Today in Toronto, you have the perfect opportunity to sip and stretch.

Because AM Coffee Studio is celebrating its grand opening at 2233 Dundas West, which means free yoga and free coffee for you, all day long.

The new spot at Dundas and Roncesvalles is a combination of a coffee shop and an open yoga studio, and on November 28, you can enjoy free cups of joe while gettin your stretch on.

Activity-wise, you can partake in the spots run club, starting in High Park at 5:45 pm, free of charge. And at 6:30 pm, you can enjoy a Yoga and Stretch class again, for free.

All the while, the coffee keeps on pourin.

Ensure you stop by this spot for a post-work wind down and to offer them a warm welcome to the neighbourhood.

Address: 2233 Dundas Street West

Instagram

Read more:
You can treat yourself to FREE coffee and yoga in Toronto today | Dished - Daily Hive

There might be no grayer gray zone than a yoga studio, where physical intimacy, spirituality and power dynamics all come together in a sweaty little room, Katherine Rosman, a New York Times reporter, said on the latest episode of The Weekly, our new TV show.

In her investigation of touch in yoga, Ms. Rosman found that explicit conversations about consent to be touched can be lacking: Not all teachers ask permission before touching a student. And some students are uncomfortable being touched, and are reluctant to speak up.

We asked instructors to share how they approach hands-on adjustments in their studios, and asked yogis how they communicate consent. We received more than 270 responses. Some teachers said they never touch students; others described touch as a cherished part of yoga. Many said they employed techniques to opt in, or opt out, of hands-on adjustments. Here are some of their suggestions, lightly edited for length and clarity.

I am a yoga instructor and choose, very intentionally, not to perform hands-on adjustments on students. While I know that there are many respectful and well-meaning teachers who do choose to correct students alignment in the yoga postures, I dont feel it is the strongest way of teaching a student how to communicate with their own body. On top of that, you never know which students are healing from trauma and would prefer not to be touched. My personal teaching philosophy has led me to give very detailed verbal cues and to demonstrate the postures with my own body. Emily FarrAustin, Texas

I am a yoga instructor and never adjust people. Theres no reason for it. The practice of doing so assumes that the teacher knows more about a persons body than the student themselves, which is frankly arrogant. People have their own wisdom about their bodies, and release will happen in its own time. If and when students need support or spotting to try a new posture, I always explain exactly what Im going to do and then ask for permission and get it before I place my hands on them.Jennifer TersigniTucson, Ariz.

Its really very simple: Yoga teachers at the studio in which I teach are taught to use touch only as a last resort. We are trained to use voice instruction first, then demonstration and finally touch, applied very sparingly and with permission. My belief is that if I must use touch, especially to the extent that some yoga teachers do, I have failed as a teacher.Bill MillerWausau, Wis.

Consent to touch in yoga class is a high priority in my studio. Adjustments are not made physically unless the instructor asks specifically, Is it O.K. to put my hands on (your hips, leg, etc.)? Alternatively, the teacher must make it clear as he or she walks among students, If you would rather I not touch you to adjust your asana, feel free to tell me as I approach you. A good teacher will have no problem offering clearly worded instruction to correct a posture.Dee GoldBrunswick, Md.

Read more from the original source:
Here Are Good Ways Yoga Teachers Manage Touch and Consent - The New York Times

Stress management techniques available today advise practices, such as meditation, yoga and listening to music, to provide relief to stress. These are useful, no doubt; but at best they act as those medicines to bring down temperatures in case of sickness, while the root cause is not addressed.

But more than 5,000 years ago, Krishna has precisely analysed and discussed the root cause of stress when explaining Karma yoga and shows how it is possible to live and cope with and not escape from ground realities, pointed out Swami Mukundananda in a discourse.

Arjuna is asked to put in his best efforts and fight the war with the sole aim that it is his duty, not get attached to outcomes. When the essence of this teaching is internalised, it becomes clear that stress in ones life is not owing to engaging in hard work but owing to attachment to the outcomes of ones hard work. On the eve of exam, the student gets unduly stressed if the thoughts are only on the result. The way out is to remain focussed on sincere and committed study effort alone. This will take away the stress. A soldier in the army can convert his state of life into one of devotion and pure intentions by working for the welfare of the nation.

The greatest of yogis are engaged in their duties, having given up all attachment. When a skilled surgeon hesitates to perform surgery on his own son, it is owing to his attachment. He cannot afford to get distracted and commit mistakes. It is an art to learn to live in the world without allowing the world to enter into oneself. As long as the boat is on water, it is safe. But the moment the water enters it, it spells danger. Devotion is being aware of the divine at all times, no matter what work one is engaged in.

You have reached your limit for free articles this month.

Register to The Hindu for free and get unlimited access for 30 days.

Find mobile-friendly version of articles from the day's newspaper in one easy-to-read list.

Enjoy reading as many articles as you wish without any limitations.

A select list of articles that match your interests and tastes.

Move smoothly between articles as our pages load instantly.

A one-stop-shop for seeing the latest updates, and managing your preferences.

We brief you on the latest and most important developments, three times a day.

*Our Digital Subscription plans do not currently include the e-paper ,crossword, iPhone, iPad mobile applications and print. Our plans enhance your reading experience.

Visit link:
Karma Yoga relieves stress - The Hindu

BOISE, Idaho Kaelyn Rogers, Founder of Upward Inertia , a nonprofit working to improve the mental, physical, and emotional health of individuals from marginalized communities, teaches a yoga class each week to a group of medium security inmates at the Idaho Department of Correction.

While there are obvious physical benefits to yoga, the inmates say it helps them control their thoughts, and thats something they say will help them enter the world as safer people, less inclined to commit crimes.

Its gonna help me, whether its just, being in a room surrounded by people and knowing how to carry myself for who I wanna be and how I wanna be, said Logan Peyman, and inmate at ISCI.

Thats the goal with this yoga class at IDOC, to teach the inmates how to control their thoughts and manage their emotions so that once the inmates get out of prison theyre not entering society with the same instincts they had before prison.

The only difference between you and I and somebody whos in prison is how quickly it takes us to respond or to act on a thought, said Kaelyn Rogers, volunteer yoga teacher and Founder of Upward Inertia .

So through Kaelyns yoga class, she teaches them how to remain calm, and think before reacting.

All of us get angry with someone in traffic and, you know, want to do them harm, but we dont, said Rogers.

For the first 30 minutes of the 2 hour class, they discuss things the inmates have learned and are grateful for. Then they combine breath work, visualization, and meditation throughout the rest of class.

I hope that itll help them to stay sober. A lot of them are in for drug charges or things related to addiction, said Rogers.

And Kaelyn is working to expand the program. As the founder of Upward Inertia , a nonprofit aiming to improve the mental, physical, and emotional health of marginalized groups, shes hoping to teach yoga in all six of the minimum and medium security prisons around Boise by the first of next year.

Our goal really is to reduce recidivism, but also to keep people out of prison, said Rogers.

And the inmates in class assure it gives them the steps to help them as they prepare for life outside the walls of prison.

If you want to donate to Upward Inertias cause, click here .

Excerpt from:
Volunteer teaches yoga at IDOC to help reduce recidivism - 6 On Your Side

Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.

One secret to reporting that you dont hear much about is the role of dumb luck.

In July, I began to report an article about touch and consent in yoga. The idea was to learn more about the egregious conduct of Krishna Pattabhi Jois, the guru who made Ashtanga and vinyasa yoga popular before his death in 2009 at 93.

But I also wanted to look at the contemporary yoga world. As a devoted yogi myself, I know the yoga studio remains a place where some teachers, even well-intentioned ones, think they have permission to touch you with impunity just because you have walked in the door and unrolled a mat.

Under the guise of adjustments the term for using hands to help a student get into a pose or to show support some teachers are (often unwittingly) triggering confusion, anxiety and even real emotional trauma for students.

I hoped to tap into the conversation that is just starting to take place among yogis about what is and isnt acceptable and what changes they wish for.

Since my reporting was also going to be featured in an episode of The Weekly, I knew I would need visually interesting alternatives to just making dozens of calls from my desk.

Watch The Weekly, The Timess New TV Show, on FX and Hulu

The hands-on teaching practices of some of yogas most celebrated gurus raise questions about consent.

I proposed that we attend a class at a yoga festival, where we could avail ourselves of a large pool of students and teachers.

Poking around the internet, I quickly spotted the Asheville Yoga Festival in North Carolina. The mid-July timing was perfect for our production schedule. The southeastern location would add geographic diversity to my reporting.

On the festivals schedule, I saw a four-hour workshop called Inversions and Adjustments. Adjustments were becoming a focal point of my story, and the workshop would be led by a well-known teacher named Jonny Kest. It was a no-brainer.

I had never taken a class taught by Mr. Kest before, but I had practiced at his studio in Birmingham, Mich., half a dozen times over the years when visiting relatives in Michigan. And while I knew he had a hard-core following who liked his hands-on approach to teaching, I didnt really know what that meant.

As I took part in his workshop with a producer, camerawoman and sound engineer from The Weekly looking on I quickly learned. Mr. Kest was demonstrating the most hands-on adjustments I had ever seen.

One that particularly raised my eyebrow was performed on a woman doing a pose commonly known as Triangle. Mr. Kest lunged one leg around the womans leg and wrapped an arm around her from behind, placing his palm between her collar bone and breast.

You want to be careful of the spots that you want to stay away from, he said and then moved his hand a few inches.

I almost couldnt believe what I was witnessing, and I certainly couldnt believe a camera from The New York Timess television show was recording it. But I wasnt sure how it would translate to a viewer. Without context, someone unfamiliar with yoga could think that this is a standard way for a yoga teacher to touch a student, which it was not.

But before the yoga session ended, something took place that was unlike anything I have experienced in my 20 years as a reporter: My story came to life right in front of my eyes, right in front of my notebook, right in front of the television camera for The Weekly.

Mr. Kest demonstrated another adjustment. This one involved him placing a womans behind on his lap, spreading her legs apart and wrapping them around his waist.

After he showed how to do this, he asked the class participants to practice the adjustment with a partner. Thats when Catherine Derrow, a yoga teacher from Columbus, Ohio, approached Mr. Kest and quietly told him that she would be upset if a teacher touched her in such a way, especially without telling her what he was going to do and asking her permission. I would be very surprised, she said.

Mr. Kest encouraged Ms. Derrow to share her concerns with the whole class. She did so and what ensued was a spirited conversation among Mr. Kest and many students in the class about their preferred ways of being asked for consent before being adjusted in yoga classes. I dont do any of that, Mr. Kest told them.

After the workshop concluded, I met with Jamila Wignot, my producer, and we asked each other several times, dumbstruck, Did that actually just happen?

Some yoga teachers like to say the most important part of your practice is simply showing up on the mat. In this case, that was true for journalism, too.

Follow the @ReaderCenter on Twitter for more coverage highlighting your perspectives and experiences and for insight into how we work.

Read more from the original source:
How Did I Get That Yoga Story? You Really Had to Be There - The New York Times

Netflix's documentary Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator explores the dark side of Bikram yoga (or hot yoga) founder Bikram Choudhury. The doc comes from Academy Award-winning director Eva Orner, who shines the spotlight on the women who toppled Choudhury's empire, as well as the dilemma practitioners of hot yoga face as they weigh the benefits of the exercise against the actions of the man who popularized the practice in the United States. Before Netflix's documentary, Choudhury was the subject of a five-part podcast from ESPN's 30 for 30 series.

Journalist and former Bikram Studio manager Julia Lowrie Henderson's goal for the podcast was not only to shed light on the six women who have come forward with allegations of rape and sexual assault against Choudhury, but also to look at the hot yoga community as a whole. The fall of their guru has affected members worldwide in contrasting ways as those who are devoted to the brand of yoga that he popularized either try to distance themselves and their businesses from the Bikram name, or reconcile how a man who went to such a dark place also brought a healing exercise into their lives.

46896525

The podcast does a brilliant job of covering every aspect of the story from the allegations against Choudhury to the experiences of actors, teachers, and students who practice Bikram yoga. Henderson traveled from coast to coast and across the world to put together a comprehensive story, and as the episode breakdown below shows, it's well worth a listen if you want to fully understand the intricacies of Choudhury's disturbing story and the thousands of lives his actions have affected.

In the first episode of the series, Henderson focuses on Choudhury's early years. From his days as a child in Calcutta, to his arrival in Los Angeles, this episode is essential if you want to see how the yogi gained influence in the 1970s. By befriending actors like Shirley MacLaine and Raquel Welch, he was able to grow his business quickly, while also attracting famous clients who helped spread the word about the healing affects of his particular brand of yoga.

Read the transcript.

Part two of the podcast breaks down how Choudhury began to transform himself from a spiritual guru to the stars into a celebrity in his own right. By the 2000s, he discovered a way to bring hot yoga to the masses. He began teaching courses to students who would go on to open their own studios that would operate under his strict guidelines. In the process, he ensured that Bikram yoga would become a phenomenon that put him front and center.

Read the transcript.

As his business grew, so did Choudhury's power. In this installment, Henderson explains how the yogi would employ people to check out studios operating under his name and report back any inconsistencies. Owners could then be threatened with legal action or excommunicated from the Bikram family. She also speaks with one of Bikram's former students, Jenelle Leat, who revealed that Choudhury's alleged requests for female students to give him massages or join him alone in his room were an open secret among the people who helped run his expensive nine-week certification courses.

Read the transcript.

This part of the series focuses on the six women who came forward to accuse Choudhury of rape and sexual assault: Jill Lawler, Sarah Baughn, Larissa Anderson, Maggie Genthner, Dana McLellan, and one woman who goes by Jane Doe #3. Lawler and Baughn described in graphic detail their allegations against the yogi, and the pressure they felt to stay quiet in order to preserve their place in the community (as well as their livelihoods).

Read the transcript.

In the final part of the series, Henderson shares how five of the six women took small settlements in civil suits in order to gain some sense of closure after the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles District Attorney declined to file charges against Choudhury. Only one woman, Choudhury's former lawyer Micki Jafa-Bodden, won a judgment against the yogi for sexual harassment and wrongful termination. Through the courts, she gained control of his intellectual property and what was left of the company.

Meanwhile, Choudhury continues to teach classes outside the United States as those who practice hot yoga are left to weigh the positive impact it has had on their lives verses the lives Choudhury allegedly destroyed.

Read the transcript.

30 for 30's deep dive into Choudhury, the allegations against him, and the world of Bikram yoga is not to be missed.

Continue reading here:
Before You Watch Netflix's Doc About Bikram Choudury, Listen to the Shocking Podcast - POPSUGAR

Yoga for the Inflexible Male, out Nov. 19, was inspired by local yoga classes

The progression from yoga novice to writing a yoga book has been natural for Roy Parvin, Cloverdale resident and writer of the upcoming Yoga for the Inflexible Male.

Starting in 2017, a succession of events Cloverdale getting a yoga studio, the studio starting a class geared toward men who may be hesitant to start practicing yoga, Parvin penning an article about the class led to the creation of the book, which serves as a level-headed guide to different yoga poses.

After hearing about Yoga on Center opening a Cloverdale location, Parvin pitched the idea of them hosting a class specifically geared toward men like him, who had always wanted to do yoga, but were too proud to do it in front of a woman, he said. Were inflexible, we have sports injuries, the whole sense of yoga is really oppositional to a man because we really like to be competitive and yoga isnt competitive.

Im not a yoga guy, Parvin said. I got into yoga in the first place because I had a hellaciously bad sleep problem when medicine seemed to fail, yoga prevailed and was one of the only things that dealt with the fallout of not sleeping.

Following the start of the class, Parvin penned an article for the Reveille about the class under the pseudonym Yoga Matt the same name that Yoga for the Inflexible Male is being published under.

Soon after the class began, it gained in popularity, filling up among community members.

Every week all these guys who look like theyre going to go to the grocery store to pick up a quart of milk show up. Not yoga guys, Parvin said. We have this great camaraderie in this class, so I got an idea pretty quickly that there was something to this class.

From there, Parvin started kicking around the idea of writing a book and his wife, Janet Vail (referred to in the book as Beth Matt), wrote the proposal that would eventually land the Yoga Matt persona a book deal from Random Houses Ten Speed Press imprint.

Writing as Yoga Matt is a step away from Parvins normal writing tone, which usually leans more somber, he said.

Each yoga pose is split into three varied poses the good, the not-so-good and the ugly and is meant to serve as an introduction to the craft.

The Yoga Matt character serves as a microphone for introducing the poses, and Parvin is careful to note that his narrative isnt meant to be an authority on yoga. Rather, Parvin enlisted Yoga on Centers yoga for men class instructor Jerry Sinclair to advise on best practices for yoga.

I use a lot of humor in the book and its to sort of coax guys into doing yoga, Parvin said. I noticed that at the end of class everybody would brag about who was the worst and it was all about being embarrassed about being there. We would all try to take this low ground that we were the worst and it was a way of dealing with the fact that we were doing something we were uncomfortable with. I thought that that would be a nice hand-hold for people in there, that theres a lot of different variations no matter how limber you are.

The book as a whole has community woven through it. Cloverdale resident and local artist Richard Sheppard provided the illustrations of each of the yoga pose, 120 in total. One of the illustrated characters in the book is based on Sinclair. Yoga on Center co-owner Jenn Russo penned the books introduction, too.

In a very online age, we did this very locally, Parvin said. I think its about embracing a new neighbor meaning the yoga studio, and embracing my idea, he said.

Following the positive response to the class starting in Cloverdale, a Healdsburg counterpart was added to Yoga on Centers Healdsburg location.

Both classes continue weekly and are very popular with our male students, Russo said. We have offered Yoga for Men in the past and never seen the interest that we have seen since Jerry started teaching the classes. He is an inspirational teacher and makes the students feel comfortable the moment they walk in the door.

In celebration of the books release on Nov. 18, Parvin will be rebranding Cloverdale as Yogadale, with a Welcome to Yogadale home of Yoga Matt sign on the Cloverdale Chamber of Commerces Highway 101 announcement board.

Russo said that Yoga on Centers Healdsburg location will be hosting a book release and signing with Parvin on Monday, Nov. 18. Sinclair will start the event by teaching a yoga class from 4 to 4:30 p.m., followed by a brief talk with Parvin about the book. A Cloverdale counterpart to the release will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 19, with the yoga class starting at 5 p.m.

Free yoga classes will be held at Yoga on Center in Cloverdale on Saturday, Nov. 23 in conjunction with a 2 p.m. book signing that Parvin is having at The Trading Post.

Its a book signing party, but people dont have to buy books, Parvin said. I want to thank everybody in town and were going to try to do the largest flash mob pose of Warrior 2 in all of Yogadale history in the parking lot out back.

Originally posted here:
New yoga book bends to attitudes of inflexible men - Sonoma West

If youre anything like me, todays episode of The Ezra Klein Show will make you think about the way you shop, learn, eat, parent, and exercise in a whole new way.

My guest is Elizabeth Currid-Halkett, a professor of public policy at the University of Southern California whose most recent book, The Sum of Small Things: A Theory of the Aspirational Class documents the rise of a new, unprecedented elite class in the United States. Previously, the elite classes differentiated themselves from the rest by purchasing expensive material goods like flashy clothes and expensive cars. But, for reasons we get into, todays elite is different: We signify our class position by reading the New Yorker, acquiring elite college degrees, buying organic food, breastfeeding our children, and, of course, listening to podcasts like this one.

These activities may seem completely innocent perhaps even enlightened. Yet, as we discuss here, they simultaneously shore up inequality, erode social mobility, and create an ever-more stratified society all without most of us noticing. This is a conversation that implicates us all, and, for that very reason, it is well worth addressing.

You can listen to this conversation and others by subscribing to The Ezra Klein Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.

Elizabeth Currid-Halketts book recommendations:

Just Kids by Patti Smith

Art Worlds by Howard S. Becker

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like:

When meritocracy wins, everybody loses

Work as identity, burnout as lifestyle

What a smarter Trumpism would sound like

Read the original here:
How Whole Foods, yoga, and NPR became the hallmarks of the modern elite - Vox.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. A full room of yogis sit quietly on their mats, focusing on their breath and meditating before a yoga class. Then, out of the silence, one kitten pounces on another. The moment is broken by laughter. This is cat yoga.

My favorite thing is probably the laughter, yoga instructor Eva Mathieu said. Teaching other yoga classes without cats in it can be sometimes people come in with an expectation that maybe you have to be flexible or you have to be good at yoga or maybe theres gonna be judgments or something like that. Being here, the wall is already broken.

Mathieu has worked at Charlottes Mac Tabby Cat Caf in NoDa since February. Shes been doing yoga for years and teaching for two, so about a month after joining the cat caf team, she started teaching the cat yoga class.

RELATED: More than 80 cats adopted from Charlotte cat cafe

The cats roam around the room the entire time, often lying on yoga mats or running around the room playing with one another.

It makes my job easier to teach and let people have a fun time and fun experience when theyre already in a good mood, Mathieu said.

Every Monday, cat lovers and newcomers gather to stretch, relax and play with cats. Mathieu described the class as a good beginner class, making it accessible for anyone to join in.

I like to keep it simple and very relaxed and focused on the cats and a little bit more connecting with yourself and your soul and the cats as well, Mathieu said.

The way they kick off the class sure helps -- Mathieu goes around and sprinkles a little bit of catnip on each mat.

The biggest tip I could give you is bring a mat that you dont mind getting a couple little claw marks in, Mathieu said.

She said the cats dont usually need the extra boost, but it makes it even more fun. Every meditation without fail, Mathieu said, the cats will act up. She said one time a cat ran out and jumped on her head just after she told everyone to inhale.

Participants at cat yoga are sure to be entertained. All of the cats at the cat caf are available for adoption, so if a yogi falls in love with the cat on their mat, they are able to apply through a Charlotte foster network.

If youre not a cat person, this will probably convert you, Mathieu said.

Mathieu recommends anyone interested in attending a class sign up ahead of time, as they have filled up before, and doors lock promptly at 7:30 p.m. each Monday.

Despite how energetic the cats are at the beginning of the class, they tend to tucker themselves out by the end of the class. After playing nonstop, most of the cats are lying down on the floor or on yoga mats as the hour wraps up.

Its just a really good place to get to know cats and their personality, Mathieu said.

To close out the class and transition to 30 minutes of cat time, Mac Tabby tradition is to gather for a loud om in unison -- one that always wakes the cats and alerts them its time to play again.

Then just as they were before the class, all the cats scurry around, ready for someone to play with and pet them. Mathieu encouraged people to come see the cats and try their hand at yoga, especially if its their first time.

We will welcome you with open arms and open paws, Mathieu said.

Original post:
Cats on the mats: Charlotte's Mac Tabby Cat Caf hosts weekly cat yoga - WCNC.com

Please RSVP at: https://www.innerengineering.com/ieo-new/free-sessions/?state=njHow successful you are in life simply depends on how well you can use your mind and body. This session offers simple, but powerful yoga postures to bring stability and balance.- Can improve memory, concentration, and mental clarity- Can relieve stress and anxiety- Strengthens the spine- Takes only 5-10 minutes to practice daily Designed by Sadhguru, a self- realized yogi and foremost authority in he field of yoga. This session will be conducted by a trained Isha facilitator, after which ongoing online support will also be available.Free and Open to All (Age 7 & up).This session is brought to you by Isha foundation, an international non-profit aimed to bring well-being to everyone through yoga and meditation. What to bring Please bring a yoga mat & a towel and arrive on an empty stomach condition i.e. approx 1.5 hrs after a light meal.

Excerpt from:
Yoga For Success - (Free and Open to All) - Patch.com