Yoga - Guide, Tips, Resources

Nintendo Wii Fit Plus Blue Bundle- Yoga Mat, Boxin

2010-12-31T05:16:00.000-08:00

Nintendo is readying a second fitness title, featuring better sensors, online functionality, and lower-impact exercises for senior citizens. Workouts combine the original Wii Fit activities and selections from 15 new balance games and six new strength training and yoga activities.

Price: $156.99

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Instant Home/Wall Reusable Decal Stickers - Instructional Yoga Poses Stance

2010-12-30T18:05:00.000-08:00

Go and immerse yourself in a fun ambiance with these stickers! These removable, repositionable, and reusable stickers are the perfect and convenient way to adorn and decorate any space. Easy to peel off and to stick on walls, doors, windows, tables, refrigerators, and more! When you want to reposition your friends peel them off with ease without peeling off paint/wallpaper and without leaving behind any residue. Perfect for nurseries, homes, stores, dorms, and anywhere else! It'll liven up any room and give it a new vibrant life!

Price: $24.99

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Deluxe Yoga Mat

2010-12-30T08:53:00.000-08:00

Over 60% thicker than ordinary mats. 5mm padding for more cushion and comfort during yoga and stretching. Each side of the 68"L x 24"W mat features unique colors and textures. Rolls and stores compactly.

Price:

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Yoga: Fitness Pod

2010-12-30T02:34:00.000-08:00

This software is BRAND NEW. Packaging may differ slightly from the stock photo above. Please click on our logo above to see over 15,000 titles in stock.

Price:

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SKQUE EXERCISE YOGA ARMBAND CASE FOR IPHONE 3G IPOD TOUCH

2010-12-29T17:25:00.000-08:00

SKQUE EXERCISE YOGA ARMBAND CASE FOR IPHONE 3G IPOD TOUCH

Price:

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A ROYAL BLUE 4x6x2 Mat

2010-12-29T09:14:00.000-08:00

OUR most POPULAR Foam Mat! Folding Panel Mat is divided into 2' sections for easy Storage and Handling. Meets NFPA 701 standard and ULC S-109 large scale test. Versitile mat for Multi Purpose Activities-Tumbling, Exercise, Gymnastics, Martial Arts, Judo and Wrestling

Price:

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Living Yoga - Power Stamina Yoga for Beginners [VHS]

2010-12-28T22:29:00.000-08:00

Power Stamina Yoga for Beginners will make you sweat--and that's the idea! Muscles stretch better when they're warm--and when you follow this demanding sequence of yoga positions, you will be. Power yoga is the rage among athletes such as runners, cyclists, and climbers, who find that it protects them from injury, promotes flexibility, and increases muscle strength and endurance. Based on the classical astanga system, it combines breath control with movement to bring body and mind into harmony. In only 20 minutes, this tape takes you through several sun salutations, standing strength poses, and even 4 minutes' worth of conscious relaxation, leaving you feeling strong, energized, and centered. Plus, the background scenery is terrific--not just Rodney Yee himself, but also the pounding Maui surf behind him. A word of caution: though this tape says it's "for beginners," it's most helpful for those who know some basic yoga positions already. The sequence moves quickly, and there's not a lot of time for learning a pose that's new to you or even for paying attention to form. --Mary Park

Price: $9.98

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Yoga Journal's Yoga for Flexibility (Beginner's Practice) [VHS]

2010-12-28T11:18:00.000-08:00

Yoga Journal's more advanced offering of yoga stretching exercises presents two routines for flexibility: back stretches and front stretches. Each routine begins with a short warm up, though if one is not already well practiced in yoga stretching techniques, not to mention already flexible, some of these stretches should not be attempted. Even the so-called "moderate" poses for those with less strength and flexibility are difficult to achieve. Patricia Walden encourages the viewer to practice often and work toward the stretching goals, and conscientiously demonstrates the stretches in a methodical manner. The principles of balance and strength in all parts of the body (achieved by practicing both front and back stretches) is a lofty goal for many, but one to work toward in small increments. The two distinct routines in this video are conveniently presented separately so that they can be combined or practiced alternately. (If you're not already on your way to yogic flexibility, in the beginning you may be sitting out a good part of this video.) The production value, like the other Yoga Journal offerings, is consistently good and even. Certain stretches require props such as yoga blocks, but chairs and phone books are a good substitute for the home user. --Gilia Angell

Price: $14.98

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Dakine Girl's Kala Yoga Sleeve Bag

2010-12-28T02:49:00.000-08:00

DAKINE Yoga Mat Carry

Price: $15.00

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Yoga Could Alleviate Fibromyalgia Symptoms - allvoices

2010-12-27T20:33:00.000-08:00

Researchers indicate yoga could help with fibromyalgia associated symptoms

A brand new pilot study has indicated that a little yoga may just aide in symptoms of fibromyalgia.

The “Yoga of Awareness” pilot program has revealed that patients who stretch and meditated just once a week has shown noticeable improvements in associated symptoms such as pain, fatigue and depression compared to those patients who were on the wait list for the program, stated by Dr. James Carson, at the Oregon Health & Science University in Portland Oregon along with fellow researchers.

Their results can be found in the journal Pain.

Dr. Carson states that the findings in this study show promising initial support for beneficial results of yoga in patients with fibromyalgia. Literature of the benefits provided by yoga has been growing. Especially in patients with fibromyalgia. Yoga just may be able to provide exercise and coping skills.

Fifty-three female patients with fibromyalgia were enrolled in this study. They were randomized into two groups, either eight week “Yoga of Awareness” program or on a waiting list and receiving standard care. Women were picked for this study due to the fact the rate of fibromyalgia is higher in the female sex. Some of the women were taking medications to alleviate their symptoms.

Each class had included forty minutes of gentle stretching, twenty-five minutes of meditation, ten minutes of breathing exercises and twenty minutes of lessons on how to apply yoga principals to coping strategies along with twenty-five minutes of group discussion.

The women in the study also had been told they could practice yoga at home. The average age of women in the study was 53.7 years and average time since being diagnosed was 11.6 years

Established on the fibromyalgia impact questionnaire, general improvement largely endorsed those in the yoga program. The women in the program had shown greater improvements of symptoms. They also indicated better improvements in the areas of pain, fatigue, stiffness, depression, poor memory, anxiety, tenderness, poor balance and environmental sensitivity.

Information based on the Patient Global Impression of Change scale, yoga had displayed greater general improvements along with strength gain, coping, pain and problem solving.

Relating to terms of potential system for the association, researchers stated that yoga enriches an acceptance and a willingness to learn from pain and other situations of stress.

Yoga has displayed similar results as those of aerobic exercise, which possibly improves the fatigue which goes along with fibromyalgia symptoms.

This pilot study shows promise in support of the possibility of benefits from yoga for women with fibromyalgia.

Most persons today with fibromyalgia seek out alternative treatments to aide in this condition. Below are a few of the more common ones.

Chiropractic

In 2009, the Foundation of Chiropractic Progress had announced that chiropractic care demonstrated its ability to decrease excruciating pain, constant fatigue along with joint stiffness all of which are symptoms of fibromyalgia.

Chiropractic care has grown in immense amounts for those who suffer with this debilitating condition. It has been proven to greatly reduce the chronic widespread pain and return patients to living healthier lives.

Fibromyalgia involves the central nervous system which produces a situation known as central sensitization which causes increased nervous system responses. Chiropractors deal with a persons nervous system and proficiently trained in this area. Chiropractors aim to correct the misalignment of the spine and pelvis using hands-on approach to adjustments. As joint motion improves the chronic pain decreases and in some cases can be totally eliminated. Chiropractors may employ numerous techniques including exercises and Tens Units. Therefore, chiropractic care is a very viable option for those with fibromyalgia.

Massage Therapy

Massage therapy can reduce pain and fatigue associated with fibromyalgia. It has been noted in some cases to improve functioning in the joints and decrease stiffness. Several massages can be used in association for fibromyalgia and its symptoms.

Swedish massage is the more popular massage used in fibromyalgia patients. It increases the oxygen that goes to the muscles in the body. This in turn helps the body rid its self of toxins while it improves the range of motion. Long quick motions over the body are used by therapists.

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Wine, Yoga and Ayurveda - Indian Wine Portal (blog)

2010-12-27T10:18:00.000-08:00

To some, yoga and wine may not seem to have much in common. One is an ancient practice that gradually trains your body and mind to be in a constant state of peace. The other might be considered a fleeting remedy, which can temporarily raise your spirits and relieve your inhibitions. But if you take a closer look, you'll discover that yoga and wine have far more in common than you might think. In my research on the topic, it seems that there has been a wave of wine and yoga-related workshops sweeping the USA in recent years. "Yoga teaches you how to age gracefully just like a great bottle of wine ages gracefully," explains David Romanelli, an instructor in California who teaches yoga and wine workshops across the country.

Yoga has many meanings and is derived from the Sanskrit root "yuj", meaning "to control", "to yoke" or "to unite". Other translations include "joining", "uniting", "union", "conjunction", and "means". Yoga refers to traditional physical and mental disciplines that originated in India nearly 5000 years ago. Yoga exercises are based on the belief that the body and breath are intimately connected with the mind. By controlling the breath and holding the body in steady poses or "asanas" yoga creates harmony.

So imagine that you just completed a fulfilling yoga practice and you are fully in tune with your body, and then at the end of the practice you assume the relaxation pose, usually savasana (corpse pose). Feeling fulfilled and relaxed, you then take a sip of your favourite wine, complete with retro nasal breathing to get the full aroma and bouquet of the wine; just imagine how much better that wine will taste.

Not everyone agrees with the concept of wine and yoga. The purists truly believe that the mere fact that you have taken up yoga suggests that you are seeking the truth and enlightenment. No alcohol should pass your lips, some diehards believe. For me, take everything in moderation.

Some do Yoga for exercise, others as alternative medicine; there are those who are on their journey seeking their own enlightenment and understanding of consciousness. As the popular saying goes: 'To each, his own'.

The above article in Jamaica Observer is food for thought.

Not many people are aware that in India, yoga and wine have the same roots - the Vedas. While Yoga is well known as an exercise regimen, it is more of a holistic path for union with one's source/divinity. Ayurveda, (Ayu means life in Sanskrit, Veda means wisdom,) the Indian medicine system, revealed to meditating sages some thousands of years ago, has a living tradition of red wine - Draksharishth. It is made by fermenting grape juice and herbs. Its role has been to sustain health. Draksharishth is recommended as a tonic and to increase the digestive fire. It is especially useful in anemia. Not many people, (that includes Indians too) are aware of the wine and yoga connection anymore. Wine was used as medicine. To the extent that wine was used as a food item was because in Ayurveda, proper food or Pathya is used as preventive medicine. Yoga and Ayurveda serve the holistic purpose of assisting a person reach one’s full potential in health and spirituality, among other benefits.

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Fibromyalgia Sufferers May Get Relief From Tai Chi, Yoga - Sure Start News

2010-12-26T23:24:00.000-08:00

Two new studies suggest that gentle stretching and meditation exercises, such as some forms of yoga and Tai Chi, may help those that suffer from Fibromyalgia.

58 women were enrolled in the yoga study. 25 of those participated in a two hour yoga class once a week, for eight weeks. The class was designed specifically for women with Fibromyalgia, and included gentle stretches, poses, instructions on coping with fibromyalgia, and group discussions. The remaining 28 women were told they were on a waiting list, and served as a control group.

Participants in the class were “somewhat apprehensive”, according to lead study author James Carson, a clinical psychologist and pain specialist at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, “but once they got into the rhythm of it they found it to be very helpful.”

At the end of the study, 4.5% of the participants said they felt “very much better”. 77% said they were “a little better”, 4.5% reported no change. In the control group, none reported “very much better”, 19.2% reported “a little better”, and 38.5% reported no change.

The study was published in the Oct 14th issue of the journal “Pain”.

In August, a study published by The New England Journal of Medicine found that the slow and meditative practice of Tai Chi can be helpful to women with Fibromyalgia. Tai Chi is an ancient art form, rooted in the practice of martial arts such as Kung Fu, but done slowly and with a focus on the health benefits rather than fighting.

Participants took two Tai Chi classes each week, and received a DVD to practice with 20 minutes each day. Compared to a control group, which participated in a stretching and education class, the Tai Chi students demonstrated more weekly improvement using the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, according to the studies authors. One-third of the Tai Chi students stopped using medications during the course of the study, compared with one-sixth in the stretching/education group.

Researchers noted that both studies were small, and that more research was needed with larger numbers of participants and different instructors, to see if successful ratios held up.

Short URL: http://www.sure-start.com/?p=1693

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Yoga benefits Kent State faculty and staff

2010-12-26T12:50:00.000-08:00

Yoga benefits Kent State faculty and staff
A tropical beach getaway is closer than faculty and staff may know. That’s exactly where Mary Ann Devine, associate professor in the department of foundation, leadership and administration, feels like she is when she attends yoga classes at the Women’s Resource Center. “This class offers a great mid-day escape,” she said. “It’s like you get to go to the beach for an hour to be calm and relax …
Read more on Kentwired.com

Playboy nude yoga angers Hindus
A leading Hindu statesman has taken aim at Playboy bosses over a racy new yoga video in which a naked Playmate shows off her body.
Read more on Jam! Showbiz

Some like it hot: Style of yoga warms body, spirit
On a crisp October evening several people shuffled into the Blazy Mall’s Kenai Yoga studio to sweat it out. The room, at a sizzling 90-some degrees, takes a minute to get used to. But the students of Laurie Winslow’s hot yoga class had no problem acquainting themselves with the heat.
Read more on Peninsula Clarion

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Yes, you can get into that yoga position - Belleville News Democrat

2010-12-26T06:45:00.000-08:00

WHAT: Yoga originated in India and is used to attain optimal health. There are several branches of yoga with a main goal of creating a balance in body and mind. Postures have specific physical benefits and can be done quickly in succession, creating heat in the body through movement, or more slowly to increase stamina and perfect alignment. Poses are a constant, but the approach to them varies depending on the tradition in which the teacher trained.

BENEFITS: Yoga will help build strength and stamina, improve balance and increase flexibility. It can reduce aches and pains, help lower blood pressure and improve the ability to find peace and relaxation. "Yoga enhances our life because of techniques that make the body strong, the mind clear and sharp, and the emotions steady and calm," instructor Jan Rule said.

GET STARTED: Many local YMCAs and gyms offer yoga classes. Stillpointe Wellness Center, 2135 Dorothy Drive off of Townhall Road in Belleville, has classes at 8:30 a.m. Mondays, 8:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays, 6:30 p.m. Thursdays, and 8:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. For changes and more classes, check their online calendar at www.stillpointe.org. Lotus Arts Studio, 6966 W. Main St. in Belleville, also offers classes daily. Check their schedule at www.lotus-arts.net. Information on local YMCA classes is available at www.ymcaswil.org.

COST: Classes are free to members of most local gyms and YMCA's. Stillpointe Wellness Center charges a $10 drop-in fee or $80 for 10 sessions. Lotus Arts Studio holds six-week sessions and charges $60 for one class per week, $105 for two classes a week and drop-in options for some classes at $12 per class. Yoga instructors recommend you bring your own mat, towel and water, but some locations have mats available for new students. Mats start at about $20.

FITS YOU WELL is a weekly look at the range of fitness activities available to you in the metro-east. To suggest an activity, call us at 239-2470. See past installments and the fitness calendar at bnd.com/fitsyouwell.

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Strike a Yoga Pose: Locust B - FitSugar.com

2010-12-25T20:06:00.000-08:00

Simple Salabhasana can be turned into fancy incarnations of the pose, like Inverted Locust, where you balance on your shoulders and chin, and the Locust Scorpion, when your feet touch your head, but plain ol' Locust pose is a yoga class staple. This pose strengthens the back, booty, and the hamstring, areas of the body weakened by hours hunched over a keyboard. Here's a variation known as Locust B, which I like to do immediately after Locust A with no break in between to really challenge my muscles. This variation may look relaxing, but you'll definitely feel Locust working, and it's a great complement to abdominal exercises helping you maintain a strong core all the way around.

Sanskrit Name: Salabhasana B
English Translation: Locust Pose

Learn the finer details of the pose when you read more.

Lie down on a mat on your belly, with your legs together. Place your hands on the floor on either side of your torso with your elbows bent.As you inhale, lift your legs, head, and upper body off the ground. Your hands remain on the floor for support.As you breathe, try to relax your shoulders and the muscles in your booty. Extend the crown of your head away from your toes, lengthening as much as you can through your spine. Stay for five breaths, and then release back to the mat.

When doing this pose directly after Locust A, keep the torso and legs lifted and just switch your hand position from A, with your hands on the ground by your sides, to B. If your back feels worked, follow this pose with a Child's Pose to gently stretch out your spine.

If you love to talk about all things yoga, then check out the Yoga Stretch and Tell group. Post questions, thoughts, or advice, or share photos of you doing poses.

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Paralyzed man gives disabled kids hope through yoga - Chicago Sun-Times

2010-12-25T12:17:00.000-08:00

"My name is Matt. My legs are a little skinnier than many," admits Matthew Sanford, a complete stranger to the wide-eyed youngsters in wheelchairs and hospital beds assembled in the auditorium of Chicago's Shriners Hospitals for Children.

The young onlookers, all with disabilities, know nothing about the yoga this 45-year-old's about to teach them. What they know -- instantly -- is that Sanford is one of them because he's instructing from a wheelchair.

Affectionately calling his audience his "tribe," Sanford guides his wheelchair to each patient to thoughtfully inquire about his or her disability ("What's going on?" "What have you been told?").

Briefly -- and minus gory details -- Sanford explains that in 1978, at age 13, he was involved in a horrible automobile accident that claimed the lives of his 47-year-old father and 20-year-old sister and left him paralyzed from the chest down. He was told by doctors to forget his lower body because he would never again feel sensation there.

Sanford tells his audience that he believed that prognosis until 20 years ago when he discovered yoga and the healing power of the mind-body connection, a life-changing combination he now shares as an inspirational speaker crisscrossing the country and on his website, www.matthewsanford.com.

"Don't give up on your bodies," Sanford pleads, reminding them -- and himself -- that their bodies didn't ask for the circumstances that caused their disabilities. "Your body's doing the best it can."

Sanford, who contends that deepening the connection between mind and body is more than a personal health strategy -- that "when we deepen the quality of where and how our minds interact and intersect with our bodies, our consciousness shifts [and] we get more connected to our lives, to each other, and to the planet" -- uses a softer sell with his attentive class.

"What I mean by mind-body connection is simple: Sit back in your chair and let your legs splay out. Notice what you feel in your legs -- the dullness, the lack of crispness. Now sit up straight, press gently down through your butt and heels, and lift your chest. Notice the change in sensation -- in how, what, and where you feel within your body," Sanford instructs the assembled patients, caregivers, nurses, and doctors.

"Stretch your arms wide. Stretch more . . . I want more . . . dude, do more than that . . . broken bones . . . whatever . . . do more," he prods, mindful that some are physically unable to follow his commands. When some patients halt participation, Sanford scolds, "Just don't friggin' watch! I live paralyzed, too."

"What matters about what I'm doing is the experience," says the Minneapolis resident.

"For me, everything I do flows from my daily yoga practice -- the time I take to feel and refine the sensation of my existence," acknowledges Sanford, who teaches yoga to persons with disabilities as well as traditional students.

Sanford believes that yoga increases strength, balance and flexibility (both mental and physical), spurs discovery of a subtle level of mind-body sensation not impeded by disability, improves the quality of breathing, provides a sense of lightness and freedom within the body, helps manage stress, and offers a deepened sense of wholeness and connection with others.

"The principles of yoga don't discriminate. I have never seen anyone truly become more aware of his or her body without also becoming more compassionate.

"On the flip side, when we become more disconnected from our bodies, we become more self-destructive," Sanford notes in an interview before his class.

In his 2006 book, Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence, in which he sheds light on our inner capacity for survival, grace, acceptance and healing, Sanford writes that his mind-body relationship changed in an instant -- "the time for my back to break" -- but reminds that the changing relationship between mind and body is a defining feature of everyone's life. "We are all leaving our bodies. . . . Death cannot be avoided; neither can the inward silence that comes with the aging process."

Saying he now experiences a more subtle connection between mind and body, Sanford explains, "It does not require that I flex muscles. It does not dissipate in the presence of increasing inward silence. In fact, this connection depends on it. It does require, however, that I seek more profoundly within my own experience and do so with an open mind."

"Life is fragile and resilient simultaneously -- it's both," says Sanford, acknowledging both in his own life journey. While he and his wife, Jennifer, celebrated the birth of their son, Paul, now 10, they were grieving the death of his fraternal twin brother, William, who had died in her womb three weeks earlier.

"Life is here to be felt. We need to learn to simplify life -- to appreciate every morning more, to notice little things. We need to be paying attention to the taste of water, what sunlight feels like on your skin, the beauty of a sunset, the serenity of nature," advises Sanford.

"I can never change what happened to me, but I can live within the body I have."

Sandy Thorn Clark is a local free-lance writer.

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MS Patients Find Comfort, Flexibility In Yoga - NY1

2010-12-25T04:33:00.000-08:00

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Experts say with the right supervision, exercise can help manage symptoms of multiple sclerosis, and a special Staten Island yoga program could be helping improve outcomes among MS patients. NY1's Health reporter Kafi Drexel filed the following report.

Larissa Nusser and Denise Danton-Nizarre met eight years ago when Nusser attended Danton-Nizarre's first ever yoga class as a student living with multiple sclerosis.

"One of the issues she was having was balancing. Throughout the class, I kept saying to her, 'You can do it, you can do it, you can do it.' And that sort of became our theme," says Danton-Nizzare.

Nusser credits yoga with a dramatic change in her health outlook. So when they co-founded the You Can Do It Yoga Center in Richmond Valley, Staten Island, it seemed a natural fit to offer a special class for students living with MS. They have even created supplemental DVDs.

"I was diagnosed 10 years ago. I was in a wheelchair, actually, when I was diagnosed and I started transforming right in the first yoga class I went to," says Nusser.

Multiple sclerosis or MS, attacks the nervous system. According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, about 400,000 Americans are living with the disease and 200 people are newly diagnosed each week. Symptoms can be moderate, with numbness in the limbs. More severe symptoms can include paralysis or vision loss.

The National MS Society highlights research that shows yoga helps improves outcomes.

Yoga participant Michael Weiss only has mild symptoms so far, and says yoga is just what he was looking for.

"Yoga has been great for me, because it is stretching and breathing and it gives me the ability to work on my flexibility, my balance and it also helps with my fatigue," says Weiss.

Don Loughran was diagnosed five years ago at age 40 with a more aggressive form of MS. He says yoga is one of the many approaches he's using to help slow the disease's progression.

"Multiple sclerosis has affected me mentally, spiritually and emotionally. For yoga, it helps me develop my mind, body and soul," says Loughran.

Most group exercise classes are designed to meet the needs of people with a wide range if abilities. MS progresses differently for everyone, and that is especially important here.

Sequences are modified for students whether they are they are seated or standing. And Nusser and Danton-Nizarre say those kind of adjustments fit into the variety of things yoga can do for their students.

"MS is not a one-lane highway. I'm not saying yoga is a cure for MS, I'm saying that yoga is one of the three things that I do every day. I think that everybody needs to find how many lanes their highway is and which highway they want to take," says Nusser. "For me, it is my daily injection, positive thinking and it is practicing yoga. It's really been working for me for the last 10 years. I've been relapse-free for 10 years."

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Gentle yoga class aims to recharge students' mind and soul - Roosevelt Torch

2010-12-24T19:04:00.000-08:00

The gentle yoga class meets on the second floor in the Auditorium building weekly.

Roosevelt University students don't have to venture to the Far East for the soothing practice of a yoga class. In fact, they only need to travel to the second floor of the Auditorium Building. A weekly gentle yoga class is offered in the Spertus Lounge, where individuals can reap the benefits of the ancient meditative practice and unwind the daily troubles of the mind.

It's not every day that one can imitate the poses of a happy baby, a monkey and a tree in less than 75 minutes with a group of people on an idle Wednesday afternoon. The Spertus Lounge offers a peaceful ambiance to the class taught by yoga instructor and composition professor Julie Sanford.

Sanford efficiently describes each of the poses and guides the class through a number of different exercises. All yoga poses are relatively low-key in the sense that no one needs prior yoga experience to follow along and benefit from the practice. Sanford completed her Hatha Yoga Teacher

Training Certification with Suddha Weixler at the Chicago Yoga Center and has been practicing the mind and body discipline for 12 years.

"Yoga has changed my life so much," said Sanford. "I really want to be able to share this with other people and have them feel as good as I do."

After noticing that Roosevelt had no yoga class to offer students, Sanford coordinated this class as an opportunity for students, faculty and staff to partake in the advantages of yoga.

In a Mayo Clinic article regarding stress management, the staff highlighted four of the numerous benefits yoga produces. Mind concentration reduces stress and an increased overall body fitness and flexibility. Better management of chronic health conditions such as cancer, depression, pain, anxiety and insomnia, and weight loss are all possible health benefits of yoga, according to the report.

Students of all ages, skill levels, shapes and sizes are encouraged to attend a gentle yoga class. Sanford said she hopes to attract more people for the classes, especially students.

"Students who need a place to go and figure out how to deal with stress, school, tests, exams and may need a place to recharge, it's a great place to come," said Sanford.

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Yoga Gal Kim Kardashian: Fit and Fine in NYC - GossipCenter.com

2010-12-24T09:52:00.000-08:00

Making time for her physical fitness goals, Kim Kardashian was spotted on her way to a yoga class in New York City last night (October 25).

The “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” hottie looked ready for action in a grey hoodie, black shorts, and black UGG boots as she pushed past a few photos.

Earlier in the evening, Kim hooked up with her bodyguard buddy Shengo Deane and made her rounds in Midtown Manhattan.

Ms. Kardashian and Mr. Deane were escorted by a security team as they filmed scenes for and upcoming episode of “Kim and Kourtney Take New York.”

Enjoy the pictures of Kim Kardashian out for yoga in NYC (October 25).

Photo Credit: StarTraks Photo

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Tech meets Tradition - Hindustan Times

2010-12-23T23:38:00.000-08:00

Ancient meets contemporary at Planet Health, the interactive digital museum on yoga and ayurveda at the Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga in the heart of New Delhi. Close on the footsteps of the international museums veering towards participatory displays to engage the new tech-savvy generation with no patience for one-dimensional gallery exhibits, the Union Ministry of Health has set up, what it calls, “the first of its kind museum on traditional medicine”.

The displays fuse traditional art and craft with modern computing imagery, touch-sensitive sculpture and interactive installations.

“Nobody has the time for scriptures. We have presented traditional knowledge in a modern format to intrigue people enough to want to know more,” said S. Jalaja, secretary, Department of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Naturopathy, Siddha and Homeo-opathy) under the Union Ministry of Health.

And intrigue it does. Arushi Khadelwal, 15, jumped back in surprise when the carved lotus on a pedestal she accidentally touched, triggered off an audiovisual commentary by Swami Niranjanananda, chief patron of the Bihar School of Yoga in Munger.

“I knew the museum was interactive, but the location of touch sensors is far more innovative than the red and black buttons that say ‘push me’ at science museums,” said Khandelwal, a student of DPS R K Puram, New Delhi. The displays are by Ranjit Makkuni of Sacred World, whose team has also done installations at the Eternal Gandhi Multime-dia Museum at Gandhi Smriti in Delhi.

“The word, Yoga, has a Sanskrit root, yuj, which means to unite or join. Even though the presentation is in an interactive three-dimensional exploration format, the exhibits rely on scientifically-validated concepts and traditional manuscripts,” said Dr Ishwar V. Basavaraddi, Director, Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga, which has a faculty of 20 to teach yoga to 500 students, including 120 diploma students.

“The present venue for the exhibition is temporary — it’s at the Institute of Yoga till October 31 — but we hope to find permanent display for it at the National Museum,” said Jalaja, who conceptualised the project.

This is not the Department of AYUSH’s first encounter with technology. Drawing lessons from the long-drawn battle over neem and turmeric patent infringements, India set up the world’s first Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) database to stop bio-piracy way back in 2001. The R7-crore TKDL project took nine years to list 2,00,000 formulations from Auyurveda, Unani and Siddha schools of medicine in over 30 million pages from texts in Sanskrit, Hindi, Arabic, Urdu and Tamil, to name a few. TDKL makes the information available in five foreign languages: English, Japanese, French, German and Spanish.

“This is just the beginning. We put together Phase I focusing on Yoga and Ayurveda in a rush to meet the Commonwealth Games deadline. The complete museum will be a mine of information,” said Jalaja. We’d like to wait and watch. Or, in this case, touch and participate.

More info at : http://yogatips.infoplugin.com/

The Firm Stability Ball 55cm

2010-12-23T13:24:00.000-08:00

Simple, versatile, and fun to use, the Firm Core Stability Ball is designed to challenge your balance, stability and flexibility through various low-impact exercises and movements. Included with the package is a 30-minute core training video that guides you through a variety of techniques that you can adapt to your training, stretching, rehabilitation or other workout routines. The ball is made of tough, burst-resistant plastic, a special material that resists tearing and, if punctured, deflates safely and gradually. Available in several fashionable colors, the 55-centimeter ball is sized for users measuring between 4 feet, 8 inches and 5 feet, 3 inches.

Price: $24.98

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Bryan Kest Power Yoga Complete Collection

2010-12-23T04:35:00.000-08:00

Anyone wanting to get in shape like the stars need go no further than Bryan Kest's videos. Kest teaches wildly popular yoga classes in Santa Monica, California--so popular that stars like Rhea Perlman, David Duchovny, and Elisabeth Shue willingly sweat alongside the hoi polloi in Kest's packed, ancient loft studio. If you don't happen to be in the neighborhood, not to worry: Kest's yoga videos are nearly as good as being there. Volume 1: Energize is a beginner level class that nonetheless is smartly designed to provide challenges for all levels of users. Kest's Jersey-boy voice at first seems in contrast to the serene environment and inner-peace objectives, but it gradually becomes soothing and hypnotic in its own right. Stretches and strengthening moves are alternated with just enough repose to keep even first timers on track. After mastering Vol. 1, practitioners can go on to Volume 2: Tone or Volume 3: Sweat to further challenge themselves. As long as you keep in mind Kest's personal mantra--"If you're doing the best you can, you're doing this class perfectly"--you and this video should have many satisfying years of workouts together. --Anne Hurley

Price: $19.98

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The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice

2010-12-22T22:16:00.000-08:00

The first yoga text to outline a step-by-step sequence for developing a complete practice according to viniyoga--yoga adapted to the needs of the individual.

A contemporary classic by a world-renowned teacher.

This new edition adds thirty-two poems by Krishnamacharya that capture the essence of his teachings.

Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, who lived to be over 100 years old, was one of the greatest yogis of the modern era. Elements of Krishnamacharya's teaching have become well known around the world through the work of B. K. S. Iyengar, Pattabhi Jois, and Indra Devi, who all studied with Krishnamacharya. Krishnamacharya's son T. K. V. Desikachar lived and studied with his father all his life and now teaches the full spectrum of Krishnamacharya's yoga. Desikachar has based his method on Krishnamacharya's fundamental concept of viniyoga, which maintains that practices must be continually adapted to the individual's changing needs to achieve the maximum therapeutic value.

In The Heart of Yoga Desikachar offers a distillation of his father's system as well as his own practical approach, which he describes as "a program for the spine at every level--physical, mental, and spiritual." This is the first yoga text to outline a step-by-step sequence for developing a complete practice according to the age-old principles of yoga. Desikachar discusses all the elements of yoga--poses and counterposes, conscious breathing, meditation, and philosophy--and shows how the yoga student may develop a practice tailored to his or her current state of health, age, occupation, and lifestyle.

Price: $19.95

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The Doctrine and Practice of Yoga

2010-12-22T11:40:00.000-08:00

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Price: $1.99

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Total Yoga [VHS]

2010-12-22T03:29:00.000-08:00

While this is certainly an excellent video for those schooled in some of the moves and positions of yoga, it may prove somewhat intimidating to the novice. Tracey Rich and Ganga White demonstrate the poses in this 68-minute hatha workout, Tracey showing the simpler steps and Ganga the more complex. Yet even the simple poses require quite a bit of flexibility. If, however, you are on an intermediate to advanced level, Total Yoga will give you a satisfying stretch, increase your relaxation, improve your circulation and flexibility, and build strength. Not much time is spent on explanation, so the tape will hold your interest on repeat viewings. Breath work is emphasized in the beginning of the tape, which segues nicely into a balanced workout using flow series. A perfect video for continuing your yoga experience once one of the more basic ones (such as Stephanie Foster's Yoga: Beginner's Level or A.M./P.M. Yoga for Beginners) becomes too easy. --Jenny Brown

Price: $9.98

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