Focus, concentration, stamina . . . USA Yoga Competition in LA

On Saturday, March 5, I was a gatekeeper at the Westin LAX hotel for the 2011 Yoga Nationals. To help preserve the athletes' concentration during their three-minute performances, it was my job to prevent members of the audience from leaving the room except between each performance. This was a very long day—a lot of door opening and closing: 3 hours to watch approximately 40 men and 5 hours to watch 53 women who demonstrated their focus, concentration, and stamina in up to 8 individual postures. On Sunday, I watched the last part of the competition—the absolute finals thanks to a streaming video of the event. This little image above is a screen shot for a short video that demonstrates teaching us how the judges arrive at their scores. Other screen shots you'll see at the end of this posting came from the live feed Sunday.

A panel of judges got ready for two long days. Contestants were judged by specific criteria beginning with a score of 10 and losing points as their form was compromised.

From the USA Yoga website: "USA Yoga is a non-profit organization formed for the purpose of developing and promoting Yoga Asana (yoga postures) as a sport. Yoga Asana competitions originated in India hundreds of years ago and are still being conducted there today. USA Yoga is now bringing this spirit of healthy competition to the United States, where, according to a recent study, more than 25 million people either practice yoga or intend to start within the next year. USA Yoga believes that the sport of Yoga Asana will inspire many of these practitioners to improve their practices and encourage many newcomers to take up the practice of yoga and the sport of Yoga Asana."

Originally Bikram studio owners themsleves, these guys saw the need for an organic solution for soaps and body products  in their students. Under the direction of owner Bill Camping, they answered the call by creating YogiSoap now distributed through numerous yoga studios and online.

With the loss of electrolytes through perspiration in a hot yoga room, students find that taking YogaFuel before class brings a combination of vitamins, nutrients and electrolytes to foster a more energized and safer work out.

In addition to the enthusiastic contestants, studio owners, families of the contestants, and friends of yoga, many sponsors helped to bring the event to the public. A couple of them (above) had designed products specifically for yoga students and especially for students of Bikram Yoga that is performed in a hot room that encourages perspiration. Attention to replenishing electrolytes is a big requirement when you're burning close to 500 calories in a heated room.

Some scenes from Sunday's live feed:

Rajashree Choudury thanks all those who made the competition possible

Bikram offers inspiration: "You've got to sift through the dirt to find and polish the gold."

Emmy Cleaves, who shall remain ageless, and who can do all of the advanced postures presented the winning medal.

 For details on the final results and more pictures from the two days, you can go to USAyoga.org.