AROUNDlife TOWN TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2009

he competitors stood nervously and encouraging event organizers to hold knew best. “It would be silly for a bunch of For now, Choudhury is focused on on stage, awaiting the judges’ competitions in theaters and cultural centers us who are educated in Bikram to set creating an infrastructure of regional decisions. As each name was rather than Bikram studios. She also noted up a bunch of postures that an Ashtanga contests with uniform rules and judging called the crowd cheered, and that yoga competitions were not conducted in would practice,” he said. “We would need guidelines. At each competition, participants the winner stepped forward hot rooms. their participation.” have three minutes to perform the five Tto claim a prize, bowing his or her head to “I don’t want the Bikram name on it,” she Choudhury said she hoped to get the required postures as well as two other accept a medal. said. “I want something that is accessible to participation of from other schools postures of their choosing, which do not have “Wow, that was a miracle,” said Kyoko everyone.” and was open to tweaking the required to be from the Bikram repertory. Contestants Katsura, the winner in the women’s division of Her husband has a US copyright on a poses in accordance with other styles as the are judged on strength, flexibility, alignment, the New York Regional Yoga Championship. sequence of 26 postures and two breathing competitions evolve. difficulty of the optional poses and overall Kyoko Katsura is cheered as she is named the winner Yoga championship? exercises, and his efforts to use the legal So far her efforts have met with resistance. execution. in the women’s division of the New York Regional Yoga Yoga enthusiasts like to talk about the system to protect his copyright have caused Many yoga teachers do not like to see the “We are not trying to judge any kind of Championship in New York on Oct. 25. Photos: NY Times News Service many benefits of their practice — good health, friction in the yoga community. Some people physical aspect of yoga divorced from the spirituality when they are out there,” Choud- inner peace, killer abs — but seldom do they bristle at the notion that an ancient practice spiritual or turned into a contest. hury said. brag about the thrill of victory. Yoga as a aimed at health and enlightenment can be “It perpetuates the idea that yoga is for The New York Regional championship, competitive sport has been almost unknown governed by copyright and trademark laws. lithe-bodied contortionists,” said Michael which was hosted by yoga studios and two in the US, largely because the practice is seen Choudhury notes that her husband has not Alba, a yoga teacher in Boston. US Yoga Federation members, as a spiritual quest rather than an exclusively copyrighted individual postures, only a very Richard Rosen, director of the Piedmont NYC and Bikram Yoga Lower East Side, was physical exercise like gymnastics. particular sequence, which is not used in the Yoga Studio in Oakland, California, said that held in October on Manhattan’s Upper West But now Rajashree Choudhury and her competitions. the Choudhurys’ Olympic quest was not taken Side, with 34 contestants and Choudhury husband, , who created Although the events sponsored by one seriously outside the Bikram community. as one of three judges. Luke Strandquist, the style of yoga known as Bikram, are trying of Choudhury’s nonprofits, the US Yoga “Most of the people I talk to think it’s very a Bikram instructor in New York City who to build momentum for competitive yoga Federation, are open to practitioners of all silly,” he said. placed third among the men, said he had in the US. Rajashree Choudhury has set up yoga forms, most people who enter practice The Choudhurys are trying to change that I don’t really“ understand no problem with the notion of competitive two nonprofit organizations, the US Yoga the Bikram format, which is the basis of the perception, but acknowledge that it won’t yoga, since the tournaments were limited to Federation and the World Yoga Foundation, five required poses in the competitions. The happen soon. There is only one undesignated how you would compete the physical aspects of yoga — no one was and she has been staging competitions for the perception that Bikram yogis would have an spot open for the 2020 Summer Olympic attempting to rank enlightenment or inner last seven years. This fall and winter, regional advantage over students of other disciplines, Games — the 2016 roster was locked down to be the happiest, most peace. championships are being held in several states, like Ashtanga or , has irked some last month — and in order to be considered, But Strandquist did note a contradiction. and the winners will advance to a national yogis, Philp said. an international yoga organization would have balanced person. “As a teacher, it’s the opposite of what I’m championship in Los Angeles in February. But Jon Gans, a Bikram teacher who is a to be recognized by the International Olympic always telling my students: that you’re here The ultimate goal of the Choudhurys, who director of the US Yoga Federation, said that Committee by 2011, said Christophe Dubi, to practice your yoga, and it doesn’t matter emigrated from India to Los Angeles, is to have the required postures are traditional hatha sports director for the IOC. — Julie Kleinman, vice president of what anyone else is doing,” he said. yoga qualify as an Olympic sport. “It’s far away,” yoga postures, and the extent to which they The IOC requires that a sport applying for programming for YogaWorks, a yoga studio Julie Kleinman, the vice president of Rajashree Choudhury said in an interview. “A reflect the Bikram style is simply a result of Olympic consideration have active federations chain based in Santa Monica, California programming for YogaWorks, a yoga studio lot of work needs to be done before we really organizers setting things up in the format they in 50 countries. Last year, only 15 countries chain based in Santa Monica, California, said get into it, but this is our dream.” were represented at the Sixth Annual she had mixed feelings about competitive One big obstacle may be the yoga International Yoga Championship in yoga. While she said she likes the idea community itself. To many people, the idea Los Angeles, which was run by one of the that Olympic-style events could spread of competition goes against the philosophy Choudhurys’ organizations. awareness of the practice, she is wary of of yoga, which emphasizes self-acceptance anything that encouraged yogis to compare and inner growth. Although yoga does tend themselves with one another. A tournament to attract people who are limber, the physical “seems fairly antithetical to what yoga is all poses, or , are only one aspect of the about,” Kleinman said, adding, “I don’t really practice; others include chanting, meditation understand how you would compete to be and reading Sanskrit. the happiest, most balanced person.” “The initial reaction from most people is Rosen of the Piedmont Studio said that always the same thing: competition yoga? yoga contests could spread the perception Those things don’t belong in the same sen- that people with the most flexible limbs were tence,” said John Philp, a filmmaker in New the best yogis. “Unfortunately, yoga has York who directed a documentary film, Yoga, been conflated with asana, which is a huge Inc, about the commercialization of Western misapprehension,” he said. “If the people who yoga, and wrote a book with the same title. are winning asana competitions are suddenly Also in dispute is the extent to which the being seen as more yogic than others, that’s a Choudhurys could benefit if Bikram yoga really bad comparison to make.” — also known as “hot” yoga, because it is Gans of the US Yoga Federation said he usually practiced in a room heated to 41° understood that point of view but added Celsius — were to become the accepted that the best way to teach people about standard for competition yoga, which already the many facets of yoga was to get them takes place in India and more than a dozen into the studio, something he thought other countries. championships could do. Choudhury says that promoting Bikram “When I was a kid, I played tennis, and yoga is not her intention. She said she whenever I watched players on Wimbledon had made a determined effort to keep the I’d want to get out there and play like them,” brand separate from the competition — for Gans said. “It inspired me. I’m hoping the example, by forming the two nonprofits same kind of things will happen here.”

For yogis, the competition heats up

Competitive yoga is becoming increasingly popular in the US, where there is a budding movement to make it an Olympic sport

By SARA ECKEL NY Times News Service, New York