Sunday was the first full day of spring. Spring is a time of birth and renewal. In order for things to be born or renewed, other things need to change, die or give way.

I’ve spent the last few days in Berkeley learning from a living master of movement and somatic studies, Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen. Interweaving through all the teachings here, and coincidentally most of my conversations and interactions with people in my life, are themes of change, discomfort and endings. Change, ending, and death are frightening things for most of us. These situations naturally make us uncomfortable. But without discomfort we would never grow, without death there can’t be life, without change there is only stagnancy.

Perhaps it seems out of place while flowers are blooming everywhere and nature is bursting with LIFE, but an interesting experiment to invite LIFE into your own life, might be to explore ideas of what can die. Not really in the literal sense, but in the energetic sense. What is stagnant? Where is dis-ease? What is bitter and hardened? Make room for the new growth by planning a funeral for things you don’t need anymore. Journal about them, make some pictures or collages, do your spring cleaning, talk with friends, and when you’re ready, with great respect, find a good burial place or cremation site and let all that baggage go. As the light is getting greater in the day, you can lighten your load as well.

Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe shares some wisdom and reflection on dying and grief, including a writing by the Dalai Lama.

The recently released Death: A magazine for Enthusiasts and Non-Enthusiasts Alike is an lovely resource with all kinds of literary, artistic and informative inspiration. Including this excellent video with Vito Acconci’s prose, “At least you can worry”.

Click here to view the embedded video.

You might also be considering what the best music to play at a funeral would be…

Or if you would like to customize a casket…

Anyway. Don’t take it too seriously. As the folks at Upaya are urging us to do, grieve when there is loss, let grief open your heart, and then enjoy the astounding colors of the world around you and live as if you’re actually living!

Photo from 'Nude Yoga Girls'

My friend Roseanne Harvey, genius behind “It’s All Yoga Baby” had an interesting post the other day about new, nude trends in yoga, and as she said “the precarious relationship between yoga, nudity and sexuality”. She talked briefly about the work of Abby Winters who started Nude Yoga Girls (which features exactly that ok… so graphic content warning here), which is a site that I had seen about a year ago but hadn’t thought about much since then. I remember at the time thinking… “Great. This practice that I love that has actually helped me to finally come to peace with my body is now going to turn into yet another tool to objectify the female form.” I still feel pretty much the same in essence, though Roseanne has brought up some interesting points that have made me rethink my opinion and come back into the question.

Ultimately I think that as we muck through the messiness of human existence we have different levels of obsession that we need to work out. Obsession with the body in its form, function and appearance whether directed towards others or towards ourselves is just that… Obsession. But what is the line between obsession and appreciation? Where does confidence become egotistical and where does humility become shame? Yoga as the gift that it can be offers us the objectivity to observe our desires for extremism and identification. I think that the real question is, will we delve into the deeper questions that are beyond the form, function and appearance, or will we stay with how things look from the outside?

On the aside, all the recent posting on It’s All Yoga Baby and Elephant Journal about this topic is leading web browsers with tags “naked” “yoga” and “girls” to our sites. So comment and let’s keep the conversation going!

Thanks to my friend Robert for bringing this recent New York Times article to my attention, it was sincerely one of the most entertaining 15-minute reads I’ve had in a while.

It seems to me that the point of both yoga and food get lost a lot. The practice of yoga is one that has so much potential to help those of afflicted with the human condition (otherwise known as extremism), to find some kind of gentle place in between; appreciating what’s here (like the home of this body which needs nutritious sustenance to live) without getting too carried away with the impermanence of what’s here (like this body eating any particular meal). And how lucky we are to have a meals to eat at all, whether they’re vegan, meaty, served on china or eaten with hands.

I’d be very interested in hearing your feedback and opinions. Comments please!

Adjustments are an important aspect of taking a yoga class. Hands-on guidance helps students to find alignment within their postures, alignment without which they would undoubtably become injured if they continue to practice improperly. If Heit wins his lawsuit it could severely impact the roles which teachers are able to fill in a class. Granted, there are plenty of teachers out there who probably have no business giving many adjustments. But, having practiced regularly at The Yoga Workshop myself and as a student of its owner Richard Freeman, I feel confident in saying that not only is every teacher at YW competent and knowledgeable, but they are all very well trained in observing, assisting and giving gentle and correct adjustments.

While I don’t doubt the severity of Heit’s injury, I highly doubt that he sustained it while practicing at the Yoga Workshop and I find it absurd that he would think to blame it on a teacher who not only makes a living teaching yoga (read, barely gets the bills covered) but is also a highly qualified teacher.

Injuries sustained while practicing yoga, are unfortunately , quite common. I see this as a symptom of our western material-obsessed culture. Practice yoga with most of the true Indian teachers and they’ll have you lie down to rest between the simplest movements and focus on your breath. Yoga asana wasn’t meant to be undertaken as a purely physical exercise. It’s too bad that Mr. Heit was injured and I can empathize, having incurred more than a few yoga-related injuries myself (generally when I was focusing more on my physical goals rather then any truly admirable aspects of my practice), but it is each of our responsibility to take care of ourselves.

That said, this is an important wake-up call for all us teachers and studio owners out there. Physical adjustments should not be made that are forceful or unsafe. Not ever. Teachers should consistently study their anatomy and continue to learn from more experienced teachers, especially when it comes to observing and assisting. Coming back to the foundations of Yoga, the Yamas: Ahimsa, means non-harming. Teachers should not impose their own ideas of form onto the function of a body by force; gentle and compassionate is best. And students should not inflict violence on their own bodies by grasping for postures they aren’t yet ready for.

I hope Mr. Heit heals quickly and well and that this unfortunate incident will strengthen and educate rather than crippling those who are ultimately in service of better health and stronger bodies, minds and hearts for all of us.

(Just a note about the picture for this post: I didn’t want to use Luke’s stunning headshot, nor could I find any satisfactory images on Google for “yoga lawsuit”. I’m thinking that maybe the light of awareness will come alive in all of us the more we meditate on what Yoga really is anyway.)

Two of Indian yoga guru Swami Ramdev’s followers (Sam and Sunita Poddar) have bought an island of the coast of Scotland to be renamed as “Peace Island” and they have pledged to found an international base for Swami Ramdev and build a center devoted to “healthy living through yoga.”

Peace Island consists of 684 acres of land, a 12 bedroom mansion, a lighthouse, a boathouse and a jetty. The opening ceremony for Peace Island was held on the 27th.

Swami Ramdev has caused a bit of controversy by claiming that yoga can, (among other things,) cure Cancer and AIDS and he has been accused of making false claims to terminally ill patients. Regardless of whether pranayama and asana can cure terminal illness as he claims, he does have some sensible tips for healthy living.

To see Swami Ramdev in action, for his guide to weight loss and healthy eating, or just for some serious healthy laughter and comic relief (not at the content, which FTY pretty much concurs with, but the voiceover is amazing). Check it out on Youtube.