Yoga + Anything = $, Or Kripalu--How To Get More Money For Yoga

I just got my effing KRIPALU brochure in the mail. This is always cause for wonderment. I look at it and wonder what fucking planet these people are living on. Today when I went through it (wanting to barf on a blurb about a 'shaman', wanting to poke all the people in white leotards, and wanting to wipe the serene 'I've just dropped a load of cash to buy some peace of mind' smiles off the carefully chosen overweight or ethnic minority models), I thought, 'Jesus, these people have found a way to make money off Yoga + Anything. What struck me as supremely ridiculous was the 'yoga and hiking' course which shows a group of people doing Warrior I in clogs and hiking boots in the woods. Stupid. Here are some of the ways that Kripalu will pick your pocket:

• The Healing Power of Drumming, Ritual, and Chanting
• Overcoming Underearning: A Rite of Passage Into Your Power
• Yoga For the Nervous System: Healing Anxiety, Insomnia, and PTSD (with a picture of a pretty manaical looking instructor)
• Ecstatic Vinyasa Yoga: Liberating Your Natural Joy
• Native American Ceremony and Yoga: A Blend of Two Spirits (WHAT??)
• Laughter Yoga: Hilarity Leads to Clarity! (hmm, just because it rhymes, does that mean it makes sense?)
• Circus Yoga for Kids and Adults
• Yoga and Hiking
• The Yoga of Yes: Express Yourself! (these folks like exclamation marks!)
• Yoga and Rowing for Optimal Performance
• Music, Meditation and Yoga
• Yoga as Medicine

I could go on, but you get the picture. This place has even started doing Kabbalah workshops. Jesus. I went to Kripalu about 13 years ago just after their founder, Amrit Desai, had been kicked out for shtupping a few of his students. Nice work, dude. Really yogic. Today I did a little internet search with his name and found this blog which has some pretty interesting things to say about the whole outfit.