Maha Yoga's Steve Ross On Spirituality In LA

Who: Steve Ross

Current Gig: Owner and instructor at Maha Yoga in Brentwood.

Neighborhood: Brentwood

If LA were a yoga position, what might she be?
Down Dog with a cell phone in the left hand and a Kombucha and/or mirror in the right hand… or Happy Baby Pose, which many know by my nickname for it, Happy Boyfriend Pose!

LA's best spiritual centers or little known yoga recommendations?
The Hollywood Vedanta Temple.

If not at Maha Yoga, where might someone find you?
A health food store or hiding under a rock.

What are some of your favorite dishes at LA restaurants?
Clean ones.

Where would you take an out-of-town friend?
LAX if I liked them, the Santa Monica Pier if I didn't.

Do you have a meal that reminds you of Los Angeles?
A banana, coconut water, blueberry smoothie -- with a generous topping of Botox.

How do you choose the music to play in your yoga classes?
UCLA girls tell me what to play… and Elvis appears to me and tells me to play rap.

Do you have a song that reminds you of LA?
‘Where Is The Love?' by the Black Eyed Peas

Favorite LA movie?
'Titanic' and 'True Blood.'

Why do you love Los Angeles?
I love LA because of its casual ability to undermine any true creativity. And it has nice weather.

Why do you hate Los Angeles?
I don't hate LA, I just hate the people that live here :)

Why LA?
Because Hawaii's too expensive…

Browse images of the studio here, courtesy of Maha Yoga's Facebook page:

Comments

[downwarddog1]

04:10 PM on 10/11/2011

Wow, I used to go to Maha and it was one of the reasons I started to hate LA. The women would talk about their new and improved vegan lifestyle while wearing Lulumon and Freecity gear to class while having coveted as many Louboutons and designer bags as possible while expressing their love of animals and veganism(Leather anybody??) . They followed Goop for real and had no idea how empty and stereotypical they appeared and it was depressing. Steves classes embodied all of the superficiality that can be associated with LA and was a very lame practice for those of us who wanted to have it matter.

[sunshineshines]

04:11 AM on 09/26/2011

steve,

what's up with the UK HP

" And like crack, I cane a lot of money on my addiction. My teacher training cost several grand. Before that I did a foundation course, and now I have to fork out for workshops, classes and gear. Sweaty Betty and American Apparel ain't cheap.

Fortunately unlike crack, yoga remains legal and apparently prolongs life. Some yogis believe that you have a finite number of breaths - that's why they're always telling you to inhale and exhale deeply and slowly. A bit like the sort of breath you'd practice when you smoke a crack pipe (I'd imagine)."

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/anna-chapman/yoga-is-as-addictive-as-crack_b_962151.html

[Amy Wonderling]

06:59 PM on 09/23/2011

Steve you ARE the people who SUCK here in LA. The doors are wide open, you can leave any time. Hey I will even pitch in for your one way ticket!!!!

[Julie Buckner]

08:44 PM on 09/22/2011

Hi Steve. Your piece called out for a response from the other side. I was a student of yours for several years, back in the day. All love.

[Quel C Grammar]

04:17 PM on 09/22/2011

Is he out of business yet? This doesn't seem like a very smart move.

[popgunne]

09:29 PM on 09/20/2011

So what's the point of this article.

If this typical and tiresome slamming of Angelinos was suppose to be clever/funny it's not.

This guy sounds like a punk who apparently teaches stretching exercises misrepresented as yoga.

Namaste

[americancolonyinhell]

11:56 AM on 09/20/2011

Now, that's a first - a misanthropic yogi.

[Barbara Manuel Potter]

11:45 AM on 09/20/2011

Wow can't help but notice that when an article is published how many "haters" pop up. Doesn't anyone ever have anything nice to say. Just sayin.

[jmarsh4653]

08:47 AM on 09/20/2011

Why was this interview done?

[sunshineshines]

08:41 PM on 09/20/2011

my guess is the blogger, lucy - does yoga with steve. i did some classes with him in the early 90's and he does speak like this, only it's much funnier when you are in the middle of a really hard yoga pose and NEED to laugh your way through.

[bgfa]

03:17 AM on 09/20/2011

Brentwood is hardly representative of LA. If this guy were to live in the real LA he would not find the kind of people who would pay him big money. If you want real creativity and authentic people we have them in large numbers but not in Brentwood, or most of the West Side, for that matter. Sounds like he's here for the money, not the creativity.

[TaurusRose]

06:04 AM on 09/21/2011

you're as bad as he is with your westside ignorance.
Most of us living the creative life realize that money does not negate art,
so you and Mr Ross must not have evolved yet.

[Quel C Grammar]

04:16 PM on 09/22/2011

That's such a sad and lame assumption. What's the point of this East side vs.West side mentality that is based in nothing but conjecture?

[AnaisHenryJune]

11:58 PM on 09/19/2011

I love LA with all my heart. I know is that all you have to do is walk around the city and you can find art, creativity and special people everywhere.

Having said that...not every city is right for every person, and it's possible to outgrow a place you once loved. I'm sure that if you're working as a yoga teacher you do meet a lot of vacuous people--let's face it, yoga's the trendy thing these days. if those vacuous people are erasing all of the other aspects of LA that are beautiful and wonderful, though, maybe it's time for him to start looking for another city. Holding on to that much scorn and hatred for his home city can't be pleasant.

[CaroleK1970]

11:33 PM on 09/19/2011

some yogi, hates LA, but loves LA, but hates people.

[wlcd]

08:32 PM on 09/19/2011

Why stay in LA if he dislikes so much? Could it be for the $$$$$$. How enlightning. How spiritual.

[KtDiChi]

05:42 PM on 09/19/2011

Sheesh! That dude needs to do some yoga.