Don Allan of Revolver Films, famous for directing music videos for the likes of Triumph, Glass Tiger and Leonard Cohen, says there are tricks to make people look better and younger. “Does Madonna need it? No,” he says. “Some artists need electronic cleanups, but would Madonna? She would need absolutely nothing major. You see her on MTV, you see her run around on stage and sing, and that’s how she looks.”

Kieran Doherty/ReutersU.S. pop star Madonna attends the premiere of the film “Arthur and the Invisibles” in Leicester Square, London January 25, 2007.

From her music to her body - it’s uncertain which of those she’s now more famous for - the experts I consulted recently agree on one thing: The Material Girl can’t be copied. But, oh, what fun to gab and bandy about what yoga would take with yoga mats.

Just imagine: What if we worked out, as she reportedly does, up to 14 hours a day? What if we all had a Japanese chef who travelled with us everywhere? What if we all lived by her strict mantra: “There are no tricks. Tricks don’t work. Discipline does.”

Today is Madonna’s 50th birthday. And to honour the demi-centenarian, let’s celebrate by pretending that it is indeed possible to be like The Queen of Pop.

In the words of that Big Purple Dinosaur Barney, “Let’s use our imagination!”

First, let’s imagine we didn’t have to worry about whether we could fit in a workout between our working lives and picking the kids up.

“Madonna is never short of anywhere to work out in, which allows her to be consistent with her workouts and maintain her peak,” says Los Angeles-based Rob Riches, a fitness specialist, coach and Pro Fitness Model (robriches.com). “[She] bought her neighbouring house for a reported $12-million and converted it into her own personal fitness centre for super-easy access. However, due to permits, Madonna was not able to combine the two houses and so has to endure the 20-yard walk from her home to her converted gym.”

Life can be so hard.

Riches also observes that not much changes when she travels. “She only stays in hotels that have excellent gyms,” he says. “In fact, it was reported that the Ritz Carlton in Miami spent tens of thousands of dollars to customize one of their suites so she could work out without leaving her room.”

And like my mother, who cleans the house before the cleaning lady arrives, it seems that Madonna works out before she actually works out. “For most of us, working out once a day is about as much as we can manage, but Madonna keeps working out during the day,” Riches says. “For breakfast she will have a vegetable soup along with either fresh vegetables or fruits or their juices, all of which are recommended within the macrobiotic diet she is known to embrace. Before lunch, she will go for a session of Pilates before eating more macrobiotic foods, which include lots of vegetables and protein-rich dishes made from tofu, seeds, bean sprouts.”

And then her actual workout begins, for two or three more hours, Riches says, including swimming, biking and martial arts.

Now let’s imagine we can turn back the clock 30 years. Eric Alstrup, a former Mr. Canada Bodybuilding champion and now personal trainer, told me the key to looking as great as Madonna is consistency. “She started young and it’s a priority for her. It doesn’t happen on it’s own. People are like, ‘I’d love to look like Madonna,’ but it doesn’t happen by accident. She has a very well-planned out regimen. Her workout regimens are healthy for her because she’s had thousands of hours of training. If you were 48, I wouldn’t suggest doing what she does, because her body is so resilient.”

Included in her workout is Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga (I’d argue she’s solely responsible for Western civilization getting on the yoga bandwagon.)

According to Scott Petrie, a yoga instructor and director of the upcoming yogafestivaltoronto.org, the irony is that true yogis don’t actually care how they look. That said, “There are yogis who are 80 but look 40. I think a lot of how you look is how you feel mentally. Yoga does help you work your mind and give you an inner glow.”

Working out aside, now imagine you have dedicated yourself to a healthy diet and love brown rice and seeds.

“Her body is truly a temple,” says Natalie Bean Soul, founder of Nutrition Forever. “She has a body of art that she has worked at from the ground up. This ain’t genetics, this is hard work, commitment, dedication to a healthy body and lifestyle. This is a woman who follows what I call the 80% rule - 80% of what you look like is based on what you eat. There are key ingredients to success, like eating every two to three hours, drinking a ton of water, adequate rest. Each meal should consist of a lean protein, veggies and a low-glycemic complex carb, like half a yam or brown rice.”

Now let’s imagine we had all the power and money to shop wherever we wanted and that among our best friends were world-class designers.

“First, to be Madonna, you need Lagerfeld and Gaultier on speed dial,” says Leesa Butler, creator of the F-List, a Web site dedicated to Canadian fashion. “She’s the only woman I know who can pose in boy shorts and fishnets in a video and dress like the Queen Mother in full-on tweed and pull off both looks.”

But even if we had unlimited money and friendships with couturiers, we still couldn’t make it because she is a born contrarian. Says Butler: “If everyone else is doing something, Madonna won’t. Madonna will do the exact opposite and carry it off.”

In fact, Ceri Marsh, editor of Fashion magazine, figures we shouldn’t even try. “Great style comes from knowing yourself, what works for you and for your body,” she says. “What I do find worth emulating about Madonna is her openness to what’s new. She never gets stuck in a rut and never buys into traditional notions of what’s age appropriate.”

Now let’s imagine that we are completely non-judgmental about surgical intervention.

“I’m not against plastic surgery,” Madonna has said. “I’m just against talking about it.”

In recent years, she has been spotted leaving medical centres with black eyes under dark sunglasses, dogged by rumours of mini-facelifts, nose jobs, Botox and breast augmentation.

“I could never prove if she has or hasn’t,” says one of Canada’s most renowned plastic surgeons, Dr. Trevor Born. “She does everything 199%. She looks great, she’s on top of the charts and she still has the same energy she has always had.”

And now we must imagine we can make music like Madonna.

According to Jeff Wolpert, a Juno Award-winning producer and sound engineer, Madonna doesn’t even need help in the studio. “Remember, back when she started there wasn’t the technology there is today to make you sound good,” says Wolpert. “Yeah, now we can make a lot of people sound decent and produce something cool, but we still react to the vocals. And Madonna is Madonna. She’s unmistakable, and you recognize her immediately. To have that kind of attitude, well, she’s the real thing.”

He says that anyone who has lasted as long as she has doesn’t let anyone else tell her what to do when she buy the cheap yoga mats.

“She’s one smart cookie. She is who she is. Everyone wants to be like her and she doesn’t want to be like anyone else.”

If you’re looking to explore different forms of yoga, check out this guide from Gaiam on finding the best yoga class for you.

A friend of mine is really starting to show an interest in yoga and even considering seeking certification to really delve into the lifestyle, but her philosophy is ashtanga or nothing.

I’m still discovering new styles and trying different classes. I started doing basic hatha classes almost eight years ago, but I really didn’t start exploring various forms until the beginning of 2008. Excited about what I found, I wrote an article on my discoveries for Time Out Chicago and now I’m always looking for a new variation to try out.

I’m happy to have another friend that I can go on this journey with, but I can’t help but feel the urge to tell her to be a little more open to the many styles of yoga. She’s lucky to feel such a strong connection to ashtanga- a fast-paced powerful yoga practice- immediately.

The cliché appears to be true. The whole cast of characters – well, minus The Hoff – is passing before my very eyes on Santa Monica’s boardwalk. Bronzed, toned, pearlescent-toothed, they’re living the good life, California-style, with yoga mats.

But along the sands on Venice Beach, there’s a crowd gathering that doesn’t look quite so healthy. They’re here for a meeting of Cocaine Anonymous (it’s Sunday, so these must be the devout – their number is threefold when I pass by on Monday morning).

At least, that’s what my yoga teacher, Vanda Mikoloski, tells me. She’s waiting to start her class just out of earshot: the recovering addicts are uninhibited enough about their predicament to use a megaphone for their testimonials.

When Vanda isn’t teaching yoga (including to the Dixie Chicks), she’s performing stand-up comedy. Today, she’s going to try something new on us – yoga and comedy. Her friend, Erik Passoja, will be joining us to try out a few jokes, too. My toes curl in anticipation.

But they’re funny, and the yoga is good. “Yoga is all made up,” she says. “People get so damned significant about it. Basically, it’s bending.” This is “Spiritually Incorrect Comedy” and Vanda’s motto is “Enlighten Up!”. It would take the P out of California if there were one. I’m soon in hysterics, as is fellow student Marsha – a septuagenarian originally from the UK, now long-time resident of California. But the couple at the back from New York haven’t cracked a smile yet. Vanda’s yoga isn’t for everyone.

After class, I walk barefoot back across the city limits into Santa Monica (a lifeguard tower marks the fragile boundary) and call by Perry’s beach café for refreshment. They don’t just do ice cream here, there’s a very virtuous menu featuring fresh fruit and smoothies, all served to a soundtrack of classical music.

Perry’s is an institution in Santa Monica and Venice, yet even it is trying out new tricks. This shoreside mini empire, stationed at convenient intervals along the boardwalk, has just added a Beach Butler service to its skate and bike hire.

And while the “butlers” dress in T-shirts, they’re still at your command and will set up a beach chair, table and umbrella where and when you want, supply you with beach toys and other essential paraphernalia, and keep the suntan lotion, snacks and drinks coming. You’ll only need to leave your towel to take a dip in the ocean.

But it’s not all about topping up your tan on LA’s beaches. Over at the original Muscle Beach in the shadow of Santa Monica’s Pacific Wheel (now solar powered), they’re more concerned about pumping iron. The original place to show off your biceps, it opened in the 1930s, though in recent years it has been eclipsed by the outdoor gym on Venice Beach. But it has been refurbished and is enjoying a renaissance.

And in Malibu, the buzz is all about the reopening of the pier. The 103-year-old structure welcomed back visitors on to its weathered boards this June. The winter storms shut it down in 1995 then legal wrangles between the state and private interests kept it closed for 13 years. Now it has new restaurants (Alice’s, made famous by the Woody Guthrie song, has become The Beachcomber), a surf museum and a fishing tackle shop.

Fishing has been popular with Malibu’s superstar residents since Buster Crabbe’s time. But today you’re more likely to meet the stars in the surf. Don’t be too nosey. The weekend I visit, a fight breaks out on Little Dume between the paparazzi and surfers trying to protect the film star Matthew McConaughey from over-attentive snappers.

It all sounds a bit fraught, so I head back to my hotel, Shutters on the Beach, for a pedicure.

Shutters and its neighbouring sister property, Casa Del Mar, claim to be the only hotels truly on the beach in LA who want to buy cheap yoga mats. We may be talking about a yard or so here though, because I spy a few more along the strip not so far from the sands.

Enjoy these two videos which offer additional insight and examples:

And for more downward facing doga:

If you practice yoga no doubt this will all make sense to you. If not, prepare for another eastern medicine practice making its way into protecting and enhancing our pet’s health and quality of life. Is this Zen and the art of Dog?

The theory is simple - take some yoga fundamentals and adapt them to the abilities and limitations of our canine companions.

It is suddenly very popular and getting lots of media buzz. Those trying it claim the dogs doing yoga seem to enjoy it and are more relaxed and stress free.

The movement’s real-life guru, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, leader of a global network of dozens of meditation centers, is no publicity hound either. Even though many Internet bloggers and fans of the book connect it with the guru, the Indian spiritual leader’s followers in the United States continue to resist publicity.

That includes devotees in Watertown Square, who congregate quietly at the Siddha Yoga Meditation Center of Greater Boston in a meditation space decorated with candles, rows of chairs, and photos of Gurumayi and her predecessor, group founder Swami Muktananda, who died in 1982. US representatives for Gurumayi said - with exquisite politeness - thanks, but no thanks, to requests to discuss the surge of interest in their practices and traditions.

The friendly, volunteer-run Watertown center, in a small, brick office building on North Beacon Street, maintains a monthly calendar of meditation, prayer,yoga mats, and discussion classes. It welcomes newcomers to its monthly “Not Just For Beginners” mediation sessions, hosts weekend chanting ceremonies, and encourages “seva,” or volunteer service, as a central tenet of membership.

Members - mostly 40 and older, and from a variety of spiritual and cultural backgrounds - say Siddha Yoga is often a later-in-life discovery for adults who have lost interest in traditional religious practices, though some who follow its tenets also attend church or synagogue services. Local devotees may not see Gurumayi in person for years at a time, but they regularly listen to recordings of her guided meditations and can pick up her publications in the center’s small bookstore.

The goal of Siddha Yoga is to create a “deep meditative experience” for people, said the group’s California-based spokeswoman, Karen Williams who want to buy yoga mats .

She readily acknowledged that Gilbert’s book and widely watched appearance last year on Oprah Winfrey’s television talk show made a huge splash, but she declined to comment on whether “Eat, Pray, Love” had attracted more seekers to the group’s centers. “But we don’t talk about people who practice or do not practice Siddha Yoga. We don’t seek publicity,” said Williams, apologetically. “On a personal level, I do think it’s awesome that she has created interest in mediation and yoga.”

Although it draws on centuries-old Hindu traditions, Siddha Yoga became popular in the early 1970s, when Muktananda began visiting his followers in the United States and later established a large ashram in the Catskills in New York, in addition to its main center in India, near Mumbai.

Gilbert’s book, subtitled “One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia,” chronicles her yearlong global journey of self-discovery in the wake of a bitter divorce and severe depression. An instant hit, especially among female readers, the book was praised in a Boston Globe review by Barbara Fisher, who described Gilbert as “the epic poet of ecstasy.”

The book has been largely a mainstream-media phenomenon, making barely a ripple in Indian and Indian-American circles, said Ramesh Rao, a communications professor at Longwood University in Virginia and a former executive council member of the Hindu American Foundation. He said it isn’t uncommon for Eastern spirituality to temporarily capture the fancy of Americans.

Movements like transcendental meditation and the work of wellness guru and bestselling author Dr. Deepak Chopra “occupy a similar space in the popular consciousness and life of Americans,” he said.

The middle, or “Pray,” section of Gilbert ’s book - describing several months spent in Gurumayi’s Indian ashram - chronicles the author’s struggle to practice meditation and spiritual devotion. She described first becoming aware of her guru through an ex-lover, who had a photo of “a radiantly beautiful Indian woman” on his dresser.

“I asked, ‘Who’s that?’ wrote Gilbert. “He said, ‘That is my spiritual teacher.’

“My heart skipped a beat and then flat-out tripped over itself and fell on its face. Then my heart stood up, brushed itself off, took a deep breath and announced: ‘I want a spiritual teacher,’ ” Gilbert wrote. She began attending weekly meditation sessions in New York City and meditating each morning on the group’s mantra, “Om Namah Shivaya,” which in Sanskrit means “I honor the divinity that resides within me.”

“And when I heard she had an ashram in India,” Gilbert wrote of her spiritual awakening, “I knew I must take myself there as quickly as possible.”

In the book’s preface, Gilbert acknowledged that she changed or omitted the names of only a few characters in the book, including the guru and most of the pilgrims she met while visiting the ashram, to protect their privacy. “I will not be using my Guru’s name throughout this book - because I cannot speak for her. Her teachings speak best for themselves. Nor will I reveal the name or location of her Ashram,” she wrote, hoping to spare yoga mats ”publicity which it may have neither the interest nor the resources” to manage.

Gilbert said she intends to maintain her silence despite the massive popularity of the book and buzz about the coming movie.

“It’s just a promise I made to myself four years ago to say nothing more about any of it than what’s in the book,” she wrote in an e-mailed response to a Globe inquiry.

Rao, the Longwood professor, said he sees the book’s popularity as “the classic, modern ‘15 minutes of fame’ phenomenon.” Its prominence will last “until we discover another new author or another way of meditating, eating, loving, or dying.”

He also noted, however, that its success is probably evidence of how seemingly disparate cultural and religious quests are fundamentally very similar.

Event Posted 2008-07-10

Strong Immune System

Recently, I blogged about how much healthier I have been since regularly practicing yoga. Headstands are one of the postures proven to strengthen your immune system.

Respiratory System

Doing headstands in yoga helps with deep breathing and creates healthier lung tissue.

Digestive System

Standing on our heads tones and cleans the digestive organs. It cleanses congested blood and toxins from them. Fresh warm blood invigorates the cells and can help people overcome problems of the liver, kidneys, stomach, intestines and reproductive system.

Musculoskeletal system

Doing a headstand strengthens the spine, neck, shoulders and arms. The muscular system of the abdomen and legs get toned.

Headstand and Yoga for Skin Care

A headstand can reduce facial wrinkles, and if practiced regularly, is a natural ‘face-lift’. This is because it reverses the effects of gravity and allows the skin to rest in the other direction.

Furthermore, yoga for skin care increases the circulation to the face, which brings much needed nutrients and oxygen to rejuvenate and remove wrinkle causing toxins. The result is smoother, clearer, brighter and glowing skin.

Thicker Hair, Fewer Grays

A headstand can actually convert gray hair back to its natural color! It will certainly delay the onset of gray hair. This is due to the increase in blood supply and nutrients to the hair follicles in the scalp.

Balding can also be prevented or slowed, and thicker, healthier hair is produced.

Balanced Hormones and Endocrine System

Headstand stimulates and provides refreshed blood to the pituitary and hypothalamus glands. The health and strength of these glands are absolutely vital to our wellbeing, as they are the master glands and regulate the functioning of all the other glands in the body including the sexual hormones (better sex!), the thyroid, pineal, and the adrenals.

The powerful stress releasing effects of the headstand (you can’t really be depressed if you’re standing on your head!) further rebalance the adrenal glands so physical and emotional health is improved.

Better Circulation

Besides the positive effects of yoga for skin care, the improved circulation of headstands exercise the heart and encourage venous return. Because the heart constantly has to pump blood upward to the brain, the headstand gives the heart a rest and reduces heart strain.

Increased Brain Function

Headstand soaks the brain cells with fresh blood, oxygen and nutrients. This increases your thinking power, clarity, memory, concentration, and the sensory faculties. Brain tissues do not degenerate with regular practice.

Balanced Nervous System

Research has shown that an ischemic stroke never results for those who consistently do headstands! (If nothing else, that will get me on my head.)

It can also prevent the occurrence of atherosclerotic disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other diseases of the nervous system. Senile changes in the brain are prevented. It calms the brain and helps relieve stress and depression. It is a centering, calming and soothing pose.

A Healthy Lymphatic System

A headstand encourages the drainage of lymphatic fluid so the whole body is regularly detoxified.

Eyewitness News’ Heidi Jones tried something called inversion yoga, or upside down yoga.

Partnering up, you walk up the wall all in an effort to open up the chest muscles.

If you think yoga is just a series of slow, steady movements, think again.

There is cardio yoga where balance is not required, but it’s probably a bonus!

With 19 different styles of yoga and 85 classes each week there are many options for those looking to ease their mind.

A studio that’s popular in Asia has opened its first location in the U.S., and it’s right here in New York City!

It’s not your typical yoga class, it’s for true ‘yoggies’.

It’s yoga, marionett style and being upside down seems to be a reoccuring theme.

That was the question Times Online asked Swami Ramdevji, an Indian yoga guru with a 120-million strong following worldwide on his recent visit to London (see video above). Ramdevji, founder of the Yoga Institute in India, which is billed as the largest yoga centre in the world, believes his brand of Pranayama yoga, based on breathing techniques, can cure serious health ailments and bring followers health, wealth and inner peace. Millions follow his classes on AsiaTV, thousands attend his free outdoor classes held in North India.

For him, yoga is a ‘science’ with health benefits. For the millions for practise Yoga in the West it is simply exercise. But for some Christians yoga is spiritually suspect, a subtle act of pagan worship. They allege that yoga cannot be separated from its roots in the Hindu faith. Last year, two Somerset vicars banned a yoga class for toddlers from their church halls. This year, a leading Roman Catholic exorcist condemned yoga as apparently harmless but as a possible conduit to “the evil spirit.”