David, Russell, and Sharon

Last week I got to attend one of Jivamukti’s Master Classes at the Prince George Ballroom. Three hours with David Life is like solid gold. (Talk about an intense guy! He looked straight into my eyes, and I thought the back of my head might catch on fire.)

We had a(nother) special guest in class: Russell Simmons. He stuck around for a Q&A after class, and even gave us all copies of his latest book, Super Rich: A Guide to Having it All. It’s a great overview about the state of consciousness — not the financial strategy — that will bring you infinite rewards.

Who wants a free copy? I read mine in two days, it’s ready for a new home! Just post a comment by tomorrow, 1/11/11, telling me the best thing you’ve ever given away. I’ll randomly choose a winner and pay for the postage. Be sure to include your email (I won’t spam you) so I can get your mailing address.

Read my extended notes about A Day of Yoga with Russell Simmons, David Life and Sharon Gannon on MindBodyGreen

The Subtle Body by Stefanie Syman

I was lucky enough to stumble upon a book reading by Stefanie Syman this weekend at YogaWorks Soho. Her book / seven-year research project, The Subtle Body: The Story of Yoga in America hit shelves this summer, and taught me a lot about the ways that Americans have interpreted “yoga” over the years. (Thanks Anya Porter, host of Saturday’s Breakti, for teaching the free community class beforehand!)

Stefanie talked about several notable shifts in the yoga community. The first, in the early 70′s, when Iyengar and other teachers were reclaiming yoga from its “dirty hippie” associations with the psychadelic 60′s. Iyengar forbade chanting and meditation in classes, and many teachers followed their gurus’ direct instructions to secularize yoga, to “save” it from irrelevance. Yoga could cure insomnia, help your back pain; you didn’t need to worry about the spirituality.

But, moving yoga completely into the realm of physical fitness meant that, in the 80′s, it couldn’t compete with aerobics or Jazzercise. It was seen as too gentle, too soft. So I guess that explains the rise of Bikram, Ashtanga, and other “power” yogas. Yoga teachers wanted to prove its strength. And now maybe we’re ready to again see its spiritual side.

I’m not saying that yoga needs to compete, or be popular. It’s just kind of an interesting question of identity. A simpler presentation is more popular in the short term, but a more integrated persona (encompassing both physicality and philosophy) is more lasting.

The other interesting discussion concerned the monetization of yoga. She said that even Rolls-Royce affecianado Bikram started his LA studio with just a donation box. American friends told him it would never work — and indeed, it wouldn’t. India has a strong tradition of generosity towards teachers. All students give what they can; rich students give a LOT. In America, people would often give nothing, and sometimes steal the donations. So yoga teachers are forced to sell their services as retail. We can stop feeling guilty now.

(Yes, some teachers get a bit out of control with the money/fame, or pursuit of it. But the “guru” relationship/title is a whole complex topic.)

Read Stefanie’s book to get the direct quotes. It introduced me to a lot of characters I’d not known, and a lot of cool stories. (e.g.: Thoreau, out at Walden, was practicing yoga from a book. You can call him the first American yogi.) You can find the book on Amazon (including Kindle/iPad versions), or at your local library. Thanks, Stefanie, for your hard work!

Anatomy for Yoga; click to view Uttanasana Spread

McGraw-Hill Publishing was kind enough to send me their latest yoga book to review. Anatomy for Yoga: An Illustrated Guide to Your Muscles in Action, by Nicky Jenkins and Leigh Brandon, is a helpful guide to a personalized yoga practice. The authors provide an overview of yoga anatomy, including terminology, main systems, and breathing. They also review meditation and the chakra (or “subtle”) system, and how it might affect your physical systems.

From there, they identify four major postural types: kyphosis (round shoulders), lordosis (overarched lower back), flat back, and swayback (hips forward). Each type has a few possible causes; you might have a head-forward posture because of your computer setup, the sports you play, or the emotions trapped in the chest.

You’re supposed to identify your own postural type, which is the hardest part of the book. If I knew my bad habits, I’d correct them already, right? They do advise a teacher’s help, and indeed when my teacher started calling me “Ribby” I finally figured it out. (Lordosis.)

There are then ten or twelve poses prescribed for each type, plus a chakra focus and a few positive affirmations. It’s a Hatha pace; you’re supposed to stay from one to four minutes in each pose. Each sequence ends with a breathing exercise and a meditation. The lordosis sequence included two poses that really push my buttons: Crescent Lunge (holding the back foot) and Forearm Plank. The swayback section, another contender, had a lot of hamstring stretches, which I definitely do not need, so my diagnosis seemed on track. I went through the prescribed sequence on a couple consecutive mornings, and it was both challenging and relaxing. The “grounding” meditation at the end was a topic I’ve been thinking about for weeks, so again it was right on track.

The customized nature of the sequencing really inspired me to practice; it was as if a live teacher had given me a lesson. It didn’t quite feel like a full practice (Forward Bend was the only inversion), so I’d weave in a few personal poses to make it completely satisfying.

The detailed illustrations, by Juliet Percival, are another feature of the book. All the muscles that are active or stretched in the pose are listed, and illustrated on the figure. This style of drawing, similar to the illustrations by Sharon Ellis in Yoga Anatomy or Frédéric Delavier in Strength Training Anatomy-3rd Edition (Sports Anatomy), is much more informative than a simple outline of the pose. Visualizing the muscles helps to activate them. And when your yoga teacher says “go deeper,” you’ll have a sub-surface layer to work with.

My main criticism of the book is its title — “Anatomy for Yoga” implies more breadth than this book manages. There’s a nice introduction to both scientific and subtle systems of anatomy, but it is not a very comprehensive book of asanas. There are about 44 poses, including variations, but many are physical therapy exercises like “Leg Drops,” not classic yoga poses. The book’s main focus is the causes and treatment of postural problems. I can’t help but think the title was chosen for search engine optimization, or competitive marketing. A more accurate title might have been Therapeutic Yoga Sequences: An Illustrated Guidebook. Or even Yoga for Bad Posture.

I was also somewhat perturbed by the cover design. It’s a mirror image of the best-selling Yoga Anatomy book by Leslie Kaminoff and Amy Matthews. Given that Anatomy for Yoga also mirrored their predecessor’s title, it makes the book seem like a cheap knockoff.

I took Leslie’s advanced studies course, so I’m quite familiar with the illustrations he uses for breathing and the spine. I was pleased to see Anatomy for Yoga demonstrating a like-minded, modern understanding of breathing mechanics. But I was surprised to see that Yoga Anatomy was not included in the list of references; it’s been Amazon’s best-selling yoga book since 2008.

Noting these similarities, I did a side-by-side comparison of the two books, to see how the details compared.

	Yoga Anatomy	Anatomy for Yoga
Cover Design
Background Info	Philosophical concepts; Breathing anatomy; Breathing mechanics; Diaphragm details; Spinal anatomy; Spinal evolution; Spinal movement; Bases of support	Anatomical terminology; Joint movements; Posture categories; Postural problems; Postural benefits of yoga; Spinal anatomy; Breathing mechanics; Meditation benefits; Chakra balancing; Sun salutations
Main Content	Encyclopedic review of major yoga poses, with rich background on breathing and spinal anatomy	Therapeutic sequences for common postural problems, with notes on their physical, emotional, or subtle causes.
Poses Covered	About 75, counting variations.	About 44, counting variations, but many are not classic yoga poses. 4 breathing practices 4 meditation practices
Pose Info	English and Sanskrit name; Context for name; Classification; Level of difficulty; Key structures; Key joint and limb actions; Muscles working; Muscles lengthening; Breathing suggestions; Obstacles; Cautions; Variations; Special notes	English and Sanskrit name; Benefits of pose; Instructions for pose; Key joints; Joint movements; Muscles active; Muscles stretched; Modifications / variations
Pose Illustrations	Main view; Alternate view; Related details	Main view; Alternate view (outline only)

A couple other details: both books nicely illustrate the muscles used in the pose, but neither one color codes the lengthening/stretching muscles differently than the contracting/active muscles. Both books like long lists of muscles; YA presents them in list format, AfY in a more readable chart. (Though, as a student and sometimes teacher, I’d much prefer to have them phrased as directive statements: e.g. “Engage the biceps” instead of “Muscles active: Biceps Brachii.”)

So while both books start with breathing and the spine, and make good use of illustrations, they differ in purpose and execution. Yoga Anatomy will give you more pictures of more poses, and a deeper understanding of breathing mechanics and integration. It’s like an encyclopedia. Anatomy for Yoga will give you an emotional, subtle, and anatomical overview of bad posture, and guidelines for therapeutic practice. It’s like a (mis-named) manual. I have to say it: you can’t judge a book by its cover.

If you’ve read either book, I’d love to hear your comments.

The Fitbit. Attaches anywhere, measures everything. Calories burned in your rocking chair. Miles traveled up and down your staircase. Percentage of sleep that was uninterrupted. (Why limit OCD to your waking hours?)

The thing uploads your data, anytime you walk within 15 feet of the base station. (And it doesn’t make you subscribe to MobileMe.) It just gives you lots of pretty charts and graphs.

You can even make it a nutrition journal, if you have the discipline to write down every single thing that you eat. Supposedly that’s very revealing.

Does it come with an intern to wear it around for you?

Yoga Hyde

A quick shout-out to Hyde Clothing, who were so kind as to drop by the site and send me their spring look book. I’ve seen their gear in a lot of the studios around town, but I had no idea they were based in New York City! So, if you’re a locavore, you can eat their clothes. They’re organic.

I’ve not actually worn any of their clothes — I’ve only recently pried myself away from $3 yoga pants and $5 t-shirts at Conway, $30 crops at Old Navy, and the occasional forgot-my-yoga-clothes Nike Fit splurge. Finally, I admitted that anything that shrinks after the second wash is not worth the effort to bring it home, and treated myself to a steep Calvin Klein sale at Macy’s. As much as I resist “outfits” for yoga — too much of a “look” brings my attention too much outward — I am beyond happy with my well-made gear, which still looks and feels like a hug, twenty washes in.

The clothes have cute details like spiral seams on the pants, to help you remember how to rotate your femurs I’m sure. Their full-length pants look a bit short to me, but they have plenty of crops (which let your teacher see your alignment better anyways). I am curious about the taryn halter, which is listed “for those who hate halters,” since I am indeed a halter-hater and I wonder if this one will give me a back massage or something to win me over.

So if you’re needing new gear, and want to support your local shops, look for Hyde around town. And tell me what you think!