Yogic Flyers a Real Bring-Down
at Austin Flugtag
Austin, TX | Flugtag means "Flying Day" in German, but this year's Red Bull Flugtag Texas was crashed by a group of party-poopers who took the translation a bit too literally.
Originated in 1991 as a contest in which teams construct whimsical human powered contraptions to be piloted, dragged, or pushed from a ramp, the outrageous designs have ranged from actual aircraft, to a giant UT Austin Longhorn steer head, and a replica of the Rio De Janeiro Jesus with a Willie Nelson face.
Understandably, the festival's organizers were not amused when four out-of-towners from Iowa's Maharishi University Yogic Flying Team used transcendental meditation to attain a higher level of consciousness, and simply rise into the air from a sitting position.
The team's captain was unapologetic. "We came here to demonstrate the powers of mind over body. If this were meant to be merely 'Drinking and Carousing Day,' they should have named it as such."
"This was supposed to be fun," complained one local participant. "People here don't want to meditate. They want to drink beer, climb inside a balsa-wood armadillo, and get pushed off a 30-ft. scaffold.
"All these yoga guys did was float around and eat rice cakes. If I wanted to be bored out of my mind, I'd go to Dallas."
