Yoga 2009: 10 Highlights

What happened last year?

Did it pass like a kidney stone or like savasana? Lots of subtle changes for me personally, and a big leap into the blogosphere for Yoga Nation. Part of me wishes I had a time machine to go back ten years (if I knew then, what I know now...) and another part looks forward to the madness and the mystery of a new year.But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's see what happened in 2009....

1. Fierce Club opened in Nolita. Sadie Nardini, of Bon Jovi yogi fame, not only opened her own kick-ass studio in Nolita last March, but later in the summer she also joined up with YAMA, an agenting enterprise for enterprising yoga teachers. Yes, folks, the future is here...

2. The movie, Enlighten Up!: A Skeptic's Journey into the World of Yoga, launched to mostly positive reviews (and some grumbling from yoga teachers) proving that yoga can entertain Americans for at least an hour and a half on the big screen. Director/yogini, Kate Churchill, and skeptic/subject, Nick Rosen, tussle and tumble around the world looking for the truth about yoga

.3. Inappropriate Yoga Guy "Edited" Yoga Journal. Yoga Journal spoofed itself in this 5-part online mini-series in which the unforgettable, and wildly inappropriate, Ogden, took over the inimitable magazine offices as a hazardous (and sometimes naked) "guest editor." Went live April Fool's Day.

4. Sri K. Pattabhi Jois passed. One of three Indian grandaddies of modern, Western yoga, 93-year-old Pattabhi Jois, passed away in May, and was fetted through the early summer. The memorial held at Donna Karan's Urban Zen headquarters on June 14 in the West Village created even bigger buzz than the first ever NYC Yoga Journal Conference in May.

5. Licensing Issue ravaged New York---and is not over. Should yoga studios pay large sums of money to New York state to be "licensed" to train yoga teachers? Widely seen as a pitiless money-grab, this proposed legislation threatens to shut down many tiny yoga studios that rely on teacher-training programs for basic income. (For this issue, yoganation was also a momentary guest-blogger on the illustrious YogaDork.)

6. On the other hand, Brent Kessel made clear that yoga and money can live happily together. Financial advisor and long-time ashtanga-yoga practitioner, Kessel wrote a practical, inspiring and possibly profitable book called It's Not About the Money (which it never is: it's always about the junk in your head). Read my interview with him on Frugaltopia.

7. The inaugural Wanderlust Yoga and Music Festival rocked Lake Tahoe in July. This ingenious festival blasted open indie minds and took over taste-making in the yoga world. Who said yoga can't be radically cool? Driven by yoga and music-exec power couple from Brooklyn, Wanderlust will happen in three locales in 2010. Thank you, Yoga Journal (San Francisco), you may now hand over the reigns. The young uns' (uh, Brooklyn) got it from here.

8. Celebrity Yoga Teachers---Problem? In late August, YogaCityNYC sent me to report on the Being Yoga conference upstate. The question: Is a media-friendly yoga teacher the natural outcome of yoga’s presence in America’s consumer culture? The peaceful yoga crowd at Omega had a lot to say. READ my final article. .....(One source said: “I've never had a PR agent or invited myself somewhere. Everything has happened because of the shakti manifesting in me.” The next day I got a message on Twitter inviting me to review her latest DVD.)

9. BKS Iyengar turned 91. Really, you need to see Enlighten Up! the movie just for the scenes of Iyengar talking about the meaning of yoga---not empty New Age spirituality, but real internal work, with a few beads of sweat and social service thrown in. For his 91st birthday, this tremendous force of a man requested that students hold a fundraiser to benefit his ancentral village of Bellur. If everyone gave $3, more people could eat.

10. The Yoga Clothing Wars continued with lots of news about LuluLemon throughout 2009. Their stock was up, their stock was down. We loved them, we were peeved. Mostly we were conflicted about the giant success of a giant "women's activewear" company. Good news: they have excellent yoga clothes for men. More good news: they are inspiring small yoga clothing companies, too. More good (-ish?) news: they are EVERYWHERE. Planet Lulu!!

HAPPY 2010, yogis and yoginis! Here's to a happy, healthy, inspired, productive, restful, and OM-ing new year.

As LuLu Gets the Squeeze, Hyde Keeps It Real (or at least small)

Hyde yoga clothing 3

Hyde yoga clothing 2

Hyde yoga clothing

There's nothing wrong with visibility, there's nothing wrong with success. Or is there? We yoga folks seem utterly torn about LuLuLemon. As the yoga clothing company surges from being a cool, innovative business, to an annoyingly ubiquitous logo, yogis, studios, and even New York Magazine (see last week's "Lust for Lulu" feature article) have been experiencing some queasy feelings. When did yoga clothing become "active lifestyle wear for women"? Up in arms for LuluLemon. (Photo: Summer Starling/Courtesy of Lululemon)

This week, A.K. Kennedy, founder of Hyde yoga clothes, reminds me that not long ago, well-made, comfortable yoga clothes were hard to find. "I was that person who didn’t want to spend $70 on yoga clothes. So I bought them at Old Navy and was annoyed that they didn’t fit very well." "There was hippie dippie organic clothing, or Nike stuff, or if you did find something that worked, you couldn’t find it again."

In early 2005, A.K. began designing and manufacturing yoga clothes part time (she had been designing rugs, and before that, working in the corporate world). Lulu wasn't quite on the scene (in the U.S.) yet. By the end of 2005 she was full time and had 4 samples in organic cotton---2 tops, a pant and a pair of shorts. Now Hyde has standing orders with 85 studios and employees three staff (including A.K.). They work out of a modest Lower East Side office. Not the Lower East Side office. 

"We have a lot of fun and everyone does everything—we all went out to Wanderlust together. On photo shoots, my boyfriend is the photo assistant." On LuLuLemon, A.K. says at first studios were excited to carry clothes specifically designed for yogis and yoginis---and well-made, too. But as the company has grown bigger, there's been some brand fatigue."

Some studios tried retail for the first time because of LuLu. Now they want to try something different and maybe a little less expensive. "Hyde has such a different point of view. We're less sporty and totally all organic except for a little bit of Spandex. We're not quite active lifestyle wear. "

Originally, A.K. wanted to offer much less expensive clothes. But the realities of running a small, quality business made that impossible. "We could make cheaper pants but we would be sacrificing something to do that—we would have to sacrifice quality of materials and we just don't want to." Hyde's most expensive pant is $69. LuluLemon's signature Groove Pant is $98. "I want to be under $60 but we’re small so our minimums are not quite high enough to come down in price."

"I used to pick up a cute, organic dress from a small company and think, 'Why the hell is this $250?' and I'd put it back. Now I know that company is paying rent, using unusual material, and probably paying a premium for not meeting factory’s minimums for small production run." "It's changed the way I shop—before I would have put that dress down and bought something from a bigger company. Now I spend money on the smaller company and feel good about it."