Men’s yoga wear is woefully uninspired and that is probably our fault. If I am an example, I want function and I don’t want to spend much for it. For me function means minimal resistance when I move. That’s why I always practice in sleeveless shirts and shorts. The shorts I find work best are simple lycra shorts (with elastic waistbands and no pockets) bought at least a couple sizes larger than specs would suggest (I go for XXL), so they are loose. Manufacturers that I know of include Reebock, Nike, Champion and Asics. Unfortunately, these simple shorts are getting harder to find (especially in colors other than black). So if it seems like I am wearing the same shorts all the time, it only looks that way because I have many pairs of black lycra shorts.

Even though they are loose, I still don’t want to walk around studios/clubs in lycra shorts, so I always have an outer layer (pants or cargo shorts). In addition to modesty, this outer layer provides pockets to stash valuables during the practice. I have multiple pairs of Lulu Lemon yoga pants that are comfortable and stylish. On the rare occassions that I have actually practiced in these pants, they were quite functional, but in my humble opinion, I would always rather practice in shorts. Therefore the outer layer can be anything from blue jeans to cargo pants/shorts.

With such a basic lower layer, shirts become the only option to add color and style. Any shirt can become sleeveless. Some of my yoga shirts are “last year’s” T shirts or, in other cases, brand new T shirts with amputated arms. The functional choice in shirts is really cotton or something more technologically developed to “wick” away perspiration. If a guy sweats a lot, the non-cotton option is probably a good one. Most of my “wicking” shirts came without sleeves. Yes, the ones from Lulu Lemon are better designed, but you pay for that. Most of my “hi-tech” shirts came from Ross, Marshalls or Target. Don’t expect to find them all at once, but rather consider it a “practice” to check these racks from time to time.

Getting even more personal, if you are wearing lycra shorts and “wicking” shirts, why would you even consider cotton briefs? Jockey makes some good non-cotton briefs. This is not the place to argue for boxers. This is a good time for support.

Just one guy’s opinon.

The music I choose for my classes comes from an array of genres (new age, trance, world, alternative, electronica, rock…), but mostly new age. Trust me, there is a lot of bad new age music out there. There is so much bad music that it could not possibly all fit on all the bad CDs. Therefore, some of it had to be squeezed into the good CDs as well. Therefore, it is very difficult to find a purely “good” yoga CD. The CDs I have recommended on my website are (in my humble opinion) good enough to be played in entirety. From the website, you can listen to each song then choose to (1) have the entire CD mailed to you; (2) download the entire CD in MP3 format; or (3) download just the songs you want from any particular CD.

In the many cases where I kept only a song or two from a CD, those CDs are not recommended. Eventually, I hope to make most of those songs available via MP3 and/or class “playlists”. But we are not there yet (and some songs will never be available because the come from obscure artists or out of production albums).

I categorize all the music I play in class into either “yoga” music (which I play during most of the practice) or “meditation” music (which I play during our final relaxation “savasana”). Many artists/CDs overlap into both categories. For presentation purposes, I tried to include the CD in the category it best fits.

Regardless of how, yoga mats do get dirty. There are products you can buy to clean your mat and I am sure there are countless other methods advised, but I use a simple solution of  warm water (90%) and vinegar (10%). If you have a less substantial mat, you can just put it in the washing machine (I do NOT recommend using the dryer). If you have a thicker “performance” mat you can rinse/scrub it in the bath tub, or just spray whatever cleaner you are using on it and wipe it off. Please note if you soak your mat or run it through the wash, it may take a couple/few days to dry. It is effectively a sponge. I have thought my mat was sufficiently dry a few times only to squish and slip through class (another lesson in patience).

No matter how you do it, cleaning your mat will (hopefully) not be the highlight of your day. So, keeping your mat clean is another matter to consider. My suggestion is having intention as to how you roll your mat up at the end of your practice. If you simply roll your mat up as you would a sleeping bag, the (presumably) dirtier underside of the mat comes in contact with the top side (which you are trying to keep clean). Instead, I recommend folding the mat in half first (clean side in) then rolling the mat up. Another advantage of this method is the elimination of the dreaded “mat curl” where the end of your mat won’t stay on the floor. Give it a try.

Every full moon brings extra energy (making it even harder to balance in yoga). Today’s full moon is no exception. What I want to discuss are my predictions about what will likely happen as the moon “wanes” over the next two weeks and that extra energy diminishes. Because this happens every moon cycle, it might easily be dismissed as no big deal. However, combining that lunar downer with the fact that the days are shorter (approaching the winter solstice on December 21st) and colder; People are likely to feel more tired, run down, even depressed. Throw in the stresses of the holidays (families, parties, money…) and it is easy to see where the Bah Humbugs comes from.

There are likely scientific studies to support this, but I am sticking with direct experience and simple observation. Equally as simple are my suggested remedies:

• Understand why you (or others) might be struggling.
• Be gentle and nice to yourself.
• Stick with your healthy habits (i.e., Yoga)
• Try to be more patient and understanding of others.
• Remember that the lunar energy starts to get better in two weeks and the days start to get longer in 3 weeks. Everything changes.

I had already dabbled into the quasi retail world by ordering yoga mats and props wholesale and distributing them from the trunk of my car. A nice service but not very elegant or scaleable. Amazon offers the same products (and much much more) at comparable prices. For argument sake, let’s just assume their distribution process is more refined. As an Amazon Associate, I can now offer a wider variety of products at their very competitive prices (often including free shipping and excluding sales tax) and receive a referral fee for each transaction that originates through yogakeith.com.

Still short of elegant, this first variation of Keith’s Yoga (& MORE) Store offers recommendations for yoga mats, yoga props and books (yoga and other). Yoga music is coming soon, but I wanted to launch this venture in time for holiday shopping (i.e., NOW!)

The beauty is that ANYTHING you buy from Amazon can help support this humble yoga instructor.

How does it work? Any time you want to shop on Amazon, just start by going to yogakeith.com. If you want to see what I have highlighted, click on Keith’s Yoga (& MORE) Store link. Or, if you want to just go directly to Amazon click on the Shop Amazon Now link. You will not notice anything different when you get to Amazon but burried deep in the cyber code Amazon will give me credit for referring you there. Your transactions are still completely secure. I will know what was ordered, but not who ordered it. As the volume of transactions increases, so will my modest referal percentage.

Please give it a try!

The disconnect was that he was standing there in full uniform next to his DPT scooter printing out a parking ticket to some poor unsuspecting soul. He was the enemy! A parking Nazi!

It is so easy to put a label on someone or something. I am sure many people have categorized me based on my chosen profession. I only hope I help them see things differently (as I did yesterday).

There were 13 of us on board. The boat was a surprise to most of the guests. They were just told to meet at a nice pub. We paraded them through a beautiful waterside park that would have served nicely as a wedding site. After a few pictures, we continued down to the pier and boarded the boat. Anna’s “procession” down the pier escorted by her sister Louise was perfectly impromptu. Then we headed out into the Sydney harbor.

We found a quiet spot in Neutral Bay and had a brief ceremony officiated by Subhana, a woman I had met at a meditation retreat in India 10 years earlier. Anna and I didn’t write many of the words, but we chose them all carefully from multiple sources. Why re-invent the wheel when someone else had already suggested: “Marriage is the joining of two lives, the mystical, physical, and emotional union of two human beings who have separate families and histories, separate tragedies and destinies. It is the merging and intermeshing not only of two bodies and two personalities, but also of two life stories. Two individuals, each of who has a unique and life-shaping past, willingly choose to set aside the solitary exploration of themselves to discover who they are in the presence of one another.”

After the ceremony, we headed back into the harbor for celebratory toasts and a magnificent sunset. The boat dropped us off near the famous opera house and we dined at Cafe Sydney overlooking the Bridge and the Opera House. The food and wine were magnificent, but the real joy for me was sharing the experience with close friends and family. That being said, Anna and I were both happy to fly off to New Zealand the next morning.

We had never had a week alone together. We knew we were appreciating it as it was happening, but like many of the magical pictures we took, the magnitude of what we were experiencing together took some time to fully understand.

 Wedding Slideshow

Honeymoon Slideshow

The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it’s almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):

1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).

2. “Hands-off-the-face” approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat or bathe.)

3. *Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine or Hydrogen Peroxide if you don’t trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don’t underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water, or hydrogen peroxide. *Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but *blowing the nose softly once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.*

5. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

6. *Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

But even wise prevention sometimes yields to destiny…

If you are under the weather, listen to your body. Maybe taking a break from your yoga practice is a wise choice. If you do choose to practice thru a cold or the flu, please consider the following suggestions:

• Try to arrive early to class and find a corner away from your fellow practitioners.
• Bring your own mat and props.
• If you cough or sneeze, aim it to the bend of your elbow rather than your hand.
• Let your instructor know that you might be “contagious” and that hands-on adjustments might not be a good idea.

Be well.

To make the site more accessible to the html challenged (me), the site has been migrated from textpattern to wordpress. That process was slow and tedious because quite frankly, I am a web designer’s worst nightmare (slow to respond, unfocused, asking too many of the wrong questions).

Now that it has migrated, I have slowly figured out how to add slideshow for previously un-represented events such as Yoga on The River 2009 and Random Acts of Outdoor Yoga (both accessible from the “Events” tab). I have also gone back to many of my earlier blog entries (primarily from India) and added pictures (and links to other slideshows). Let’s just say I tried to get caught up to the present.

Oh yeah, I also got married (but that deserves it’s own post).

Goa was the last stop on my trip. A ten days yoga retreat on a beautiful beach seemed like a great way to culminate the adventure. I wasn’t teaching, just deepening my practice and challenging myself with things I was not good at. Though I respect the Ashtanga practice greatly, I had only gone through the primary series a few times since my teacher training (seven years ago). So it wasn’t a big deal that I couldn’t do everything. It didn’t even bother me that I wasn’t the strongest student in the retreat (Monica has been practicing yoga longer than I have AND she is about 20 years younger). I wasn’t there for validation. So how come I got so bothered when it didn’t come?

Stripped of the comforts of “my” practice and “my” yoga style I felt my relationship with the teacher, Heather, slip from equal to less than. Some of that was likely her taking the authority that a teacher needs to effectively lead, but part of that was also her defending her way. Ashtanga is a very traditional and dogmatic style of yoga. There is one right way of doing things and everything else is wrong. My teaching style is the polar opposite.

Where I regularly suggest easing into the first down dog by bicycling the heels toward the floor, that habit was reprimanded. Where I constantly remind students that yoga is about intention, not the goals; Ashtanga (as least this version) meant grabbing the toe in the triangle (even if that meant bending at the knee) and bringing your nose to your leg in forward folds (even if that meant giving up the length in the spine). Props were viewed largely as crutches that prevented students from progressing.

Who was I to challenge these traditions? Who am I to create my own flow sequences when there were time-tested routines to be followed?

My formal teacher training had been with an Australian company (Yoga Arts) that happened to be running a training program concurrently with our retreat at the same retreat center. There was even one of my former teachers there (Lucy). It wasn’t meant as a slight to me, but at one point Heather voiced the opinion that “none of those students would be qualified to teach” when their program ended. I tried to challenge her in a respectful way, but it still came across sounding defensive.

Being defensive is a good indicator that our insecurities are being challenged. One day over breakfast, someone familiar with the Bay Area asked where I taught. I could see the “inferior gym yoga” judgments forming when I told them of the classes I led at health clubs and corporations. As if on queue, they asked if I taught at any yoga studios. The ego is always looking to impress others. My ego took quite a beating. I guess the universe knew I needed it. It made me stronger and even more determined to keep teaching my way.