The Yoga Lounge

Farewell for Now, We’ll Be Back Someday

January 1, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Alack, alas! To everyone out there who may have been watching, let us be the first to admit and apologize: we have been feckless bloggers. While the venture began with the best of intentions, life got in the way: here at the magazine, our staff has shrunk and our workload hasn’t—a combination that’s meant only bad news for the blog.

So please forgive us for withdrawing our opening bid in the blogosphere. We may be back someday soon—as staff and time permit—to follow up with all the content and insight we hoped to bring you from day one.

Stay tuned—wishing you all the best,
The Editors

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Water on the Moon Changes Scientists’ Tune

November 13, 2009 · Leave a Comment

The lunar surface. On the right, water-rich mineral soil shown in blue.

Here’s an awe-striking item to start your weekend: this morning, the New York Times reported that NASA found water on the moon, at least 24 gallons at their test site—that’s about half the amount of H2O a bathtub will hold. And it’s not just ice packed far below the surface; scientists have determined that regolith—the upper layer of moon soil—has a small percentage of water laced throughout that forms and evaporates on a (lunar) daily basis.

“The accepted wisdom has been that the moon is and has always been bone dry,” said planetary scientist Michael Weiss, an associate professor at MIT, so this discovery was “enormously surprising and exciting.”

New knowledge for rocket scientists just goes to show: even the surest, most accepted conventions—about phenomena out past the atmosphere or in your own practice—can dissolve in fantastic new findings upon closer look.

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Lotus Vibrations Make for Natural Waterproofing

November 4, 2009 · Leave a Comment

The lotus—with its tenuous, spindly stems; broad, waxen leaves; and provocative, curling petals—has held a prominent spot in mythological imagery for thousands of years. Among other things, an iconic hatha yoga pose borrows its name; the flower’s shape visually represents the seven major chakras; and even the Greeks gave the plant a nod when Odysseus’ crew narrowly escapes an eternity of syrupy contentment on the Lotus-Eaters’ island.

Now let’s add a modern scientific finding that salutes the lotus: it vibrates. Researchers at Duke University found that part of the lotus leaf’s secret to staying dry despite dewey conditions lies in its ability to use vibrations present in its natural environment. The surface of the leaf literally bounces water droplets off as it oscillates on the stem—check out the video at the New York Times.

We’re no experts in botanical mythology—if you are, please enlighten us further!—but the delicate genius of this adaptation seemed simply sublime.

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New Kids on the Blog

November 3, 2009 · 6 Comments

Well hello! And welcome to The Yoga Lounge—the budding little blog compiled by the editors of Yoga+ magazine.

Here in Honesdale, PA, we feel it’s only fair to admit we’ve been struggling: thinking, rethinking, writing, rewriting, ruminating, and reflecting on how best to carve out a corner in cybserspace for the community we serve—clear-headed and warm-hearted yoga practitioners and teachers; pragmatic and perceptive environmental and social activists; natural wellness mavens and closet philosophers—a beautiful hodgepodge of green thinkers and inspired doers. How do we serve a readership that humbles us so? And how do we do it in 2009 online and in the blogosphere?

We wanted to start something fresh, useful, joyful, informative, and informal. In our fervor, we wrote “About Us” sections and style guides, held brainstorming sessions and made grand plans on big calendars. We thought up names for the blog—even published a notice in our winter issue calling it YogaThreads, after the first section of the magazine—but it didn’t stick; the name had no space for conversation.

Organic Butternut Squash in HI Greenhouse

In the greenhouse: Butternut squash we've been enjoying from HI's organic garden (at the Institute's HQ where we live and work).

And then we realized: just like the ochre-skinned butternut squash coming in from our garden for lunch lately, blogs are—surprise!—organic. They are built by communities of committed readers and writers; they develop a voice and a style and a purpose because they grow into the lives of people, not because they have regimented posting schedules and reporterly timelines. Even e-community takes time to cultivate.

So we’re taking a page from a very old book, one whose threads weave through everything we do, and surrendering ourselves to cyberspace (vairagya) while committing to the practice of blogging (abhyasa). In our tenderfooted beginnings, a few posts at a time, we’re hoping to bring news aggregation and analysis, practical pieces, advice on green living, inspiration and more.

We hope you’ll join the conversation; we’re eager to watch it grow.

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