Press
Los Angeles Times, December 27, 2001
ON Magazine, January/February 2002
Quest Magazine, November 2001
Runners World, December 2001
Elle Magazine, August 2001
ON Magazine, October 2001
Health Magazine, October 2001
New York Daily News, August 2001
Our Town, April 5th issue
Technology Puts a New Twist on Yoga Classes
By ERIN TEXEIRA, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Los Angeles Times - December 27, 2001
"Ooooommmm."
By all appearances, I had begun to worship my computer. Sitting cross-legged on the floor of my darkened study, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and chanted at the monitor.
"Ooooommmm." Halfway across New York, a dozen people added their voices to mine, filling the room. Quite possibly, others joined us from Oregon, Japan and Oklahoma.
It was the start of a most unusual yoga class, one that took place both in a traditional yoga studio and, simultaneously, everywhere in the world via the Internet.
The class is one of several dozen offered each week by New York Yoga, a 10-month-old studio on Manhattan's Upper East Side. The center (www.newyorkyoga .com) claims to be the first and only source in the world for live online yoga classes.
Somewhere between 6 million and 18 million Americans practice yoga, according to polling data. Celebrities claim to take classes, and practically every neighborhood fitness center offers them. The 5,000-year-old tradition has, particularly since the early 1990s, become part of American fitness culture. Now, it's accessible to anyone with a computer and high-speed Internet access such as DSL or cable.
"The object with New York Yoga was to take people like Alan Ripka, a typical professional Upper East Sider, and get them to take yoga," said Alan Ripka, a lawyer who conceived the studio with his wife, Shelby Ripka, and partner, Tom Salshutz, about 18 months ago and opened it in February. "No more secrets. No more mysteries. Totally mainstream."
For $5.99--compared with the $20 fee for in-studio classes--students can log on and exercise with their favorite New York Yoga teachers while at work, out of town, in their pajamas or when the baby's asleep. And unlike exercising with a videotape, book or compact disc, the live-action sounds and images guard against the repetition and boredom often associated with working out at home.
"I've never heard of such a thing," said Melanie Posey, an analyst who tracks video and audio streaming trends for IDC, an international technology firm. Most companies that employ the streaming technology--often used to access news clips, university courses and global radio programs--allow users to control the images directly. It is rare to have live action online that the user does not control, she said.
New York Yoga is exploring ways to archive classes so students can play them back whenever they want, Salshutz said.
Even without it, some students are hooked.
"I'm in a city with tons of yoga studios and I've tried a lot of them, but with this you don't have to deal with someone's sweaty feet in your face," said Nina Harrison, a graphic design student in Amherst, Mass., who takes several classes a week. "You don't have to get ready, you don't have to drive. I can just be doing my work and go right to the computer.
"At this point, I prefer it" to a in-studio class, she said.
Yoga practices, as the workouts are called, integrate challenging physical movement--from deep stretching to calisthenics-type programs--with mental goals of increased concentration and emotional clarity. So being in a room crowded with people grunting and heaving through their practice can be alternately inspiring and distracting.
Logging on to the service was easy. After giving my credit card number and e-mail address, I soon saw an on-screen image of the studio, where students were laying out their mats and doing warmups for a Level I/II class with teacher Karen Schwartz.
The camera, mounted high on a wall facing the instructor, shows the students from the back. About a third of the room is pictured. (Those I talked to later at the studio told me they didn't know, or didn't care, that the classes are broadcast worldwide. Some were eager to log on themselves, though they live within a few blocks.)
I found myself chanting in front of my computer--and feeling a little strange.
I occasionally practice yoga at home, either on my own or with audio instruction from a compact disc program. But focusing on the computer screen was initially disorienting. My thin purple yoga mat looked out of place surrounded by the clutter of papers and books at my desk.
A few minutes later, having cleared the space, I lay on my mat and discovered that there were dust balls under my desk. Distractions, distractions.
I soon confronted some of the online program's imperfections: On my 15-inch monitor, the image of the class was about 5 inches by 7 inches, far too small to provide online participants with the details of each pose. More than once, I wished the camera could move a bit to one side or zoom in for a close-up.
Pat Murray, the computer engineer who set up and maintains the Web site, said the studio is working on enlarging the image.
Murray said streaming video and audio are well-suited to yoga: Virtually no other exercise is so slow that it could be effective updating its image just two times per second, compared with 30 times a second on television.
The video was not only a bit jumpy, but also lagged about five seconds behind the sound, which was clear and easy to follow. So I found myself taking the class by "listening, with an occasional glance," as Murray put it. I've practiced yoga for about six years. Because I have memorized many of the names of poses and how to get into and out of them, this was not unlike a normal class for me.
But this raises an issue. The online option may be great for newer students who want to try yoga but don't want to go to a studio. But the lack of detailed images will make it tough for them because many poses are difficult to describe.
For example, in class, Schwartz repeatedly described a subtle upper-body adjustment--opening the shoulders to protect ligaments by pulling down the shoulder blades and rolling out the upper arms.
Huh?
If I had been in class, I could have figured this out by looking at her and other students, and she might have adjusted my shoulders directly. Instead, I winged it.
"There is absolutely nothing that replaces the experience of the class," said Mary Dunn of the Iyengar Yoga Institute of New York and a 25-year veteran of yoga instruction.
Ideally, live classes enhance the "dynamic relationship between teacher and student," she said. "You obviously don't have that with a book or a Web site or a video."
Dunn does not teach at New York Yoga and has never been on the site. If she did online classes, she said, she would be conservative in her teaching and take a general approach.
But online classes at New York Yoga are scarcely altered to accommodate remote yogis, according to the studio's owners and the teachers themselves. Teachers tend to forget the camera is there.
Most yoga poses are tough. Some are downright risky. In one class I took at the studio, the teacher instructed students to come out of a shoulder stand--the signature yoga pose in which the legs are high overhead and the weight rests on the shoulders and neck--by rolling over in a backward somersault. I was concerned I would strain my already stretched neck. I was glad to be in class, where the teacher could lift my legs and help me through it.
Injuries, said Russell Kai Yamaguchi, who taught that Ashtanga class, "are bound to happen."
"They can happen even when you [the teacher] are there, so you can imagine that it's going to happen even when you're not there. Someone's going to try a headstand and fall on a table or something."
Still, minutes into the online class, my limbs were warming, my mind focusing and blocking out distractions. I was doing poses I otherwise would avoid and holding them longer than if I were practicing on my own. Relying on the teacher's pacing was undeniably relaxing--one less thing to think about. In other words, I was getting the normal benefits of practicing under a teacher's direction.
"I just participated in my first class," wrote one student on the site's guest book. "How incredible to have the opportunity to take a class in New York while my baby napped and I stood in my living room in Tulsa, Ok[lahoma]."
Another young yoga enthusiast, contacted online recently, plans to take classes through the site in coming weeks because there are few teachers in his hometown.
He'll be logging on from Estonia.
David Hollander, a New York Yoga teacher, echoed the sentiments of several teachers when he said: "There are folks who think [online classes] commercialize yoga too much. My feeling is that anything that further democratizes this practice and brings it to more people is a wonderful thing."
Erin Texeira is a freelance writer. She can be reached at etexeira @aol.com
JUST DO IT - The web can help you keep your New Years Resolutions
ON Magazine - January/February 2002
This could be the year to renew your health, wealth and well-being. Here's how to make it all happen online.
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2. GET HEALTHY
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.. And maybe this is the year to start stretching with the rest of the yogis....
New York Yoga (www.newyorkyoga.com) takes the idea a step further, offering classes via webcam from its studio. Remote students get special instruction, says general manager Claire Dooley..
NEW YORK YOGA CENTER
Quest Magazine - November 2001
"People needed to find a way to get out of their houses but not to celebrate; we provided them with a spiritual place to do that," says Alan Ripka of New York Yoga. He and his wife, owner Shelby Ripka, offered a much-needed space where people "could do something for themselves while thinking of others," explains Alan. They also gave free yoga and meditation classes for Ground Zero volunteers and led a number of candle-light vigils in honor of those who lost their lives in the tragedy.
"Our business is up dramatically," says Alan. "People have said to our staff that they need this outlet in their lives. We are glad to be able to create a place that offers solace to those in the community."
Boost Your Energy
By Marc Bloom
Runners World - December 2001
Here are 30 simple, effective ways to increase your energy today.
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19. Give yoga a chance.
Consider taking a yoga class, increasingly popular among runners, to loosen tight muscles and "center" your mind. "With its focus on breathing, yoga slows you down, releases tension, and increases energy," says David Hollander, an instructor at New York Yoga Center. "I've worked with many runners who tell me they wish they'd taken up yoga years ago."
Cyberstretch
Elle Magazine - August 2001
All the Right Moves
by Shannon Brady Marin
ON Magazine - October 2001
If you're looking for a yoga class to attend online, make sure to pick one that speaks to you.
The Pink Lady was Doing a sun salutation on a crudely animated beach, a written description of each move displayed above the waves. How am I supposed to follow this? I wondered, straining to read my computer screen while stuck in my best Downward Dog pose. By the time the virtual yogini was pulling out of Cobra, I was in the kitchen nibbling a cookie, thinking the Web would have to do better than this if I was going to practice yoga online. The better sites I finally did find have one important thing in common: during each "session," you hear an instructor's voice, talking you through each pose. While you always get more out of a yoga class you attend in the flesh, these sites are great when you're too busy to go to the studio and want to squeeze in a few Sukhasanas before lunch.
I particularly liked New York Yoga (www.newyorkyoga.com), which webcasts live group sessions from its Manhattan facility to your PC all day long. (The webcams are always on, so if you log on after hours, you see an empty room.) The class schedule covers all levels, from basic Hatha to the more advanced Ashtanga, or power yoga ($5.99 for 90 minutes, or $39.95 a month). But like most webcam pictures, New York Yoga's images are a little dark, and they blur when enlarged; the site looks better if you've got a high-speed DSL or cable-modem connection.
Healthpause (www.healthpause.com) is cheaper but limiting. For $19.95 a year you get a new five-minute "desk yoga" routine every week, available anytime as a streaming-video clip. The neck rolls, shoulder shrugs and back stretches can help you get through those grueling days at the office (though the regular "Inhale" and "Exhale" on the soundtrack is likely to draw curious coworkers to your cubicle).
The best free site is Yoga Without Tree Hugging (www.zenyoga.co.uk) so named because it eschews the customary chanting and meditation. The classes are audio only; you can choose a preset sequence or design your own using drop-down menus listing the Cat, Half Locust and other favorites. Novices are advised to study the site's crib sheet or watch video demos of each pose first.
But beginners are better off studying the fundamentals at the Yoga Site (www.yogasite.com), which offers straightforward descriptions of popular poses illustrated with cute stick-figure drawings. My Daily Yoga (www.rnydailyyoga.corn) has a decent primer on getting started, plus a page of exercises designed to prevent carpal-tunnel syndrome.
Finally, for those who practice power yoga, there's Yogaaahhh (www.gdi.net/~mjm), a site whose models, in their bright colorful garb, look like comic-book superheroes (Wonder Twin power-activate! Shape of ... Garudasana!)
Of course, if you yogacize online, you miss getting personal attention from a professional who can tell you what you're doing wrong and help you fine-tune your technique. So keep going to the studio--and steer clear of the pink lady. Shannon Brady Marin is a freelance writer living in New York City.
Yoga Makes a Housecall
by Alyssa Shaffer
Health Magazine, October 2001
Don't like doing the Downward-Facing Dog in public? Then check out www.newyorkyoga.com's "Live Yoga on the Net," which allows you to participate in any of up to a dozen daily classes, thanks to the wonders of a Web cam. They've got choices for all experience levels, ranging from Gentle Yoga for folks recovering from injuries to Power Yoga for those with energy to spare. There's even a family-friendly class-if your living room's big enough, that is. You can access the site from any computer, and while it costs $40 a month for unlimited use, it's a bargain if you want to avoid showcasing your Sun Salutes at the local studio.
Light on Their Feet
New York Daily News August 20th, 2001
What's coming over our jocks? Philadelphia Eagle Sean Landeta has joined Demi Moore, and Gwyneth Paltrow in studying yoga. The former Giant, now 39, thinks the stretching he's doing at New York Yoga on East 86th Street could extend his NFL career.
Yoga Comes to the Upper East and West Sides
The ancient Indian practice isn't just for downtown hipsters anymore
By Lauren A. Elkies
Reprinted from the April 5th issue of 'Our Town'
Pose. Breathe. Meditate. Chant.
"Asatoma sadgamaya. Tamasoma jyotirgamaya. Mrytyorma amritamgamaya."
Spoken in Sanskrit, the language of ancient India, this mantra chanted at Rasa Yoga translates to: "lead me from the unreal to the real. Lead me from the darkness to light. Lead me from the fear of death to realize my immortality."
Typically set in large, open, unadorned spaces, yoga groups pose in positions called the Locust, the Cobra, or the Warrior Stance. Classes range from Mommy and Me to beginner adult, from gentle yoga to power yoga. Yoga styles range from mild to very strenuous, with names like Iyengar, Kripalu and Kundalini.
An adult class at Rasa Yoga, 246 W. 80th St., includes five to 10 minutes of silent relaxation on mats, a 30-minute warm-up sequence of poses, 40 minutes of traditional poses and a 10-minute seated meditation and chanting. Dressed in comfortable exercise garb, participants range in age from 10 to 80, said Luther Kinney, co-director of Rasa Yoga.
Of yoga students, 82 percent are women and 18 percent are men, according to a survey conducted by Signet Marketing Research in January 1997 and included in press materials prepared by Yoga Journal, a national yoga magazine founded in 1975. The average yogi, a person who practices yoga, is 47 years old. Ninety-two percent of yogis are college educated and 34.1 percent have a graduate degree. The average household income for a yogi is $74,000 and 71 percent own their own home.
Yoga, begun over 5,000 years ago in India, was brought to this country by a swami, or spiritual master, 100 years ago, according to Trisha Lamb Feuerstein, director of research at the national Yoga Research and Education Center.
The practice takes people on an inner journey, said Kathryn Arnold, editor-in-chief of Yoga Journal. She said it is ultimately a spiritual practice. Through a series of poses, the participant quiets his or her mind and, in time, learns to concentrate on what is important to him or her. "It's hard to get New Yorkers to buy into this because they love their thoughts," said Arnold. "People considered it weird for 30 years, but slowly over those years, American teachers evolved and adopted it American-style. They were able to create and market a kind of yoga that appeals to New Yorkers."
Arnold said she left New York in 1990, when there were hardly any yoga centers in Manhattan.
"In 1990, it was almost impossible to find a yoga class." Said Arnold. " Now there are yoga centers in every neighborhood."
Last September, Yoga Journal held the first yoga convention in Manhattan. Although Arnold was expecting only 800 people to attend, 1,700 people registered and others had to be turned away.
What once seemed a mystical practice for Manhattan downtown trendsetters has become an increasingly popular fitness practice all over the city. " I think it worked its way up[town] due to how yoga centers' directors know how to package it and to appeal to mainstream people," said Arnold, who has practiced yoga for 25 years. "Celebrity involvement made people interested." Model Christy Turlington is editor-at-large of Yoga Journal and the reported dedication to yoga of celebs like Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow certainly hasn't hurt its popularity.
Others think yoga is ubiquitous.
David Life, founder and co-director of two Jivamukti Yoga Centers in the city, said yoga is popular all over the world.
"It's hardly a New York phenomenon or a downtown phenomenon," said Life, who was considered a pioneer when he opened his first yoga center downtown 15 years ago. Serving a large uptown population, Life decided it would be savvy to open up another location on the Upper East Side. He opened a second center at 853 Lexington Avenue., between 64th and 65th streets last September.
"The uptown center is growing at a nice rate", said Life. The downtown center serves 500 people a day while the smaller uptown center serves 100.
The yoga market has grown over the years. In 1990, 4 million people in the United States practiced yoga three or more times per month, 6.2 million in 1994, 18.5 million in 1998 and 28 predicted in 2002, according to research compiled by Yoga Journal.
Reasons for practicing yoga vary from stress alleviation to physical exercise to spirituality. Diehard exercisers who thrived on running or aerobics now swear by yoga - gentler on the body, with an added connection to the mind and soul.
"People have gone from doing step aerobics to yoga and Pilates," said Bruce Bell, a partner at Life in Motion, a yoga center at 2726 Broadway. "It's become very mainstream. People who only did five step classes a week [now] do five yoga classes a week."
Signet Market Research found in a January 1997 survey, published in Yoga Journal, that 77 percent of people practice yoga for all-around fitness, 68 percent for stress reduction, 67 percent as a spiritual practice and 48 percent for back care.
Tom Salshutz, one of the owners of New York Yoga, 1629 York Ave., said the benefits of yoga include weight loss, increased blood flow and flexibility. An instructor at New York Yoga and Midtown's Yoga Zone, Jennifer Parmelee, said yoga is a way of life that can affect a person's philosophy, diet and way of interacting with others.
"People interested in change and looking for happiness do yoga," said Life, who has taught yoga for 17 years. "People who don't want to change don't stick with it that long."
Upper East Side resident Sarah Donoghue took up the practice after a trip to Thailand.
"It's the only thing I think that I do that is relaxing - entirely," said Donoghue, marketing manager at Vogue magazine. "I love it."
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