The New York Times

Flow or No, Following the Yogis

STAR POWER Baron Baptiste leads an enthusiastic class at a yoga conference in San Francisco.

MARY BILLARD
February 18, 2005

EXCERPT:

THE grand ballroom of the Hyatt Regency hotel in San Francisco is not the most Zen-like of settings. The thick blue carpets, glossy wallpaper and mod crystal lighting seem better suited for a corporate sales meeting than a yoga retreat aimed at opening tight hip flexors and achieving quick hits of enlightenment. And yet more than 1,500 people are here for a four-day conference sponsored by Yoga Journal that has gathered some of the biggest names in American yoga.

Indeed, this weekend in January is a "We Are the World" meeting of yoga stars: Rodney Yee, a familiar face and twisting torso in more than 20 yoga videos and DVD's; Baron Baptiste, the bronzed son of a champion body-builder, who specializes in what might be called sweat yoga; Cyndi Lee, the force behind the best-selling OM Yoga in a Box series; and Shiva Rea, who encourages students to open up in a free-flowing high-energy dance style. All of these give individual workshops across the country as well as in more exotic settings like Costa Rica, Mexico and the Caribbean. Here among their fans, they have the aura of rock stars. When Mr. Yee, his long dark hair flowing, strides into the registration area with his blond fiancée, Colleen Saidman, it's as though Mick Jagger had appeared.

EXCERPT:

For Mr. Baptiste's all-day intensive class (with a title half in Sanskrit), Kirsten Miglio, a pale blonde with a wide face, has placed her mat spot front row center. She flew in from Chicago to attend the conference, a Christmas gift from her husband. This is not her her first class with Mr. Baptiste - the last one was a year ago, and she attended the Yoga Journal Colorado conference two years ago. "I love his style," she says - meaning yoga style. "I've read all his books; he's very laid back," she adds. But it's beyond the nuts and bolts of poses. "I have a great connection with him."

Nearby is Shelby Bearschild, a yoga teacher from San Jose, Calif., who went on a weeklong Baptiste Bootcamp retreat at Maya Tulum, Mexico, last August; flew to Boston in September to participate in Mr. Baptiste's Personal Revolution weekend, and has now come back for more. "He's so humble, and people constantly shower him with praise," she says, explaining her attraction to Mr. Baptiste.

Dark and handsome, wearing Adidas warm ups and his trademark bandana, Mr. Baptiste does not disappoint, launching into a three-hour marathon of yoga poses: warriors (I and II), dogs (upward and downward) and way too many awkward chairs- squatting in an imaginary chair, arms extended. Forever. Finally, it is time for back bends. The class members dutifully place their hands and feet on the floor, and arch up. Once. Twice. Three times. And hold. And hold. And hold. It's not enough for Mr. Baptiste. "The first ones don't count," he says, urging a few more back bends. And holds. Limbs are trembling, faces are red, and bodies are shaking. People can't wait for the afternoon session.

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