Just damn.If you want on the list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...
Posted on 01/21/2004 5:58:15 PM PST by Dog Gone
First there was house arrest. Now there's yoga.
A judge ordered a man convicted today of slapping his wife to take a yoga class as part of his one-year probation.
"It's part of anger management," County Criminal Court at Law Judge Larry Standley said of the ancient Hindu philosophy of exercise and well-being. "For people who are into it, it really calms them down."
" I've thought about taking it myself, but I've got a pretty bad back," Standley said.
Standley, a former prosecutor, has sometimes imposed year-long jail sentences for similar misdemeanor domestic assaults. But he said the case of James Lee Cross was unique.
Cross, a 53-year-old car salesman from Tomball, explained that his wife was struggling with a substance abuse problem and that he struck her on New Year's Eve during an argument about her drinking.
"He was trying to get a hold of her because she has a problem," Standley said after the court hearing. "I thought this would help him realize that he only has control over himself."
The sentence came as a surprise to Cross, who was told to enroll in a class and report back to Standley on his progress.
"I'm not very familiar with it," Cross said of yoga. "From what I understand, it may help in couple ways, not only as far as mentally settling, but maybe a little weight loss."
Darla Magee, an instructor at Yoga Body Houston in River Oaks, said she would recommend Cross take a basic yoga class emphasizing breathing and including a variety of postures - forward bends, back bends and twists.
"Yoga can help us to get rid of many emotional issues we might have," she said. "It's a spiritual cleanse."
Prosecutor Lincoln Goodwin agreed to a sentence of probation without jail time because Cross had no significant criminal history.
While Wednesday marked the first time Standley has ordered a defendant into a yoga class, he has tried other forms of "alternative sentencing."
He has ordered dozens of people convicted of drunk driving to keep a journal of news clippings about the crime to make them aware of the problem.
Harris County probation officials recently received a $20,000 grant to study whether Standley's drunk driving journal has any effect on reducing repeat offenses.
Nevertheless, the yoga sentence was unusual even for Standley.
"This is not a regular condition I make on people who beat up their spouse," he said. "But he was not your typical serial wife-beater type, based on what was presented to me."
Cross's wife, Wendy, said she thought yoga would be good for him. "I know there are a lot of benefits to meditation," she said.
John Coon, director of the Yoga Center of Houston, hailed Standley's order as "progressive." But Yannis Avramidis, a Houston yoga instructor, derided the judge's move as a reflection of how faddish yoga has become.
They all agreed, however, that yoga may be an effective calming tool.
"If everyone did yoga, we'd have a lot less violence and trouble in the world. Everyone would just be calmer," Magee said. But Cross, she said, "is going to need more than one yoga class."
Just damn.If you want on the list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...
,,, there's about 39,000 Indian doctors in the US at this time - I wonder what they think.
We know what they think! LOL
Talk about cruel and unusual punishment! Where's the ACLU when you need them?
Separation of church and state! Separation of church and state!
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