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Jan. 22, 2004, 5:24PM

Man who slapped wife sentenced to yoga

It's anger management, judge saysBy ANDREW TILGHMANCopyright 2004

Houston Chronicle First there was house arrest. Now there's yoga. A

judge ordered a man convicted Wednesday of slapping his wife to take

a yoga class as part of his one-year probation. "It's part of anger

management," County Criminal Court at Law Judge Larry Standley said

of the ancient Hindu philosophy of exercise and well-being. "For

people who are into it, it really calms them down. "I've thought

about taking it myself, but I've got a pretty bad back," Standley

said. Standley, a former prosecutor, has sometimes imposed yearlong

jail sentences for similar misdemeanor domestic assaults. But he said

the case of James Lee Cross was unique. Cross, a 53-year-old car

salesman from Tomball, explained that his wife was struggling with a

substance abuse problem and that he struck her on New Year's Eve

during an argument about her drinking. "He was trying to get a hold

of her because she has a problem," Standley said after the court

hearing. "I thought this would help him realize that he only has

control over himself." The sentence came as a surprise to Cross, who

was told to enroll in a class and report back to Standley on his

progress. "I'm not very familiar with it," Cross said of yoga. "From

what I understand, it may help in a couple ways, not only as far as

mentally settling, but maybe a little weight loss." Darla Magee, an

instructor at Yoga Body Houston in River Oaks, said she would

recommend that Cross take a basic yoga class emphasizing breathing

and including a variety of postures -- forward bends, back bends and

twists. "Yoga can help us to get rid of many emotional issues we

might have," she said. "It's a spiritual cleanse." Prosecutor Lincoln

Goodwin agreed to a sentence of probation without jail time because

Cross had no significant criminal history. While Wednesday marked the

first time Standley has ordered a defendant into a yoga class, he has

tried other forms of "alternative sentencing." He has ordered dozens

of people convicted of drunken driving to keep a journal of news

clippings about the crime to make them aware of the problem. Harris

County probation officials recently received a $20,000 grant to study

whether Standley's journal orders have had any effect on reducing

repeat drunken driving offenses. Nevertheless, the yoga sentence was

unusual even for Standley. "This is not a regular condition I make on

people who beat up their spouse," he said. "But he was not your

typical serial wife-beater type, based on what was presented to me."

Cross' wife, Wendy, said she thought yoga would be good for him. "I

know there are a lot of benefits to meditation," she said. John Coon,

director of the Yoga Center of Houston, hailed Standley's order as

"progressive." But Yannis Avramidis, a Houston yoga instructor,

derided the judge's move as a reflection of how faddish yoga has

become. They all agreed, however, that yoga may be an effective

calming tool. "If everyone did yoga, we'd have a lot less violence

and trouble in the world. Everyone would just be calmer," Magee said.

But Cross, she said, "is going to need more than one yoga class."