AN OPEN LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF YOGA JOURNAL

Dear Madam,

I must sincerely laud your endeavors at Yoga Journal.

The editorial direction and the pictorial content that you and your shareholders have determined to be the most lucrative — that which will attract advertising dollars aimed at 20-to-40-something middle- and upper-middle-class caucasian women — have indeed attracted top-tier women's yoga clothing brands.

However, as a testosterone-laden, red-blooded heterosexual male (can you say householder? Cha-ching!), I must also congratulate you on so successfully capturing another important yoga demographic and, like true market innovators, meeting a heretofore unknown demand. While Namarupa remains the premier magazine for yoga-related philosophy, discourse, photography, and interviews, you are the only high-quality glossy yoga jerk-mag on the market. Kudos!

Sincerely, et cetera, et cetera.

P.S. I anxiously await your "Girls of the Bhagavad Gita" pictorial. "Hardtail," indeed!

JESUS CHRIST!

Alice Joanou is one of my first asana teachers; she teaches in Oakland and occasionally posts some good stuff.

This is from a new one called "Yeshua Avatara":

"In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says to his students: 'Here I am sending you out like sheep amid wolves, so be smart as snakes and innocent as doves.'

I couldn't help but think of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, who taught that even an enlightened snake should not lose the power to hiss ferociously: 'I asked you not to bite, but I didn't forbid you to hiss!'"

Which reminds me of Jim Morrison: "Ride the snake, the snake is long," which in turn reminds me of riding Lady Gaga's disco stick. (Lady Gaga: banging!)

So there you have it, from Jesus to Lady Gaga in four easy steps. Bonus points for Cobra Commander pic. Also, bonus points for resisting the obvious reference to kundalini.

VIDEO DAYS

Mysore '92.

NEW POST. HUZZAH.

This post will be just like Slayer's "Raining Blood." Short and brutal:

Do less on your yoga mat.

If you're banging out 5-6 day weeks (if you're doing it, you know what I'm talking about), I dare you — I dare you! — to take every fourth week at half power.

Half!

Power!

Do less!

Pattabhi Jois would say, "Practice practice, long time. All is coming."

He didn't say, "Practice, practice all primary series, as hard as you can, long time. All is coming."

So you have my permission to unclench your butt-cheeks every four weeks.

That is all. Carry on.