Monday, September 22, 2003


friends of bccy

it was pretty cool to read this article and realize that it's all about friends of bccy!

spencer of dunkin donuts is the guy who made the fair-trade espresso decision, i understand, while our awesome pal dom chieco of liemco is apparently supplying the ambiente machines.

i asked spencer on thursday nite if we could do an scaa consumer event promoting his fair-trade espresso, but he declined, saying that he was doing fair-trade not for marketing benefits, but because the management (him) truly believed it was the moral thing to do.

of course, this product will never rival the artisanal, handmade espresso with latte art as served by people like ken nye of higher grounds here in nyc. but we have to start educating people somewhere. . .

and here's an interesting story about the evolution of american yoga, mentioned by another great bccy friend, marshall fuss.

the article asks: "can you really be called a yoga teacher after a weekend certification course?" and i reiterate: no!

no matter whether you are teaching spiritual or so-called fitness yoga, a weekend isn't enough training to teach poses safely. yoga has to be modified for every body type; a yoga teacher has to be able to look at a student and know what to recommend when the student tells her that he's had knee surgery in the last 18 months.

practiced with care and awareness, with a series of poses appropriate to the student's level and body type, yoga is safe, health-boosting, and stress-reducing. practiced poorly, even the simplest down-dog is an accident waiting to injure the student. . .students beware!

it is your responsibility as a yoga student to seek out and find qualified yoga teachers! at minimum, this means you should be looking for graduates of a yoga-alliance-type 200-, 500- or better yet, 700-hour program.

there are of course uncertified teachers that you can trust -- people who've lived in india with the masters like jois and desikachar and who have been teaching since the 60s and 70s.

we all know their names because they're the ones on the cover of yoga journal. otherwise, a certified teacher is probably your best bet. . .

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