Another Yoga Scandal

In case you’ve been living under a rock, here’s the latest via Yoga Dork on the John Friend/Anusara scandal… wicca, adultery, and money — oh my!

The Dark Side of Apple

http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/cbsnews_player_embed.swf

Working conditions at Apple’s Chinese factories under fire

January 29, 2012 6:41 AM

Questions are beginning to be raised about the factories where Apple products are manufactured and whether the company is ignoring reports of abusive working conditions. Martha Teichner hears from labor watchdog groups as well as from a company hired by Apple to oversee compliance of its rules to find out how the products are made.

full article: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3445_162-57367950/the-dark-side-of-shiny-apple-products/?tag=contentBody;cbsCarousel

video:  http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7396762n&tag=contentMain;contentBody

Yoga at NY Fashion Week

It isn’t behind the scenes.

USA- It is easier to get richer if you already are

NPR: Economy

“Making it in the US: More than just hard work”
September 15, 2011
listen

Ashtanga online, on the shelves, and on your iblank

Vote Ashtanga at the Yoga Journal Talent Search and practice along with the New York Jois Yoga attendees at the April 2011 tour streaming “live”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lululemon Manifesto

via yogadork

Product Reviews: Travel

We receive a lot of “yoga related” products to review here at Elephantbeans and just when we think we have seen everything, ten new things pop up.  While there is a lot of useless junk made by companies seeking to bank on the yoga trend (translucent white yoga shorts?), there is also an exciting momentum around engineering more sustainable, durable, and convenient mats, clothes, and more.

While the extra seven plus pounds of mat plus awkward rolled appendage is a small price to pay considering the incredibly unhygenic state of many studio mat rentals, it is nice to have an alternative.

Gaiam Reversible Travel Yoga Mat

At first glance, the Gaiam Reversible Travel Yoga Mat is unconvincing.  It is a super thin cloth similar to a yoga towel or rug but with a slight stickiness so you know it is meant to be used as a mat/towel alternative.  Very skeptical, our review team threw down a mean primary series and even with the bone cracking rolls of garbha pindasana and neck ouching sarvangasana, the mat provided enough padding for an Ashtangi that appreciates a firm surface.

NOTES:
-Great for travel, folds up and is very light
-Absorbs moisture and is easy to clean
-Ideal surface for someone interested in practicing on a firm surface (you can really feel the floor
-Not good for anything that requires extra padding such as the exit vinyasas at the end of intermediate series
-Not sure this would be the right surface if placed on a carpet

The Ashtangites on our team are mostly traditionalists (or maybe just orientalists?) that take an unhealthy pride in their “authentic” cotton Mysore rug usage.  That being said, even the main shala in Mysore is carrying their own rendition of the yoga towel.

 

Manduka’s eQua Plus Towel

Manduka’s eQua Plus Towel reminded us of a pack towel and when we checked their website, indeed this was listed as an alternative use.  Mat towels are placed on top of your mat or your mat rental.  This towel is lighter and packs up smaller than a cotton Mysore rug, but it is also thinner.  If you want the extra cushioning that a rug provides, look elsewhere.

NOTES:
-Great for travel, folds up and is very light
-Absorbs moisture and is easy to clean
-Possibly not good for anything that requires extra padding such as the exit vinyasas at the end of intermediate series unless you pair it with the classic Black Mat® PRO
-Comes in bright vibrant colors
-The suede-like surface claims to be slip-resistant when moist, however, our reviewer isn’t the super slippy whining type so we can’t varify this
-New coconut technology claims to “spread and evaporate moisture and provide superior odor management by eliminating bacteria”

 

3rd Annual Valentine’s Day Gooey NYC Yoga Classes for Couples and Stuff

 

• Exploration of Love, Intimacy and Relationships
  Party, Workshop, Dance, Yoga, and More
  With Anton Diaz and Paula Tursi
  Feb 11, 12, and 13 at Reflections Yoga
  couples $299, singles $175
  Sign Up

• Restorative OM yoga for Couples
  with Brian Liem with Adam Gwosdof
  Feb 12, 4 – 6 pm or Feb 13, 12:30 – 2:30 pm at Om Yoga
  $50 per couple
  Sign up

• Foods of Love:  A Menu for Valentines
  with T. I. Williams
  Feb 12, 4 – 7 PM at Integral Yoga
  $54
  sign up

• AntiGravity Yoga: Valentine’s Workshop for Couples
  with Emilia Conradson
  Feb 13, 5 -7 pm at Om Factory
  $85 per couple
  Sign up

• Couples Partner Yoga and Thai Massage Workshop
  with Kathryn Ulrich, Chris Loebsack, & Adam Rinder
  Feb 12, 4:30-6:30pm or Feb 13,  7-9pm at Om Factory
  $75 per couple
  Sign Up

Daddy, is yoga Hindu?

NY Times report on the Hindu American Foundation reclaiming project.

Hindu Group Stirs a Debate Over Yoga’s Soul

By PAUL VITELLO

Published: November 27, 2010

Yoga is practiced by about 15 million people in the United States, for reasons almost as numerous — from the physical benefits mapped in brain scans to the less tangible rewards that New Age journals call spiritual centering. Religion, for the most part, has nothing to do with it.

But a group of Indian-Americans has ignited a surprisingly fierce debate in the gentle world of yoga by mounting a campaign to acquaint Westerners with the faith that it says underlies every single yoga style followed in gyms, ashrams and spas: Hinduism.

The campaign, labeled “Take Back Yoga,” does not ask yoga devotees to become Hindu, or instructors to teach more about Hinduism. The small but increasingly influential group behind it, the Hindu American Foundation, suggests only that people become more aware of yoga’s debt to the faith’s ancient traditions.

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Cooking with Saraswati

Although no one seems to agree on the spelling of her name (we’ve seen Saraswati and Saraswathi), her cooking is a different story.  The first of many cooking vids with Master S?

Saraswati recipes v1 from JOIS YOGA on Vimeo.

link: http://vimeo.com/15005887