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"You go into any yoga class in the West, and it's filled with women. And it's so ironic, women were never part of the yoga tradition at all," says author Linda Sparrowe in YogaWoman, a new documentary film by sisters...

Designer Donna Karan has long ties with the yoga world. But the latest connection is a plea from yoga master B.K.S. Iyengar to change the way she does business. The animal activists at PETA report that Iyengar recently wrote Ms....

Every few years, stories about possible regulation of yoga teachers and studios surface. This time, it comes from the Great State of Texas. Recently, the Texas Workforce Commission sent out letters to various studios, asking them to become state-licensed career...

As yogis, we wish for all people to be happy, safe, and healthy. A touching story from Nashville Public Radio talks about how yoga helps wounded soldiers coming back from Iraq and Afganistan piece their bodies and their lives back...

Balancing the business and spiritual sides of yoga has always been a delicate one. An article in Business Week broaches the scramble for yoga teachers to trademark their yoga styles, citing that "out of the 2,213 trademark applications containing the word...

Larry Schultz, founder of It's Yoga studio and developer of the signature practice known as Rocket Yoga, has died. He was 60. Schultz founded It's Yoga in San Francisco in 1989, creating a vibrant hub for a growing yoga community...

Science has spoken. A new study published in Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging shows that subjects who meditated 30 minutes a day for eight weeks had measurable changes in parts of the brain associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress....

How many of us have struggled with weight and eating? In Ravenous: A Food Lover's Journey from Obsession to Freedom, YJ staffer Dayna Macy offers us the searingly honest story of her battles with compulsive eating. To discover the root...

Ever since Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, spoke out against Christians doing yoga, the blogosphere has gone wild. If you haven't heard about it yet, the story revolves around an article on Mohler's website, where he...

At age six, most kids are taught by some kind of teacher. But in an unusual role reversal, an Indian six-year old IS a teacher. A yoga teacher, that is. The Daily Mail calls Shruti Pandey the world's youngest yoga teacher:...

I love the energy and buzz of urban life. But I've notice that sometimes after a day out in my beloved city, I feel more drained than when I take a vigorous two hour hike in the mountains. So I...

One of the things I've learned from my yoga practice is that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Sure yoga can help you rehabilitate an overstretched muscle, but it can also teach you had to move...

The shooting at the army base at Fort Hood that resulted in 13 lives lost and 30 people wounded was a tragedy that saddened the nation. But in the last year, the leaders at the base have been experimenting with...

Opening a new yoga studio (or any business for that matter) in this economy is risky. So when landlords approached a Memphis studio owner about expanding to a new location in their apartment building, the studio owner had reservations. The...

A yoga instructor who teaches at Yoga Workshop, a Boulder, Colorado yoga studio founded by Ashtanga Yoga teacher Richard Freeman, has been named in a lawsuit brought on by a former student who claims he was injured during an "unwanted...

When it comes to the fashion industry as a whole, it's no secret that designers tailor their clothing to thinner, smaller bodies. Considering the inclusive nature of yoga, however, you might expect things are different in the yoga fashion industry....

By now most of us have heard about the tragic Spiritual Warrior retreat and sweat lodge in Arizona that resulted in three deaths and dozens more hospitalizations. The retreat, led by James Author Ray, was meant to facilitate the "spiritual...

There's no denying Lululemon's rise in popularity or its wildly popular marketing campaigns designed to inspire (and sometimes shock) us all to get healthy and look good doing it. As a New York Times writer put it in a recent...

The newest professional athlete to give yoga a try is basketball star Shaquille O'Neal. The Cleveland Cavaliers center tried a class in suburban Cleveland, according to the Associated Press. He needed two mats to accommodate his 7-foot-1, 325-pound frame. (The...

Anyone who's tried yoga can attest to its soothing, stress-relieving benefits. Of course, business people  (and, really anyone who has a job) have been flocking to yoga for some time to seek relief from their stressful jobs. This was the...

Despite its popularity, there are many misconceptions about yoga floating around in the media. The two that I think might be most prevalent are that all yoga students are crazy flexible and that yoga classes are mostly easy, gentle stretching....

At $18 a class in some cities, it's no surprise that yoga studios are often a hub for financially secure spiritual seekers. It's the high price tags associated with yoga classes, retreats, and trendy yoga clothes that has some folks...

By YJ correspondent Nancy O'Brien. Normal 0 Yoga Journal, tracking down furtive reports that a yoga teacher had been arrested in a Michigan crackdown on yoga teacher training programs, has learned that state police appeared at Dancing Feet Yoga in...

It's not news that states are cracking down on yoga teacher training programs and asking (in some instances demanding) that yoga schools pay the same licensing fees vocational schools like hairdressing and massage therapy schools pay. After Michigan gave yoga...

Image: Brant Ward/The Chronicle I'm not sure where it came from, but the idea that yoga teachers should never date yoga students seems to be prevalent in the yoga community. It was taught as ethics in my teacher training course...

In a lawsuit against Dahn Yoga, a yoga organization with locations across the U.S., 26 former Dahn members allege the organization subjects its members to "psychological manipulation". Dahn Yoga issued this response to ABC15 in Arizona, who has been following...

Unless you've been living in a cave lately (a rent-free cave) you probably know we're in a recession. And unless you've been living in that cave AND on an incredibly long media fast, you know that people are cutting back...

Upon waking for the last day of the conference, we learned that Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, 93, has passed. The official announcement is posted here, and you can find up-to-the-minute memorial posts and reactions from students worldwide here via twitter. What are some of your best...

Yoga teacher trainings fall under the same category as schools that teach bartending, pet grooming, medical assistance, and business, according to Michigan state officials, reports the The Detroit News. The Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth has begun...

Fashion designer Donna Karan donated $850,000 to Beth Israel Medical Center in New York to help fund yoga therapy in the cancer wing there, reports USA Today. Karan, a yoga practitioner for more than 40 years, saw the need for...

Yogajournal.com contributor Sara Avant Stover wants you to breathe better. She posted a blog at huffingtonpost.com about how to access and improve your breath in five simple steps. "In school we learn skills like how to add fractions and write...

Some yoga students are turning the recession into an opportunity of a lifetime. According to an article from Reuters.com, some recently unemployed yoga students are taking advantage of their open schedules to enroll in yoga teacher training programs. Though...

The Wall Street Journal recently reviewed some of the new yoga mats on the market. (That's right, the yoga mat industry is big enough that Wall Street Journal took notice.) "We were cheered to find that manufacturers are rolling...

A recent column in the California Bay Area newspaper, Palo Alto Daily News, opposes the idea that yoga is beneficial for competitive athletes. The column, written by Dr. Phil Wagner, the director of SPARTA Performing Science (an athletic training facility...

Check out this video about how the Art of Yoga Project is using yoga to help teen girls in a juvenile justice facility in San Mateo, Calif. find more balance. To read the full story visit insidebayarea.com. Do you think...

A recent study found that the more happy people you know, the more likely you too will be happy, reports Reuters. Research results are available in the British Medical Journal. People with the most social connections, such as friends, spouses,...

Reports the News Observer, "The ancient practice of yoga is finding a new following -- among doctors and medical researchers who work to discover its benefits for a variety of illnesses. 'There's been an explosion of data using yoga as...

According to the Malaysian Star, "Recently, lecturer Prof. Zakaria Stapa of Universiti Kebangsaan advised Muslims who had taken up yoga to stop practicing it for fear that they could deviate from the teachings of Islam." This triggered a national debate,...

When I think of Philadelphia, two unhealthy things come to mind: cheesesteaks and cream cheese. Brio Vim is out to change my perception with donation yoga, sliding-scale massage, Reiki services and more. "Brio Vim is supporting wellness entrepreneurs by providing...

On October 3, I wrote about a Massena, New York, high school that put its classroom yoga program on hold after a group of parents raised concerns about the separation of church and state, saying that the school should not...

According to Gawker.com, an editor at the the Wall Street Journal owns a yoga studio, and in a piece on the business of yoga, one of her employees was quoted. "Tina Gaudoin was brought over to the WSJ from the...

Mayor Gavin Newsom wants to occasionally close a 3 1/2-mile stretch of road in San Francisco for yoga, bicycling, jogging, and dancing. "Instead of bringing people to open space, we bring open space to people," Newsom told the San Francisco...

If you read my post on March 10, you know that Hindu leaders have asked to preview the Mike Myers comedy "The Love Guru" (opening on June 20). Now you can watch the movie's trailer on YouTube. And check out...

If you are like a lot of yogis, you probably head to your local food coop or Whole Foods to buy beauty and cleaning products that seem safer for you and the environment than the ones sold at the supermarket....

A Buddha statue from the Coninx Museum in Zurich sold for $5 million at Christie's auction house in New York, reports swissinfo.ch. (There was no information on who bought the statue.) The statue is considered the most important Buddhist sculpture...

Earlier this month, the Thai government said it was "investigating claims that supposedly celibate Buddhist monks have been using a U.S.-based social networking website to flirt with women," reports the Associated Press. A watchdog group, the Network of Civilians to...

Often, the creators of a controversial movie allow religious groups a chance to preview the film. For example, the Catholic church screened The Passion of the Christ and The Da Vinci Code. Now, the Universal Society of Hinduism is requesting...

On March 23, 2007, yoga teacher Paul Cortez was sentenced to 25 years to life for killing his girlfriend. Now, friends, family and others have created The Paul Cortez Defense Fund in hopes to raise $75,000 for legal representation during...

Apparel manufacturer Liz Claiborne Inc. is selling the prAna brand back to prAna's founders and Steelpoint Capital Partners for $36.5 million, reports Reuters. Liz Claiborne originally bought the prAna line in November 2005 for $34.4 million. How many of you...

Dangerous amounts of lead have been found in Ayurvedic medicines such as ghasard, a brown powder given to relieve constipation in babies, and mahayogaraj gugullu, for high blood pressure, reports the Associated Press. "In a 2004 study that found high...

I received this letter last night and thought it worth sharing. An Open Letter from Jack Kornfield, Ram Dass, and Sharon Salzberg Dear Friends, We are writing to ask your support for two beloved friends of ours, Stephen and Ondrea...

The World Hindu Council of America is going to try to persuade Indian-American hotels and motel owners to place copies of Bhagvad Gita in rooms, according to the Times of India. It was unclear if this was in addition to...

Religious and political officials from India's eastern state of Orissa have written to the Indian government and the U.S. embassy seeking action against California-based cafepress.com for selling intimate apparel imprinted with Hindu deities. The protesters are seeking an apology and...

On January 28, the New Mexico State Senate will open to the sound of Sanskrit mantras. Rajan Zed will recite from the Rig Veda and Bhagavad Gita. After first reading in Sanskrit, he will deliver the English translation of the...

According to the Associated Press, the House approved a bill preventing Myanmar's rubies and jade from entering the U.S. The bill is in addition to already tough sanctions against the ruling military regime that killed peaceful protesters and Buddhist monks...

The Hindu American Foundation has organized a letter writing campaign against the destruction of Hindu temples by Malaysian state government officials. A protest march was scheduled for November 25 in Kuala Lumpur but, according to Reuters, organizers of the event...

About 7,500 evacuees of the California wildfire went to Qualcomm Stadium where they were not only given cots, tents, water and food, but arts and crafts for children, crisis counseling, meditation, yoga, acupuncture, and AA meetings for adults. This has...

Yoga guru Swami Ramdev is against sex education in schools saying that it leads "children towards crime." "Sex education has been dragging the children towards crime and if this situation continued, they would become dreaded criminals," he said during a...

Many viewers of the reality series "Survivor: Exile Island" became fascinated with Aras Baskauskas and his apparent love of yoga. Aras junkies are in luck: on November 30, his 90-minute yoga DVD, "Yoga for Health and Wellness," will be released....

A Mommy and Me yoga class has been banned from two church halls in England. Louise Woodcock, who was looking for a new home for her Yum Yum Yoga class, was turned away by vicars who described yoga as a...

The Asian Classics Input Project, an organization dedicated to locating, cataloging, and disseminating Tibetan and Sanskrit manuscripts, has created a CD of yogic texts including the Rig Veda, the Bhagavad Gita, and more. The CD was given away to 1,000...

Yoga is being used help children who have apraxia, a condition that affects their speech and fine motor skills. Patients don't just do asanas, they also make sounds in coordination with their breathing. Yoga has also been used to help...

According to the New York Post, yoga teacher Rodney Yee and his wife Colleen antagonized Sag Harbor, NY, police by holding a class in Marine Park without a permit on July 3. "As the class started, cops descended and threatened...

Yoga will now be mandatory for students in Kerala, India. "Taking into consideration the widely accepted advantages of yoga and its effect on individuals, the education department would soon see that this is made part of the school curriculum in...

A juvenile court is Colorado is sentencing juvenile drug offenders to mandatory weekly yoga classes. Mary Jo Berenato, juvenile magistrate for the 8th Judicial District, believes over time these troubled teens will turn to yoga instead of drugs when faced...

According to entertainment news sources, "Saturday Night Live" alumni Mike Myers was kicked out of an L.A. yoga class because he couldn't stop laughing. Why? The yogi on the mat next to him was gassy. The actor explains, "This guy...

"Yoga, Inc.," the documentary about the commercialization of yoga by filmmaker John Philp, made its debut at the end of April at Hot Docs, the documentary film festival in Toronto. Clips are available at youtube.com. Although most of the controversies...

If you've ever dreamed of trademarking your own yoga style or patenting a yoga invention, you may want to work faster. The Indian government has set up a task force to try to prevent the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office...