Tech meets Tradition - Hindustan Times

Ancient meets contemporary at Planet Health, the interactive digital museum on yoga and ayurveda at the Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga in the heart of New Delhi. Close on the footsteps of the international museums veering towards participatory displays to engage the new tech-savvy generation with no patience for one-dimensional gallery exhibits, the Union Ministry of Health has set up, what it calls, “the first of its kind museum on traditional medicine”.

The displays fuse traditional art and craft with modern computing imagery, touch-sensitive sculpture and interactive installations.

“Nobody has the time for scriptures. We have presented traditional knowledge in a modern format to intrigue people enough to want to know more,” said S. Jalaja, secretary, Department of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Naturopathy, Siddha and Homeo-opathy) under the Union Ministry of Health.

And intrigue it does. Arushi Khadelwal, 15, jumped back in surprise when the carved lotus on a pedestal she accidentally touched, triggered off an audiovisual commentary  by Swami Niranjanananda, chief patron of the Bihar School of Yoga in Munger.

“I knew the museum was interactive, but the location of touch sensors is far more innovative than the red and black buttons that say ‘push me’ at science museums,” said Khandelwal, a student of DPS R K Puram, New Delhi. The displays are by Ranjit Makkuni of Sacred World, whose team has also done installations at the Eternal Gandhi Multime-dia Museum at Gandhi Smriti in Delhi.

“The word, Yoga, has a Sanskrit root,  yuj, which means to unite or join. Even though the presentation is in an interactive three-dimensional exploration format, the exhibits rely on scientifically-validated concepts and traditional manuscripts,” said Dr Ishwar V. Basavaraddi, Director, Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga, which has a faculty of 20 to teach yoga to 500 students, including 120 diploma students.  

“The present venue for the exhibition is temporary — it’s at the Institute of Yoga till October 31 — but we hope to find permanent display for it at the National Museum,” said Jalaja, who conceptualised the project.

This is not the Department of AYUSH’s first encounter with technology. Drawing lessons from the long-drawn battle over neem and turmeric patent infringements, India set up the world’s first Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) database to stop bio-piracy way back in 2001. The R7-crore TKDL project took nine years to list 2,00,000 formulations from Auyurveda, Unani and Siddha schools of medicine in over 30 million pages from texts in Sanskrit, Hindi, Arabic, Urdu and Tamil, to name a few. TDKL makes the information available in five foreign languages: English, Japanese, French, German and Spanish.

“This is just the beginning. We put together Phase I focusing on Yoga and Ayurveda in a rush to meet the Commonwealth Games deadline. The complete museum will be a mine of information,” said Jalaja. We’d like to wait and watch. Or, in this case, touch and participate.

More info at : http://yogatips.infoplugin.com/

Now, infants turn to yoga! - Times of India

In the new movie "Eat, Pray, Love", actress Julia Roberts practices not only eating and love-making, but also yoga. With the help of celebrities such as Roberts, yoga has become an activity for the masses.

Now practiced by a broad range of people from nudists to babies, yoga has spread from its origin in India into western societies. Some would say the promotion of yoga in the US and Europe has become strident and commercial.

Yoga has spread so far that newborn babies now have an opportunity to get into a course just a short time after arriving in the world.

Some babies are already spirituality connected to yoga when they are born because their mothers attended yoga courses for pregnant women while they were still in the womb.

From yoga for infants still in diapers, the little ones can progress to yoga for babies, yoga for young children and then on to teenage yoga, adult yoga, yoga for women in menopause and yoga for seniors. Yoga is also offered in prisons and nudist camps.

The meditation, stretching and strengthening exercise that just a decade or so ago had an esoteric image, today is mainstream, accompanying many modern-thinking people throughout all phases of their lives. This is true even when in some yoga courses there isn't much left of the original Indian philosophy that promotes the wholeness of the body and soul.

The latest trend from the US and spreading to other countries is yoga for babies that are still nursing. In Germany baby yoga is still "taking baby steps", said Katja Kunipatz, who offers Pitimini yoga for infants at her studio in Berlin. People often don't understand what the course is supposed to achieve.

"It's not about the babies saying 'Ommmmm'," she said. "It's about building a relationship between parents and their child. It's good for both of them." Children get the benefit of movement and massages, while mothers have a chance to relax.

This is what five-month-old Dilay is supposed to experience, but she prefers fidgeting to relaxing. Her mother, Derya Kleinert, tries to make her stop by singing and stroking her, but her restlessness doesn't end. The participants who get to do the course with a silent doll are the happiest.

In adult yoga classes importance is placed on relaxation and serenity. Many participants aim to relieve stress, solve back problems or perhaps simply firm up their bottom by doing positions with names such as downward facing dog, cobra pose and sun salutation.

Health insurers accept yoga in some cases as preventative medicine. However, doctors generally don't think much of new types of yoga courses, such as those for babies. It has not been scientifically proven as having a positive effect on infants, said Stephan Esser, chief executive of Germany's association of paediatricians.

"But it can't hurt anything as long as the infants don't have to attempt the back-bending sun salutation pose."

"Yoga has shaken off its image as an esoteric activity and become a mass movement," said Doris Hafner, chief executive of Germany's professional association for yoga teachers. "The numbers are constantly increasing." One reason for the sustained growth of yoga is the constant development of new ideas. One example is holding yoga classes on the roof of high-rise buildings.

It is an indication of the deep yearning in our consumer society to attain wholeness," said Hafner.

But even this yearning for wholeness has been turned into a consumer product. Celebrities such as Madonna and Jennifer Aniston show off physiques hardened in yoga classes. Even Daniel Craig, who plays James Bond, supposedly does gentle yoga stretches. Clothing makers such as Adidas offer designer yoga mats by Stella McCartney. There also are breathable mats made of merino wool and Hello Kitty mats for children.

An Adidas spokeswoman said the company's yoga clothing and accessories collections are becoming more extensive because there is "constant demand" for the items. She declined, however, to provide revenue amounts.

It is generally difficult to describe the yoga industry in numbers. The German association of yoga instructors says there are more than 20,000 yoga teachers and 5 million yoga participants in Germany. A survey conducted by a major German market research company revealed that 8.5 per cent of German households have at least one person who does yoga.

The actual figure is believed to be higher because anyone who wishes may call himself or herself a yoga instructor in Germany. No certification is required. This is also true in the US and many other countries. Hafner said the reason there are a lot of "black sheep" in yoga is because it encompasses an "open concept".

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Yoga performance enthralls audience at CWG opening ceremony - Economic Times

3 Oct, 2010, 10.15PM IST,PTI
NEW DELHI: With body, mind and soul in unison, over 800 performers gave a stunning performance of forming the shape of a sun using most difficult 'asans' (postures) at the .

In a seven-and-a-half minute performance, 816 Yoga experts did a 'Suryanmaskar', a series of yoga postures done in salutation to the sun.

Dramatically changing the choreography, the performers began to spiral to depict 'kundalini' or the coiled energy, an instinctive force that lies at the base of the spine.

This coiled energy gave rise to the gigantic installation of a person in the 'Padma Asana' -- the lotus pose.

From within this rose the seven chakras, the seven energy points of the human body thus creating the final picture.

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Bonding over Yoga! - Times of India

On the eve of Gandhi Jayanti, Shraddha Setalvad, visionary and founder of Yoga Kids, in association with High Street Phoenix and Shemaroo Entertainment Co. redefined leadership at 'The Power & Peace Initiative' and launch of 'Yoga Kids by Shraddha' DVDs.
Shraddha performed a special yoga show themed 'Yoga and Genext Leadership' along with 4 to 14-year-old children. Madhoo, who had her two daughters for company, was spotted having a long chat with Suchitra Pillai. Looks like the two were indulging in some serious mommy-talk here.

Shaina NC, Rashmi Uday Singh, Haseena Jethmalani, Shibani Aggarwal, Aakanksha Agarwal were among the other present at the do. Sammir Dattani was also present here. A interactive parent-child yoga session was also on the cards.

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Stretch | The Jocks Throw Down Their Mats - New York Times (blog)

Marilynn K. Yee/The New York Times DUDE YOGA Jason Wachob, an ex-trader, at a class in Manhattan.

As I tilted my body into a triangle pose last week and stole a glance at those behind me at Jivamukti Yoga Center in Union Square, I noticed a lot of guys in the room. Not quite half the class, but close.

Lately it seems that the number of guys stretching and twisting beside me — at least in some studios — has risen quite a bit. And I mean the kind of guy who advertises his jock credentials and shamelessly checks out the women in class. The sort of dude who not too long ago derided yoga as a chick thing — like going to see “Eat Pray Love.”

Statistics bear this out. In 2008, men made up 27.8 percent of yoga practitioners, an increase of 5 percent from 2004, according to a survey of 5,050 respondents conducted by Harris Interactive Service Bureau on behalf of Yoga Journal.

Dayna Macy, a spokeswoman for the magazine, suggested age as one factor. “As men get older, yoga becomes much more attractive,” she said.

In the past few years, athletes like LeBron James, the powerhouse basketball player, and a smattering of football and hockey players have started to go public about how yoga has helped them stay focused and supple.

Some instructors, like Jai Sugrim, a former celebrity trainer who taught the class I attended at Jivamukti, gear their classes specifically for men, with tougher poses and less chanting or talking at the start of class.

Mr. Sugrim, who was a massage therapist and one-time trainer for the Yankees, described himself as a onetime “meathead who couldn’t touch his toes.” He ran marathons and lifted a lot of weights in the gym. “But it didn’t feel complete,” said Mr. Sugrim, 35. After he made a trip to India — his parents are from there — his girlfriend took him to Jivamukti (the girlfriend-yoga connection crops up a lot). He soon switched his allegiance from the gym to the yoga studio. In yoga, he said, he found a fusion between spirit and body. That was in 2007, and he was one of three guys in the class.

Now Jivamukti holds seminars just for men, and some classes can be about 40 percent guys, give or take. “I see more and more athletes,” he said. “The resistance is breaking down.”

Athletes find that yoga greatly increases their suppleness. Old injuries heal; new ones are avoided. “I’m an ex-college basketball player, a fraternity guy, a Wall Street guy — I don’t fit the profile of the average yogi,” said Jason Wachob, 35, who played basketball for Columbia University in the 1990s before becoming a trader. After he stopped playing college ball, he slavishly hit the gym, lifting a lot of weight and jumping on the elliptical.

But too many sports for too many years made his body rebel: He suffered a dislocated shoulder, disk injuries, bad knees. “My back was really, really bad,” he said. “The gym wasn’t an option, and playing basketball wasn’t an option.”

After Mr. Wachob retired from Wall Street, he shifted his attention to Internet start-ups. His latest is mindbodygreen.com, which focuses on healthy living and a greener lifestyle. That got him thinking more about yoga. Since February, he and his wife, Colleen, have been regularly laying their mats side-by-side at Strala Yoga in Manhattan. At 6-feet-7, he is hard to miss.

“In my prime I was very strong,” he said. “I think I’m right back there.”

Mr. Wachob has recruited some of his friends, but getting the men in the door is not always easy, he said. Fear of embarrassment keeps some away, which is why choosing the right class is crucial.

“A lot of guys worry that if you go into the class, you are going to look like you don’t know what you are doing,” he said. “That’s a guy’s worst nightmare.”

Guys also like to “measure things,” he said, like how much weight they can lift and how quickly they can run. “I don’t know if a guy is going to be happy saying my breathing has gotten a lot better,” Mr. Wachob said. This is why inversions and other tough poses come in handy.

“I was so happy when I could do a handstand,” he said. “But I think the people around me might have been scared.”

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Nyasa yoga training held - Times of India

PATNA: A Nyasa yoga healing training was organised on Saturday at the Institute of Healing and Alternative Therapy with a special programme on promoting brotherhood, peace and harmony on the occasion of Gandhi jayanti.

The participants included the office goers, professionals, teachers including women, and students. Founder director of the Institute and Reiki grandmaster Dr B P Sahi besides other healers imparted Nyasa yoga healing training. Dr Sahi said Nyasa healing was an ancient practice of healing in India developed by the ancient sages. He said Nyasa healing was important for health, prosperity and harmony. It also enables the students to concentrate on their studies, he added.

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Their Lotus Can't Take Root on a Yoga Mat - New York Times

But are yoga mats de rigueur? A small but passionate subset of yoga practitioners say no. Bravely entering studios with little more than a towel, they argue that yoga mats are overcommercialized, bad for the environment and less hygienic. Some even argue that synthetic rubber mats interfere with certain positions.

“The ecstasy of yoga can’t be contained by a mat,” said Dana Flynn, a director of Laughing Lotus, a yoga studio in New York and San Francisco. Many teachers at her studio have done away with mats and practice solely on the hardwood floor. “The lotus flow is a devotional dance,” she added. “The rubber just got in the way.”

Others have come to the same conclusion. “My mat was disintegrating at home,” said Matt Kebbekus, 29, a maitre d’hôtel at the hot spot restaurant Joseph Leonard who teaches occasionally at Laughing Lotus. “So one day, I just lost it and I loved the feeling.”

Carolyn Brown, who is on the leadership council of the Green Yoga Association, a nonprofit organization that fosters environmental activism, says the mats may be harmful. The synthetic material, she said, can release toxins. “Using a sticky mat is not at all traditional,” she said. “Like any product, there is an environmental impact when manufacturing and shipping.”

But what about cleanliness? Annie Pace, who runs Shakti Sharanam, a yoga school in Crestone, Colo., argues that a hardwood floor may be more sanitary. “It’s better than the atrocious practice of using mats used by other people,” she said.

Ms. Pace says she makes an exception when she isn’t sure how clean the floors are, like in a hotel room with a dirty carpet. Otherwise, she says that mats are just another example of how yoga has become overly commoditized. “Did the original yogis have a synthetic piece of plastic?” Ms. Pace said.

All yogis have a complicated relationship to their mats. They’re cumbersome and often cost extra for storage, which locks you into one studio or style of yoga.

There are benefits, like the comfort of marking one’s territory with a mat. Sticky mats prevent slippage, which is no small matter in a room full of sweaty yogis. And depending on the style of yoga, the mats provide padding for tender joints.

Yet there is something romantic about going au naturel. “The idea of practicing without a mat is idyllic in that the yoga practice in its essence requires nothing at all except your body,” said Alex Schatzberg, who teaches at Yoga Vida, a studio in Greenwich Village.

“But until one is very solid in the understanding of the type of support one needs to have a safe practice,” he added, “I would stick to using the sticky mat.”

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Ramdev calls for harmony, progress - Hindustan Times

Ramdev calls for harmony, progress - Hindustan Times Home | Make HindustanTimes my homepage | Sitemap | Delhi - [ Min 24.6°C / Max 34.2°C ] | Select your city .rightheadernavlinks {float:left!important;}.search {float:right;}  site           Advertisement
Sun,03 Oct 2010 North India NEWS IndiaWorldIndians AbroadSportVIEWS BlogsEditorialColumnsInterviewsBUSINESS MarketsEconomyCorporate NewsInterviewsUtility Bytescwg 2010 CRICKET NewsColumnsResultsFixturesScorecardEntertainment BollywoodReviewsHollywoodRegionalMusicTabloidTelevisionInterviewsLIFESTYLE relationshipsceleb watchFashion & Beautybookstechfoodwellnessgood livingart & cultureTravel PHOTOS VIDEO AudioPodCastBLOGS EVENTS ePAPER DelhiMumbaiHindustanChandigarhCLASSIFIEDS MatrimonialReal EstateFor SaleVehiclesOffice EquipmentJOBS Jobs in IndiaJob SearchCareer AdviceIndustry ResearchResume ServicesShine CampusMATRIMONIALS DEAL OF THE DAY India | World | Indians Abroad | Sport Punjab Ramdev calls for harmony, progress HT correspondent, Hindustan Times
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Amritsar, October 03, 2010 First Published: 08:19 IST(3/10/2010)
Last Updated: 08:20 IST(3/10/2010) Share more... Comments          Email     print Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Friday appreciated the Allahabad High Court verdict on the Ayodhya issue, and called upon all sections of society to leave aside the “mandir-masjid” issue and help the country move forward on the path of progress.Speaking to reporters after a yoga camp at Railway Colony here, the Baba said there could have been no better verdict, as it had satisfied all sections. “We should now look forward to strengthening national unity and communal harmony as Lord Rama did not belong only to Hindus, but to all humanity.”

“Perhaps this historic verdict will open a new and positive chapter in Hindu-Muslim unity,” he said.

Opposing the Commonwealth Games, he said the huge amount of money being spent on the event could have been used for improving the education and health infrastructure in the country.

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Lara Dutta on the power of yoga - Hindustan Times

Yoga has been an inherent part of my life for many years now. I started practising when I trained for the Miss Universe contest. Since then, I have incorporated yoga into my life and it has become an essential part of my emotional and mental well being. I look forward to my yoga session every morning as a child looks forward to a treat. It is the perfect way for me to start my day. A lot has been written and said about the obvious benefits of Yoga, but for me the practise of yoga has been a personal discovery, a wonderful journey in learning.

A few years ago, I began to feel overwhelmed by things happening in my life, the stress of working 24/7, not enough rest and trying to achieve a lot in a short time took a toll on my health and left me physically and emotionally drained. That is when I turned to yoga and vegetarianism. I found the most amazing and simple way of cleansing my system and detoxifying my entire body and soul. The results were so dramatic that I wondered what took me so long in figuring this out.

There are times when my body is bone tired and exhausted but I force myself to go for a yoga class, when I finish the class it feels as if a new life has been infused in me. I feel sparkling fresh, as if I have woken up from a deep sleep and totally rejuvenated. My day takes on an entirely different perspective. Yoga helps you focus on your purpose in life, things that are important to you, it gives you mindfulness. It allows you to respect your body and treat it like a temple and never take it for granted. It teaches you the essence of your existence, the prana within you.

In a world that is becoming exceedingly chaotic day by day, we need to turn more into ourselves and find that balance within us. Yoga can help you do that. It brings you back to the present moment, the silent space within you; focusing attention on every breath we take, making that moment precious for us. It works in a slow, subtle and miraculous manner. Yoga has also given me the opportunity to connect with some amazing and wonderful people, who have come into my life and made it profoundly richer and meaningful. I am encouraged by their wisdom and the strength that they have found in the practise of yoga. I am grateful for the knowledge I have received from them.

Making yoga a part of your day is not very difficult, through continuous practise, it can bring about deep inner calm, emotional stability and immense physical well being.

Read more Lara Dutta columns

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