yoga,the ancient indian practice of breathing,meditation and aasanaas has gained a lot of attention from the western world.americans are growing out of the crunchy stage of yoga to the starbucks stage.they are pursuing this market with a vengeance.asics yoga shoes,eileen fisher apparell and even ford motor company advertise in a big way in 'yoga journal'.and there is competition for hugger mugger and gaiam for yoga mats,incense,fancy accoutrements like eye pillows and yoga bags.trendy yoga pants and even tops to wear to class are increasingly getting snapped up .lulu lemon(?) and yoga works have 14 locations in southern california and new york.americans spend about 3 billion $ a year on yoga classes and associated products.while some say it is a labour of love others feel that while adhering to the yoga's healing principles they are also turning a profit. and when americans have taken to yoga,16.5 million of them,can you leave their pets behind?
am quite sure you have not heard of this word before.neither did i.till recently.'man's best friend is at last getting all the recognition he/she deserves.
dog food is now a billion dollar industry.there is dog soup,dog butter and even dog dessert.dog soaps,dog shampoos,dog talcum powder,dog toothbrush and toothpaste,,dog perfume etc etc .the list is endless.several boutiques are mushrooming in mumbai selling only dog products.when raveena tandon's dog got lost in mumbai sometime back, it was headline news.police swung into action immediately and the missing dog was traced.beauty clinics are also coming up in upmarket residential areas for dogs.they go for pedicure and massage. dogs are really on a roll. in japan,a retirement home has been set up for aged dogs.
last week there was a pet convention in japan.about 20000 people attended.called 'Pet show' 2006,it was held in chiba,east of tokyo.there was a stall where 'doga', yoga for dogs was demonstrated.when i read this newsitem out to a friend he jokingly said "yoga has now really gone to the dogs!".
and this summer between april 29 and 30,pooja sathe,24 years,is conducting an action packed summer canine camp at nagathane on the pune- mumbai express highway.most pet owners don't travel as a family and generally one person stays behind to look after the dogs.pooja figured out that if their pets could accompany them dog owners would be happy and everyone will have a nice time together. a win-win situation.cost is rs 500 for the dog and an extra rs 1500 per person.including stay for one night at the kamath residency.
and what's in it for the dogs? dogs are walked,trained to overcome hurdles,crawl through tunnels,play on fly ball machines,do frisbee and ball throwing and trekking and racing.a vet will be in attendance.and additional attractions thrown in are a swimming pool for dogs and lectures on pet photography for the escorts. bow wow!
i should call pooja sathe and suggest she enlists the services of a yoga teacher too. for dog yoga. doga.
1 comment:
very initeresting article, appa. i thought that was a hilarious comment about yoga going to the dogs! in the UK also, people are really into their dogs.
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