rest Day – Kinda’ | Wend Magazine – iWend.

 

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