The phrase competitive yoga seems to twist the uninitiated into the mental equivalent of what the eagle pose does to the arms and legs.

To the more than 45 people who participated in the Oregon and Washington Regional USA Yoga Asana Championship Sunday at the WOW Hall, there is no contradiction.

I do it every year because I believe in the goal of the organization, said Eugenes Jess Eldridge, who placed first in the Oregon womens division and will move on to nationals in March in New York. She is also a head teacher at Eugene Bikrams Yoga College of India and spearheaded hosting the event.

Yoga is a really internal practice, but this is outward, she said Sunday. This is about building community, encouraging other people to do yoga and increasing public awareness.

Competitive yogas governing body, USA Yoga, was founded by Rahashree Choudry, whose husband started Bikram yoga. The organization is lobbying to have the sport added to the Olympics and has been crowning national yoga champions since 2003.

One of the judges Sunday was first-ever champion Lesli Lounsbury, 36, a California instructor who competed before there were separate divisions for men and women.

Its kind of like a beauty competition, she said, referring to the importance of such qualities as poise and grace. Also, like with the Miss America pageant, once you become a national champion you are no longer eligible to compete.

According to the judges guidelines posted online at usayoga.org , during each posture they are watching for stillness, ease of breathing and whether a contestant enters and exits each posture in the same way, among other criteria.

Lounsbury said contestants are supposed to try to make it look easy, serene and graceful, but not overdo it on the smiling.

You want to make it look like youre not straining, she said. Its not so much a competition against other people as it is against yourself.

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“Competitive yoga” showcased in Eugene