Tigers are also one of my favorite  animals, but they are also unfortunately on the endangered species list.  The name Tiger brand yoga came about mostly because I like tigers. There is  even an association with tigers and yoga because of their characteristics seen as courageous and powerful, they are a majestic animal. Tigers truly are also one of my favorite  animals. So as an honor to them, I decided to incorporate the tiger into my yoga brand. One of my inspirations for is comes from Monty Python.  As a fan of the group it was one particular  Flying Circus tv series episode that stuck with me over the years, specifically the Tiger Brand Coffee bit. “Tiger brand coffee is a real treat, even Tiger’s prefer it to real meet”.

So Tiger Brand Yoga was born.

“Tiger brand yoga… even tigers prefer it to real meat”

It’s playful,  and what’s more,  aside from the fun bits, the tiger is also know to have the primary meaning of willpower, personal strength and courage – all good qualities, and ones I wanted to incorporate.

In yoga, tigers are often and image used symbolically. Many times you will see yogis sitting on tiger skins. These skins are often used to sit on for meditative postures. According to the website Mahashivratri  “Lord Shiva is shown sitting on or wearing a tiger skin. The tiger is the vehicle of Shakti, the Goddess of power and force. Shiva is beyond and above any kind of force. He is the master of Shakti. The tiger skin that he wears symbolizes victory over every force. Tiger also represent lust. Thus sitting on Tiger skin, Shiva indicates that he has conquered lust.”

The tiger shows us how difficult it really is to live in a state where our mind is settled and we can see things as they really are. The tiger represents illusion, desire, aversion, the powerful, root forces that cause the reality obscuring patterns of consciousness. *

From The Tiger

“Tiger, tiger, burning bright, In the forests of the night: What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry?”

William Blake (1757-1827)

I have used the symbol of the tiger in my branding to represent our inner strength and willpower. We need will power to overcome desires. In yoga we need often to find our inner strength. Sometimes it is to find the strength to hold a posture or to try a more challenging one, and sometimes it’s just to try to find the strength to make it to class and conquer our desires.

One of my favorite posture is the tiger pose. In the Ghosh Lineage it is a forearm balance. We usually execute this posture by going from the headstand and then lifting into the tiger pose known as Baghrasana. I haven’t found other lineages that use this name other than in the Ghosh Lineage. In the 84 Yoga Asana by Buddha Bose there is a picture of him in the same posture here to the right and with the same Sanskrit (or maybe Bengali) name. In other lineages this is the Feathered Peacock Pose or Pincha Mayurasana. The peacock is also famous for being able to ingest some poisons and survive them.

Here are more fun facts about tigers:

As Per the World Wildlife Foundation  they are still listed as endangered. Here are some fun facts about tigers.

• The largest of all the Asian big cats
• Tigers rely primarily on sight and sound rather than smell for hunting.
• They typically hunt alone and stalk prey.
• A tiger can consume up to 88 pounds of meat at one time.
• On average, tigers give birth to two to four cubs every two years.
• If all the cubs in one litter die, a second litter may be produced within five months.

STATUS: Endangered

POPULATION: Around 3,890

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Panthera tigris

WEIGHT : 220–660 pounds or 100 to 300 Kilos

LENGTH : 6–10 feet

HABITATS: Tropical rainforests, evergreen forests, temperate forests, mangrove swamps, grasslands and savannas

You can help out tigers by donating to your favorite charity. Maybe even adopt your own tiger though the WWF site.