Canada's Globe and Mail Report on Business magazine has named Lululemon Athletica's Christine Day CEO of the year. This news comes after the Vancouver-based company was criticized in the media for its new "Who is John Galt?" shopping bag (a reference to the Ayn Rand novel Atlas Shrugged).

Day, who came from Starbucks and has served as Lulu's CEO since 2008, has overseen tremendous growth during her tenure. "Lululemon saw its stock climb to almost $60 this fall, up over 280% from when Day joined the company, and a whopping 250% gain year over year," according to the article.

Day points to the company's stated values as a driving factor in that growth. "Investing in your health will pay big dividends for individuals and society," she told the magazine, "elevating the world from mediocrity to greatness."

Of course, the anti-mediocrity sentiment led to Lululemon's controversial use of the Rand quote. "I believe in a culture of personal accountability and not compromising your values," Day said. "Atlas Shrugged is both about not accepting mediocrity and being personally accountable for the life you are creating."

But Lululemon has always used inspirational (or what the magazine calls "communitarian") messages for their logos, such as, "The pursuit of happiness is the source of unhappiness" and "Friends are more important than money." It's this selling of ideals, and not just yoga pants, analysts say, that has fueled the company's enormous success.

"Compared to more price-driven products, Lululemon apparel gives its customers the feeling that they're purchasing a lot more than mere 'value,'" the article states. "Buy a Cabin Long Sleeve T-shirt and you're involved in bettering yourself. Pick up one of those cute Lucky Luon headbands and you're joining a community of like-minded people. ... It's a thing of virtue. Budget in other spending categories if you must, the brand seems to whisper, but don't stop taking care of your body and building a better society."

This is exactly what Kirtan Central founder Daniel Tucker had in mind when he asked people from the kirtan community to submit videos of themselves singing the Krishna Das Classic "Ma Durga."

"As I pored over the videos, two things became evident: first, these people LOVE this song! Whether's it's love of Krishna Das, love of kirtan, love of Durga, love of singing, love of God... what's obvious is the love, joy, and tenderness captured in each video clip," wrote Tucker in a blog post. "And second: how deeply we crave to be part of something larger than ourselves! There was so much excitement to be part of the "choir," and I believe that's one of the places kirtan is healing us."

He accepted submissions from 108 people from around the world and the result is this awe inspiring video.

Do you practice kirtan as a way to connect with your community? What are other ways you connect?

Football, beer, poker ... yoga?

Let's face it. In our country, yoga doesn't exactly top the list for macho, masculine activities even though the practice was designed for men thousands of years ago. But several male yogis are working to make yoga more accessible (and possibly more culturally acceptable) for men.

Last month, we told you about Activation: Yoga Conference for Men, which took place Nov. 11-13 in San Francisco. Last week, an article in the Boston Globe examined a different type of yoga geared toward men. BROga (the word combines the words "bro" and "yoga") is strongly based on the physical aspect of yoga and shies away from using Sanskrit terms and the esoteric, less familiar parts of yoga.

"This is not a dumbed down version of yoga," BROga cofounder Robert Sidoti told The Globe. "There's a lot of movement linking the postures, but adding push-ups and variations of squats. People see the name 'Broga' and they think it's just a bunch of idiots. But there's integrity."

By now it's common knowledge that yoga has its roots in Hinduism. For this reason one Seattle pastor says there's no room for yoga in Christianity. Yoga is demonic, says Pastor Mark Driscoll, and it can't be separated from its Hindu roots in order to make it acceptable practice for Christians.

"Going to a yoga studio to practice yoga as a Christian is a bit like going into a mosque to practice Islam as a Christian," he writes in a recent blog post.

Driscoll makes his case by exploring yoga history and philosophy and citing both Hindu and yoga scholars and passages from the Bible.

"My hope is that you'll begin to see clearly how yoga at its core is much more than a physical exercise but rather a system of thought that contends against Christianity and subtly finds its way into our thinking, habits, and lifestyles," he writes.

This is not a new debate. While it's probably safe to assume that few yoga practitioners believe that the practice is demonic, many agree with Driscoll's view that yoga and Eastern spirituality cannot be separated. Even styles of yoga that appear to focus solely on the physical body or that use it as a tool for Christian worship are still in direct opposition to the Christian viewpoint that Jesus is the one and only way to salvation, according to Driscoll. Whether you agree with him or not, you have to admit he makes a compelling case.

If a yoga company approached you to make your dream mat, what changes would you make to the standard mat design? John Friend, the founder of Anusara Yoga dubbed by a July NY Times article as "the yoga mogul" for his business savvy, got exactly that opportunity with his partnership with yoga mat company Manduka.

Friend's biggest complaint about these sticky pieces of rubber was that they weren't wide enough to give his students the support they need in some poses. Friend recommends students practice poses like Upward-Facing Dog with their hands wide apart to give a broader foundation and more optimal alignment for the shoulders. For many students, the standard 24-inch wide mat just isn't wide enough, he said.

The new by Manduka features 30-inch wide Manduka proLite and eKO SuperLight mats (and even a wider hand towel) to give practitioners more room to find optimal alignment.

"You actually can have an inner opening by a piece of rubber on your floor," Friend said in a promo video produced by Manduka. "I'm proud to say that everything about this mat will lead to the essence of your heart."

Of course, not everyone agrees that wider mats will lead them to the essence of their hearts. One Youtube commenter points out that wider mats mean fewer people will be able to fit comfortably into already packed studios. "Are you going to be the one who shows up for a packed class with a gigantic mat, bigger than everyone else's? Who wants that reputation?" I guess one man's dream mat is another man's invasion of personal space.

Would you buy this wider mat? Does a well-known yoga teacher's endorsement make you more likely to buy a yoga product?

Low operating costs and growing demand are fueling the success of yoga studios, many of which are mom-and-pop operations that simply want to share yoga with their communities. Of course, the still-struggling economy and high unemployment rate are also good reasons for people to look for ways to manage stress and do some soul searching.

The yoga and Pilates studio industry is expected to hit $6.5 billion by the end of this year, which is an expected annual sales growth of 9.5% between 2006 and 2011 according to reports by market research firm IBISWorld.

But studio owners aren't the only ones making a profit from yoga--just ask Asheville, North Carolina, entrepreneur Jason Scholder. Scholder is on track to make $1 million in annual sales by 2013 with his innovative yoga prop the Three Minute Egg, according to a recent article in the Asheville Citizen-Times. An alternative to traditional yoga blocks, the Three Minute Egg fits the natural curve of the spine.

"I would like to see the Three Minute Egg in every yoga studio, in every Pilates studio, in every chiropractic office and physical therapy office in the world," he told the paper.

At the rate the industry is growing, it might be hard to keep up.

Has the economy impacting how much you're willing to spend on yoga classes and products?