Downward whale? Yogis protest beluga captivity with stretches and bends

There was bending, stretching and relaxed deep breathing happening at the Vancouver aquarium on Thursday — but don't be mistaken — the tension was palpable.

The yoga inside the aquarium was taking place in the underwater beluga exhibit, where whales Aurora and her daughter Qila, who has been in captivity her entire life, live out their days in the public eye. A group of protesters, among them yoga instructors, took issue with the aquarium connecting peaceful yoga to captive animals, according to the Vancouver Province, and so they staged a sit-in (a yoga-in, in fact) outside of the building.

Wearing warm clothes and using mats on the grass, the protesters performed their sun salutations and downward dogs in opposition of the same stretches happening inside. Their signs described a "whale jail" and "yoga fail." The organizers told the Province that yoga represents freedom and unity, not a message that fits with whales in glass boxes.

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The aquarium marketed the yoga session, which cost $21 for aquarium members and $31 for others, as a relaxing class next to the peaceful whale exhibit.

Toronto's demonstrations against mayor Rob Ford this week were considerably more irate in tone, with protesters shouting for the mayor to resign after he admitted to smoking crack, buying illegal drugs and drinking and driving.