The yoga blogosphere and twitterverse were a-chatter today over this article in the New York Times: When Chocolate and Chakras Collide. The article describes a yoga/foodie event where people pay to have a gourmet dinner after a yoga class, and then segues into a discussion of various yoga teachers takes on what yogis should and shouldn't eat. While I don't believe that yoga has to be all about austerity, it doesn't seem to be a natural fit for a hedonistic dining experience either (especially one that has to be enjoyed while sitting on your yoga mat after you've just used it). Aside from the moralistic debate over diet, I go to yoga to do yoga, not to have dinner. I don't see this "trend" catching on.
Explore Yoga
Ann,
I agree – sounds like a trend that won’t catch on. I think they almost got it though. Many of the people that I know that are yogis or even practice regularly are also foodies. I like the idea combining the interests but this doesn’t seem like the right way.
I also think that it’s interesting that seldom do a group of people that practice together become part of the same social group in other ways. I think if we can change this, the food is just the next step.
Namaste,
Josh
Being a lover of Food and Yoga, I like the idea. It would be great to be connected to people with the same interests. Plus, being in a “yogic” frame of mind, one may take time to really savor the flavor and truly appreciate what is being eaten.
Those studios have those classes as an option, so the class sizes will tell whether this is a good trend or not.
Also, using the term Hedonistic in that context is a little judgemental.