Once you have loosened your spine, it makes sense to move to balance poses while your legs are still fresh. Balance poses will improve your core strength; strengthen your legs, particularly your lower legs and ankles; sharpen mental focus; and, obviously, improve your balance. Balance is especially important in offroad sports, where you must keep your body upright over uneven terrain.
Some principles apply in all balance poses. First, remember your alignment. Learn mountain pose well, and let it inform every other posture you take. Never hyperextend your knees in mountain or any pose. Next, breathe. It seems obvious, and at some point your body will insist you breathe, but you will find more control in balance poses by remaining aware of your breath and letting it stabilize you. Similarly, find a gazing point (drishti) to help you steady yourself; by keeping your eyes still, you encourage stillness in the body. Choose something that's not moving: the edge of your mat, a speck on the floor or wall, the corner of a window. Don’t attach your gaze to your own image in a mirror, and don’t focus on your instructor or a classmate. Physically this makes balance easier, and metaphorically it teaches you self reliance.
Many of these poses are asymmetrical, working the two sides of the body in different ways. For the asymmetrical poses, I describe the pose on one side and let you extrapolate the construction of the pose to the other side (simply swap right for left and vice versa). Be sure to spend equivalent time on each side. This can be measured quantitatively, say, by spending three or five or ten breaths in each pose or qualitatively, by holding the pose on each side until you get the impression of evenness. Taking some of each approach will allow you to notice which side is tighter and to work yourself toward balance by achieving equal release side to side.
Balance poses teach you to find the appropriate ratio of structural alignment, the position of your bones, to muscular strength. You may be able to power through a pose like the chair by relying on your muscles, but the pose will feel easier with appropriate skeletal alignment. In one legged standing poses, keep your supporting leg long but don’t lock out at the knee. You need structural support, but you want access to microadjustments from the muscles of the lower leg. On this issue, consider the importance of form and technique in your sport. Some folks can hammer up hills or shoulder their way through a swim, but they lose efficiency and endurance in the process. And repeatedly practicing with bad form can lead to injury, whether your sport is running, kayaking, or yoga.
MOUNTAIN
Mountain, side viewAll balance poses in fact, virtually all yoga poses are variations on mountain pose (tadasana), which is standing in neutral alignment. Mountain’s neutral alignment is also the base for your run stance, your bike position, or your streamlined body in the water. It's a pose you'll want to know inside out, or bottom to top.
Let's break it down from the ground up. Place your feet hip width apart. For our purposes, your 'hips' are the place where your femurs and pelvis meet, just below the anterior superior iliac spines (ASIS), or hip points. When your feet are in the right place, there's probably about a fist's width of space between your big toes. The toes of both feet should point straight forward. If one or both of your hips are very tight, you'll find that your toes point out to the side. Bring them as close to pointing forward as feels comfortable without tweaking your hips or knees. As you continue with yoga, it will become more comfortable to stand with your legs parallel.
Don't exaggerate curves in spineSpread your toes apart. Sometimes you need to do this manually, especially if your feet are gnarled from years of running. In time, you can get the toe spread by turning a foot to the side, then dragging it back to neutral while letting the stickiness of your mat hold the toes apart.
Your knees line up over your toes and below your hips. Engage your quadriceps a little to lift your kneecaps. Don't overtighten the thighs, though, and don't hyperextend or lock out your knees. Bring your pelvis to a neutral position between cat tilt and dog tilt. If your hips are unlevel, try to draw them on a line parallel to the floor. There may be a skeletal reason for this imbalance. If it is a muscular imbalance, the hips will become more level as you gain flexibility.
Exhale and tuck your lower ribs in toward the spine; this helps bring the belly in toward the midline of your body. While your chest should be broad and open, don’t puff it out military style. Let your shoulder blades relax down your back, without pinching them in toward the spine. Arms are relaxed and heavy.
Inhale and lift up from the crown of your head. This will lengthen the back of your neck, bringing your chin down toward your clavicle. Stand as though there were a string connected to the top of your head, with a puppeteer pulling you upright. The shoulder girdle and the pelvis balance around the midline of the imaginary string.
Return your awareness to your feet. Where is your weight borne? Slowly shift the weight around to find the four corners of your feet: big toe, little toe, inner heel, outer heel. Press down through all of them evenly. Feel stable, grounded, steady as a mountain.
MOUNTAIN BALANCE
While mountain may feel very easy, you can find ways to make it challenging, and in the process learn to find neutral alignment in motion, for example, while running. First, try lifting up to stand on the balls of your feet. Notice how your body weight shifts forward and back to find stability. Are you arching your back? Bending your knees? Can you both lengthen and straighten without making yourself rigid? Try to find the same sense of stability you had with your heels down. Return your heels to the ground and evaluate the difference.
Next, shift your center of gravity by raising your arms overhead and lowering your shoulders. Let your arms be parallel, palms facing each other, just as they were when they rested at your sides in mountain pose. Again, draw your edges in toward your center, so that you feel tall and steady.
If you feel unstable, this and every balance pose can be performed near or against the wall. Feeling the contact of your body with the wall gives you feedback about your alignment, while practicing just near the wall imparts confidence, since you can reach or lean to it if you get wobbly.
By Sage Rountree
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Thursday, 31 July 2008
Tuesday, 29 July 2008
YOGA AND MEN
Ask any man if he's heard of Downward Dog, the Cobra or the Tree Pose and you'll be surprised how many guys know they're all yoga poses, and not just from hearing their female friends or significant others talking about it.
Men and yoga, two words that you didn't much associate with each other, until now. Some men may be apprehensive to try it because they don't think they have the flexibility, or they may they think they may be shown up by a woman. But whether you are looking to learn relaxing breathing techniques, work out tightened muscles or to simply try something new, this is no girls' club, so men, come on in.
At the Tribalance Yoga Center for example, in Schaumburg, there are three male teachers, including the owner, and 35 percent to 40 percent of the clientele is male.
'Men have a preconceived notion that yoga consists of the lighting of incense, hitting of gongs, and bending into a pretzel,' says Corey T. Kelly, owner and teacher at the Yoga Center. 'We have anyone from couch potatoes to professional athletes looking for strength training, to people who are involved in martial arts, coming and taking a class.'
Kelly started taking yoga himself for bodybuilding training, and after looking at the clock for the first 45 minutes of the 90 minute class, he surrendered and just let the yoga take over. As soon as the class ended he had made the decision that not only was he going to become a yoga teacher, but he was also going to start his own yoga studio.
This is no sissy sport. This is an activity that makes you feel the workout for days and working muscles that you didn't even think needed working. Yoga works the mind and body at the same time. The feeling it gives you is different from any other exercise.
For guys who want to have a nice long sweat, then Bikram or hot yoga, usually conducted in a room that is 95 to 100 degrees, is a choice. Iyengar is for those men who are looking for some bodybuilding or strengthening exercises due to its focus on body alignment. For beginners and guys who are just looking for pure mind and body relaxation, hatha would work with its slow and gentle exercises.
And, guys, don't worry about the clothes. You don't need to come in funky pajamas. Just wear anything that you're comfortable stretching around it, and won't show what you want to keep hidden when you're trying that Downward Dog.
By Jennifer Rundell
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Men and yoga, two words that you didn't much associate with each other, until now. Some men may be apprehensive to try it because they don't think they have the flexibility, or they may they think they may be shown up by a woman. But whether you are looking to learn relaxing breathing techniques, work out tightened muscles or to simply try something new, this is no girls' club, so men, come on in.
At the Tribalance Yoga Center for example, in Schaumburg, there are three male teachers, including the owner, and 35 percent to 40 percent of the clientele is male.
'Men have a preconceived notion that yoga consists of the lighting of incense, hitting of gongs, and bending into a pretzel,' says Corey T. Kelly, owner and teacher at the Yoga Center. 'We have anyone from couch potatoes to professional athletes looking for strength training, to people who are involved in martial arts, coming and taking a class.'
Kelly started taking yoga himself for bodybuilding training, and after looking at the clock for the first 45 minutes of the 90 minute class, he surrendered and just let the yoga take over. As soon as the class ended he had made the decision that not only was he going to become a yoga teacher, but he was also going to start his own yoga studio.
This is no sissy sport. This is an activity that makes you feel the workout for days and working muscles that you didn't even think needed working. Yoga works the mind and body at the same time. The feeling it gives you is different from any other exercise.
For guys who want to have a nice long sweat, then Bikram or hot yoga, usually conducted in a room that is 95 to 100 degrees, is a choice. Iyengar is for those men who are looking for some bodybuilding or strengthening exercises due to its focus on body alignment. For beginners and guys who are just looking for pure mind and body relaxation, hatha would work with its slow and gentle exercises.
And, guys, don't worry about the clothes. You don't need to come in funky pajamas. Just wear anything that you're comfortable stretching around it, and won't show what you want to keep hidden when you're trying that Downward Dog.
By Jennifer Rundell
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Monday, 28 July 2008
YOGA AND ART
A place for yoga and art
Patanjali's Place, a 1,700 square foot space beneath a 25 foot ceiling dedicated to the teaching and practice of yoga and fingerpainting, opens Friday in the old Strawbridge Studios building, 410 W. Geer St.
The idea, said owner Bryan Carey, is 'Yoga for everyone,' from expectant mothers to teenagers and on 'through the dusk of life.'
Carey, a yoga teacher for more than 10 years, is also proprietor of the Shaw School and Studio of fingerpainting.
The fingerpaint enterprise, which carries on the artistic legacy of Ruth Faison Shaw of Chapel Hill, is coming under the same roof (literally) as the yoga studio, he said, but it will hold its classes and events at other times.
Patanjali's is named for a Hindu sage who codified the 'Sutra of Yoga' about 2,000 years ago. It opens with classes seven days a week and plans to enlarge the curriculum this fall, Carey said.
See www.patanjalisplace.com; or contact Carey at 475 1355 or patanjalisplace@gmail.com.
By www.newsobserver.com
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Patanjali's Place, a 1,700 square foot space beneath a 25 foot ceiling dedicated to the teaching and practice of yoga and fingerpainting, opens Friday in the old Strawbridge Studios building, 410 W. Geer St.
The idea, said owner Bryan Carey, is 'Yoga for everyone,' from expectant mothers to teenagers and on 'through the dusk of life.'
Carey, a yoga teacher for more than 10 years, is also proprietor of the Shaw School and Studio of fingerpainting.
The fingerpaint enterprise, which carries on the artistic legacy of Ruth Faison Shaw of Chapel Hill, is coming under the same roof (literally) as the yoga studio, he said, but it will hold its classes and events at other times.
Patanjali's is named for a Hindu sage who codified the 'Sutra of Yoga' about 2,000 years ago. It opens with classes seven days a week and plans to enlarge the curriculum this fall, Carey said.
See www.patanjalisplace.com; or contact Carey at 475 1355 or patanjalisplace@gmail.com.
By www.newsobserver.com
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
YOGA AND VODKA
Shilpa Shetty's stardom is taking her places. Of late, she has been the eye candy of media more for her personal life than for her films.
Apart from promoting a healthy lifestyle through yoga, Shetty was recently in New Delhi to launch Romanov Red Vodka. She had a tough time explaining the contradiction between healthy living and drinking.
Shilpa, however, had a piece of advice for the youth while endorsing the brand which was 'do not mix drinking and driving'.
www.newindpress.com
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Apart from promoting a healthy lifestyle through yoga, Shetty was recently in New Delhi to launch Romanov Red Vodka. She had a tough time explaining the contradiction between healthy living and drinking.
Shilpa, however, had a piece of advice for the youth while endorsing the brand which was 'do not mix drinking and driving'.
www.newindpress.com
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Thursday, 24 July 2008
YOGA AND PEACE
At sunset, the Sullivan Farm offers a picturesque setting where the New Milford Youth Agency recently staged a 'Sunset Yoga' program for mothers and daughters.
The only disruption from the tranquility of the scene was the traffic on the nearby Route 202.
Still, the evening sun on the fields behind the farm offered a gorgeous view for the five mothers and daughters who found this to be just the right place to enjoy some relaxation and exercise. Birds chirped in a pleasant harmony with the traffic and soothing yoga music was played for the participants.
'It is a beautiful setting,' said Toni Bentley, who came with daughters Milan, 10, and Taylor, 6.
Yoga instructor Elizabeth Cotter, who brought her 6-year-old daughter, Olivia, played relaxing music as she encouraged the mothers and daughters to stretch, breathe and savor the smells and sights of nature.
Starting back to back, the mothers and daughters moved their bodies in slow, rhythmic patterns, allowing the stretches to extend the lengths of their bodies. They were also pushed to focus on their breaths, inhaling and exhaling with purpose rather than at random.
As the hour long session progressed, the mothers and daughters lunged, crawled and rolled back and forth, the yoga music reaching a crescendo as their movements become more bold. Cotter roamed the group to offer encouragement at each step.
'I think it's nice just to spend some alone time with my daughter and exercise,' said Danielle Sheehan, who came with daughter Brooke, 7. 'This is something healthy and fun to do.'
By Nanci Hutson
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
The only disruption from the tranquility of the scene was the traffic on the nearby Route 202.
Still, the evening sun on the fields behind the farm offered a gorgeous view for the five mothers and daughters who found this to be just the right place to enjoy some relaxation and exercise. Birds chirped in a pleasant harmony with the traffic and soothing yoga music was played for the participants.
'It is a beautiful setting,' said Toni Bentley, who came with daughters Milan, 10, and Taylor, 6.
Yoga instructor Elizabeth Cotter, who brought her 6-year-old daughter, Olivia, played relaxing music as she encouraged the mothers and daughters to stretch, breathe and savor the smells and sights of nature.
Starting back to back, the mothers and daughters moved their bodies in slow, rhythmic patterns, allowing the stretches to extend the lengths of their bodies. They were also pushed to focus on their breaths, inhaling and exhaling with purpose rather than at random.
As the hour long session progressed, the mothers and daughters lunged, crawled and rolled back and forth, the yoga music reaching a crescendo as their movements become more bold. Cotter roamed the group to offer encouragement at each step.
'I think it's nice just to spend some alone time with my daughter and exercise,' said Danielle Sheehan, who came with daughter Brooke, 7. 'This is something healthy and fun to do.'
By Nanci Hutson
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
YOGA ABODE
Here's something I've been meaning to write about for a couple of weeks: omtastic website Yoga Abode has been around for a while, but recently had a fantastic relaunch. The site now has a cool clean look, a blog and a shop plus articles on yoga, teacher profiles, recommended poses and an online discussion forum.
Lucia Cockcroft, the site's editor, says:
'Our new eco friendly products shop brings a hand picked selection of premium mats and props together, taking the legwork out of sourcing yoga accessories that don't cost the earth. We hope that yoga fans can also have fun and make friends using our new social networking area.'
If you're into yoga, or you'd like to be, I recommend checking out the site asap.
By www.popgadget.net
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Lucia Cockcroft, the site's editor, says:
'Our new eco friendly products shop brings a hand picked selection of premium mats and props together, taking the legwork out of sourcing yoga accessories that don't cost the earth. We hope that yoga fans can also have fun and make friends using our new social networking area.'
If you're into yoga, or you'd like to be, I recommend checking out the site asap.
By www.popgadget.net
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Wednesday, 23 July 2008
MORE ANTI GRAVITY YOGA
Yoga can be challenging enough, but some practitioners are trying it suspended in the air.
Using special fabric hammocks that don't rip and don't stretch, Crunch Fitness's 'AntiGravity Yoga' may leave you feeling part yogi, part superhero.
The sport club's national yoga director, Jess Gronholm, developed the class in conjunction with the AntiGravity aerialist performance team.
'What we've done is we've worked with them to create that same kind of dynamic feeling that their performers have 30 feet up in the air, but within a gym setting on a much safer place,' said Gronholm.
The class, which combines yoga, a bit of dance, pilates and strength conditioning, starts out with a progression of simple moves to get bodies used to being supported by the hammock.
Then it builds up to back flips, forward flips and low flying yogi inversions that will do a little more than just sweep you off your feet.
'AntiGravity' yoga lets exercisers soar, swing
If you're in the mood to feel a little less grounded, a suspended yoga workout lets exercisers soar to new heights. Health reporter Kafi Drexel filed the following report.
Not only does it look cool, but Gronholm said the suspension helps to release tension in the joints and improve body alignment.
'It's really important. These kind of weightless inversions that we create really help as we turn upside down and hang,' said Gronholm. 'It helps to create that space between each vertebrae and create that length through the spine.'
Students agree that getting their feet off the ground actually helps them find new ways of getting their bodies into place.
'I find that a lot of poses on the floor, if you don't align yourself correctly you could do it wrong,' said participant Jun Sassa. 'But using the hammock, the gravity actually aligns you, you don't have to do anything. You just hang there.'
'In a normal workout, you just don't get the sort of total body experience that I usually get here and it's really fun,' said participant Judy Greengold. 'I mean, there is a sense of humor about it, and I've always wanted to be on a trapeze anyway.'
For those wondering about a weight requirement, the sling is sturdy holding at least 1,000 pounds, a half ton.
These trapeze inspired yoga lovers say it's pretty good comfort for doing everything from being able to hang like a bat to twisting themselves into the serenity of what could be called a 'fitness cocoon.'
By Kafi Drexel
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Using special fabric hammocks that don't rip and don't stretch, Crunch Fitness's 'AntiGravity Yoga' may leave you feeling part yogi, part superhero.
The sport club's national yoga director, Jess Gronholm, developed the class in conjunction with the AntiGravity aerialist performance team.
'What we've done is we've worked with them to create that same kind of dynamic feeling that their performers have 30 feet up in the air, but within a gym setting on a much safer place,' said Gronholm.
The class, which combines yoga, a bit of dance, pilates and strength conditioning, starts out with a progression of simple moves to get bodies used to being supported by the hammock.
Then it builds up to back flips, forward flips and low flying yogi inversions that will do a little more than just sweep you off your feet.
'AntiGravity' yoga lets exercisers soar, swing
If you're in the mood to feel a little less grounded, a suspended yoga workout lets exercisers soar to new heights. Health reporter Kafi Drexel filed the following report.
Not only does it look cool, but Gronholm said the suspension helps to release tension in the joints and improve body alignment.
'It's really important. These kind of weightless inversions that we create really help as we turn upside down and hang,' said Gronholm. 'It helps to create that space between each vertebrae and create that length through the spine.'
Students agree that getting their feet off the ground actually helps them find new ways of getting their bodies into place.
'I find that a lot of poses on the floor, if you don't align yourself correctly you could do it wrong,' said participant Jun Sassa. 'But using the hammock, the gravity actually aligns you, you don't have to do anything. You just hang there.'
'In a normal workout, you just don't get the sort of total body experience that I usually get here and it's really fun,' said participant Judy Greengold. 'I mean, there is a sense of humor about it, and I've always wanted to be on a trapeze anyway.'
For those wondering about a weight requirement, the sling is sturdy holding at least 1,000 pounds, a half ton.
These trapeze inspired yoga lovers say it's pretty good comfort for doing everything from being able to hang like a bat to twisting themselves into the serenity of what could be called a 'fitness cocoon.'
By Kafi Drexel
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Tuesday, 22 July 2008
OUTDOOR YOGA
It's time to get out of the yoga studio and into the fresh air.
'When you practice outside, you become more inwardly aware, says Jacquie Deflorio Reid, owner of the Om Tara Yoga Studios in Massapequa'.
So, to om in the air, you could just lay your sticky mat out in the backyard, or you can take advantage of these local outdoor classes, and salute the sun together with like minded practitioners.
LONG BEACH YOGA
McAvoy leads all level classes on Saturdays and Sundays through Aug. 24, 8 to 9 a.m. on the beach at New York Avenue. Participants must register for the series, which is $25 for Long Beach residents, $50 for nonresidents. Download an application at longbeachny .org/parksandrecreation, or call 516 431 3890.
By JOHN HANC
THE LATEST OUTDOOR YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
'When you practice outside, you become more inwardly aware, says Jacquie Deflorio Reid, owner of the Om Tara Yoga Studios in Massapequa'.
So, to om in the air, you could just lay your sticky mat out in the backyard, or you can take advantage of these local outdoor classes, and salute the sun together with like minded practitioners.
LONG BEACH YOGA
McAvoy leads all level classes on Saturdays and Sundays through Aug. 24, 8 to 9 a.m. on the beach at New York Avenue. Participants must register for the series, which is $25 for Long Beach residents, $50 for nonresidents. Download an application at longbeachny .org/parksandrecreation, or call 516 431 3890.
By JOHN HANC
THE LATEST OUTDOOR YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Monday, 21 July 2008
YOGA TROPHIES?
When I think of yoga, images of peace and harmony spring into my head. I think of slow, intricate postures performed with the goal of unifying my body and spirit. I think of serenity. What I don’t think of is competition, but that may soon change.
Oregon based website OPB recently posted an article on 'competitive yoga,' which has apparently been gaining in popularity in Oregon and around the world. Competitive yoga seems to be rooted in the unorthodox Bikram style, which is performed in a room heated to 105 degrees! Bikram, or 'hot yoga' is also more aggressive than other yoga styles.
Competitive yoga finds its practitioner performing a series of seven compulsory and elective asanas (postures) within a three minute period. Scoring is based upon technique, gracefulness and overall performance. A quick search on YouTube will produce several videos of yoga competition. Perhaps the most interesting thing about this 'competitive yoga' is that there is a push for it to become an Olympic sport in 2012.
Personally, I’m not sure I’ll be Oming for the gold anytime soon, but if you want to, start with these yoga videos today!
By www.thecheers.org
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Oregon based website OPB recently posted an article on 'competitive yoga,' which has apparently been gaining in popularity in Oregon and around the world. Competitive yoga seems to be rooted in the unorthodox Bikram style, which is performed in a room heated to 105 degrees! Bikram, or 'hot yoga' is also more aggressive than other yoga styles.
Competitive yoga finds its practitioner performing a series of seven compulsory and elective asanas (postures) within a three minute period. Scoring is based upon technique, gracefulness and overall performance. A quick search on YouTube will produce several videos of yoga competition. Perhaps the most interesting thing about this 'competitive yoga' is that there is a push for it to become an Olympic sport in 2012.
Personally, I’m not sure I’ll be Oming for the gold anytime soon, but if you want to, start with these yoga videos today!
By www.thecheers.org
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Sunday, 20 July 2008
FAMILY YOGA
Parents and children can take a break from stressful schedules with 'Parent/Infant Yoga,' 'Parent/Toddler Yoga' and 'Kids Yoga' classes at the Madison Area YMCA, 111 Kings Road.
Yoga is promoted for babies and toddlers in improving digestion, strengthening bonds with parents, reducing anxiety and developing body awareness.
Jennifer Casanova, the YMCA's associate fitness director, said classes are offered at an introductory level that allows both parent and infant or toddler to experience the benefits of yoga through touch and eye contact.
During the YMCA's summer session, 'Parent/Infant Yoga' classes, available to children from 3 months to crawling, are offered 5:15 to 5:45 p.m. Wednesday. 'Parent/Toddler' classes for crawling toddlers to 36 month olds are held from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. Thursdays. There are also yoga classes for older children, 6 to 9, including 'Yoga for Kids' from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. every Monday.
New and current YMCA members may register at the family Center at 111 King Road. Summer classes are in session and continue through the week of Monday, Aug. 11. For information call (973) 822 9622, ext. 2242.
By www.recordernewspapers.com
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Yoga is promoted for babies and toddlers in improving digestion, strengthening bonds with parents, reducing anxiety and developing body awareness.
Jennifer Casanova, the YMCA's associate fitness director, said classes are offered at an introductory level that allows both parent and infant or toddler to experience the benefits of yoga through touch and eye contact.
During the YMCA's summer session, 'Parent/Infant Yoga' classes, available to children from 3 months to crawling, are offered 5:15 to 5:45 p.m. Wednesday. 'Parent/Toddler' classes for crawling toddlers to 36 month olds are held from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. Thursdays. There are also yoga classes for older children, 6 to 9, including 'Yoga for Kids' from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. every Monday.
New and current YMCA members may register at the family Center at 111 King Road. Summer classes are in session and continue through the week of Monday, Aug. 11. For information call (973) 822 9622, ext. 2242.
By www.recordernewspapers.com
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Friday, 18 July 2008
YOGA IN HOUSTON
Yoga guru Ramdev has announced setting up of a Patanjali Yogpeeth branch at a cost of USD 4.5 million to benefit thousands of yoga enthusiasts in North America.
The centre will be built on a 60 acre plot in Rosenberg in Texas and will provide Americans treatment by Haridwar based Patanjali Yogpeeth through yoga and Ayurveda closer to home.
Amidst a thunderous applause, Ramdev, clad in his trademark saffron attire, announced this during a yoga camp attended by over 2,000 people here.
The attendance at the George Brown Convention Center camp which began at 6.00 am on Wednesday, a busy weekday, exceeded expectations and the organisers are hoping for a far greater turnout at the weekend.
Ramdev last month said he was finalising plans to set up a first such centre in China. The Patanjali Yog Peeth, a research centre in Haridwar which Ramdev co founded does research on yoga and Ayurveda and provides treatment and training in the field.
The yoga guru last month held a novel yoga camp aboard luxury cruise liner Super Star Virgo with 950 people from over 15 countries.
The University of Texas M D Anderson Cancer Center is hosting an educational programme on Patanjali Yoga with a presentation by Baba Ramdev, who became popular with his televised yoga camps and has lakhs of fans across the globe.
By www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
The centre will be built on a 60 acre plot in Rosenberg in Texas and will provide Americans treatment by Haridwar based Patanjali Yogpeeth through yoga and Ayurveda closer to home.
Amidst a thunderous applause, Ramdev, clad in his trademark saffron attire, announced this during a yoga camp attended by over 2,000 people here.
The attendance at the George Brown Convention Center camp which began at 6.00 am on Wednesday, a busy weekday, exceeded expectations and the organisers are hoping for a far greater turnout at the weekend.
Ramdev last month said he was finalising plans to set up a first such centre in China. The Patanjali Yog Peeth, a research centre in Haridwar which Ramdev co founded does research on yoga and Ayurveda and provides treatment and training in the field.
The yoga guru last month held a novel yoga camp aboard luxury cruise liner Super Star Virgo with 950 people from over 15 countries.
The University of Texas M D Anderson Cancer Center is hosting an educational programme on Patanjali Yoga with a presentation by Baba Ramdev, who became popular with his televised yoga camps and has lakhs of fans across the globe.
By www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Wednesday, 16 July 2008
YOGA CLUBS
Walk through the halls of the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business during the school year, and along with students cramming facts for macroeconomics and operating strategy you may encounter some students stretching their bodies and doing something really unusual for business school students: relaxing.
They're members of Chicago's yoga club, a student group founded earlier this year by two GSB students and which last term attracted 15 to 35 regular attendees to classes in the school's Harper Center. The classes are 'time to shut your brain off,' says Jody Kirchner, one of the group's founders.
The Chicago GSB yoga classes reflect a growing popularity of yoga in the U.S., with about 16 million Americans engaging in the practice, according to statistics released by Yoga Journal. The publication said $5.7 billion is spent annually on yoga classes and products, nearly twice as much as four years ago.
Indian Odyssey
During a school sponsored trip to India last year, Kirchner and fellow student Doug Neal bonded over a mutual interest in yoga. Kirchner and Neal, who both had been practicing yoga for years before they met, eventually decided to start a group dedicated to the practice on campus—= after Kirchner noticed that other business schools had yoga groups, but Chicago didn't.
In midyear, Neal, a 2008 MBA graduate, and Kirchner, a rising second year student and co-= chair of the club, conducted an interest survey for the group. Of the 1,100 students attending the school, about 200 expressed interest.
Kirchner said she was surprised at the large response the survey garnered, finding that a sizable portion of the student population already practiced yoga, at least to some extent. 'People I know outside of school say the same thing,' she said. 'After a stressful day, it's time they can do something easily to take their mind off their stress.'
Neal says yoga isn't just for stress relief. 'Yoga is very multifaceted, and the benefits of yoga are different for each person,' he said. 'Some use it for exercise, for meditation poses, some for relaxation, some for injuries.'
Interlude at MIT
Yoga is also on the radar at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management, where Matthew McGarvey, a rising second year student, wants to start a yoga class during Sloan's Innovation Period, a week in the middle of each semester that allows students to explore outside interests. Taught by an outside yoga instructor, the session would be open to 20 to 25 Sloan students. (MIT already offers yoga classes to the overall school community through its health center.)
Like many other practitioners of yoga, McGarvey says the discipline helps him achieve inner focus. He began practicing yoga while starting a social enterprise in Tibet as a way to find relief from his work related stress. In business school, McGarvey says yoga helped him stay centered. 'I found that during my first semester I was having to reexamine a lot of my life goals and priorities,' he says. 'Having a yoga practice helped sort through the white noise.'
Susanna Barry, a health educator at MIT Medical who specializes in anxiety and stress management, teaches some of the yoga courses on campus, including 'Yoga for Stress Management.'
Several MBAs have enrolled in the course, Barry says, which serves as a respite from the otherwise busy life of MBA students. 'They tend to be extremely self driven and highly competitive," Barry says. "To have an hour [that's] not about self improvement prevents burnout to get through the hectic part of the semester'
Universal Need
At Harvard Business School, restorative yoga, a form of yoga designed to promote relaxation and stress relief, has become more popular among MBA students, according to Carolyn Gould, the program manager for Shad Hall, the gym for HBS students and faculty. 'We live such fast paced lives,' Gould says. 'It's something everyone wants and needs everywhere. It's not specific to Harvard.'
At Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, rising second year MBA student Priti Mody is the president of the Yoga at Kellogg, which has more than 200 subscribers on its listserv.
Mody, who spent two weeks studying yoga in India while doing nonprofit research before starting B school, plans to draw upon her experience to lead the club, now in its third year on campus.
Currently, the group offers yoga classes once a week. Next year, Yoga at Kellogg plans to cater to students with varying yoga skill levels and set up sessions lasting an hour and a half, among other activities.
Mody says yoga provides her an outlet to unwind from the challenges of B school. 'Business school is a unique experience. There are so many things you juggle at the same time. You're surrounded by highly motivated people and want to do everything, [so] you learn to find balance in schedule to be happy,' she says. 'Yoga is something consistent that lets me calm down.'
Bby Andrea Castillo
THE LATEST YOGA CLUB NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
They're members of Chicago's yoga club, a student group founded earlier this year by two GSB students and which last term attracted 15 to 35 regular attendees to classes in the school's Harper Center. The classes are 'time to shut your brain off,' says Jody Kirchner, one of the group's founders.
The Chicago GSB yoga classes reflect a growing popularity of yoga in the U.S., with about 16 million Americans engaging in the practice, according to statistics released by Yoga Journal. The publication said $5.7 billion is spent annually on yoga classes and products, nearly twice as much as four years ago.
Indian Odyssey
During a school sponsored trip to India last year, Kirchner and fellow student Doug Neal bonded over a mutual interest in yoga. Kirchner and Neal, who both had been practicing yoga for years before they met, eventually decided to start a group dedicated to the practice on campus—= after Kirchner noticed that other business schools had yoga groups, but Chicago didn't.
In midyear, Neal, a 2008 MBA graduate, and Kirchner, a rising second year student and co-= chair of the club, conducted an interest survey for the group. Of the 1,100 students attending the school, about 200 expressed interest.
Kirchner said she was surprised at the large response the survey garnered, finding that a sizable portion of the student population already practiced yoga, at least to some extent. 'People I know outside of school say the same thing,' she said. 'After a stressful day, it's time they can do something easily to take their mind off their stress.'
Neal says yoga isn't just for stress relief. 'Yoga is very multifaceted, and the benefits of yoga are different for each person,' he said. 'Some use it for exercise, for meditation poses, some for relaxation, some for injuries.'
Interlude at MIT
Yoga is also on the radar at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management, where Matthew McGarvey, a rising second year student, wants to start a yoga class during Sloan's Innovation Period, a week in the middle of each semester that allows students to explore outside interests. Taught by an outside yoga instructor, the session would be open to 20 to 25 Sloan students. (MIT already offers yoga classes to the overall school community through its health center.)
Like many other practitioners of yoga, McGarvey says the discipline helps him achieve inner focus. He began practicing yoga while starting a social enterprise in Tibet as a way to find relief from his work related stress. In business school, McGarvey says yoga helped him stay centered. 'I found that during my first semester I was having to reexamine a lot of my life goals and priorities,' he says. 'Having a yoga practice helped sort through the white noise.'
Susanna Barry, a health educator at MIT Medical who specializes in anxiety and stress management, teaches some of the yoga courses on campus, including 'Yoga for Stress Management.'
Several MBAs have enrolled in the course, Barry says, which serves as a respite from the otherwise busy life of MBA students. 'They tend to be extremely self driven and highly competitive," Barry says. "To have an hour [that's] not about self improvement prevents burnout to get through the hectic part of the semester'
Universal Need
At Harvard Business School, restorative yoga, a form of yoga designed to promote relaxation and stress relief, has become more popular among MBA students, according to Carolyn Gould, the program manager for Shad Hall, the gym for HBS students and faculty. 'We live such fast paced lives,' Gould says. 'It's something everyone wants and needs everywhere. It's not specific to Harvard.'
At Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, rising second year MBA student Priti Mody is the president of the Yoga at Kellogg, which has more than 200 subscribers on its listserv.
Mody, who spent two weeks studying yoga in India while doing nonprofit research before starting B school, plans to draw upon her experience to lead the club, now in its third year on campus.
Currently, the group offers yoga classes once a week. Next year, Yoga at Kellogg plans to cater to students with varying yoga skill levels and set up sessions lasting an hour and a half, among other activities.
Mody says yoga provides her an outlet to unwind from the challenges of B school. 'Business school is a unique experience. There are so many things you juggle at the same time. You're surrounded by highly motivated people and want to do everything, [so] you learn to find balance in schedule to be happy,' she says. 'Yoga is something consistent that lets me calm down.'
Bby Andrea Castillo
THE LATEST YOGA CLUB NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
NEW YOGA STUDIO TO OPEN
Jennifer Valentine has a hard time sitting still. That’s exactly why she loves yoga.
'We are so high strung that just to take that time and hold a pose for five seconds can be a challenge,' Valentine said. 'It's important to step back and slow down a little bit.'
Jennifer Valentine, teaches yoga in her first studio Monday in Winona. Valentine, who has taught yoga for five years, said she used to teach wherever she could find space but will now teach two days a week in the summer at her studio.
By day, she's a senior accountant at Wolter & Raak in Winona. By night, she teaches yoga classes Mondays and Thursdays at 'simplicity, yoga and wellness,' a yoga studio she opened Monday at 601 E. Fifth St. The cost per class is $5 until Labor Day when monthly rates go into effect starting at $30. She's hoping to add a third nightly class in the fall and also a free 'karma yoga' class Sundays.
Valentine, 44, started doing yoga in 2001 after she signed up her oldest daughter and herself for a class.
'She hated it. I loved it,' Valentine said.
Valentine credits yoga with helping her quit smoking, lose weight and feel generally healthier.
'It's done a lot of good things for me,' Valentine said. 'I want to bring it to as many people as I can.'
Valentine started teaching yoga in 2002. She has taught at the Winona Arts Center and Gotta Dance in Winona and has also taught in Alma, Trempealeau and Arcadia, all in Wisconsin.
Valentine teaches a power yoga class that's more aerobic and also a stretching class where the same basic yoga poses are done at a slower pace.
'I like to focus on listening to your body,' she said.
In May, Valentine, her husband, Dan, and Winona runner Aurora Jacobsen founded the Winona Running Club. She encourages marathon runners and other athletes to add yoga to their routine.
When she's not busy at work or teaching yoga, she's training for October's Des Moines Marathon in Des Moines, Iowa. Even though it's a busy schedule, it's one that Valentine said teaching yoga helps balance.
'This is my outlet,' she said.
By Kari Knutson
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
'We are so high strung that just to take that time and hold a pose for five seconds can be a challenge,' Valentine said. 'It's important to step back and slow down a little bit.'
Jennifer Valentine, teaches yoga in her first studio Monday in Winona. Valentine, who has taught yoga for five years, said she used to teach wherever she could find space but will now teach two days a week in the summer at her studio.
By day, she's a senior accountant at Wolter & Raak in Winona. By night, she teaches yoga classes Mondays and Thursdays at 'simplicity, yoga and wellness,' a yoga studio she opened Monday at 601 E. Fifth St. The cost per class is $5 until Labor Day when monthly rates go into effect starting at $30. She's hoping to add a third nightly class in the fall and also a free 'karma yoga' class Sundays.
Valentine, 44, started doing yoga in 2001 after she signed up her oldest daughter and herself for a class.
'She hated it. I loved it,' Valentine said.
Valentine credits yoga with helping her quit smoking, lose weight and feel generally healthier.
'It's done a lot of good things for me,' Valentine said. 'I want to bring it to as many people as I can.'
Valentine started teaching yoga in 2002. She has taught at the Winona Arts Center and Gotta Dance in Winona and has also taught in Alma, Trempealeau and Arcadia, all in Wisconsin.
Valentine teaches a power yoga class that's more aerobic and also a stretching class where the same basic yoga poses are done at a slower pace.
'I like to focus on listening to your body,' she said.
In May, Valentine, her husband, Dan, and Winona runner Aurora Jacobsen founded the Winona Running Club. She encourages marathon runners and other athletes to add yoga to their routine.
When she's not busy at work or teaching yoga, she's training for October's Des Moines Marathon in Des Moines, Iowa. Even though it's a busy schedule, it's one that Valentine said teaching yoga helps balance.
'This is my outlet,' she said.
By Kari Knutson
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
LOVING THE YOGA STRETCH
Madonna has been doing the lotus for years and Geri Halliwell is a well known fan of saluting the sun, and now children are getting into the yoga craze.
Youngsters who go to Blossom Yoga classes, in Knighton, Leicester, say they cannot wait to hit the mats for an hour of bending and stretching every weekend.
Sessions have been running at Knighton Parish Centre since January, and organisers said yoga was as beneficial for children as it is for adults, improving posture, flexibility, co ordination, concentration and general fitness.
Children at Saturday's session, the last before the summer holidays, said the best thing about the classes was having fun.
Honey Heskeymee Preston, six, from Knighton, said: 'It's fun and sometimes you have to be really quiet.'
'We all like coming because it's good exercise.'
Maria Iliffe, seven, also from Knighton, said: 'I like it when we do animal poses and games.'
'Sometimes, we have to walk around in a circle and when she says 'do a pose' we have to do something like stick our leg out.'
'You have to take your socks and your cardigan off so you don't get boiling hot.'
Sant Flora, four, of Leicester's West End, said: 'I like to do the games here.'
'I like Incy Wincy Spider because you have to climb up the wall with your legs.'
'We do aeroplanes and that's good as well, because you have to put your arms up.'
'I like it because I have made friends.'
Lily Pidgeon, three, from Birstall, said: 'I like lying down and I like doing the lion pose.'
There are two classes, one for three to seven year olds and one for children aged eight to 12.
Lily's mum, Lisa, who also takes son Jack, eight, to the sessions, said: 'They both really enjoy it. They like doing the 'oms' at the end.'
'It helps them to relax and concentrate. It's very calming and they sleep well afterwards.'
Honey's mum, Sera, said the classes had helped with her daughter's asthma.
She said: "I wanted her to do something that would concentrate on her breathing, and also something that wasn't competitive.
'She used to go to ballet and I had to drag her there, but with yoga she loves putting on her comfy clothes and she's happy to be there.'
'It's done in such a fun way that they don't realise it's proper exercise.'
Jacinda Butterworth and Keeley Baigent, who set up Blossom Yoga last year, also teach it in schools and nurseries.
Following sessions at Glen Hills Primary School, in Glen Parva, head teacher Tim Sutcliffe commented on the Blossom Yoga website: 'Feedback from children has been very positive and some of them have now taken up yoga as a regular hobby.'
'The classes help to develop energy, strength and confidence and leave the children feeling re energised, calm and ready to focus on learning with a clear mind.'
Jacinda said: 'We blend some aspects of adult yoga with games and stories.'
'For some bits, with the older kids, we'll have funky music on, and the younger children have nursery rhymes and singing to make it really good fun.'
A summer school takes place on July 31 and August 1.
For more details, call 07739 507960 or email: blossom@blossom-yoga.co.uk
BY GEMMA PEPLOW
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Youngsters who go to Blossom Yoga classes, in Knighton, Leicester, say they cannot wait to hit the mats for an hour of bending and stretching every weekend.
Sessions have been running at Knighton Parish Centre since January, and organisers said yoga was as beneficial for children as it is for adults, improving posture, flexibility, co ordination, concentration and general fitness.
Children at Saturday's session, the last before the summer holidays, said the best thing about the classes was having fun.
Honey Heskeymee Preston, six, from Knighton, said: 'It's fun and sometimes you have to be really quiet.'
'We all like coming because it's good exercise.'
Maria Iliffe, seven, also from Knighton, said: 'I like it when we do animal poses and games.'
'Sometimes, we have to walk around in a circle and when she says 'do a pose' we have to do something like stick our leg out.'
'You have to take your socks and your cardigan off so you don't get boiling hot.'
Sant Flora, four, of Leicester's West End, said: 'I like to do the games here.'
'I like Incy Wincy Spider because you have to climb up the wall with your legs.'
'We do aeroplanes and that's good as well, because you have to put your arms up.'
'I like it because I have made friends.'
Lily Pidgeon, three, from Birstall, said: 'I like lying down and I like doing the lion pose.'
There are two classes, one for three to seven year olds and one for children aged eight to 12.
Lily's mum, Lisa, who also takes son Jack, eight, to the sessions, said: 'They both really enjoy it. They like doing the 'oms' at the end.'
'It helps them to relax and concentrate. It's very calming and they sleep well afterwards.'
Honey's mum, Sera, said the classes had helped with her daughter's asthma.
She said: "I wanted her to do something that would concentrate on her breathing, and also something that wasn't competitive.
'She used to go to ballet and I had to drag her there, but with yoga she loves putting on her comfy clothes and she's happy to be there.'
'It's done in such a fun way that they don't realise it's proper exercise.'
Jacinda Butterworth and Keeley Baigent, who set up Blossom Yoga last year, also teach it in schools and nurseries.
Following sessions at Glen Hills Primary School, in Glen Parva, head teacher Tim Sutcliffe commented on the Blossom Yoga website: 'Feedback from children has been very positive and some of them have now taken up yoga as a regular hobby.'
'The classes help to develop energy, strength and confidence and leave the children feeling re energised, calm and ready to focus on learning with a clear mind.'
Jacinda said: 'We blend some aspects of adult yoga with games and stories.'
'For some bits, with the older kids, we'll have funky music on, and the younger children have nursery rhymes and singing to make it really good fun.'
A summer school takes place on July 31 and August 1.
For more details, call 07739 507960 or email: blossom@blossom-yoga.co.uk
BY GEMMA PEPLOW
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Monday, 14 July 2008
YOGA SO GOOD FOR CHILDREN
Even little kids enjoy the benefits of yoga.
Listening to stories, dancing and pretending to be everything from trees to flowers to sleeping snakes, the children in a Yoga Play class at Yoga North in Duluth had fun while learning yoga earlier this month.
Kyle Elden, who taught the class of 3 to 5 year-olds, said teaching children about yoga gives them a toolbox they can use to have fun and relax.
'It's a healthy way to feel good,' she said.
Libby Fena of Duluth said her 4 year old son, Benjamin, loves doing yoga.
Benjamin sometimes does a yoga pose called the volcano that helps him deal with anger, she said. In the pose, you start with your palms together at the heart, then raise your arms over your head and explode them like an erupting volcano.
Benjamin said the volcano is his best pose. 'It helps calm you down,' he said.
Fena said yoga has really helped her son. 'Not just with movement, but with life wisdom,' she said. 'We're very psyched about it.'
During the class, Elden showed the children how to do a 'bunny breath.'
'Sometimes we get mad at a brother or sister or a friend and we feel like stomping around,' Elden told the children. 'You can do the bunny breath and it can help you.'
They children sat quietly, took three short inward breaths just like a bunny, then exhaled with a big sigh.
'Don't you feel nice and calm now?' Elden asked.
Elden also wove in a little yoga philosophy during snack time. As she passed out yogurt covered pretzels and dried cherries, she explained what it means to be mindful when you eat.
'Everything we eat comes from the earth,' she said. 'You look at the food and you remember where it came from. You can thank the Earth and the sun and the rain that made this for you.'
Mindfulness also means taking your time when you eat, she said. She asked the children to look at the snack, then to smell and taste it before slowly eating it.
Throughout the class, whether they were tasting snacks or dancing to music from India or playing yoga games, the children threw themselves into every activity, living joyfully in the moment.
By LINDA HANSON
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Listening to stories, dancing and pretending to be everything from trees to flowers to sleeping snakes, the children in a Yoga Play class at Yoga North in Duluth had fun while learning yoga earlier this month.
Kyle Elden, who taught the class of 3 to 5 year-olds, said teaching children about yoga gives them a toolbox they can use to have fun and relax.
'It's a healthy way to feel good,' she said.
Libby Fena of Duluth said her 4 year old son, Benjamin, loves doing yoga.
Benjamin sometimes does a yoga pose called the volcano that helps him deal with anger, she said. In the pose, you start with your palms together at the heart, then raise your arms over your head and explode them like an erupting volcano.
Benjamin said the volcano is his best pose. 'It helps calm you down,' he said.
Fena said yoga has really helped her son. 'Not just with movement, but with life wisdom,' she said. 'We're very psyched about it.'
During the class, Elden showed the children how to do a 'bunny breath.'
'Sometimes we get mad at a brother or sister or a friend and we feel like stomping around,' Elden told the children. 'You can do the bunny breath and it can help you.'
They children sat quietly, took three short inward breaths just like a bunny, then exhaled with a big sigh.
'Don't you feel nice and calm now?' Elden asked.
Elden also wove in a little yoga philosophy during snack time. As she passed out yogurt covered pretzels and dried cherries, she explained what it means to be mindful when you eat.
'Everything we eat comes from the earth,' she said. 'You look at the food and you remember where it came from. You can thank the Earth and the sun and the rain that made this for you.'
Mindfulness also means taking your time when you eat, she said. She asked the children to look at the snack, then to smell and taste it before slowly eating it.
Throughout the class, whether they were tasting snacks or dancing to music from India or playing yoga games, the children threw themselves into every activity, living joyfully in the moment.
By LINDA HANSON
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Thursday, 10 July 2008
NEW YOGA STUDIO
The Uttara Yoga Studio stands inconspicuously on Kirk Avenue.
But, open the door at 112 B, follow the steep stairs upstairs and discover a peaceful oasis with high ceilings, wood floors and expansive windows letting in light.
The owner, Jill Loftis, wanted to create an inviting space where people could improve their health and their lives. She opened the studio on June 1 and teaches classes along with another instructor Vanessa Fassie.
'I wanted them to feel like they weren't even in Roanoke; that they could escape from their lives for an hour,' Loftis said.
Until recently, Loftis was a 41 year old, stay at home mother of three. She looks a good decade younger and credits yoga for that.
With her red rectangular glasses and light blond hair pulled into a ponytail, Loftis energetically described her love for yoga on a recent day in her studio.
She decided to try yoga eight years ago after watching a show called 'Inhale' on the Oxygen channel.
'Look at all those happy, fit people,' Loftis said she thought to herself.
At the time, she had recently had her second child. Yoga helped her lose her post pregnancy weight and feel energized.
'It's one of the great things about yoga. All you need is a mat, a little space and a little time,' Loftis said.
As she continued, she said she began to feel the energy inside her body and realized how such energy affected her mind, emotions and everything in her life.
She started to teach yoga to children and said she believes the practice teaches kids two important, life long lessons: how to breathe and how to listen to their intuition.
Loftis has taught at Roanoke Catholic School and Roanoke Ballet Theatre as well as at special groups such as the South Roanoke Boy Scouts.
She believes that kids can relate to a lot of yoga poses that correspond to animals such as the 'downward dog,' and cow and cat positions. To prove her point, she jumps on all fours and begins to hiss and moo as she arches and contracts her back.
Loftis has also done workshops aimed at pre teen females called 'Shakti girl' workshops. She explains them by saying, tongue in cheek, that she would personally never want to be 13 again and would like to do something to help.
It was the experience of teaching yoga at Roanoke's Bethany Hall, a residential treatment program for women recovering from alcohol and drug addiction, that made her want to open her own studio and teach adults. She started teaching at Bethany Hall two years ago and quickly learned to adapt to changing situations. For instance, she said she would plan a program only to discover that most of the women that day were pregnant or were actively in detox and she needed to adjust the practice.
'It made me be able to teach on the fly,' Loftis said. 'I would never have had the guts to teach if it wasn't for that.'
During that time, Loftis also completed her 200 hour Hatha Yoga teacher certificate through a home-study program with the Temple of Kriya Yoga.
Most yoga practices typically end with the Savasana, or corpse pose, in which people lie on the floor in a completely relaxed position with their arms and legs spread. For almost three years, Loftis would avoid the pose because she felt she couldn't spare the time, that there were other things she had to be doing.
She later realized how important it was to add completion to her practice after she taught people who would sometimes cry in that pose and she would pass out tissues to them.
Loftis wants Uttara to be a holistic place where people can do more than just improve their physical fitness.
'I want to be able to create a place where people can come to improve their lives and be happier no matter what their goals are,' she said.
By Jessica Marcy
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
But, open the door at 112 B, follow the steep stairs upstairs and discover a peaceful oasis with high ceilings, wood floors and expansive windows letting in light.
The owner, Jill Loftis, wanted to create an inviting space where people could improve their health and their lives. She opened the studio on June 1 and teaches classes along with another instructor Vanessa Fassie.
'I wanted them to feel like they weren't even in Roanoke; that they could escape from their lives for an hour,' Loftis said.
Until recently, Loftis was a 41 year old, stay at home mother of three. She looks a good decade younger and credits yoga for that.
With her red rectangular glasses and light blond hair pulled into a ponytail, Loftis energetically described her love for yoga on a recent day in her studio.
She decided to try yoga eight years ago after watching a show called 'Inhale' on the Oxygen channel.
'Look at all those happy, fit people,' Loftis said she thought to herself.
At the time, she had recently had her second child. Yoga helped her lose her post pregnancy weight and feel energized.
'It's one of the great things about yoga. All you need is a mat, a little space and a little time,' Loftis said.
As she continued, she said she began to feel the energy inside her body and realized how such energy affected her mind, emotions and everything in her life.
She started to teach yoga to children and said she believes the practice teaches kids two important, life long lessons: how to breathe and how to listen to their intuition.
Loftis has taught at Roanoke Catholic School and Roanoke Ballet Theatre as well as at special groups such as the South Roanoke Boy Scouts.
She believes that kids can relate to a lot of yoga poses that correspond to animals such as the 'downward dog,' and cow and cat positions. To prove her point, she jumps on all fours and begins to hiss and moo as she arches and contracts her back.
Loftis has also done workshops aimed at pre teen females called 'Shakti girl' workshops. She explains them by saying, tongue in cheek, that she would personally never want to be 13 again and would like to do something to help.
It was the experience of teaching yoga at Roanoke's Bethany Hall, a residential treatment program for women recovering from alcohol and drug addiction, that made her want to open her own studio and teach adults. She started teaching at Bethany Hall two years ago and quickly learned to adapt to changing situations. For instance, she said she would plan a program only to discover that most of the women that day were pregnant or were actively in detox and she needed to adjust the practice.
'It made me be able to teach on the fly,' Loftis said. 'I would never have had the guts to teach if it wasn't for that.'
During that time, Loftis also completed her 200 hour Hatha Yoga teacher certificate through a home-study program with the Temple of Kriya Yoga.
Most yoga practices typically end with the Savasana, or corpse pose, in which people lie on the floor in a completely relaxed position with their arms and legs spread. For almost three years, Loftis would avoid the pose because she felt she couldn't spare the time, that there were other things she had to be doing.
She later realized how important it was to add completion to her practice after she taught people who would sometimes cry in that pose and she would pass out tissues to them.
Loftis wants Uttara to be a holistic place where people can do more than just improve their physical fitness.
'I want to be able to create a place where people can come to improve their lives and be happier no matter what their goals are,' she said.
By Jessica Marcy
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
YOGA AND THE DIVINE
There is within each individual a spark of the divine, call it the atman, the soul, the Bodhichitta or by whatever name.
It is this spark that energises human consciousness. Every individual has a unique value, because he represents a special correlation of forces revolving around a spiritual core of which he may or may not be conscious. Yoga helps us join this inner spiritual core with the all pervading divine.
Four main paths of yoga are identifiable: the yoga of wisdom or jnana yoga, of love or bhakti, of work or karma and of psycho spiritual disciplines or raja yoga.
Jnana yoga involves intellectual discrimination between the real and the unreal, to access reality that lies behind the manifested universe. It is somewhat like the concept of Plato who said that all we see are shadows of reality thrown on the wall of the cave, while remaining unaware both of the actual figures and the light that shines on them from behind.
This yoga is a movement into a new dimension of awareness in which we see the unity behind the diversity of the world around us. This vision of oneness, which the Upanishads call 'Ekatvam', transforms the ordinary human being into a seer, one who sees the integral unity behind the multifarious and bewildering multiplicity of our daily existence. Sri Ramana Maharishi was a jnana yogi.
If jnana yoga is the way of the refined intellect, bhakti yoga is the way of the heart lit by love and adoration of a personalised aspect of the divine... The opening of the heart centre is one of the most powerful methodologies for achieving direct contact with the divine.
Karma yoga's aspects have been expounded in the 'Gita'. Act we must, whether it is the subconscious activities within our bodies, or the conscious acts that we perform in our daily lives. Without such action human civilisation itself would never have developed. But the major question is as to how these actions can be reconciled with the spiritual quest.
Karma yoga addresses this concept. Every action that we undertake, big or small, must be dedicated to one's chosen divinity. Every act becomes worship. Rather than being obsessed with the results we must act from what we consider to be highest level of our consciousness, inwardly dedicate that act to the divine and leave the results to unfold as they may.
Actions flowing from hatred and fanaticism, cruelty and exploitation, can never be considered karma yoga because by definition they are incapable of being offered to the divine. Again good deeds by themselves, while preferable, do not constitute karma yoga unless there is a clear and unequivocal dedication to one's chosen deity. Swami Vivekananda and Mother Teresa were karma yogis.
Raja yoga is the royal path which involves psycho spiritual practices including physical and breathing exercises that are known as yoga around the world. But only if they are directed ultimately beyond these to the quickening of spiritual consciousness. The basic theory revolves around the existence of a self conscious spiritual power that is located at the base of the spine.
With discipline and practice, this power can start to move up the spine, energising, as it rises, seven chakras or plexuses, which bring about incremental transmutation of consciousness, until finally the blazing light of this power, the Kundalini, the serpent power, pours into the cortex thus completing the process of spiritual transmutation. These four yogas are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
By KARAN SINGH
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
It is this spark that energises human consciousness. Every individual has a unique value, because he represents a special correlation of forces revolving around a spiritual core of which he may or may not be conscious. Yoga helps us join this inner spiritual core with the all pervading divine.
Four main paths of yoga are identifiable: the yoga of wisdom or jnana yoga, of love or bhakti, of work or karma and of psycho spiritual disciplines or raja yoga.
Jnana yoga involves intellectual discrimination between the real and the unreal, to access reality that lies behind the manifested universe. It is somewhat like the concept of Plato who said that all we see are shadows of reality thrown on the wall of the cave, while remaining unaware both of the actual figures and the light that shines on them from behind.
This yoga is a movement into a new dimension of awareness in which we see the unity behind the diversity of the world around us. This vision of oneness, which the Upanishads call 'Ekatvam', transforms the ordinary human being into a seer, one who sees the integral unity behind the multifarious and bewildering multiplicity of our daily existence. Sri Ramana Maharishi was a jnana yogi.
If jnana yoga is the way of the refined intellect, bhakti yoga is the way of the heart lit by love and adoration of a personalised aspect of the divine... The opening of the heart centre is one of the most powerful methodologies for achieving direct contact with the divine.
Karma yoga's aspects have been expounded in the 'Gita'. Act we must, whether it is the subconscious activities within our bodies, or the conscious acts that we perform in our daily lives. Without such action human civilisation itself would never have developed. But the major question is as to how these actions can be reconciled with the spiritual quest.
Karma yoga addresses this concept. Every action that we undertake, big or small, must be dedicated to one's chosen divinity. Every act becomes worship. Rather than being obsessed with the results we must act from what we consider to be highest level of our consciousness, inwardly dedicate that act to the divine and leave the results to unfold as they may.
Actions flowing from hatred and fanaticism, cruelty and exploitation, can never be considered karma yoga because by definition they are incapable of being offered to the divine. Again good deeds by themselves, while preferable, do not constitute karma yoga unless there is a clear and unequivocal dedication to one's chosen deity. Swami Vivekananda and Mother Teresa were karma yogis.
Raja yoga is the royal path which involves psycho spiritual practices including physical and breathing exercises that are known as yoga around the world. But only if they are directed ultimately beyond these to the quickening of spiritual consciousness. The basic theory revolves around the existence of a self conscious spiritual power that is located at the base of the spine.
With discipline and practice, this power can start to move up the spine, energising, as it rises, seven chakras or plexuses, which bring about incremental transmutation of consciousness, until finally the blazing light of this power, the Kundalini, the serpent power, pours into the cortex thus completing the process of spiritual transmutation. These four yogas are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
By KARAN SINGH
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
YOGA FOR YOUR BACK
You probably already knew that yoga can help with relaxation, stress reduction and putting your feet behind your head. But did you know it also can help eliminate back pain?
Dr. Ruth Wachendorfer, a yoga instructor who teaches private lessons as well as classes at Yoga for Life in Dallas, knows back pain. As a longtime sufferer of scoliosis and arthritis, she says yoga keeps her going. 'My own condition has driven my in depth and ongoing pursuit of yoga as therapy.'
But when she helps clients who have back problems such as poor posture, low back pain and sciatica, she doesn't just focus on the back. She explains that, even though their backs may hurt, it's not the root of the problem.
'Rather, the back gets a problem from poor posture patterns, gait or strength imbalances, shortened hamstrings, tight glutes or weak abs,' she says.
So, a yoga regimen that helps prevent or improve back problems often involves poses that work the shoulders, chest, abdomen, hips and legs.
After all, the body operates as a whole, says Dr. Wachendorfer, who has a medical degree and a master's in physiology.
Here Dr. Wachendorfer shows her favorite poses to relieve your aching back. If you're new to yoga, have an instructor demonstrate.
By ELSA K. SIMCIK
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Dr. Ruth Wachendorfer, a yoga instructor who teaches private lessons as well as classes at Yoga for Life in Dallas, knows back pain. As a longtime sufferer of scoliosis and arthritis, she says yoga keeps her going. 'My own condition has driven my in depth and ongoing pursuit of yoga as therapy.'
But when she helps clients who have back problems such as poor posture, low back pain and sciatica, she doesn't just focus on the back. She explains that, even though their backs may hurt, it's not the root of the problem.
'Rather, the back gets a problem from poor posture patterns, gait or strength imbalances, shortened hamstrings, tight glutes or weak abs,' she says.
So, a yoga regimen that helps prevent or improve back problems often involves poses that work the shoulders, chest, abdomen, hips and legs.
After all, the body operates as a whole, says Dr. Wachendorfer, who has a medical degree and a master's in physiology.
Here Dr. Wachendorfer shows her favorite poses to relieve your aching back. If you're new to yoga, have an instructor demonstrate.
By ELSA K. SIMCIK
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
YOGA ON TOUR
An Indian born spiritual leader, popular for his breathing and meditation techniques as well as his humanitarian work, will speak at Raleigh's Meymandi Concert Hall today.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, not to be confused with the legendary sitar player who influenced the Beatles, has attracted scores of followers for his stress reduction methods, especially his breathing technique called Sudarshan Kriya, an ancient yoga exercise. He is also the founder of the California based Art of Living Foundation; its work includes trauma relief programs for survivors of events such as Hurricane Katrina and the Virginia Tech shootings and special programs for returning war veterans.
'As a doctor, I have seen patients recover from depression and high blood pressure who have used his breathing technique,' said Thomas Mitchell, a Raleigh chiropractor and devotee who volunteers with the Art of Living Foundation.
Shankar, who travels widely, often visiting 40 countries a year, is also involved in promoting peace, especially in Asian trouble spots such as Sri Lanka and Kashmir. He is a follower of the Mahatma Gandhi principle of nonviolence. His method involves calming the minds of aggressors and providing solace and emotional strength to victims.
Followers call him 'Sri Sri,' pronounced 'Shree, Shree,' an honorific meaning 'His Holiness.' This will be Shankar's return visit to Raleigh. He gave a similar lecture in 2001. For more information on Shankar, see www.artofliving.org.
By Yonat Shimron
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, not to be confused with the legendary sitar player who influenced the Beatles, has attracted scores of followers for his stress reduction methods, especially his breathing technique called Sudarshan Kriya, an ancient yoga exercise. He is also the founder of the California based Art of Living Foundation; its work includes trauma relief programs for survivors of events such as Hurricane Katrina and the Virginia Tech shootings and special programs for returning war veterans.
'As a doctor, I have seen patients recover from depression and high blood pressure who have used his breathing technique,' said Thomas Mitchell, a Raleigh chiropractor and devotee who volunteers with the Art of Living Foundation.
Shankar, who travels widely, often visiting 40 countries a year, is also involved in promoting peace, especially in Asian trouble spots such as Sri Lanka and Kashmir. He is a follower of the Mahatma Gandhi principle of nonviolence. His method involves calming the minds of aggressors and providing solace and emotional strength to victims.
Followers call him 'Sri Sri,' pronounced 'Shree, Shree,' an honorific meaning 'His Holiness.' This will be Shankar's return visit to Raleigh. He gave a similar lecture in 2001. For more information on Shankar, see www.artofliving.org.
By Yonat Shimron
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Monday, 7 July 2008
COMPUTER GAME YOGA
So, we've just heard that a few Japanese gamers haven't stepped back onto their Wii Balance Boards after purchasing Wii Fit, but the product's sales success hasn't stopped Austrian game publisher JoWood jumping on the bandwagon with its own clone, Wii Yoga.
The game will allow young and young at hard gamers to experience the 'well known and favoured doctrine for mind, body and soul,' and it will guarantee 'a unique gaming experience.' Unless you've played something called Wii Fit, of course.
A release in the second quarter of 2009 is scheduled, and CVG has pointed out that Nintendo's terms and conditions for naming games on its consoles prohibit publishers from including 'Wii' in the name. So, no doubt the game will surface under another monicker.
By www.aussie-nintendo.com
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
The game will allow young and young at hard gamers to experience the 'well known and favoured doctrine for mind, body and soul,' and it will guarantee 'a unique gaming experience.' Unless you've played something called Wii Fit, of course.
A release in the second quarter of 2009 is scheduled, and CVG has pointed out that Nintendo's terms and conditions for naming games on its consoles prohibit publishers from including 'Wii' in the name. So, no doubt the game will surface under another monicker.
By www.aussie-nintendo.com
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Thursday, 3 July 2008
YOGA AT THE LIBRARY
Stretching, breathing, posing and releasing tension is how Melody Miller teaches her students to relax in a hectic world through yoga.
The hour and a half long Monday morning class is one of two exercise classes the Basehor Community Library is able to bring to patrons because of its newly expanded facility.
'To me, life just seems so chaotic,' Miller said. 'Yoga is just a great way to get focused, get grounded and open up.'
Miller began to explore yoga in the 1970s, then later decided to try her hand at teaching. Now with about six years of teaching under her belt, she's an instructor for not only the class at the library, but also a few at Lifetime Fitness and in her home studio.
Having used yoga to bring balance to her own life, Miller knows that the benefits of the practice are endless, she said. The sequence of poses not only strengthens the body physically, but mentally as well. She said yoga is the union of the mind, body and spirit and it's accessible for everyone through modifications.
'Modifications are a good thing,' she said. 'Modifications allow us to do this for the rest of our lives.'
Any injuries a student might have are documented before class begins to give Miller a heads up on who might need to modify their poses in order to continue to reap the benefits of the exercise without irritating their injury. The modifications also allow students to work their way up making the class universal to men and women, young and old and beginners to more advanced students.
'It builds muscle tone and they'll build strength and flexibility,' she said. 'On top of that, they’ll get a deeper awareness of their own body.'
While yoga continues to gain more students, perhaps an even more popular class is Thursday evening PiYo.
The class, which combines pilates and yoga along with flexibility and balance, is described as a more fluid upbeat type of class rather than relaxed and meditative.
Certified instructor Cindy Grover teaches the class, which is designed to challenge beginners through advanced students.
'It's a very active flowing class,' Grover said. 'We do focus on breath with each movement, so all of that is similar to yoga, but it's more up tempo.'
It's not considered a cardio class, Grover said, but the repetition and increasing speed of the movements bring heart rates up to tone muscles, improve posture and reduce stress.
'It's a very lighthearted, fun class,' she said. 'Each person feels that after a few classes it gets easier to follow.'
Both classes offer six week sessions throughout the summer. To check space availability and prices or to register, call the library at (913) 724 2828 or go online at basehorlibrary.org
By Lara Hastings
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
The hour and a half long Monday morning class is one of two exercise classes the Basehor Community Library is able to bring to patrons because of its newly expanded facility.
'To me, life just seems so chaotic,' Miller said. 'Yoga is just a great way to get focused, get grounded and open up.'
Miller began to explore yoga in the 1970s, then later decided to try her hand at teaching. Now with about six years of teaching under her belt, she's an instructor for not only the class at the library, but also a few at Lifetime Fitness and in her home studio.
Having used yoga to bring balance to her own life, Miller knows that the benefits of the practice are endless, she said. The sequence of poses not only strengthens the body physically, but mentally as well. She said yoga is the union of the mind, body and spirit and it's accessible for everyone through modifications.
'Modifications are a good thing,' she said. 'Modifications allow us to do this for the rest of our lives.'
Any injuries a student might have are documented before class begins to give Miller a heads up on who might need to modify their poses in order to continue to reap the benefits of the exercise without irritating their injury. The modifications also allow students to work their way up making the class universal to men and women, young and old and beginners to more advanced students.
'It builds muscle tone and they'll build strength and flexibility,' she said. 'On top of that, they’ll get a deeper awareness of their own body.'
While yoga continues to gain more students, perhaps an even more popular class is Thursday evening PiYo.
The class, which combines pilates and yoga along with flexibility and balance, is described as a more fluid upbeat type of class rather than relaxed and meditative.
Certified instructor Cindy Grover teaches the class, which is designed to challenge beginners through advanced students.
'It's a very active flowing class,' Grover said. 'We do focus on breath with each movement, so all of that is similar to yoga, but it's more up tempo.'
It's not considered a cardio class, Grover said, but the repetition and increasing speed of the movements bring heart rates up to tone muscles, improve posture and reduce stress.
'It's a very lighthearted, fun class,' she said. 'Each person feels that after a few classes it gets easier to follow.'
Both classes offer six week sessions throughout the summer. To check space availability and prices or to register, call the library at (913) 724 2828 or go online at basehorlibrary.org
By Lara Hastings
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
YOGA TO CHILL
Arborea, an indie folk duo from Maine, will perform along with Israeli singer/songwriter Noa Babayof and Brooklyn based singer/songwriter Sharon Van Etten Saturday, July 5, at Chill Yoga.
The music, all falling under the free folk/alternative folk genre, will begin at 7 p.m. Admission is $8. Chill Yoga is in suite 204 on the second floor at 105 Middle St.
Formed in the summer of 2005 bys husband and wife team Buck and Shanti Curran, Arborea's music follows in the progressive folk tradition of American iconic guitarists/composers John Fahey and Robbie Basho, British folk group Pentangle and contemporaries Marissa Nadler, Espers, Devendra Banhart, and Iron and Wine.
Buck plays guitar, slide guitars, bowed strings, flutes and banjo, and provides vocals. Shanti provides lead vocals and plays banjo, ukulele, bowed strings, harmonium and percussion. Their concerts, as described by George Parsons of Dream Magazine, are 'low key intimate spellcasting affairs; the fact that they are a couple might help to explain the seamless organic blending of their music together.'
In October 2006, the duo released its first CD, 'Wayfaring Summer' to glowing reviews and air play throughout the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe. Last year, Arborea performed at the Green Man Festival in the United Kingdom, the Tanned Tin Festival in Spain and the Time of Rivers Festival in Portland. In April, the Philadelphia-based label Fire Museum Records released Arborea's second self titled CD.
Babayof is rapidly establishing a presence on the new international folk scene. Her debut album, 'From A Window To A Wall,' was recently recorded and mixed by Greg Weeks at his studio in Philadelphia. It features lush string arrangements backing up Babayof's arresting singing and writing style. She is influenced by the likes of Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan, along with such contemporary icons as Diane Cluck, Smog and the Espers.
Born and raised in New Jersey, Van Etten moved at age 17 to Tennessee, where she began most of her songwriting and first encountered the influences that continue to shape her current sound. After spending six years away, she returned to the East Coast and has continued to write and record in the bedroom of her New York apartment for the last three years.
Wanting to remain independent, she hand makes all of her CDs and packaging, and mails them out with handwritten letters. She performs as a soloist; and relying solely on her simple guitar rhythms, she focuses on melancholic melodies that are free to explore almost yodel like scales and vocal range, reminiscent of Scotch Irish folk and Appalachia.
By www.sunjournal.com
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
The music, all falling under the free folk/alternative folk genre, will begin at 7 p.m. Admission is $8. Chill Yoga is in suite 204 on the second floor at 105 Middle St.
Formed in the summer of 2005 bys husband and wife team Buck and Shanti Curran, Arborea's music follows in the progressive folk tradition of American iconic guitarists/composers John Fahey and Robbie Basho, British folk group Pentangle and contemporaries Marissa Nadler, Espers, Devendra Banhart, and Iron and Wine.
Buck plays guitar, slide guitars, bowed strings, flutes and banjo, and provides vocals. Shanti provides lead vocals and plays banjo, ukulele, bowed strings, harmonium and percussion. Their concerts, as described by George Parsons of Dream Magazine, are 'low key intimate spellcasting affairs; the fact that they are a couple might help to explain the seamless organic blending of their music together.'
In October 2006, the duo released its first CD, 'Wayfaring Summer' to glowing reviews and air play throughout the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe. Last year, Arborea performed at the Green Man Festival in the United Kingdom, the Tanned Tin Festival in Spain and the Time of Rivers Festival in Portland. In April, the Philadelphia-based label Fire Museum Records released Arborea's second self titled CD.
Babayof is rapidly establishing a presence on the new international folk scene. Her debut album, 'From A Window To A Wall,' was recently recorded and mixed by Greg Weeks at his studio in Philadelphia. It features lush string arrangements backing up Babayof's arresting singing and writing style. She is influenced by the likes of Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan, along with such contemporary icons as Diane Cluck, Smog and the Espers.
Born and raised in New Jersey, Van Etten moved at age 17 to Tennessee, where she began most of her songwriting and first encountered the influences that continue to shape her current sound. After spending six years away, she returned to the East Coast and has continued to write and record in the bedroom of her New York apartment for the last three years.
Wanting to remain independent, she hand makes all of her CDs and packaging, and mails them out with handwritten letters. She performs as a soloist; and relying solely on her simple guitar rhythms, she focuses on melancholic melodies that are free to explore almost yodel like scales and vocal range, reminiscent of Scotch Irish folk and Appalachia.
By www.sunjournal.com
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Wednesday, 2 July 2008
YOGA IN MANHATTAN
'Shiva Shiva Shiva Shiva Sambho, Mahadeva sambho.' This mantra was chanted by more than 500 people from various ethnic groups in Times Square, New York City on the morning of June 21, 2008. The summer solstice was a day of yoga in the heart of Manhattan, one of the largest and busiest cities in America.
I had the opportunity to participate in this event, along with 15 other volunteers from Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh. We all experienced a distinct way of celebrating the longest day of the year. As tag line of the event stated, 'Anyone can find tranquility on top of a mountain. Can you find it in the middle of Times Square?', it was truly a challenge to find tranquility in the midst of urban energy.
'Though it may seem ironic that we were trying to find inner peace in such a loud, lively place, it felt really great,' said Ruchi Munshi, a youth participant. 'It was really invigorating to be able to do yoga, even in the midst of the city’s traffic and commercial activity.”'
This event was organized by the Times Square Alliance, the group that conducts many Time Square events around the year, including the famous New Year's Eve celebration. Forty one different yoga studios across the city collaborated closely with the solstice group to organize this event. The instructor, Tim Tompkins, an American yoga teacher, was very soothing and persuasive while teaching us almost 20 different yoga postures.
It was very inspiring to see how the ancient Hindu practice of yoga is benefitting the mainstream American society. We all left the event with the message of maintaining inner harmony and composure, even during our hectic everyday lives.
By Piyush Satapathy
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
I had the opportunity to participate in this event, along with 15 other volunteers from Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh. We all experienced a distinct way of celebrating the longest day of the year. As tag line of the event stated, 'Anyone can find tranquility on top of a mountain. Can you find it in the middle of Times Square?', it was truly a challenge to find tranquility in the midst of urban energy.
'Though it may seem ironic that we were trying to find inner peace in such a loud, lively place, it felt really great,' said Ruchi Munshi, a youth participant. 'It was really invigorating to be able to do yoga, even in the midst of the city’s traffic and commercial activity.”'
This event was organized by the Times Square Alliance, the group that conducts many Time Square events around the year, including the famous New Year's Eve celebration. Forty one different yoga studios across the city collaborated closely with the solstice group to organize this event. The instructor, Tim Tompkins, an American yoga teacher, was very soothing and persuasive while teaching us almost 20 different yoga postures.
It was very inspiring to see how the ancient Hindu practice of yoga is benefitting the mainstream American society. We all left the event with the message of maintaining inner harmony and composure, even during our hectic everyday lives.
By Piyush Satapathy
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA