-- New York City is considering putting a sales tax on yoga classes. Fair or not, what say you, reader?

Yoga studios in New York City have largely operated off-the-mat of government oversight. Now, the city and state have decided it’s time for them to start paying taxes, and heed other regulations.

Unsurprisingly, lots of people are getting bent out of shape.

Yoga for New York, led by Alison West, has mobilized the yoga community: city studios are holding benefit classes to help cover legal fees the fight will cost, and they’re circulating petitions among teachers and practitioners.

Others say that it’s unfair that yoga studios avoid paying the same taxes that boutique fitness spaces and most gyms have to pay. (Nationally, yoga is a $5.7 billion-a-year industry, including products, festivals, etc.) And given that many of these studios are selling $90 Manduka mats and $6 coconut waters, not everyone is sympathetic to their pleas of poverty.

From every angle, the hubbub suddenly shines a spotlight on the business, and price, of yoga in New York - an element that’s often ignored in favor of deep breathing.

All of which points to the question: Will the $15 yoga class go the way of the $1 cup of coffee?

Read the full article.

I think it's cool that Mike Matsumura, a local yoga teacher and co-owner of Pranava Yoga Center, is one of the presenters at the Telluride Yoga Festival in July. Other teachers include Beryl Bender Birch, Annie Pace, Mark Whitwell, Sara Ivanhoe and Alanna Kaivalya will also be there.

http://tellurideyogafestival.com/

Here are the five required postures that USA Yoga requires for competition. They are all out of the Bikram sequence, and include:

Standing head to knee poseStanding Head to Knee Pose
Standing Bow Pose
Bow Pose
Rabbit Pose
Paschimottanasana or Seated Forward Fold Pose

See the postures here.

Yogi friends, you're missing out. Apparently the National Yoga Asana Championship started today in New York City. That means people are hoping their dancer pose and their downward facing dog pose will be deemed best examples of the postures this weekend. That street cred will send them straight to LA for this summer's international yoga competition.

This could only be the tip of the yoga mat. The United States Yoga Federation hopes to make yoga asana a part of the Olympics one day soon.

Thoughts? Expressions of outrage? Do you care?

I care about as much as I can from way out here on my own yoga mat, which is to say, not much. We live in America, after all, where everything gets bastardized.

Some of the personal yoga practices I see in class are already reminiscent of gymnastic competitions I've watched. I'm curious if music, routines and costumes will be involved, and if the Russian judge will be tricky to please.

I might watch, and then go back to my holey mat that crumbles a little bit more after every class, and hope nobody dares to compete with my interpretation of savasana anytime soon. I'd blast the competition to smithereens, Russian judge or not.

Read more here.

I know Madonna has practiced yoga for years. A co-worker saw her do a few yoga postures during the halftime show at this year's Superbowl. It seems she prepped all week for the big show with asana on a hydraulic yoga mat. I'd love to be a fly on the wall for Madge's typical yoga routine. - Jennifer Mulson

Us Magazine
By Justin Ravitz

It took hard, sweaty work for Madonna to pull off Sunday's awe-inspiring half-time show at the Super Bowl in Indianapolis.

The superstar, 53, stayed at the Marriott in Indianapolis for about a week before the massive, widely applauded performance of "Vogue," "Music," "Give Me All Your Luvin'," and "Like a Prayer," with assists from Nicki Minaj, M.I.A., Cee Lo Green and LMFAO.

According to a local source, Madonna had a hydraulic yoga mat -- with a platform that went up to the ceiling -- installed in her suite specifically for her stay there.

To stay toned, limber and calm for the show, the singer also had a yoga teacher with her for the week -- with the heat pumped up in the room for her yoga sessions.

But even Madonna indulged in some good ol' American comfort food as she got ready for the biggest sporting event of the year -- ordering 50 pizza pies from Papa John's daily for her crew.

Madonna's pizza of choice? A veggie pie with no cheese.

What do you think? Are you offended by putting Ganesha on a yoga mat? - Jennifer Mulson

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — A Southern California yoga mat maker has pulled a design featuring a Hindu deity because of a complaint from the Universal Society Hinduism.