Let's see who else thinks that Yoga Journal should have put me on their A list of yoga blogs...Dr. Jay over at Yoga for Cynics who said "I think you should've been in the YJ blog list, too" and Yoga Dork who thinks that Yoga Journal should have also included "Linda’s Yoga Journey, Everything Yoga, Yoga Nation, Svasti and It’s All Yoga, Baby."
I feel like Kathy Griffin. Kathy is a loud-mouthed, snarky broad from Chicago (what is it about Chicago women?) whose show My Life on the D List is hilarious (at least I think so.) The show follows her struggle as a self-proclaimed "D-list" celebrity to climb the Hollywood ladder.
Hey, wait a minute. This blog is about the same thing, only in a different world. This blog is about my journey up (and down) the yoga ladder and like Kathy, I'm also unplugged, uncensored, and unafraid to dish the dirt about what really happens on the yoga road. So how can Yoga Journal ignore me?
Yogini writers (real writers who actually get paid to write!) like Anne Cushman and Lucy Edge could not have been wrong when they wrote their kudos about LYJ. Over 30,000 global readers can't be wrong. What's a yogini blogger to do? I'm just so vaklempt that YJ writer Lauren Ladoceour did not think LYJ worthy enough to be listed on her yoga blog A List, especially not worthy enough to be called snarky and satirical! After four years and 300+ cathartic and snarky posts? Moi?!?
So just like Kathy Griffin who enlisted her mother, her assistants, and her Mexican housekeeper to call musicians to ask them to vote for her Grammy nominated comedy album (I know I am dating myself by calling it an "album"), I am asking all my lovely and faithful readers from all over the world to email Yoga Journal at letters@yogajournal.com to tell them how you feel about their glaring omission. In no uncertain terms. Let your throat chakra open up and speak your truth. Pretend that you're calling Simon Cowell and voting for the next American Yoga Idol. Over 30,000 readers have passed through here so let's see if Yoga Journal's computers can handle all the emails! Yeah! Knock 'em on their asana!
Listen, Yoga Journal, who needs your stupid list anyway? I will hold my head high and proudly channel Groucho Marx who said:
"I would not join any club that would have someone like me for a member."
So there. Besides....
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE YOGA BLOGS WHO MADE THE LIST....SERIOUSLY. MY A-LIST OF BLOGS, YOGA AND OTHERWISE, ARE IN MY BLOGROLL, SO VISIT THEM.
YOU CAN FIND THE BOXER SHORTS AT KATHY GRIFFIN'S WEBSITE.
24 comments:
I can only speak for myself and not 30K readers when I say I do not read YJ at all. You do not need their validation. So, relax and continue writing your lovely blog.
PS. Are you still speechless about spirit rock?
I was thinking of subscribing to Yoga Journal, but then I read this: http://www.slate.com/id/2162283/pagenum/all, and I decided not to subscribe.
If that was any indicator of the sorts of articles they publish, I'd rather read books and blogs like this one.
It is interesting how offended you are by not being mentioned in this YJ article. Where does your sense of entitlement come from? I find it quite curious. Why be so angry about it? Why feel snubbed?
Why can't you just write a yoga blog to write a yoga blog and feel whole about it without needing to get a nod from Yoga Journal?
I love reading your blog and, as you've pointed out, there are many others who do to. Not being mentioned in the YJ article doesn't take anything away from you unless you let it.
Breathe. Let it go. Keep writing!
One of your avid readers,
Nicole
@D -- yes, yes, yes, I WILL write about Spirit Rock! I am still composing a story about it in my head....never fear, will appear, dear!
@brown eyed grrl -- thanks for the link, that is a REALLY scathing story about YJ (and the Western yoga mentiality in general.) If I did not get YJ for free because of my yoga insurance I would never subscribe to it.
And that is what I'm trying to avoid! On one hand, I probably wouldn't even know about yoga if it hadn't turned into a celebrity fad here in the States, but I'm trying to ignore all of the silliness and distractions and get to the root of what yoga is about.
Speaking of books and other resources, have any you recommend? I've read Bringing Yoga to Life, and I'm going through the David Swenson Ashtanga Practice Manual. I've been practicing for almost two years, but I've just recently delved further into it (practicing almost daily and studying versus once-a-week class), and I'm considering teacher training in the fall, if that helps with your recommendations.
Forget YJ! This blog has a much truer voice.
"It is interesting how offended you are by not being mentioned in this YJ article. Where does your sense of entitlement come from? I find it quite curious. Why be so angry about it? Why feel snubbed?"
Thanks for reading, Nicole, but you've obviously and hugely missed the tongue-in-cheekiness of this post.
and I'm nothing if not cheeky.
I've learned that some people don't pick up on sarcasm and cheekiness in e-mails and blog posts, which is why I'm afraid to start a blog of my own!:D
@brown eyed grrl -- here is my blog post about yoga books:
http://lindasyoga.blogspot.com/2009/02/books-to-start-your-yoga-journey.html
hope it helps.
as for you starting a blog, forget about the people who don't "get it" -- just write!
sarcasm is an acquired taste in both comedy and writing. as a blogger (not me!) once said:
TACT IF FOR PEOPLE WHO AREN'T WITTY ENOUGH TO BE SARCASTIC"
Thank you! How'd I miss that post?! I bet it was posted right before I found your blog.
I love that quote!
@brown eyed grrl -- there is a search feature over in the sidebar that might help you....this blog is 4 years old with 300+ posts, so if you're curious about anything, try the search....it works pretty well....I also did a similar post on buddhist books if you're interested.
shanti
Yoga Journal - 100 pages of advertisements and two pages of articles urging us to simplify. Hold your head high for escaping their praise!
Great post, your snarkiness makes me smile.
"100 pages of advertisements and two pages of articles urging us to simplify."
keen observation, Squirrel -- and thank you for reading this snarky blog!
Yeah, well put, Squirrel!
Linda, you'll have to let us know what response you receive from YJ. And while I definitely read the tongue-in-cheekiness of this post, I also detect an undercurrent of sincere offense about the omission. I hope you don't let it get to you too much - you don't need validation or recognition. Keep on keeping on!
"undercurrent of sincere offense about the omission"
nope, not at all.
it takes much more important things -- like famine, war, violence against women, the rape of the earth, the situation in Tibet, you know, the biggies -- to offend me. but I am glad that my acting was so sincere to convince you!
I would be willing to bet that the author has not spent very much time searching out yoga blogs -- it's a throw away article, a space filler. because if she HAD spent any amount of time she would have found Diane's Everything Yoga Blog which has been around much longer than this one.
besides, an episode of KG's My Life on the D-List really did inspire this post.
believe me, my readers' comments and sincere emails to me are of much more value to me than a mention in YJ (imagine me holding my fingers out like a cross.) now ascent would have been a different story.....
I should add that the writer also would have found Grounding Thru the Sit Bones, written by a woman who writes for Yoga Journal! DUH!
I guess I did not pick up the sarcasm in this post very well. Your mood did come across as a little bit hurt.Anyhow..Sorry for nagging you about the spirit rock training. It's just that I have 2 lil ones and can not go for such wonderful trainings myself and hence want to read and learn as much as possible from your blog :)
Boo hiss to Yoga Journal. I'll just say this -- take it from where it comes. I'd say we all know how awesome your blog is. It doesn't need honorable mention. So many blogs who deserve a mention didn't receive one (although the ones that were mentioned are fantastic and I'm glad they got a nod). I have a list of awesome, amazing, inspiring yoga blogs on my blog and hardly any were noticed. Again, take it from where it comes. I had a moment of "YJ can suck it" (now funny are those shorts by the way), but then I remembered that I'm not in it for PR from YJ. This post is hysterical -- made me smile and only reminded me of how awesome you and your blog are. There -- you've got honorable mention from me. You rock. Keep on blogging.
"So many blogs who deserve a mention didn't receive one"
so so true, Diane! Your blogroll and mine...what more could people ask for?
and thanks for the blog love! you rock, too, girlfriend!
I'm sure it must have been a gargantuan task for the writers at YJ to select blogs for that article. My feeling is that they picked blogs that represented certain characteristics in an effort to reflect the great variety of writers and viewpoints out there.
I was frankly surprised to see myself on the list - I don't have a huge following. The best thing that has come out of this whole experience for me is discovering some really top-notch blogs to add to my list. And you made *my* list (and clearly, a lot of other peoples). ;-)
Hey Lin,
Don't fret too much on the snub. If it makes oyu feel any better, I also got snubbed -- I didn't make it on Le Monde's Top 1000 Most Stupid Blogs, and I've got 'Stupid' in my damn blog title! Plus, I also tried to tell them ... I AM pretty dumb. No luck.
Freakin' elitists!
Funny post, and yeah really, who cares? Its awesome for those who did get mentioned, of course. Hopefully they pick up a few more readers as a result.
To me, the article comes across like either the editor suggested somebody starts talking about yoga blogs, or the writer found a handful and pitched it as an article. But yeah, it seems very little thought was put into it. I mean, there's blogs out there like Rikhiapeeth, which contains pithy writings from Satyananda Saraswati!
I read the Slate article. Wow. I don't subscribe to YJ (its rather pricey in Australia) but that kind of content does just make it seem like a women's mag with a yoga flavour.
Albeit, one with a rather lucrative readership.
I like Kathy Griffin too, BTW.
I would have missed all of this, if it weren't for this blog (I always check out the Sama's latest snark). I canceled my YJ subscription years ago because I was tired of the Ayurvedic makeup articles interspersed with Green decorating tips that involved expensive rugs and meditation chairs.
Actually, I don't write for the mag, but the website, which is a completely different editorial staff. Still plenty of annoying ads and features (Ogden the Inappropriate Yoga Guy...wtf?), but I do think it is a useful resource. I try to write my articles for them with an eye to keeping yoga approachable and common sense and not elitist or self-centered.
So, F 'em. I'm really surprised Everything Yoga didn't make the list, as she's the first blog that comes up on Google. Not sure how you research an article about blogs without checking, oh, say "Yoga Blogs" on Google.
What do I know...
Apparently everybody who visited Kripalu last year got a free subscription to Yoga Journal, and that includes me. I find that the articles are mostly written, as Jeff Goldblum described People magazine articles in "The Big Chill," to be read during the length of the average crap, so it goes well in the bathroom.
That last commenter mentioned Ogden the Inappropriate Yoga Guy, who I actually find kind of funny, BUT it really says something that, an issue or two ago, he was only male pictured in the entire magazine--though, to give YJ credit, there are usually one or two old guys from India in there somewhere. Being neither old nor from India, however, apparently the only role I have to play in the world of Yoga Journal is that of dorky guy in bright blue spandex who goes to yoga class to make crude attempts at picking up chicks...sigh....
"I find that the articles are mostly written...to be read during the length of the average crap, so it goes well in the bathroom."
tee-hee...tell us how you really feel, Dr. Jay...;)
and as for yoginis of a certain age, they always end up on the last page....suck it, YJ!
Post a Comment