As we yanks set forth in celebrations of Independence let us recall the week in Yoga, and lift our glasses in a toast to freedom! (aand…fireworks, barbecues and days off!) Here’s a quick little recap of what happened ‘This Week in Yoga’, followed by your favorite, Yogini Martini, patriotic style.
This Week in Yoga:
Explosive! Adriana Lima is a Model of a Yoga Mama, seriously. [Celebriyogis]
hey! If we told you there was a chance you could meet superstar LA Dodger outfielder Andre Ethier, practice yoga with him and get your own Dodgers yoga mat would you pay $100 for it?
We received an email from the head office of the LA Dodgers and are feeling super cool and sporty, and we’re so not even! Apparently they saw we were total dorks “pretty excited” about yoga being added to baseball spring training, and that superstar players we’ve even heard of like Russell Martin and Manny Ramirez taking yoga seriously.
Well they sure had us pegged right when they sent the following info (warning: you might want to clear Dodgers/Andre Ethier fans away from the computer right now):
“On July 18th, we will be offering a 1-hour yoga session with our star outfielder Andre Ethier and his personal yoga instructor, Johanna Epps*. The session will take place on the actual fieldat Dodger Stadium and is a truly unique experience for yoga enthusiasts and Dodgers fans to get to know one of our players, enjoy the sun and have some fun doing yoga. Every participant will receive a DodgersWIN yoga mat, carrying case and an autographed photo of Andre.”
Whoa, cool! we thought. Then…
“The cost for the event is $100.”
*thunk* that was the sound of our hopes being dashed. Ah well, we’re not in LA anyway! Yes indeed a hefty price tag, which we found out is actually for-profit, even though it’s being hosted by the Dodgers Women’s Initiatives Network (DodgersWIN), which endeavors to welcome more women to the sport and often participates in community outreach programs. But nope, this event is no charity (unless of course you’re a Giants fan.. zing!).
You know what though? If we were Dodgers fans and we had occasion to splurge like for say a birthday, anniversary, or perhaps coercing your significant other into actually practicing yoga (heh) this sounds like an awesome time. Plus you get schwag! (also, side note of complete unimportance - he’s 27 and he looks like this ->)
–Alaskan Governer Sarah Palin Panders to America’s Yoga-bama Supporters–
We never expected it, though we had hoped for it, and some had already pretty much decided to pretend anyway… but a presidential yogi? Ah, too good to be true! That’s why we have no doubt in our minds that Sarah Palin, posing in Vrksasana (tree pose) for Runner’s World article “I’m a runner”, will have no chance at Dame Commander in Chief come 2012.
Besides, this shot (and her shot at Obama) was about outrunning the prez in a long distance race. Also, it’s ingrained in every yogi’s brain not to place the foot on the knee…pfft. Yes, we’re afraid we still have no affirmative confirmation on a presidential yogi, and that this is just another candid abuse of asana for a cute photo op. You betcha, le sigh.
Pretty quiet on the yoga news front today… it’s like everyone’s out celebrating major national holidays this week or something…
oh we kid! Happy Canada Day you cute lil Canucks! *pinches cheeks*
This has nothing to do with Canada Day (or does it?) but in yogadork style we don’t have to make perfect sense all the time, just be dorks. Here’s something fun/inneresting we’ve encountered in our daily cavorting of the interwebs.
We’re pretty sure everyone and their yoga mothers have seen this by now - it’s been coasting the internets for a while, and even made viral email status as YD pal @Rock_My_Soles shared with us - but it seems to have made SUCH an impression that when doing a simple Google web search for the word “yoga” it is the third, THIRD, image to appear on the front page. That’s right, keepin’ it classy internet folks
of course the original (we’re almost certain we’ve seen this on a greeting card already):
“should not be attempted without supervision” it reads. Words of advice from Yogacharya Iyengar.
In your Canada Day and pre-4th celebrations, remember to drink and yoga responsibly. (yoga before booze, eh?)
via EnglishRussia.com you can scroll down for some other, uh, asanas? or further cringeworthy drunk skunks.
What’s one thing you DON’T need when profits are performing sub-par? Knockoffs! We’re not going to call this the ‘yoga’ tipping point per se, but rather the lulu luxury tipping point in yoga-image-wear. When there’s already a dubious murmuring from investors, seriously staunch competition and exorbitant prices working against you, the last thing you want consumers to catch onto is a cheaper, easier to find replicate, doggone it. Nevertheless, be warned! Lulu fakes are in our midst and it’s not pretty!
In fact, lulubots are so appalled by the influx of disingenuous, goal-less yogawear that they’ve taken to the blog in an act of heroic proportions to stop the pirates from pillaging our pocketbooks for lesser-than-great stretchy clothes! (deep breath) They go full throttle into the “quality” argument, but then dig deeper questioning your very morals citing that bootleg could mean boo for factory conditions (admittedly a fine point, though some have also questioned the lulu standards as of late).
Of course, all this knockoff talk has a flurry of lulu lollies perplexed and rummaging through all their lulu garb to be sure it’s authentic. So many questions…”What if I bought it on eBay?” “Are there knockoff booty pants? What does this mean for my butt?” and “What will the real lulu do for the victims of such a gross offense?”
Well, the answer to that last question is probably nothing, except steer you towards your closest lulu shopping cart. Know what we say about knockoffs? First, sweatshops=bad bad bad, but if these duds are anything close to the ‘designer’ handbags you can snap up from Chinatown at a fraction of a benjamin, we can imagine the stampede supply and demand (though for affordability we recommend opting for another great eco-conscious brand instead. just our opinion). Rest assured, if you’re really gagging to buy a yoga image, save your pennies for the real deal, the lulus are happy to show you how.
Also, an additional tidbit of interest to yogadorks as it were, is the provocative choice of the word “counterfeit“. Of all the synonyms available in the English language for ‘fake’ (knockoff, imitation, forgery, reproduction, etc..) they choose the one most closely associated with the grand ole buck. Go figure.
And now for your Tuesday installment of “Model-y types Who Turn Yogis”, or in other words, the YD Celebriyogi Digest!
Next up is the sensationally sexy Victoria’s Secret model, Adriana Lima who, now pregnant, claims she wasn’t so serious about a yoga practice in her wild salad days (as evidenced below).
The mature Lima’s pre-momma maternal instincts seem to have mellowed her to yoga’s potential. The angelic one tells People:
“I’m doing yoga now,” she says. “I didn’t used to take it seriously, but now I realize it’s really good way to get some exercise – and it’s fun.”
Don’t know bout you, but she looks pretty serious about her yoga in that VS ad. Once again we are duped by the masterful art of print ad seduction. Glad she’s taken to the real thing.
And on we go…hello Monday. A new dawn a new day, a new Michael Jackson video from the inmates of a Filipino prison (watch their original captivating version of “Thriller” - they have lots more music video enactments btw)
Firstly, apologies for the brief somber tone…allow us to indulge our childhood memories: With all his idiosyncrasies, surely a legend has left us in the passing of Michael Jackson…it’s taken a while to actually hit us, as most shocking news will do, but we’ve finally reached a state of sobering reality and stinging nostalgia (*tear*). Now it’s just a lingering feeling of aw man, that sucks. Alas, the words and statements of much more famous figures than we have already said pretty much all there is say at this point. All we can do now is celebrate life! Something we tend to forget to do until we’re so abruptly reminded.
So on this kickoff to a swell weekend of opportunities to give back, we’d just like to offer our own modest YD shout out to the Guru of Pop, the kindred spirit, the dude who inspired us to dance, encouraged Weird Al Yankovic, and made us really want a pet monkey. Michael Jackson lives on.
(ps. no we have no idea if he ever tried yoga)
Keep On With The Force Don’t Stop
Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough
If you’re languishing in the concern that your yoga in action (Karma!) is not quite up to snuff, here are some super events happening this weekend you should definitely soak your little do-gooding down dogs into.
In other words, give back! You have plenty of opportunities…
For 24-hours participants of all levels will be instructed in various yoga styles while also enjoying yoga massage, music, food, drink and an appearance by CBS’s popular NCIS star, Pauley Perrette. Perrette will speak between 2-3 pm on Saturday about her long time involvement with Habitat for Humanity and advocate its mission to build safe, affordable housing. This year the studio hopes to quadruple the $24,000 raised at its first event and double the $56,000 raised last year in hopes of reaching the $100,000 needed to sponsor “The House that City Yoga Built.” Money is raised through individual participant fundraising plus donations from Rancho La Puerta, Tender Greens, Lululemon, Whole Foods and other local businesses as well as anyone visiting http://www.firstgiving.com/cityyogathon.
Cost: StonewallForty asks for a $15 donation. Show up early or reserve your spot. Proceeds from all StonewallForty events go to Equal Rights Washington and Lambda Legal.
7online’s a little late to the Yoga boom in Recession party, but we’ll forgive them, if only because they dug deep and did the hard reporting. What’s the news? Employment down, yoga UP! (remember, though kiddles, this is NYC). (video)
Elena Brower of Virayoga (in Soho) says classes are brimming upwards of 70 students in each Tues and Thurs class, and guess what time? The middle of the day! And they’re not “free classes for the unemployed.” Why are people who have no steady job bumrushing yoga class? Because it feels good, it gives them direction, and because they still have disposable income and instead of splurging on the $700 handbag (on sale!), they opt for yoga.
And according to YogaWorks CEO Phil Swain, it’s a necessity!
“A lot of people are only purchasing what’s a necessity,” he said. “We really believe that yoga is a necessity. It’s a lifestyle, it’s their health and wellness, it’s community, and, frankly, it’s entertainment. So we’ve seen activity up.”
Yes, let’s purchase our lifestyle (oy). Says moneybags Phil, luxuriating in the setting of the swanky new Soho location (though we’re not sure why we didn’t spy any celebs yet). Totally agree with yoga being an integral part of a healthy lifestyle, especially in high-stress times as today, but perhaps escapism is also not the answer, as one fine fellow would like to forget:
“I dread going back to work,” he said. “I want to live a healthier life, a more relaxed life. So I want more yoga and less work.”
Oh, don’t we all!
But what’s with these yuppies anyway? The end of the article notes that yoga distracts from shopping or spending money on things that make you feel guilty for spreeing on afterwards. For crying out loud, give us a break Soho.
On the flipside, good news for yoga studios.
(yes we realize not all mid-day practitioners are laid off investment bankers with gold bars under their mattresses)
As we yanks set forth in celebrations of Independence let us recall the week in Yoga, and lift our glasses in a toast to freedom! (aand…fireworks, barbecues and days off!) Here’s a quick little recap of what happened ‘This Week in Yoga’, followed by your favorite, Yogini Martini, patriotic style.
