Hey hey it’s September! It’s Yoga Month! Joy! Elation! Sorry, just trying extra hard here, we know a lot of folks are going back to school, returning from vaca etc. Got to keep the spirits up!
The team at Yoga Month HQ this year are bringing the big guns, the TITANS to be exact, to ramp up awareness. Who are these TITANS of Yoga you say? Well they’re big enough to be kept in caps we hope.
DR. DEAN ORNISH, LILIAS FOLAN, KIM ENG, BRYAN KEST, ANA FORREST, SEANE CORN, GURMUKH KHALSA, SHIVA REA, DAVID LIFE, SHARON GANNON, GARY KRAFTSOW, DAVID SWENSON, VINNIE MARINO, SARA IVANHOE, LISA WALFORD, LARRY PAYNE, JOHN FRIEND, BETH SHAW, RAJASHREE CHOUDHURY, DHARMA MITTRA, SWAMI KRIYANANDA, DEVA PREMAL & MITEN, SAUL DAVID RAYE , KRISHNA KAUR
Hm, they seem to be missing a few. Bikram isn’t a TITAN? Oh dear. Rajashree represent. We could continue brow beating, but this DVD is actually for a good cause and will support Yoga-Recess, an organization promoting yoga for kids in school. But, we do have to add, just like Tara Stiles and her ‘Slim, Calm, Sexy’ garishly infomercial looking marketing campaign, they might’ve benefited from a slightly different approach here. Titans? And you could ‘Win a Personal Meeting’ one! Ok, we’re done.
In any case, we hope you’re able to take advantage of that which is Yoga Month – a whole month of yoga awareness! We hope. Is anything going on in your neck of the yoga mat?
If you’re in LA, they’re holding a schmancy premiere of the TITANS DVD tonight Sept. 1, 7.30 PST at Aero Santa Monica. You might even be lucky enough to stay for the Q&A with yoga’s Swami Kriyananda, Shiva Rea, Vinnie Marino, Sara Ivanhoe, Larry Payne and others! (Or if you pay for the $20 VIP ticket)
For the folks at home, it looks like they’ll be simultaneously screening the film online at ustream.
—–
Earlier…
Cool a whole month devoted to celebrating Yoga!! Woo Hoo!
Thanks for letting me know about the ustream today of Yoga Titans. I was jealous of all those yogis in LA that were getting to go to the premiere.
Please keep us posted about other Yoga Month festivities!
Ummmm… speaking of potential TITANS. I guess Mr. Iyengar is just chopped livah? Just sayin…
Watching the trailer a few weeks ago, I was struck by the cut & paste short attention span splicing of calm gentle humble yogis into contentless sound bites. Out of context and almost satirical. The promoter who put this together has allowed more space, time and continuity of presence in the movie itself. Calling them Titans though is not a good sign–Incredible Hulks would be funny, a science fiction ref like Yodas might be funny, but Greek Gods in 2010—that’s just tone deaf!
The whole TITANS thing has been cracking me up every time I see it. Reserving judgment until I actually see the film. Happy yoga month!
Anyone able to watch the live stream?
Nope – says it is offline. If anyone figures it out – let Tony and I know.
No updates on Twitter, Facebook, or their website. Technical difficulties arise, but I’m kinda bummed by the lack of communication.
yep, sorry don’t have any updates on the screening myself. will report anything that pops up on the radar.
Can’t wait to hear your review of the whole thing! (And couldn’t help but notice the music in the trailer is middle eastern, seemingly lifted from my belly dance class, not my yoga one…)
I didn’t watch the trailer, but I’m sorry its too much commercilzation. Im all for the spreading of yoga etc– but this is too much. Those are great teachers but the TITANS of yoga in my humble opinion are Iyengar, Bikram, Pattabhi Jois, Swani Satchindanda.
Yes Melisse, the music, like the concept of ‘Titans,” seems to deny the Indian & Hindu cultural origins of yoga while still styling it as mythological/exotic in the least threatening way. I know that some of the teachers included spoke after the Aero Santa Monica screening and am hoping that will be posted. Steve Ross says just being in the presence of a guru(a word this promoter clearly didn’t want to go near) is like plugging into a light socket, and I know initiates of Dharma Mittra teach that wearing mala beads while practicing with a devoted teacher & class brings benefits. 🙂 But since the movie is only images and words, I hope it allows enough of them to each teacher to benefit the viewers.
Sat Nam & Namaste,
I attended the premiere in Santa Monica, and loved it! The title is cheesy, and this is certainly not a definitive group of the Top 25 Yoga Teachers. That being said, the interviews and stories told in the film were authentic. There were laughs, sighs, and very touching moments.
The Q&A after the movie was enlightening. The Producer and about 10 of the “Titans” were there. The Producer explained that this was a low budget film, filmed over a two month time-frame. Also, that there were so many more “Titans” that could have been included, and that it was very hard to pick.
My thoughts on the choice of the 25 include (1) we do not know who said “No”, or who was unavailable. Those in the film had to volunteer their time to be filmed. (2) It really was a diverse and interesting group, and I appreciated the various styles and personalities represented.
I thoroughly enjoyed the film, and have been thinking about it ever since. Good enough to buy the DVD and be inspired over and over again!
Blessings, Adarsh Kaur
Thanks so much Ardash. I was hoping the teachings would come through to those who were not already immersed in practice and/or lucky enough to have studied with these Servants of Yoga 🙂
Btw, according to my dictionary, the Titans were the gods before the Olympians:)
They overthrew Uranus & were eventually defeated by Cronus’s son Zeus.
I usually rip this kind of stuff to shreads, but at least David Life said “yoga is not for everyone” . So refreshing & honest. Titans…I just snicker. I’ll check out the whole video later.
As the producer and director of TITANS OF YOGA I would like to comment on this article and reader’s feedback.
The simple idea for TITANS OF YOGA was to interview and tap into the wisdom of the top modern masters of yoga, meditation and mindfulness and create a documentary/movie to educate and inspires. It is so easy to judge or rip apart another person’s or group’s project. But as yogis we strive to go beyond our limitations and judgment, become more of a watcher of our own mind and tap into the consciousness of unity.
All I can say from our perspective is this: TITANS OF YOGA is solely intended to educate about the many benefits of yoga, interlace it with powerful personal stories of amazing yoga teachers (their personal challenges with depression, AIDS, suicide, health issues, drugs, addiction, etc.) and inspire hopefully millions to practice yoga, live a more conscious and healthy lifestyle. This was and is our only intention with this movie (and National Yoga Month). Yes, many teachers could not be interviewed, did not have the time or could not be reached, etc. But it is not really about these TITANS, but about the message of the movie (like Saul, Shiva, Vinnie and all other TITANS said many times, they don’t consider themselves as TITANS…. and … everyone is a TITAN anyway (someone with the potential for greatness, high reputation and achievements)… It is my deep belief that we need many more inspirational, conscious movies in this time of intense transformation.
Please watch the movie and see for yourself. Consider that the 25 TITANS OF YOGA have a combined experience of 700 years… how amazing is this!!! And you will feel the wisdom, passion and deep desire of these amazing teachers come through in the movie. I can only thank all TITANS featured in the movie for volunteering their time for filming… and for being such inspirational examples for all of us.
Namaste,
Johannes R. Fisslinger
director/producer TITANS OF YOGA
co-founder National Yoga Month