Runner's Heights: It's a Bird, a Plane, a Prophet!

As the title suggests, The Runner's Yoga Book by Jean Couch is one of most focused books on yoga for runners that you might find in the market today. It has a short list of yoga asanas (poses) for runners who wish to stay injury free and supple during and after your runs. I have very tight hamstrings and after working with the book for 10 days, I noticed a remarkable lack of soreness in my upper thighs, glutes, and lower back -- some day, I might be able to call these muscles by their Latin nomenclatures. But, as I find myself being able to stretch further in each asana, I am beginning to feel more and more confident in my strides and am noticing an increase in my pace. The Section 23 in Jean Couch's book has a list of asanas as part of the suggested routine before and after every run. A downside of all this is that you have to add an additional 30 mins. before and after each run, which may not be practical unless you have an extra hour to spare over and above the duration of your run.



As I live my life, I am beginning to associate a belief in a "Sky God" as akin to believing in any mythical or fairy-tale character, such as Cinderella, Snow White, Ravana, or Santa Claus. How grown adults can live their lives believing in the presence of their beloved Sky Gods despite all evidence to the contrary is simply beyond my comprehension. Is it the only delusion that we are allowed to have as adults, the last belief that we can hold on to after being told at age 11 that Santa doesn't really exist? All the traits of Santa Claus exist in the Sky Gods of our time -- they punish the naughty and reward the faithful and the good. So what's preventing Jerry Falwell from bringing back Santa in the pantheon of the Lords? It's just one more male figurehead to feature next to the Holy Trinity - the ultimate male fantasy. Hey, if Jesus can posthumously fly through the sky aided by anti-gravity or Heavenly Suction, so can Santa, Superman, and Underdog. I have seen all of them, including Jesus, fly -- in the movies.

Here's a quote from Woody Allen in the New York Times that sums up my thinking right now:
"This sounds so bleak when I say it, but we need some delusions to keep us going. And the people who successfully delude themselves seem happier than the people who can’t. I’ve known people who have put their faith in religion and in fortune tellers."

Is Religion Infiltrating our Secular Workplace?

A few years ago, at a well-known game studio in Northern California, a life drawing class for studio employees had to be relocated to another part of the studio because the class featured nude models. Can a life drawing class for adults featuring nude models be such a radical and alarming notion? It turns out that the nudity offended the religious sensibiliites of one of the employees. So, the entire class had to be moved to accommodate the wishes of an employee who brought his religion to work with him.

The Constitution of the United States guarantees freedom of religion but it also stipulates the separation of church and state. Employees at secular workplaces -- workplaces that subscribe to no religious affiliations -- should be discouraged from bringing their religious viewpoints to work because these religious views might impinge on others right to a workplace free from religious bias. It is the job of every HR department in a secular workplace to ensure that no religious bias exists -- that no religious beliefs are given special considerations.

A company in Southern California recently passed a policy preventing employees from bringing personal fridges or microwaves in their workplaces. Almost every employee complied with the policy save for at least one employee who argued for a personal microwave and a fridge owing to religious dietary restrictions. There were no questions asked -- the company just caved in and made an exception for this individual.

Do these exceptions not discriminate against others who do not hold such religious beliefs? When we make concessions to certain religious viewpoints in a secular workplace, are we not creating religious biases that are potentially at odds with our Constitution? How can religious views be allowed to trump secular corporate policy and erode the secular nature of the corporate workplace?