We've started curating content over at Scoop.it, so we can share what we think is the best yoga content on the Web. Check out our Yoga Scoop.it page

And if you have suggestions for content for us to Scoop, please feel free to let us know.

Boycott Lululemon – A Call to Yogis by Maya Devi Georg

Posted on November 4, 2013

Maya Devi Georg writes an impassioned piece against Lululemon (one of the big corporate yoga fashion retailers), and really, against the commercialization, corporatization, and bastardization of yoga.

I became a yoga teacher because I personally experienced it as a life-saving practice. Since I began seriously studying yoga in the early 90s, yoga has grown hugely in the west. On the one hand, the popularity of yoga is wonderful, since more people than ever before may benefit from yoga – on the other hand, it’s been frustrating to see and know that what many people experience as yoga is some watered-down, bubble gum pop version of a sacred path.

This is Maya’s article . . .

BOYCOTT LULULEMON

What is Yoga? What does it mean to you? Is it just exercise? Or is it an uplifting experience?

What does it mean to you?

Personally, I feel that yoga is a transformational practice. It has the power to transform us as individuals, and it helps give us the power to transform the world. This transformation comes through action. We have to get on our mat to transform our body. We have to sit on our meditation cushions to transform our minds. And, in order to transform the world, we must act, not as individuals, but as a united voice and force.

We are living in an age where corporations have the most powerful voices. They have the means to advertise and influence through our media (print and online), through our conferences, and through the leaders in our communities.

These corporate entities do not particularly care for yoga as a practice, but as a marketing tool that generates $27 Billion annually. To these businesses, yoga only transforms their bank accounts.

Lululemon has become a recognized brand associated with yoga. This is unfortunate because of the many business practices they participate in are completely antithetical to yoga.

• Lululemon was intended to be a chain of retail stores in Asia. Chip Wilson (Lululemon’s founder) chose the name because of the three L’s in the name. According to Wilson “It’s funny to watch them try and say it.” This is blatant racism.
• The Lululemon empire is also known for promoting the work of Ayn Rand – an author that created an ethical philosophy known as ‘rational egoism’ or ‘rational selfishness’. This philosophy puts self-interest above morality, ethics, and altruism. It is also an ideology espoused by fascists and the far-right wing. This philosophy has also been adopted by the tea-party. Phrases taken from this literature are found on Lululemon shopping bags, and employees are encouraged to read these books. The Lululemon vision is “to elevate the world from mediocrity to greatness.” The underlying message is that you are mediocre.
• Lululemon is also known to discriminate against bigger sizes, never stocking shelves with sizes larger than an 8, and only producing sizes up to 12 (size 14 is the national average).
• Chip Wilson publicly made statements supporting child labor. He rationalized this by explaining that this would provide children with much needed income. The Lululemon response to the collective outrage of this stance was an ad with adults dressed as infants in an office. Many considered this outright mocking of child labor laws.
• Lululemon claims to not use sweat shop labor, but, as of June 2013, many of the factories they employ have been engaged in labor disputes ranging from unfair pay, to safety issues. They recently increased the number of people they use to oversee factories. But not to ensure a living wage or safe work environment. Theses supervisors are there to maintain quality control of their product. They are there to make sure another ‘see-through pants scandal’ does to emerge. And yet, more complaints have just come forward regarding the quality of their product.
• In October of 2013  they released a shopping bag with the word Brahmacharya printed upon it. The word itself was made up of junk food, cigarettes, alcohol, and illegal drugs. The company claims it was an attempt to illustrate moderation. (Because, heroin is ok in moderation?) Lululemon was way off on both the message and the meaning of Brahmacharya.
• Also in October of 2013 a store in Dallas, TX openly mocked a Domestic Abuse charity, during Domestic Violence Awareness month. Even though their customers are primarily women, Even though every 9 seconds a women is battered. Even though one in three women across the globe experiences domestic violence.

These are just a few examples of the corporate mindset at Lululemon.

The message I get from Lululemon in its advertisements and by its policy is one of mockery. I feel that Lululemon mocks yoga and yoga practitioners. These messages exploit our insecurities, and simply tell us that we are mediocre, we are not enough.

I asked my friends that frequently shopped at Lululemon and asked how they felt about these scandals, and only one answered.

“They support my butt, so I support them.”

Simply put, a combination of vanity and shallow ideals masquerading as spirituality are what help keep Lululemon in business.

We must ask ourselves: Are these the qualities one would ascribe to a company providing items for yoga practitioners?

For those of us familiar with yoga philosophy, we understand that yama and niyama are more than mere suggestions. We practice Ahimsa (non-violence) because according to the laws of karma, if we participate in violence we will be subjected to violence. If we shop and support a company that participates in unethical practices, we too are participating as well. And therefore, are subject to the karma of those actions.

I understand that many of you may have shopped at Lululemon.

You might like the clothing, the fit, or fabric. I also understand that many of you were unaware of these egregious actions. Let’s not judge others for shopping Lululemon in the past.

But now that you know, how do you proceed?

When do we say, “Enough is enough!” What is it going to take to make us choose morality over vanity? Making fun of breast cancer? Mocking disability?

I believe that too many are afraid of looking ‘unyogic’ by taking a stand, and so they remain neutral and choose to not act. But, karma yoga, as is described in the Bhagavad Gita, is about activism:

“Freedom from activity is never achieved by abstaining from action. Nobody can become perfect by merely ceasing to act.” We must act to change their practices. Because, even by ignoring this company, we set a new standard for what we, as Yogis and as consumers, will tolerate.

It is very clear that the only thing they value is money. And the only way to influence them is by hurting their bottom line. This leaves us with only one recourse:

BOYCOTT LULULEMON.

• Until they bring their production back to North America where labor laws will ensure employees are paid a fair wage, and children are not employed;

• Until they cease creating shock advertising (no more pole dancers, adults in diapers, drugs, or camel toe);

• Until they stop promoting political ideologies;

• Until they Start producing larger sizes, and stocking their shelves with those sizes;

• Until they train sales associates to be friendly and welcoming to every person entering their stores; and,

• Until they apologize publicly for their previous behavior.

Sadly, boycotts have repeatedly been called against Lululemon since 2011. Therefore, we must engage in sanctions against Lululemon.

Just like Apartheid in South Africa ended after extreme sanctions and boycotts; these boycotts were not just of South African products, but also of any businesses associated or working with or within South Africa. While apartheid was an awful example of racism and segregation, Lululemon is promoting racist ideals and the political ideologies that support such actions. If we believe in equality, compassion, and the practice we need to engage in the same sanctions.

It is not enough to simply boycott the Lululemon stores. We must boycott magazines that carry their ads. We must boycott the conferences they sponsor.

Teachers that offer free classes and act as ‘brand ambassadors’ should think about what they are supporting and step down. And if those teachers choose free pants over yoga in action, we must even boycott those teachers and their classes. And we must do this until Lululemon begins acting in an ethical manner. And if they refuse, we must continue to boycott all business and individuals that support Lululemon until those magazines stop carrying their ads and those teachers stop teaching in their stores.

“Every dollar you spend . . . or don’t spend . . . is a vote you cast for the world you want.”― L.N. Smith

We are far more powerful than we can begin to imagine. We CAN change the world, and we can start by changing the behavior and actions of this large corporate entity. Let the change start here and now.

* * * * * * * * * *

The Beauty and the Beast /Confession of a yoga teacher

 This morning as I finished my shower and begin to apply lotion on my body I looked at myself naked in a full length mirror and an overwhelming emotion hit me. I realized that for years and years, actually all my life, I have fallen into this trap like millions of women of judging my image and feeling bad about myself.  I stood front of the mirror and took a picture of my body for the first time ever. I found myself vulnerable and felt this strange compassion towards myself. 

I spent my whole life trying to fit into the “skinny and fit” image.  I am no different from any other women who spends their life trying to fit a certain body image in order to feel sexy and wanted. The constant pressure of staying fit and young, the false need to compete with younger, skinnier girls just finally came to an end.  I begin to cry very intensely and felt resentment, sadness and guilt for all the years of beating myself up and for being judgmental of other people because of my poor self esteem….

Yes. I have always managed to stay in shape and “watch what I eat” but inside I have struggled immensely. This is not an easy confession, considering that I come across super confident and self assured most of the time. This morning I knew that I have to change my whole outlook on this subject and realized that I have been living sort of a lie.  I have a 19 year old daughter and the idea of her having to live with these social pressures just terrifies me and feel an urgency to change the way I think.  I wish we as women would  STOP competing for men’s approval! We end up not liking each other as women and as a result we end up feeling threatened by each other.

As cliché as it sounds, you are beautiful just the way you are !  I mean it! This is such an old story, I know that I am not talking about anything groundbreaking, this is just a very personal experience that’s now fully blown surfaced.

We look at the images of skinny supermodels, strippers, and even porn stars and compare ourselves to them on this very superficial level. We feel less, we feel ugly and fat. We dislike ourselves. We do not realize that on a spiritual level, on the pure soul level how damaging this can be. We ignore our true inner beauty, we forget to smile and see how beautiful the shine in our eyes can be. 

Even in the yoga industry which is extremely commercialized these days, one can feel insecure and out of place. If you look around we as yoga teachers, mostly female yoga teachers are obsessed with our image on a very materialistic and superficial way. I myself have fallen into that, and concerned what would my students think of me, would they question my credibility as a teacher if I was overweight. These are such unrealistic (yet not unfounded) but true concerns for a lot of women. I am sure we all heard things like this: Wow you look great, you look skinny!  I could go on and on about this for days, but I just wanted to share this pretty strong personal experience that hit me out of nowhere this morning. 

I want to change how I think, I want to be more compassionate and understanding towards people who struggle about their image, and I want this realization to stay with me forever.  And for all the men out there, remind your ladies how beautiful they are and how much you love them just the way they are! 

Trust me, there is no better reward then when you make someone shine! 

Namaste!

Gizella

Yoga For Urbanites: Desk Chair Rx

By Barbie Levasseur

Sitting in a desk chair all day can leave the low back feeling sore and tight. Stretching out the low back muscles feels amazing in the short term, but it may actually be counterproductive in the long run. Think about how your posture gets after sitting in a desk chair all day; many of us begin to slouch forward and round into the low back. This happens because the low back and other core muscles are weak and get tired of holding us upright. Instead of muscle strength holding us up in this position, the muscles and connective tissue of the spine stretch until they are taut enough to support us. Or course, this puts strain on the structures of the low back. Now, think about how you stretch the low back muscles in a yoga class: you round the spine (think cat pose)--this is what you've already been doing all day. Most likely, your low back muscles are already overstretched, and what they need most of all is strengthening. Dancing cat is a great way to strengthen the low back muscles and teach them how to move the spine from a rounded to an extend position.

To compound low back soreness, tight hip muscles can make it hard to break posture habits that put excessive strain on the low back. Tight hamstrings (muscles in the back of the thighs) encourage us to round the spine when we sit, and tight hip flexors (muslces in the front of the hips) encourage us to over-arch the low back when we stand. Some of the hip muscles attach directly into the spine, so, needless to say, if they're tight, they affect your low back health. It is important to stretch tight muscles around the hips to prevent and address low back pain.

Some yoga classes use only on traditional sequences that fail to target muscular imbalances that arise from the modern lifestyle. In Yoga For Urbanites: Desk Chair Rx (This Saturday, June 2, 1:30-3:30pm at Yoga Mayu), we will address this problem head on. We will spend time limbering and lengthening tight muscles in the hips and thighs. We will move through poses that provide relief for the low back and build awareness and strength in the core to promote healthy seated posture. This workshop will also include office-friendly poses that you can take to work with you to sustain these benefits! All levels are absolutely welcome.

yoga mayu's Teacher Training is Back This Fall!

yoga mayu Teacher Training grads!

There are a lot of reason you might want to apply to yoga mayu's 200-Hour Yoga Alliance Certified Teacher Training Program. Maybe you want to develop a sustainable personal yoga practice. Maybe you want to deepen your study of the history of yoga or develop your skills with experienced and down-to-earth teachers. Maybe you want to stay right here in San Francisco to do all those things. But if you are looking for a practical and engaging teacher training that will give you the real knowledge you need to teach and if you are you ready to transform your body and your mind, yoga mayu’s 200-Hour Yoga Alliance Certified Teacher Training Program is exactly what you are looking for.

Starting August 31 and running Friday through Sunday until December 16 (with a week-long break in November), this program is about giving you the practical tools you need to teach yoga to students of all backgrounds and skill levels. According to Gizella Donald, studio director and founder of yoga mayu, the goal of this training is to “empower students to be their own teachers, learning from their own experiences and struggles and growth.”

How will this training be different than others you might be considering? At yoga mayu, you can expect personal attention, a lot of physical asana practice and more than anything, a profound change in your body and how you see the world. As a student, you will be partnered with one of the teacher training instructors, who will teach and mentor you during the training. You will spend a total of 11 hours per week training plus 3 hours per week participating in class observation and practice. And you will come away from this training as a progressive yoga teacher with extensive knowledge and skills that will distinguish you as an accomplished instructor among the many teachers entering this growing profession.

It won’t be easy but it will be an amazing journey. Interested? Apply now!

Yesterday afternoon, a group of yoga mayu teachers and students got together for a short film shoot for Yelp. Want to see how it went? Check out pictures of the fun over on our Facebook page! And stay tuned for the actual video!

Jody's Quote of the Week

"Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain but it takes character and self control to be understanding and forgiving." Dale Carnegie

Criticizing, condemning and complaining are easy. Just stayin' in the muck of the negative, not trying to find a solution is the status quo. Rise above that--find solutions. Try to understand people and why they do what they do and then you may have more sympathy or empathy. Maybe then you can at least relate and possibly forgive.