I love yoga. My practice includes twice weekly 1-1/2 sets and 1/2 hour sets the other five days. I find yoga absolutely essential to my mental and physical health.

Just as the old saying goes, yoga centers your mind and spirit. And, since I suffered the onset of arthritis, yoga and daily aspirin have helped me to keep the pain in check.

And I'm a plain old macho guy. In fact, you could say I'm an old fashioned male chauvinist pig. I have absolutely no use for New Age crap, human potential jibberish, etc. You don't have to swallow this BS to practice yoga.

I think that every serious athlete should be practicing yoga. I learned yoga at the Sport Center at Chelsea Pier. One of my instructors taught yoga to the football Giants. If you want to attain maximum flexibility and avoid injury, yoga is the way to go.

Why are more women practicing yoga? I think that the answer is the crappy New Age aura that surrounds yoga in this country. One of the oldest humbug myths of the left is that it is somehow more resonant with and sympathetic to the cultures of India and Asia. I once believed this myself. This is so much nonsense. When I really became involved in these cultures (through travel and the very intimate method of sleeping with Indian and Asian women), I discovered that these cultures are overwhelmingly conservative, traditionally religious, hard working and moralistic. If you think about Indian culture now, don't you think of the enormous success of Indians in technology and investment in the U.S.? The leftist myth that Indians want to embrace the hippie ideal is a crock.

Having said that, I will say that the stance we are taught as white American males makes yoga a difficult practice. We are taught rigidity of the hips and pelvis as an almost moral issue. I really struggle with this in my practice. Bridge position is almost impossible for me. I can attain it only by using a big exercise ball for support.

Posted by: Shouting Thomas on December 23, 2007 2:20 PM

Ooooh yea. Cannibal Cheerleader Camp or Machine Gun Girl. Tough call.

Posted by: Lester Hunt on December 23, 2007 4:14 PM

Oh bugger, too much Rioja. That should be "duty" not beauty.

Posted by: dearieme on December 23, 2007 4:59 PM

Much too much Rioja: the amending comment should have appeared one post down. Lesson: do not partake generously of the drink encrimsoned when you are out of practice at same.

Posted by: dearieme on December 24, 2007 9:52 AM

*dierieme - I wouldn't put it that way, but you did make me do some detection, to puzzle out the ends. Rioja would be excellent with my roasted leg'o'lamb, btw. Why didn't I think of that before? Had some phony California bottle instead. Ts-ts-ts.

Posted by: Tatyana on December 24, 2007 10:35 AM

I assume you are aware of Eli Roth's upcoming Trailer Trash, a movie consisting of nothing but trailers?

Posted by: Ibod Catooga on December 25, 2007 4:20 AM

It's funny they mention athleticism as a reason for tightness (they're probably right), because I'm flabby and out of shape, and I found yoga incredibly painful. I kept trying to force myself to do it for the psychological benefits and all I could do was watch the clock until the class was over. I just remember being in painful position after painful position for way too long. I know you love it, Mike, but it doesn't work for me...

Posted by: SFG on December 27, 2007 6:26 AM






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