Yoga Fans Sexual Flames and, Predictably, Plenty of Scandal

[bananas]

William J. Broad is the author of “The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards,” published this month by Simon & Schuster.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/28/health/nutrition/yoga-fans-sexual-flames-and-predictably-plenty-of-scandal.html

Yoga and Sex Scandals: No Surprise Here
By WILLIAM J. BROAD
Published: February 27, 2012

The wholesome image of yoga took a hit in the past few weeks as a rising star of the discipline came tumbling back to earth. After accusations of sexual impropriety with female students, John Friend, the founder of Anusara, one of the world’s fastest-growing styles, told followers that he was stepping down for an indefinite period of “self-reflection, therapy and personal retreat.”

<snip>

But this is hardly the first time that yoga’s enlightened facade has been cracked by sexual scandal. Why does yoga produce so many philanderers? And why do the resulting uproars leave so many people shocked and distraught?

One factor is ignorance. Yoga teachers and how-to books seldom mention that the discipline began as a sex cult — an omission that leaves many practitioners open to libidinal surprise.

<science>

Science has begun to clarify the inner mechanisms. In Russia and India, scientists have measured sharp rises in testosterone — a main hormone of sexual arousal in both men and women. Czech scientists working with electroencephalographs have shown how poses can result in bursts of brainwaves indistinguishable from those of lovers. More recently, scientists at the University of British Columbia have documented how fast breathing — done in many yoga classes — can increase blood flow through the genitals. The effect was found to be strong enough to promote sexual arousal not only in healthy individuals but among those with diminished libidos.

In India, recent clinical studies have shown that men and women who take up yoga report wide improvements in their sex lives, including enhanced feelings of pleasure and satisfaction as well as emotional closeness with partners.

<snip>

[xchrom]

1. i should stop looking for loose people in bars and go to yoga classes. nt

[libodem]

2. Downward dog

Always looked nasty.

[Ian David]

3. I just wanna learn to bend enough to blow myself. n/t

[Common Sense Party]

4. Anusara?

Maybe the name should have been the first clue.

[msongs]

5. now if yoga could only get dates lol nt

[Warpy]

6. And how many starlets have had kids by their personal trainers?

Nobody's talking about the sexual dangers inherent in working out.

It's only because Yoga has a foreign sounding name that church ladies of both sexes get their panties in a wad over it.

[bananas]

9. Yeah, it happens with teachers in all fields.

Whether or not physical exercise is involved.

[bananas]

10. Please join my Tantric yoga sex cult, By Mark Morford

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002363009

Please join my Tantric yoga sex cult, By Mark Morford

snip

Wait, William Broad? Wasn't he the one who wrote that
rather obnoxious Times piece back in January titled "How
Yoga Can Wreck Your Body," which was an excerpt from his
new book "The Science of Yoga" and which nearly every
yoga teacher I know thought was irresponsible and lame
and rather horribly framed? Why yes, that's the guy. He's a
science writer, remember. So, you know, caveat emptor. ...

(Full URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/02/29/notes022912.DTL&nl=fix )

[jakeXT]

8. "He cheated on his girlfriends repeatedly"

Last edited Wed Feb 29, 2012, 01:17 PM - Edit history (1)

Ah well, there will always be a new form of yoga


http://m.celebuzz.com/s.p?m=b&sId=157

[deutsey]

11. "...many have discovered from personal experience that the practice can fan the sexual flames."

"Pelvic regions can feel more sensitive and orgasms more intense."


"We are not amused."

[jakeXT]

12. She got a bad reputation

Queen Victoria's passion for nudity goes on display in new art exhibition


A new exhibition is set to challenge the prudish image of Queen Victoria by revealing she had a surprisingly keen interest in the naked body.

She is portrayed as a repressed and melancholy widow who spent much of her life clad in black.

But a new art exhibition will challenge this traditional view of Queen Victoria by revealing her as a passionate, open-minded woman.

Victoria & Albert: Art & Love is the first-ever show to focus on the enthusiasm for art shared by Britain's longest-reigning monarch and her husband, Prince Albert.

...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-news/7228202/Queen-Victorias-passion-for-nudity-goes-on-display-in-new-art-exhibition.html

[deutsey]

13. Hmm. Interesting. Thanks!

[napoleon_in_rags]

14. Hinduism is a "sex cult"?

Last edited Sat Mar 3, 2012, 02:39 AM - Edit history (1)

I'm reading that part about the discipline being started as a "sex cult" over and over. Surely the author isn't talking about yoga (union) an integral part of hinduism going back to ancient times...
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga
Limbaugh fever must be spreading. Now even the Buddha was a sex fiend.