Jay Winston | elephant journal

About: Jay Winston

Website: http://yogaforcynics.blogspot.com
Profile: Jay S. Winston, founder and proprietor of Yoga for Cynics (http://yogaforcynics.blogspot.com), has a PhD in English, making him the kind of doctor who, in case of life-threatening emergency, can explain Faulkner while you die, is currently (semi-)(un-)employed as a freelance writer and editor, teaches creative writing to homeless men, tutors recovering addicts in reading, was recently certified as a Kripalu yoga teacher, gets around mostly by bicycle, is trying to find an agent for his novel, resides in the bucolic Mt. Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia, State of Mildly Inebriated Samadhi, U.S.A. and, like most people who bike and practice yoga, used to live in Boulder.
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Posts by Jay Winston:

The Dude & the Zen Master: Not a Book Review.

by Jay Winston on Feb 20, 2013

There are no nihilists. Nobody pulls out a gun. Nobody pees on anybody’s rug. Nobody gets %&$#ed in the @#%.

635 views
471936Comments 42013-02-20+19%3A25%3A57Jay+Winston

Gimme Shelter: Finding True Refuge with Tara Brach.

by Jay Winston on Jan 24, 2013

Tara Brach has backgrounds in both Buddhism and western psychology and intertwines the best of each tradition in a way that’s pragmatic and nearly seamless.

596 views
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Does Yoga Have To Mean Leaving Your Brain At the Door?

by Jay Winston on Jan 14, 2013

Carol Horton makes a passionate call for the yoga world to get over its allergy to critical thinking.

707 views
452512Comments 62013-01-14+16%3A19%3A09Jay+Winston

Less Stuff = More Joy: Is “Abundance” Overrated?

by Jay Winston on Dec 19, 2012

‘Tis the Season of Giving…and Getting. Is all this abundance really all its cracked up to be, or might we be happier, and freer, with less?

570 views
438262Comments 42012-12-19+13%3A48%3A12Jay+Winston

Diebold Schilling the Older, Spiezer Chronik 1485 Burning of Jan Hus at the stake

Addressing the question of whether Matthew Remski should be burned at the stake for Yogic Heresy.

by Jay Winston on Nov 27, 2012

You’ve seen yoga traditionalists and yoga not-so-traditionalists. Now for something completely different.

1,415 views
427660Comments 322012-11-27+17%3A12%3A04Jay+Winston

Ahimsa Be Damned: When Buddhists Attack.

by Jay Winston on Nov 19, 2012

Despite its peace and lotus flowers image in the west, Buddhism has had a long and complex relationship with violence.

491 views
424547Comments 42012-11-19+18%3A05%3A59Jay+Winston

Goin’ with Yin: Yin Yoga, Healing, and Freedom.

by Jay Winston on Nov 8, 2012

Yin yoga is, to a great extent, about going into uncomfortable places is a slow and gentle fashion, and moving, thereby, into healing and freedom.

1,196 views
420331Comments 42012-11-08+17%3A04%3A49Jay+Winston

The Yoga of Bicycling: Pedal, Stretch, Breathe.

by Jay Winston on Nov 2, 2012

As I read, any line between yoga and biking seems to grow increasingly fluid.

576 views
417893Comments 62012-11-02+16%3A57%3A13Jay+Winston

Yoga in America: Containing Multitudes

by Jay Winston on Oct 29, 2012

Does American yoga contradict itself? Very well, then, it contradicts itself…

566 views
415816Comments 162012-10-29+15%3A06%3A46Jay+Winston

Will Video Kill the Yoga Star?: A Skeptic Meets Seane Corn on DVD.

by Jay Winston on Sep 17, 2012

A skeptic tries virtual yoga.

720 views
396832Comments 82012-09-17+18%3A38%3A28Jay+Winston

Yoga, Science, Sex Cults & Sensationalism

by Jay Winston on Aug 15, 2012

Yoga meets science, with heavy doses of sex and sensationalism.

2,234 views
379896Comments 162012-08-15+17%3A40%3A06Jay+Winston

Nothing, Everything & the Beat Generation.

by Jay Winston on Jul 26, 2012

Zen meets western poetry, painting, and music.

295 views
372196Comments 32012-07-26+18%3A15%3A57Jay+Winston

Yoga for Meditators: Kind of a Book Review

by Jay Winston on Jun 19, 2012

Making yoga accessible to meditators, meditation accessible to yogis, and both accessible to just about everybody.

439 views
354826Comments 52012-06-19+15%3A03%3A39Jay+Winston

Across the vastness, nothing holy…: Tracking Bodhidharma (Kind of a Book Review).

by Jay Winston on May 23, 2012

A non-Buddhist meditates and reviews a book about Buddhism, but still isn’t a Buddhist. That might be a koan, but I’m not sure.

396 views
342362Comments 92012-05-24+03%3A48%3A29Jay+Winston

Be Drunk: Kind of a St. Patrick’s Day post. (But it’s not what you think…).

by Jay Winston on Mar 17, 2012

Baudelaire’s advice for life: “you have to be continually drunk. But on what? Wine, poetry or virtue, as you wish. But be drunk.”

569 views
305276Comments 52012-03-17+10%3A22%3A39Jay+Winston

One Breath at a Time.

by Jay Winston on Feb 29, 2012

Thoughts on mindfulness, coffee, alcohol, addiction, rehab, road rage on the way to yoga class, Emmylou Harris, and taking it all one breath at a time.

1,399 views
294743Comments 8One+Breath+at+a+Time.2012-02-29+18%3A00%3A55Jay+Winston

Writing Yoga: Another Kinda Book Review.

by Jay Winston on Oct 24, 2011

Writing about yoga, writing as yoga, and Writing Yoga.

868 views
233654Comments 62011-10-24+16%3A38%3A48Jay+Winston

Remembering Miles.

by Jay Winston on Sep 27, 2011

A brief tribute to Miles Davis on the 20th anniversary of his passing.

1,790 views
220523Comments 4Remembering+Miles.2011-09-28+04%3A08%3A15Jay+Winston

Fierce Medicine & Forrest Yoga. (Kind of a Book Review)

by Jay Winston on Sep 12, 2011

Ana Forrest might be a true visionary, or a total lunatic, or a bit of both.

2,640 views
214950Comments 102011-09-12+19%3A27%3A53Jay+Winston

Great Moments in Sarcasm #1: Sigmund Freud & the Nazis.

by Jay Winston on Aug 24, 2011

Kinda sorta a follow-up to this. Much loved by comedians and malcontents, sarcasm has long been denigrated by overly sincere yogis, well-meaning counselors and Pink Floyd songs. Nonetheless, there are times when following Emily Dickinson’s advice to tell the truth, but tell it slant may be the best way to get a point across, particularly when more [...]

22,577 views
206558Comments 22011-08-24+18%3A53%3A56Jay+Winston

Yoga Cynic Meets Yoga Bitch (Kind of a Book Review)

by Jay Winston on Aug 17, 2011

The Yoga Cynic reviews the Yoga Bitch, complete with piss-drinking and the Enlightenment Visa Card.

2,955 views
203684Comments 92011-08-17+19%3A22%3A58Jay+Winston

On Karma, Yoga, & Being Called an A**hole.

by Jay Winston on Aug 11, 2011

Even yogis get called assholes, sometimes. The question is how you deal with it.

1,380 views
201457Comments 132011-08-12+02%3A53%3A53Jay+Winston

Dali Soft Watch at Moment of First Explosion

There’s No Time for Anything…or is there?

by Jay Winston on Jul 26, 2011

In our modern, faced-paced society, there’s no time for anything…except TV, video games, web-surfing, sports, crappy movies, recreational drugs, etc.

2,404 views
195719Comments 152011-07-26+21%3A10%3A14Jay+Winston

Homophobia, On the Other Hand: Not Natural.

by Jay Winston on Jul 11, 2011

This one’s been deleted: New version: A companion piece to Waylon’s post yesterday (involving Bonobo monkeys and how they…oh wow…) The kind of openhearted, open-minded attitude on display here might be exactly what most terrifies those who want to deny social acceptance to gays and lesbians. Prejudice isn’t natural. It’s taught.

3,599 views
189292Comments 102011-07-11+20%3A30%3A18Jay+Winston

Bodies: Electric, Acoustic & Otherwise.

by Jay Winston on Jul 5, 2011

O Venerable one, what good is the enjoyment of desires in this ill-smelling, insubstantial body, a mere conglomerate of bones, skin, sinews, muscles, marrow, flesh, semen, blood, mucus, tears, rheum, feces, urine, wind, bile, and phlegm? What good is the enjoyment of desires in this body, which is afflicted with desire, anger, greed, delusion, fear, [...]

1,434 views
187038Comments 72011-07-05+15%3A01%3A40Jay+Winston

Poems of Awakening…Kind of a Book Review

by Jay Winston on Jun 7, 2011

Got an e-mail from Bob a couple weeks ago, asking if I’d like a copy of a book called Poems of Awakening: An International Anthology of Spiritual Poetry, edited by Betsy Small, in hopes I’d review it for Elephant Journal. Like I always say, if it’s for free, it’s for me, so told him sure, send it [...]

795 views
175940Comments 42011-06-07+16%3A08%3A30Jay+Winston

It’s Bob Dylan’s 71st birthday: here’s 27 of his most memorable lyrics.

by Jay Winston on May 23, 2011

In His Own Words… If ya haven’t heard, May 24, 2012 marks Bob Dylan’s 71st birthday. Such a momentous occasion is, of course, being celebrated throughout the newsmedia and blogosphere with lists of his “best” albums and songs, breeding, needless to say, all kinds of disagreement (I mean, come on, Rolling Stone, 70 selections and no “Song [...]

2,655 views
169951Comments 82011-05-24+03%3A10%3A45Jay+Winston

poet-robert-frost-in-affable-portrait-axe-slung-over-shoulder

A Poem for the Left Behind, by Robert Frost.

by Jay Winston on May 21, 2011

The great End of Days of May 21, 2011 has come and gone. So, if you’re reading this, you’ve probably been LEFT BEHIND. On the bright side, the period of Tribulation really hasn’t been too bad, so far. Hell, there’s still internet access. Nonetheless, for those of us feeling disappointed about being stuck here on earth while the [...]

1,951 views
169315Comments 72011-05-22+01%3A23%3A13Jay+Winston

Talkin’ Waves

by Jay Winston on Apr 16, 2011

On tip-toeing the narrow course between solitude and loneliness…

430 views
155841Comments 8Talkin%E2%80%99+Waves2011-04-16+21%3A13%3A07Jay+Winston

Trials of a Yoga Cynic.

by Jay Winston on Apr 8, 2011

If they had a king of fools then I would wear that crown
and you could all die laughing because I’ll wear it proudly.
Elvis Costello

1,130 views
151639Comments 11Trials+of+a+Yoga+Cynic.2011-04-08+17%3A05%3A43Jay+Winston

Peace, Love, and F#?% Off!

by Jay Winston on Feb 17, 2011

If I am greedy, envious, violent, merely having an ideal of non-violence, of non-greed, is of little value. J. Krishnamurti

595 views
130224Comments 10Peace%2C+Love%2C+and+F%23%3F%25+Off%212011-02-18+03%3A14%3A54Jay+Winston

Ten Things That Suck About Elephant Journal.*

by Jay Winston on Jan 28, 2011

By Request From Waylon Lewis…who most likely will never ask me to write anything again…

339 views
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Rev-Martin-Luther-King-Jr-meets-Thich-Nhat-Hanh

What Would MLK Do?

by Jay Winston on Jan 13, 2011

January 17th: The Martin Luther King Day of Service

1,063 views
116511Comments 3What+Would+MLK+Do%3F2011-01-13+14%3A44%3A59Jay+Winston

Did Somebody Take Sarah Palin’s “Targets” Seriously?

by Jay Winston on Jan 8, 2011

Gabrielle Giffords, one of the Democrats “targeted” by Sarah Palin with an actual target, has been shot.

1,724 views
114448Comments 272011-01-08+20%3A58%3A27Jay+Winston

A Headache at Kripalu.

by Jay Winston on Jan 3, 2011

In a totally mellow holistic type setting like that, you tend to assume everybody else is positively blanketed in wellness and good feeling. At least I do.

844 views
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30 Years Ago Today: John Lennon & Strawberry Fields.

by Jay Winston on Dec 8, 2010

Meditations on John Lennon (along with Strawberry Fields and the soft, comfortable spaces of the mind) on the 30th anniversary of his death.

4,310 views
105258Comments 32010-12-08+15%3A58%3A24Jay+Winston

A Jedi on Park Avenue?

by Jay Winston on Dec 1, 2010

The softest thing under heaven
gallops triumphantly over
The hardest thing under heaven.
Lao Tzu

416 views
103225Comments 4A+Jedi+on+Park+Avenue%3F2010-12-01+14%3A52%3A51Jay+Winston

Being Thankful for What I Lack.

by Jay Winston on Nov 22, 2010

Thanksgiving just around the corner, thought I’d take a minute to offer a few words of thanks for things I lack…

769 views
101219Comments 8Being+Thankful+for+What+I+Lack.2010-11-22+12%3A33%3A14Jay+Winston

Are You a Sell-Out?

by Jay Winston on Nov 15, 2010

Rasta don’t work for no C.I.A. Bob Marley, Rat Race Somebody called me a sell-out…he may have been joking…anyway, if it’s true, I must have sold out pretty damn cheap… Then, who’s the definitive sell-out? Judas Iscariot? Mick Jagger? Thirty pieces of silver, even adjusted for inflation, wouldn’t get you decent seats to see those [...]

926 views
99643Comments 14Are+You+a+Sell-Out%3F2010-11-16+01%3A07%3A22Jay+Winston

The Limits of Liberty

by Jay Winston on Nov 11, 2010

If there’s one thing Americans don’t like, it’s…

303 views
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Yoga in Gym Class?

by Jay Winston on Nov 4, 2010

…Gym Class in Yoga? Would you want to learn yoga from this woman? Should I ever find myself flashing back to seventh grade gym in yoga class, I’ve been known to say, I’m rolling up my mat and walking out. As such, I must confess to mixed feelings about yoga in gym classes. These feelings might [...]

583 views
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