Reaching Dreams, One Yogi at a Time

7th International Yoga Asana Championship Bishnu Ghosh Yoga Cup Winners

Leaving Los Angeles, headed back to Dallas. What a wonderful, inspirational weekend full of amazing yogis. I feel so blessed to be able to be a part of such a great group of people. I learn more everyday through yoga how to improve myself in my mind and body. It is a beautiful thing to find something so simple, yoga, that helps uncover my inner strength, determination and tenacity. I may never make it to the stage of the International Yoga Championships as a Yoga Champion but seeing the Champions and hearing their stories inspires me to be a champion in my own life.

I am so proud of all the competitors, they all did a wonderful job. I have a small glimpse of the stress and nervousness that accompanies competitions like this from my own experience as a yogi competitor in the Texas Regional Championships and have great admiration for anyone that gets up and performs yoga in front of hundreds of people. It is a nerve racking experience and you never know what your body will do on stage. A pose or routine done perfectly 100 times can become a persons greatest challenge on the stage. But when you nail it and give it your 100% effort, it is wonderful, regardless of the scores.

So CONGRATULATIONS to all the Competitors and the Winners of the International Yoga Asana Championships

From 2010 International Yoga Asana Bishnu Ghosh Yoga Cup Championships

Men's International Winners
First Place: Kasper Van Den Wijnaard (Netherlands)
Second Place: Joseph Encinia (USA)
Third Place: Bel Carpenter (USA)

From 2010 International Yoga Asana Bishnu Ghosh Yoga Cup Championships

Women's International Winners
First Place: BrandyWinfield (USA)
Second Place: Chaukei Stefanie Ngai (China)
Third Place: Gloria Suen (Singapore)

Young Men's International Winners
First Place: Griffin Peddicord (USA - Maryland)
Second Place: Kehonu Sturm (USA - Nevada)
Third Place: Satyajeet Salvi (USA - Illinois)

Young Women's International Winners
First Place: Mei Ling Lu (Singapore)
Second Place: Stacey Boulaev (USA - California)
Third Place: Katherine Marshall-Kramer (USA - Kansas)


Here are the photos I took of the event
USA  Yoga Championships
International Semi Finals
International Yoga Asana Bishnu Ghosh Yoga Cup Championships

Bikram Choudhury Gave an Inspirational and Comedic Lecture in Dallas, Tx

I saw Bikram Choudhury on Saturday in Dallas, Texas. Such an interesting man! There were over 400 people there, teachers, yogi's, fans, curious guests and everything inbetween! Bikram came out in a white Italian silk suit with a white fedora hat, which he didn't take off but for a second. He had some simple yet profound things to say, silly things to say and extremely important things to say. I am sure I missed some, his accent was hard to understand at some points, even so, he was amazing to go and I am so honored to have been able to meet him!

One of the early and most resonnating things Bikram said was "the most important thing in your life is what?" and everyone just sat there. Some said life, some said kids....Bikram says YOU. You are the most important thing in your life. This not meant to be self centered or pompus, rather, a statement that means you need to take care of you before you can be there for anyone else. Bikram is most important to Bikram, he takes care of himself so he can help others. If he didn't take care of himself or care about himself, he would not be able to help millions of other heal themselves.This might not be the way others would express the point of taking care of you to be around for others but regardless of how you say it, the goal is the same and I need to remind myself of this every day.

And of course there was lots of talk of the healing aspects of Bikram yoga, that we suffer for 90 minutes in the heat to feel wonderful and have a new body afterwards. It is so true. Every class is hard, every class is a challenge and yet, we all do it, and we all love it. It is the torture we do to ourselves that cleanses us and makes us new again. Bikram referenced a toilet and why people use toilets. It was so funny. He squatted down in Awkward pose, which does look vaguely like someone hovering over a toilet, and said Bikram yoga was like a toilet for the body. You take in crap all day and you sweat it out in 90 minutes to be pure and clean again. So funny and yet so true.

If Bikram is ever near you, I recommend going and seeing him, even if you do not practice Bikram yoga. He will entertain you and perhaps give you some insight into why thousands of people flock to Bikram yoga and why it is considered one of the hottest fitness regimes.

Alisa Mathews, Bishnu Charan Ghosh Cup 2008 Champion was there and demonstrated some of her amazing postures.