Bowen Island Yoga teacher Suzan Wood and physiotherapist Sandy Logan have designed a unique restorative yoga class appropriate for those recovering from injuries, illness and/or those who have a keen interest in improving their strength, flexibility, posture and balance.
This course grew out of a growing shared clientele between Suzan and Sandy and the need to consult with each other on possible plans of recovery for their clients. Both Sandy and Suzan believe that it is important to understand basic concepts of anatomy and biomechanics in order to recover mobility and strength after injuries and surgeries. Together these motivated practitioners will tailor the course to individual students' needs. Through the use of props and restorative yoga postures, students will regain range of motion and muscle tone while they learn how flexibility and posture affects everyday activities.
Yoga breathing as well as relaxation and visualization techniques will also be taught to help those suffering from chronic illnesses to manage their pain and teach them to look within to find the patience and serenity necessary for recovery.
Included in the registration fee is a private assessment visit with Suzan and Sandy. In this initial consultation, they will identify problem areas and discuss the best program of treatment and activity.
For more information or to register, call Bowen Island Yoga Studio at 604 790 5924.
By www.bclocalnews.com
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Saturday, 30 August 2008
Friday, 29 August 2008
YOGA AND ATHLETICS
Chair pose, also known as powerful pose (utkatasana), builds strength in the quads, which makes it good for cyclists. Chair requires core stability and mental determination as well. Be sure to breathe throughout your time in the pose.
From mountain pose, bend at the hips and knees into a squat position, as if sitting in a chair. Once you assume the squat, make sure you aren't straying from your original alignment. Your knees should track straight forward over your toes. There's no need to bend so far that your knees pass your toes. Check also that your back keeps the same natural curves it holds in mountain alignment. Many people need to move slightly toward cat tilt in chair pose to remove excess curvature of the lower back (lordosis) and to correct a propensity to stick the bottom out.
The arms actively reach overhead while the shoulders remain low and relaxed. Keep
your chest open. Breathe. This pose offers great isometric strength training for the entire body. Set yourself a goal of taking a number of full, even breaths, and return to mountain pose or relax into a standing forward fold when you reach it.
CHAIR WITH PRAYER TWIST
You can add to the isometric work of chair pose by twisting. From chair, inhale to bring your hands to prayer position at your heart, then exhale to twist to the right. Make sure that this and all twisting happen around a long spine. If you can keep the spine long while hooking your left triceps on the outside of your right knee, go for it. Whether you make that connection or not, gently press your right hand into the left to gain energy for the twist. Inhale to unwind, and exhale to move to the left, hooking the right triceps against the outer left knee. Feel free to take a break in between if the leg work is too intense. You're learning to listen to your body's needs an approach that will serve you well back on the road or trail, where you might be used to pushing through intensity.
EAGLE
While eagle pose (garudasana) may look like a pretzel from the outside, inside it contains mountain pose alignment, with the shoulders in a level relationship with the hips. It builds strength in the standing leg while opening the backs of the shoulders. As in chair pose, you'll need to use both mental focus and your breath to hold the pose.
Briefly sink into chair pose, then bring your weight onto the left leg. Lift the right leg and cross it over the left, knee near knee. Keep your hips level. If the right hip is significantly raised, don't go any deeper; instead, work to settle it down to match the left. You might be able to hook the right toes around the left calf, but you might not, so don't be too attached to the outcome.
The eagle pose arm position is optional. Try it once you're stable with the leg work, or simply practice it on its own. If your right leg is on top of your left, give yourself a hug with your right arm underneath, stacking your left elbow over your right elbow. If this is doable, try bringing the backs of your forearms up, resting them together. A final step is wrapping your wrists so that the fingertips of the right hand are held in the palm of the left hand. Lower your shoulders and lift your elbows, so that the upper arms are parallel with the ground. Your hands will bisect your gaze; look through and beyond them.
Inhale, unwind, and return to mountain pose before moving on to the other side.
By Sage Rountree
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
From mountain pose, bend at the hips and knees into a squat position, as if sitting in a chair. Once you assume the squat, make sure you aren't straying from your original alignment. Your knees should track straight forward over your toes. There's no need to bend so far that your knees pass your toes. Check also that your back keeps the same natural curves it holds in mountain alignment. Many people need to move slightly toward cat tilt in chair pose to remove excess curvature of the lower back (lordosis) and to correct a propensity to stick the bottom out.
The arms actively reach overhead while the shoulders remain low and relaxed. Keep
your chest open. Breathe. This pose offers great isometric strength training for the entire body. Set yourself a goal of taking a number of full, even breaths, and return to mountain pose or relax into a standing forward fold when you reach it.
CHAIR WITH PRAYER TWIST
You can add to the isometric work of chair pose by twisting. From chair, inhale to bring your hands to prayer position at your heart, then exhale to twist to the right. Make sure that this and all twisting happen around a long spine. If you can keep the spine long while hooking your left triceps on the outside of your right knee, go for it. Whether you make that connection or not, gently press your right hand into the left to gain energy for the twist. Inhale to unwind, and exhale to move to the left, hooking the right triceps against the outer left knee. Feel free to take a break in between if the leg work is too intense. You're learning to listen to your body's needs an approach that will serve you well back on the road or trail, where you might be used to pushing through intensity.
EAGLE
While eagle pose (garudasana) may look like a pretzel from the outside, inside it contains mountain pose alignment, with the shoulders in a level relationship with the hips. It builds strength in the standing leg while opening the backs of the shoulders. As in chair pose, you'll need to use both mental focus and your breath to hold the pose.
Briefly sink into chair pose, then bring your weight onto the left leg. Lift the right leg and cross it over the left, knee near knee. Keep your hips level. If the right hip is significantly raised, don't go any deeper; instead, work to settle it down to match the left. You might be able to hook the right toes around the left calf, but you might not, so don't be too attached to the outcome.
The eagle pose arm position is optional. Try it once you're stable with the leg work, or simply practice it on its own. If your right leg is on top of your left, give yourself a hug with your right arm underneath, stacking your left elbow over your right elbow. If this is doable, try bringing the backs of your forearms up, resting them together. A final step is wrapping your wrists so that the fingertips of the right hand are held in the palm of the left hand. Lower your shoulders and lift your elbows, so that the upper arms are parallel with the ground. Your hands will bisect your gaze; look through and beyond them.
Inhale, unwind, and return to mountain pose before moving on to the other side.
By Sage Rountree
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Thursday, 28 August 2008
YOGA WEAR
Yoga is all about losing your ego, but that doesn't mean you can't have some snazzy yoga duds when you head off to class. Look at your search for a new yoga outfit as an exercise in reconciling your consumerist leanings with your karmic aspirations.
Plus your new duds will make you feel better, which, after all, is the reason you work out, right? Let's face it. Today's economic news is enough to make you want to grab all the nattering nabobs of negativism, the purveyors of pessimism, and toss them and their media of choice out the window: the radio, the TV set, the computer. (But please, keep the newspaper!)
There's a fine line between being a realist and a Debbie Downer. These days, we're trying, when we're not contemplating counting pennies and canceling credit cards, to focus on the positive. Change your mind, change your life. Or change your clothes and change your mood. Or something to that effect.
To get through the downturn, it helps to take a Zen approach. What will be will be, que sera, sera, yada, yada, yada. And there's nothing like a little yoga to put anxiety on chill, at least for the duration of a 90 minute class.
These days, it seems, everyone is jumping on the yoga clothes bandwagon, from J. Crew to American Apparel to Stella McCartney. We feel a little better forking over our cash if the clothes come from a company that prides itself on being a good corporate citizen, creating sustainable apparel that does as little harm to the environment, and the pocketbook, as possible.
By Teresa Wiltz
THE LATEST YOGA WEAR NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Plus your new duds will make you feel better, which, after all, is the reason you work out, right? Let's face it. Today's economic news is enough to make you want to grab all the nattering nabobs of negativism, the purveyors of pessimism, and toss them and their media of choice out the window: the radio, the TV set, the computer. (But please, keep the newspaper!)
There's a fine line between being a realist and a Debbie Downer. These days, we're trying, when we're not contemplating counting pennies and canceling credit cards, to focus on the positive. Change your mind, change your life. Or change your clothes and change your mood. Or something to that effect.
To get through the downturn, it helps to take a Zen approach. What will be will be, que sera, sera, yada, yada, yada. And there's nothing like a little yoga to put anxiety on chill, at least for the duration of a 90 minute class.
These days, it seems, everyone is jumping on the yoga clothes bandwagon, from J. Crew to American Apparel to Stella McCartney. We feel a little better forking over our cash if the clothes come from a company that prides itself on being a good corporate citizen, creating sustainable apparel that does as little harm to the environment, and the pocketbook, as possible.
By Teresa Wiltz
THE LATEST YOGA WEAR NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Wednesday, 27 August 2008
YOGA WITH A PARTNER
Butterfly pose is one of my favorite hip openers, and there are many Partner Yoga moves that involve this pose. There's the Butterfly Pull, Butterfly Supported Forward Bend, and Seated Butterfly Lounge is great way to stretch. If you have tight hips then you will appreciate trying Back to Back Butterfly with a partner since this variation deepens the stretch and it is only slightly hands on compared to a couple of other partner poses.
To give it a try read more.
Partner 1 and Partner 2 sit with their backs touching and their legs out in front of them. They each bend their knees and come into Butterfly.
Then they reach their arms behind their backs and rest their palms on their partner's knees.
If it feels OK, each person gently presses down, increasing the intensity of the stretch in their partner's hips. It's important to communicate here. Each person should tell their partner to push harder or push less.
They stay like this for five breaths or more and then release.
by FitSugar
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
To give it a try read more.
Partner 1 and Partner 2 sit with their backs touching and their legs out in front of them. They each bend their knees and come into Butterfly.
Then they reach their arms behind their backs and rest their palms on their partner's knees.
If it feels OK, each person gently presses down, increasing the intensity of the stretch in their partner's hips. It's important to communicate here. Each person should tell their partner to push harder or push less.
They stay like this for five breaths or more and then release.
by FitSugar
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
MORE YOGA IN THE PARK
When the Friends of Buttonwood Park offered Yoga in the Park for the first time last month, they thought maybe 20 people would show up.
They got 45.
'And it keeps growing,' says Fred Beaumont, longtime Friends member and organizer of the hour-long program, which meets at 8 a.m. Tuesdays next to the Buttonwood Park greenhouse in New Bedford.
Led by instructor Lori Watkins, Yoga in the Park has become so popular, 'beyond our expectations,' says Fred, that the Friends hope to continue the free classes through September.
It began with the inspiration of Mr. Beaumont's grandson, Russell Dearing, who sponsored the first month of classes. Then other sponsors came forward to continue the program, which has attracted as many as 65 people a week, young and old.
'Everyone's welcome,' says Mr. Beaumont. 'Bring your own mat and your enthusiasm.'
Yoga in the Park will meet at least through Sept. 9 and hopefully through the rest of the month, the organizer says. For more information, email to buttonwoodyoga@gmail.com.
By Anne Humphrey,
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
They got 45.
'And it keeps growing,' says Fred Beaumont, longtime Friends member and organizer of the hour-long program, which meets at 8 a.m. Tuesdays next to the Buttonwood Park greenhouse in New Bedford.
Led by instructor Lori Watkins, Yoga in the Park has become so popular, 'beyond our expectations,' says Fred, that the Friends hope to continue the free classes through September.
It began with the inspiration of Mr. Beaumont's grandson, Russell Dearing, who sponsored the first month of classes. Then other sponsors came forward to continue the program, which has attracted as many as 65 people a week, young and old.
'Everyone's welcome,' says Mr. Beaumont. 'Bring your own mat and your enthusiasm.'
Yoga in the Park will meet at least through Sept. 9 and hopefully through the rest of the month, the organizer says. For more information, email to buttonwoodyoga@gmail.com.
By Anne Humphrey,
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Friday, 22 August 2008
BEACHSIDE YOGA
Yogis reach for the sky as they stretch during a Yoga on the Beach session in Sea Bright on Aug. 16. Below: A beachcomber strolls by as limber Leeann Lavin, of Atlantic Highlands, stretches. Yoga on the Beach sessions are sponsored by Sea Bright Recreation and are held at 8 a.m. on Saturday mornings.
By www.hub.gmnews.com
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
By www.hub.gmnews.com
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Thursday, 21 August 2008
A YOGA LORD?
Bikram Choudhury, the outspoken Beverly Hills yoga mogul, has two passions in life: cars and yoga. Though he's often criticized for having a garage stuffed with gleaming Bentleys and Rolls Royces, yogis don't generally flaunt material wealth, he says he bought the luxury cars as 'wrecks' and restored them with his own hands.
Through his unique brand of yoga, Choudhury says he does the same thing with the human vehicle.
'I fix the human chassis, I tune up human engines, I recharge human batteries, and I adjust human transmissions,' he wrote in his newest book, 'Bikram Yoga: The Guru Behind Hot Yoga Shows the Way to Radiant Health and Personal Fulfillment' (Harper Collins, $24.95).
Choudhury accomplishes this by getting you into a 90 minute class that involves performing a sequence of 26 poses and two breathing exercises in stifling 105 degree heat. Bikram says the heat helps foster your muscles' flexibility, so it's easier and safer to stretch. He also says the heat promotes detoxification through sweating and provides a more intense cardiovascular workout.
Choudhury copyrighted the series of poses, which he culled from 84 classical yoga postures, and threatens legal action against studio owners who do not teach the practice according to his guidelines. This has long rankled many in the worldwide yoga community, who argue that an ancient Indian tradition cannot and should not be owned.
Still, his tightly controlled empire of 500 certified yoga studios and 6,000 yoga teachers with new locations planned for Evanston, Oak Park and Chicago's Andersonville, is growing. And he has introduced an element of competition: The Illinois Yoga Championships will be held at Navy Pier on Saturday. The event is open to all yogis and yoginis age 10 and older. Competitors get three minutes to perform seven poses in front of a panel of judges; top scorers advance to the National Yoga Asana Championship in Los Angeles.
By Julie Deardorff
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Through his unique brand of yoga, Choudhury says he does the same thing with the human vehicle.
'I fix the human chassis, I tune up human engines, I recharge human batteries, and I adjust human transmissions,' he wrote in his newest book, 'Bikram Yoga: The Guru Behind Hot Yoga Shows the Way to Radiant Health and Personal Fulfillment' (Harper Collins, $24.95).
Choudhury accomplishes this by getting you into a 90 minute class that involves performing a sequence of 26 poses and two breathing exercises in stifling 105 degree heat. Bikram says the heat helps foster your muscles' flexibility, so it's easier and safer to stretch. He also says the heat promotes detoxification through sweating and provides a more intense cardiovascular workout.
Choudhury copyrighted the series of poses, which he culled from 84 classical yoga postures, and threatens legal action against studio owners who do not teach the practice according to his guidelines. This has long rankled many in the worldwide yoga community, who argue that an ancient Indian tradition cannot and should not be owned.
Still, his tightly controlled empire of 500 certified yoga studios and 6,000 yoga teachers with new locations planned for Evanston, Oak Park and Chicago's Andersonville, is growing. And he has introduced an element of competition: The Illinois Yoga Championships will be held at Navy Pier on Saturday. The event is open to all yogis and yoginis age 10 and older. Competitors get three minutes to perform seven poses in front of a panel of judges; top scorers advance to the National Yoga Asana Championship in Los Angeles.
By Julie Deardorff
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Wednesday, 20 August 2008
YOGA IN THE PARK
When Erin Kelly gives free yoga lessons every Sunday morning at Crescent Park in Chicago's Beverly community, she is making a dream come true.
'I had dreams about being in a park and teaching. After about a week of those dreams, something clicked with me and I thought, 'Why don't I do it?'' said Kelly, a certified Hatha yoga instructor.
Following her dream, Kelly started her outdoor sessions in May. She said she will continue to hold her weekly 10 a.m. yoga lessons at the park, at 2230 W. 108th Place, until cold weather intervenes. On a recent Sunday morning, about 20 residents showed up to stretch, strengthen muscles and relax, all under Kelly's watchful guidance.
'In the outdoors, it's easy not to think about stressors. The open space is so beautiful and practicing yoga outside is just consistent with a joyful feeling,' Kelly said.
'I start my lessons by asking everyone what their intention is for being here. People are stressed out or don't know how to relax. I try to teach what they want. I want them to feel good in their body,' Kelly said.
Kelly, 23, grew up in the Beverly community and always was drawn to exercise. She said she felt yoga was a welcome contrast to 'a bunch of crunches,' running and other forms of exercises that she tried.
'When I was younger, I used to exercise a lot, but it took me a long time to figure out that a body responds to love and appreciation. When I was 17, I watched a yoga DVD and the instructor kept saying, 'Breathe and feel how your body feels.'
'I thought: 'Why not exercise this way?'
'It's empowering to understand how the body works. It's good to have self appreciation and to breathe, take time and move slowly,' she said.
Nadine Kerwan, 75, of Beverly, has worked out with Kelly for 'three or four times.'
'I have taken yoga in the past and I jazzercise. I just think I need stretching and my feet give me all sorts of trouble,' Kerwan said.
Beverly residents and siblings Jennifer Drake, 28 and Julie O'Connor, 40, said they come not only for the exercise but for the feeling of wel -being that Kelly's yoga class inspires.
'I'm going to try and do a marathon this year and my body likes yoga. My sister and I run and we talk the entire time. This is our quiet time together,' Jennifer Drake said.
Kelly is very enthusiastic about teaching yoga and pointed out that she is happy to take students at any skill level.
'My heart is so drawn to teaching. I feel comfortable doing this because I am speaking from the heart when I teach,' Kelly said. 'I do yoga to feel good and I teach from what I have integrated into my own life and experiences.'
'I have some students who have taken yoga before, and I have some who have never tried this. The biggest misconception people have is thinking that they can't do yoga because they are not flexible. But that's not what yoga is about. Yoga is a practice to help you feel better.'
'Oh yeah, you can get to be a pretzel shape if that is where you want to go, but you start at where you are. Everyone's afraid, but everyone can do this,' Kelly said.
Kelly's classes are held in a shaded area of the park and are free and open to the public, although donations are welcome. Students can lie on the grass or bring mats or towels to lie on during the one hour session.
By Patti Ahern
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
'I had dreams about being in a park and teaching. After about a week of those dreams, something clicked with me and I thought, 'Why don't I do it?'' said Kelly, a certified Hatha yoga instructor.
Following her dream, Kelly started her outdoor sessions in May. She said she will continue to hold her weekly 10 a.m. yoga lessons at the park, at 2230 W. 108th Place, until cold weather intervenes. On a recent Sunday morning, about 20 residents showed up to stretch, strengthen muscles and relax, all under Kelly's watchful guidance.
'In the outdoors, it's easy not to think about stressors. The open space is so beautiful and practicing yoga outside is just consistent with a joyful feeling,' Kelly said.
'I start my lessons by asking everyone what their intention is for being here. People are stressed out or don't know how to relax. I try to teach what they want. I want them to feel good in their body,' Kelly said.
Kelly, 23, grew up in the Beverly community and always was drawn to exercise. She said she felt yoga was a welcome contrast to 'a bunch of crunches,' running and other forms of exercises that she tried.
'When I was younger, I used to exercise a lot, but it took me a long time to figure out that a body responds to love and appreciation. When I was 17, I watched a yoga DVD and the instructor kept saying, 'Breathe and feel how your body feels.'
'I thought: 'Why not exercise this way?'
'It's empowering to understand how the body works. It's good to have self appreciation and to breathe, take time and move slowly,' she said.
Nadine Kerwan, 75, of Beverly, has worked out with Kelly for 'three or four times.'
'I have taken yoga in the past and I jazzercise. I just think I need stretching and my feet give me all sorts of trouble,' Kerwan said.
Beverly residents and siblings Jennifer Drake, 28 and Julie O'Connor, 40, said they come not only for the exercise but for the feeling of wel -being that Kelly's yoga class inspires.
'I'm going to try and do a marathon this year and my body likes yoga. My sister and I run and we talk the entire time. This is our quiet time together,' Jennifer Drake said.
Kelly is very enthusiastic about teaching yoga and pointed out that she is happy to take students at any skill level.
'My heart is so drawn to teaching. I feel comfortable doing this because I am speaking from the heart when I teach,' Kelly said. 'I do yoga to feel good and I teach from what I have integrated into my own life and experiences.'
'I have some students who have taken yoga before, and I have some who have never tried this. The biggest misconception people have is thinking that they can't do yoga because they are not flexible. But that's not what yoga is about. Yoga is a practice to help you feel better.'
'Oh yeah, you can get to be a pretzel shape if that is where you want to go, but you start at where you are. Everyone's afraid, but everyone can do this,' Kelly said.
Kelly's classes are held in a shaded area of the park and are free and open to the public, although donations are welcome. Students can lie on the grass or bring mats or towels to lie on during the one hour session.
By Patti Ahern
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Tuesday, 19 August 2008
YOGA WORKSHOPS
Yoga workshop Andrea Fournet and Bryan Fowler will teach a VariYoga workshop Sept. 12 to 14 at Nurture Day Spa & Yoga Studio in Hot Springs. The training can fulfill up to 10 hours of continuing education credit for Yoga Alliance teachers. Fournet owns and directs Arkansas Yoga Center in Fayetteville, where Fowler is senior teacher and instructor trainer. The two collaborated to develop VariYoga, a style that blends elements of Hatha, Anusara, Iyengar and Viniyoga traditions. Participants can attend all or part of the weekend. Those who register for the whole weekend before Aug. 29 will pay $ 175; thereafter the fee is $ 195. Purchased individually, the first session, from 7 to 9 p.m. Sept. 12, costs $ 50; 11 a.m. to 5: 30 p.m. Sept. 13 costs $ 120; 9: 30 a.m. to 12: 30 p.m. Sept. 14 costs $ 75. A $ 50 deposit is due Aug. 29.
More information is at www. nurturedayspa. com and (501) 623 9642.
By www.nwanews.com
THE LATEST YOGA WORKSHOP NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
More information is at www. nurturedayspa. com and (501) 623 9642.
By www.nwanews.com
THE LATEST YOGA WORKSHOP NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Monday, 18 August 2008
YOGA AND BALANCE
Summer Yoga: Restoring and Maintaining Balance 5:30 to 7pm
When: Monday, August 18, 2008
Where: Gilsland Farm Maine Audubon, Gilsland Farm Road Falmouth
Category: Outdoors
Description: 5:30 to 7pm
Summer Yoga: Restoring and Maintaining Balance Relax and enjoy the serenity of Gilsland Farm with gentle Kripalu Yoga led by Danika Kuhl. Suitable for all levels of continuing students, this class balances a mix of yoga postures, breathing, and meditation with an emphasis on reducing stress, increasing focus, and connecting with peaceful surroundings. Weather permitting, classes will be held outside. Beginning students are welcome. Mondays, August 4, 11, 18, and 25 5:30 to 7 p.m. $10 per class/member, $12/nonmember $32 for series Advance registration necessary Raising Maine
By maineoutdoorjournal.mainetoday.com
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
When: Monday, August 18, 2008
Where: Gilsland Farm Maine Audubon, Gilsland Farm Road Falmouth
Category: Outdoors
Description: 5:30 to 7pm
Summer Yoga: Restoring and Maintaining Balance Relax and enjoy the serenity of Gilsland Farm with gentle Kripalu Yoga led by Danika Kuhl. Suitable for all levels of continuing students, this class balances a mix of yoga postures, breathing, and meditation with an emphasis on reducing stress, increasing focus, and connecting with peaceful surroundings. Weather permitting, classes will be held outside. Beginning students are welcome. Mondays, August 4, 11, 18, and 25 5:30 to 7 p.m. $10 per class/member, $12/nonmember $32 for series Advance registration necessary Raising Maine
By maineoutdoorjournal.mainetoday.com
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Friday, 15 August 2008
YOGA AND GERI HALLIWELL
Spice Girl Geri Halliwell has a new interview and photo spread in Hello Magazine in which she's featured lounging around on the beach in a white string bikini and playing with her daughter, Bluebell Madonna, two. Her body is enviable and toned to perfection yet the pop singer claims the only exercise she does is walking and mild non strenuous yoga. She also says she eats junk when she wants and just makes up for it the next day with a better diet. Is this plausible at all?
What is your diet and exercise regime?
'I walk and I do yoga, but not the strenuous, hardcore Ashtanga style. Often, I just breathe and sit in one position for ages. It's for relaxation. The most vigorous exercise I do is running around after Bluebell!
'I don't have a strict diet anymore. I eat cake, crisps, sugar free chocolate and chips if I want to. I can't be bothered to follow a gruelling food plan. I'm a petite person and if I eat relatively healthily I'll stay that way. It's simple really. When I feel under pressure, I do eat cake but I don't punish myself for that like I used to. I just eat more healthily the next day.'
[From Hello! Magazine, print edition, August 19, 2008]
I think she's fibbing, or at least stretching the truth until it almost snaps, but that's because I'm a person that always has to exercise hard to maintain any kind of fit physique. Heidi Klum says this same crap too about how she doesn't work out and just runs after her kids. But maybe it's true and the genetic gods just blessed them. They also probably eat really well and don't have a lot of carbs.
It seems like Gerri used to work out really hard, she recently got off the Spice Girls tour, and maybe she just keeps this great body with maintenance. There were pictures of her out running with her trainer a while ago and she probably worked out with weights back then. It just makes me roll my eyes when women with such enviable bodies act like it's so easy and gloss over the hard parts. At least Jennifer Garner and Gwen Stefani admit they busted their butts to get their pre baby shapes back.
Halliwell also talks in the article about her past issues with bulimia and says she has trouble with always striving for perfection. She calls herself 'a bit curvier at the moment.. having done the tour.' If she's 'curvier' now I'd like to know where it went. She says she's never had plastic surgery and that she's trying to resist the urge but that 'I'd never say never.' If she does get plastic surgery, I don't expect her to tell. This is a woman who claims to just walk, do light yoga, and eat junk food.
Maybe I'm wrong though. They totally photoshopped her pupils out in these pictures so they probably made her fitter too, not that there was much work to do there.
Update: Halliwell was photographed on August 6 looking less super fit, but still great, so maybe it's true that she doesn't exercise as much now and indulges when she wants. Compared to that recent photo, these pictures are either slightly old or airbrushed.
By www.infosjeunes.com
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
What is your diet and exercise regime?
'I walk and I do yoga, but not the strenuous, hardcore Ashtanga style. Often, I just breathe and sit in one position for ages. It's for relaxation. The most vigorous exercise I do is running around after Bluebell!
'I don't have a strict diet anymore. I eat cake, crisps, sugar free chocolate and chips if I want to. I can't be bothered to follow a gruelling food plan. I'm a petite person and if I eat relatively healthily I'll stay that way. It's simple really. When I feel under pressure, I do eat cake but I don't punish myself for that like I used to. I just eat more healthily the next day.'
[From Hello! Magazine, print edition, August 19, 2008]
I think she's fibbing, or at least stretching the truth until it almost snaps, but that's because I'm a person that always has to exercise hard to maintain any kind of fit physique. Heidi Klum says this same crap too about how she doesn't work out and just runs after her kids. But maybe it's true and the genetic gods just blessed them. They also probably eat really well and don't have a lot of carbs.
It seems like Gerri used to work out really hard, she recently got off the Spice Girls tour, and maybe she just keeps this great body with maintenance. There were pictures of her out running with her trainer a while ago and she probably worked out with weights back then. It just makes me roll my eyes when women with such enviable bodies act like it's so easy and gloss over the hard parts. At least Jennifer Garner and Gwen Stefani admit they busted their butts to get their pre baby shapes back.
Halliwell also talks in the article about her past issues with bulimia and says she has trouble with always striving for perfection. She calls herself 'a bit curvier at the moment.. having done the tour.' If she's 'curvier' now I'd like to know where it went. She says she's never had plastic surgery and that she's trying to resist the urge but that 'I'd never say never.' If she does get plastic surgery, I don't expect her to tell. This is a woman who claims to just walk, do light yoga, and eat junk food.
Maybe I'm wrong though. They totally photoshopped her pupils out in these pictures so they probably made her fitter too, not that there was much work to do there.
Update: Halliwell was photographed on August 6 looking less super fit, but still great, so maybe it's true that she doesn't exercise as much now and indulges when she wants. Compared to that recent photo, these pictures are either slightly old or airbrushed.
By www.infosjeunes.com
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Thursday, 14 August 2008
THE YOGA JOURNEY
It is a tradition in which sages have attained immeasurable bliss, indescribable happiness and inexplicable peace by entering the supreme consciousness, which is present beyond mind. It is the science that inhibits the agitations of the mind and takes it to its highest level. Yoga is the spiritual journey from ignorance to knowledge, mortality to immortality, obvious to hidden, peace to ultimate tranquility.
Swami Ramdev has taught Ashtadhyayee, Mahabhashya, Upanishads along with six systems of Indian philosophy in a couple of gurukuls (traditional Indian systems of education). Besides, during his travels in the Himalayan mountains, he performed severe austerities in the caves of Gangotri for the realisation of self and acquired several uncommon capabilities.
Today, Yoga has acquired global recognition and an exalted status as an ancient health building system. While many medical practitioners and intellectuals are keen to test it using scientific evaluation methods, there are several others who are resisting this trend and inclusion of Yoga in medical science. The welfare of patients is being overlooked for the sake of personal, commercial and business interests. Unfortunately, today medical science is taken mainly as allopathy, world’s health concern is more of an allopathic concernand World Health Organisation (WHO) could be taken as an organisation supporting and working for allopathy. We are not trying to question the ethos behind existing medical/health systems but we aim to start a healthy debate about health concerns internationally and secure right to health for the common man. We are aware that we have a mighty challenge to deal with. With this objective in mind, revered Yoga Rishi Swami Ramdevji Maharaj has committed himself to the objective that, 'no person should die of disease and nobody should die on account of being poor.' We have decided to proceed in this direction so as to put a check on the large-scale exploitation going on in the country in the name of providing health services. In this age of science, we are committed to firmly establish Yoga as a science using scientific tests. It is true that Yoga is powerful and contains the solutions for all the global problems. From time immemorial, millions of people have immersed themselves in this pious ever flowing Ganga of Yoga. Never before has any government, voluntary organisation or a resourceful individual has come forward to work on Yoga from a scientific perspective. Although some holy saints, a few dedicated institutions, and small groups have made attempts in this direction, their work has not received international recognition. We ascetics decided to drive away the misconception that Yoga is simply exercise for physical fitness, created by people out of ignorance, selfishness and resistance. In fact, these people have their own agenda for not letting Yoga, a glorious and time tested tradition, to get its due recognition and rightful place on the world health map. Despite the lack of proper resources, we are committed to deal with such impediments on the path of Yoga getting its due recognition. We have been able to take up this Herculean task for the sake of welfare of mankind with the unflinching support and trust of millions of people in this world.
Today, we have reached a stage where every intellectual of the world has greater appreciation for Yoga as a complete medical science and philosophy of life and accepts its scientific reasoning and basis. Yoga is not just a physical exercise but a holistic medical science; it is a philosophy of life, a spiritual knowledge. It is a profound philosophical thought process, but it is also about having a simple, easy and balanced lifestyle. It is the path to gain eternal wisdom, ultimate truth and to unite the inner soul with the supreme soul through self realisation. It is a tradition in which sages have attained immeasurable bliss, indescribable happiness and inexplicable peace by entering the supreme consciousness which is present beyond mind. It is the science that inhibits the agitations of the mind and takes it to its highest level. Yoga is the spiritual journey from ignorance to knowledge, mortality to immortality obvious to hidden, peace to ultimate tranquility. It is the inner journey from thoughtfulness to emptiness, subjective to objective concentration, determinate to indeterminate samadhi and extrovertedness to introvertedness and being firm in judgement (gifted with unshakable mental equilibrium). It is a holistic and scientific process to transform body, mind and life. It is an experience of complete silence and calm based on self realisation. It is devotion that transcends desire and a state of nothingness attained by self realisation, which is very different from emptiness caused by intoxication. It is an understanding of truth of life and rationality. There is a need to appreciate Yoga, Ayurveda and all Vedic traditions in totality. Life becomes a celebration once it imbibes Yoga that leads to making of an equity based, simple, developed, healthy and happy society. Yoga brings forth the indisputable truth that the solution to any problem lies within and cannot be found outside. Yoga activates the healing strengths within our bodies.
All the chemicals, salts, hormones, which we take in the form of medicines can actually be harmful instead of being beneficial until we surrender ourselves to Yoga. When we start practising Yoga, one does not need external stimulants as the body itself secretes required hormones and balances the internal chemical processes. The anabolism, catabolism and metabolism processes in the body, i.e. vata, pitta and kapha are maintained in equilibrium. Mind becomes calm, bringing happiness and helps in overcoming depression. One feels a sense of fulfillment in life and this is the glorious truth and essence of Yoga.
We are committed to get Yoga accepted internationally as a medical science. We are determined to achieve this goal through the Patanjali Yogapeeth and Patanjali University. At the same time we are committed to build a healthy and disease free world in accordance with Indian ethos of Vasudhaiva Kutumbkum and thus contributing to the cause of promoting and conserving rich Indian cultural and spritual traditions. This article is an humble attempt in this direction. We are determined to obtain more scientific evidence and build a science perspective not only for Yoga and Ayurveda but for the entire Vedic knowledge and wisdom. We shall lead the world in finding solutions for complex problems besetting humanity through the fusion of science and spiritualism.
Revered Swami Ramdevji Maharaj, a celibate since childhood, is well versed in Sanskrit grammar, Ayurveda and Vedic Philosophy. A strong proponent of Indian cultural values, his services in the field of cow breeding, research in the field of Ayurveda and his practical approach of Yoga has won him several thousands of admirers throughout India and made him a living symbol of Indian culture. His detachment to worldly happiness and devotion to social service has made him a phenomenal character in the saintly world. Revered Swami Shankerdevji Maharaj got him initiated in the ascetic order on the sacred banks of River Ganga.
He has taught Ashtadhyayee, Mahabhashya, Upanishads along with six systems of Indian philosophy in a couple of gurukuls (traditional Indian systems of education). Besides, during his travels in the Himalayan mountains, he performed severe austerities in the caves of Gangotri for the realisation of self and acquired several uncommon capabilities. With the blessings of Revered Swami Shankerdevji Maharaj, he, in assocition with his learned companions, Acharya Balkrishanji Maharaj, a great scholar and famous Ayurvedic physician and others established Divya Yoga Mandir (Trust) in 1995 at Kankhal, Hardwar, Uttaranchal, India. He, while in the sate of sadhna, has been guiding several service projects of medical, spiritual and educational pursuits through this Trust since then. Revered Swamiji Maharaj, who have unfurled the flag of Yoga on top, cures about two lakh patients per month with his spiritual energy in his Yoga camps.
Over twenty lakh people of all parts of country and abroad derive benefit from live and vibrating science of Yoga by taking part in Yoga camps every year, which helps in building a prosperous, advanced, disease free and subtle new India. Nearly 250 millions viewers of our country and abroad, have close association with the age old science of Yoga and Pranayam through Aastha, Aastha International, Sahara India TV and Star News TV channels.
Revered Swami Ramdevji Maharaj with his extraordinary talent, great patriotism and deep leanings towards our ancient culture and tradition is establishing Patanjali Yogapeeth, an institution for social and scientific research and treatment in Yoga, spiritualism, and Ayurveda through which more than twenty lakh patients of various ailments would derive benefit every year. He has a golden dream of disease free world. This, he plans to achieve with the help of ancient science of Yoga, which he feels will bring peace and happiness to mankind and will lead to the unethical business of weapons and allopathic medicines coming to an end. Revered Swamiji's is editing the pious work of organising the disintegrated Indian society on caste, creed, religion, region and sex basis to establish India as a superpower.
He considers yeoman's service as real dharma (religion). He envisages India as Vishwa Guru (Teacher of the World) which can become true only if every citizen realises his duties and responsibilities towards the nation. May science of yoga expand virtues of consciousness, morality and brotherhood of human beings such that everyone sees his own consciousness in all creatures and spreads fraternity, friendship and global brotherhood. It is no less than a divine wonder to see Revered Swamiji Maharaj in the hearts of millions of people not only of our country but also the world. He is fully committed to the reestablishment of scientific techniques, pious powers and moral values in our society. Millions of people are offering their services and wealth at the altar of Patanjali Yogapeeth (Trust) and University of Patanjali established by him to fulfill his resolution.The real place of service is the human body for revered Swami Ramdevji Maharaj, for he pronounces, 'My God lives in a man, as 'the temple in shape of man' is built by All Mighty Himself.' The service of fellow beings, in addition to Aatm sadhna (self-control) and brah maradhna (meditation) is his worship.
He considers moral acts of love and affection for human beings a true worship of Creator. Revered Swamiji Maharaj, an apostle of Vasudhaiv Kutumbkum (World as the whole family) proves it true by accepting and practicing the world as his house and every citizen as his family member.
By Surinder Tijarawala
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Swami Ramdev has taught Ashtadhyayee, Mahabhashya, Upanishads along with six systems of Indian philosophy in a couple of gurukuls (traditional Indian systems of education). Besides, during his travels in the Himalayan mountains, he performed severe austerities in the caves of Gangotri for the realisation of self and acquired several uncommon capabilities.
Today, Yoga has acquired global recognition and an exalted status as an ancient health building system. While many medical practitioners and intellectuals are keen to test it using scientific evaluation methods, there are several others who are resisting this trend and inclusion of Yoga in medical science. The welfare of patients is being overlooked for the sake of personal, commercial and business interests. Unfortunately, today medical science is taken mainly as allopathy, world’s health concern is more of an allopathic concernand World Health Organisation (WHO) could be taken as an organisation supporting and working for allopathy. We are not trying to question the ethos behind existing medical/health systems but we aim to start a healthy debate about health concerns internationally and secure right to health for the common man. We are aware that we have a mighty challenge to deal with. With this objective in mind, revered Yoga Rishi Swami Ramdevji Maharaj has committed himself to the objective that, 'no person should die of disease and nobody should die on account of being poor.' We have decided to proceed in this direction so as to put a check on the large-scale exploitation going on in the country in the name of providing health services. In this age of science, we are committed to firmly establish Yoga as a science using scientific tests. It is true that Yoga is powerful and contains the solutions for all the global problems. From time immemorial, millions of people have immersed themselves in this pious ever flowing Ganga of Yoga. Never before has any government, voluntary organisation or a resourceful individual has come forward to work on Yoga from a scientific perspective. Although some holy saints, a few dedicated institutions, and small groups have made attempts in this direction, their work has not received international recognition. We ascetics decided to drive away the misconception that Yoga is simply exercise for physical fitness, created by people out of ignorance, selfishness and resistance. In fact, these people have their own agenda for not letting Yoga, a glorious and time tested tradition, to get its due recognition and rightful place on the world health map. Despite the lack of proper resources, we are committed to deal with such impediments on the path of Yoga getting its due recognition. We have been able to take up this Herculean task for the sake of welfare of mankind with the unflinching support and trust of millions of people in this world.
Today, we have reached a stage where every intellectual of the world has greater appreciation for Yoga as a complete medical science and philosophy of life and accepts its scientific reasoning and basis. Yoga is not just a physical exercise but a holistic medical science; it is a philosophy of life, a spiritual knowledge. It is a profound philosophical thought process, but it is also about having a simple, easy and balanced lifestyle. It is the path to gain eternal wisdom, ultimate truth and to unite the inner soul with the supreme soul through self realisation. It is a tradition in which sages have attained immeasurable bliss, indescribable happiness and inexplicable peace by entering the supreme consciousness which is present beyond mind. It is the science that inhibits the agitations of the mind and takes it to its highest level. Yoga is the spiritual journey from ignorance to knowledge, mortality to immortality obvious to hidden, peace to ultimate tranquility. It is the inner journey from thoughtfulness to emptiness, subjective to objective concentration, determinate to indeterminate samadhi and extrovertedness to introvertedness and being firm in judgement (gifted with unshakable mental equilibrium). It is a holistic and scientific process to transform body, mind and life. It is an experience of complete silence and calm based on self realisation. It is devotion that transcends desire and a state of nothingness attained by self realisation, which is very different from emptiness caused by intoxication. It is an understanding of truth of life and rationality. There is a need to appreciate Yoga, Ayurveda and all Vedic traditions in totality. Life becomes a celebration once it imbibes Yoga that leads to making of an equity based, simple, developed, healthy and happy society. Yoga brings forth the indisputable truth that the solution to any problem lies within and cannot be found outside. Yoga activates the healing strengths within our bodies.
All the chemicals, salts, hormones, which we take in the form of medicines can actually be harmful instead of being beneficial until we surrender ourselves to Yoga. When we start practising Yoga, one does not need external stimulants as the body itself secretes required hormones and balances the internal chemical processes. The anabolism, catabolism and metabolism processes in the body, i.e. vata, pitta and kapha are maintained in equilibrium. Mind becomes calm, bringing happiness and helps in overcoming depression. One feels a sense of fulfillment in life and this is the glorious truth and essence of Yoga.
We are committed to get Yoga accepted internationally as a medical science. We are determined to achieve this goal through the Patanjali Yogapeeth and Patanjali University. At the same time we are committed to build a healthy and disease free world in accordance with Indian ethos of Vasudhaiva Kutumbkum and thus contributing to the cause of promoting and conserving rich Indian cultural and spritual traditions. This article is an humble attempt in this direction. We are determined to obtain more scientific evidence and build a science perspective not only for Yoga and Ayurveda but for the entire Vedic knowledge and wisdom. We shall lead the world in finding solutions for complex problems besetting humanity through the fusion of science and spiritualism.
Revered Swami Ramdevji Maharaj, a celibate since childhood, is well versed in Sanskrit grammar, Ayurveda and Vedic Philosophy. A strong proponent of Indian cultural values, his services in the field of cow breeding, research in the field of Ayurveda and his practical approach of Yoga has won him several thousands of admirers throughout India and made him a living symbol of Indian culture. His detachment to worldly happiness and devotion to social service has made him a phenomenal character in the saintly world. Revered Swami Shankerdevji Maharaj got him initiated in the ascetic order on the sacred banks of River Ganga.
He has taught Ashtadhyayee, Mahabhashya, Upanishads along with six systems of Indian philosophy in a couple of gurukuls (traditional Indian systems of education). Besides, during his travels in the Himalayan mountains, he performed severe austerities in the caves of Gangotri for the realisation of self and acquired several uncommon capabilities. With the blessings of Revered Swami Shankerdevji Maharaj, he, in assocition with his learned companions, Acharya Balkrishanji Maharaj, a great scholar and famous Ayurvedic physician and others established Divya Yoga Mandir (Trust) in 1995 at Kankhal, Hardwar, Uttaranchal, India. He, while in the sate of sadhna, has been guiding several service projects of medical, spiritual and educational pursuits through this Trust since then. Revered Swamiji Maharaj, who have unfurled the flag of Yoga on top, cures about two lakh patients per month with his spiritual energy in his Yoga camps.
Over twenty lakh people of all parts of country and abroad derive benefit from live and vibrating science of Yoga by taking part in Yoga camps every year, which helps in building a prosperous, advanced, disease free and subtle new India. Nearly 250 millions viewers of our country and abroad, have close association with the age old science of Yoga and Pranayam through Aastha, Aastha International, Sahara India TV and Star News TV channels.
Revered Swami Ramdevji Maharaj with his extraordinary talent, great patriotism and deep leanings towards our ancient culture and tradition is establishing Patanjali Yogapeeth, an institution for social and scientific research and treatment in Yoga, spiritualism, and Ayurveda through which more than twenty lakh patients of various ailments would derive benefit every year. He has a golden dream of disease free world. This, he plans to achieve with the help of ancient science of Yoga, which he feels will bring peace and happiness to mankind and will lead to the unethical business of weapons and allopathic medicines coming to an end. Revered Swamiji's is editing the pious work of organising the disintegrated Indian society on caste, creed, religion, region and sex basis to establish India as a superpower.
He considers yeoman's service as real dharma (religion). He envisages India as Vishwa Guru (Teacher of the World) which can become true only if every citizen realises his duties and responsibilities towards the nation. May science of yoga expand virtues of consciousness, morality and brotherhood of human beings such that everyone sees his own consciousness in all creatures and spreads fraternity, friendship and global brotherhood. It is no less than a divine wonder to see Revered Swamiji Maharaj in the hearts of millions of people not only of our country but also the world. He is fully committed to the reestablishment of scientific techniques, pious powers and moral values in our society. Millions of people are offering their services and wealth at the altar of Patanjali Yogapeeth (Trust) and University of Patanjali established by him to fulfill his resolution.The real place of service is the human body for revered Swami Ramdevji Maharaj, for he pronounces, 'My God lives in a man, as 'the temple in shape of man' is built by All Mighty Himself.' The service of fellow beings, in addition to Aatm sadhna (self-control) and brah maradhna (meditation) is his worship.
He considers moral acts of love and affection for human beings a true worship of Creator. Revered Swamiji Maharaj, an apostle of Vasudhaiv Kutumbkum (World as the whole family) proves it true by accepting and practicing the world as his house and every citizen as his family member.
By Surinder Tijarawala
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
NEW YOGA SCHOOL
This week's expert: Beth Spindler has been an ERYT500 (experienced registered yoga teacher at the 500 hour study level) since 2003. She has practiced yoga for more than 30 years and taught it for more than 20. Spindler is also the director of Springfield's new Teach to Inspire Yoga Certification Program, which trains yoga teachers. The program, established June 25, meets the national education standards to certify individuals at the 200 and 500 hour study levels.
Q. Why did you think Springfield needed a yoga school?
A. Before we started our school here, there were eight registered yoga schools in Missouri, all of them in the Kansas City and St. Louis areas. Many teachers or would be teachers were traveling to those cities or to Arkansas to receive certification. Springfield needed an accessible, affordable training program, and now we have one.
Q. Do certain personalities lend themselves better to being yoga instructors?
A. It is almost easier to state what personalities don't make good teachers. Those who want to show off their own skills or abilities are not always able to empathize with students.
Compassion, and the desire to help each student feel better when they leave your class, is key to being a good yoga instructor.
Those wanting to teach yoga have a range of backgrounds, from college students to professors, accountants, musicians and physical therapists.
Yoga means 'union' in Sanskrit, the Indian language in which yoga was originally taught. In practice, yoga is the union of body, mind and spirit. Sometimes when a student taps into this, he or she wants to share it with others.
Q. What draws people to practice yoga?
A. People come from all areas to practice yoga. Many have read about yoga or tried a video and are curious to learn more. Some have a doctor's recommendation. Some come to broaden spiritual horizons, some to lengthen hamstrings.
Q. How long does it take to become an expert at teaching yoga?
A. Do you mean in lifetimes? I don't know: I am still a student.
I have studied with many people who are experts in the physical practice of yoga, or asana. The only expert at the spiritual side of yoga I have ever known never put us into any other pose than seated meditation.
However, it can take less than a year to become a certified teacher at the 200-hour level through our program, which encompasses asana and alignment, breathing technique, knowledge of Sanskrit, yoga philosophy, physiology (both Western and ayurvedic) and a broad range of styles.
Q. What are the health benefits to doing yoga? Are there separate health benefits to teaching yoga?
A. As yoga teachers, we witness amazing transformations in people's bodies. We see relief from chronic health issues ranging from fibromyalgia to co-dependency. We see people recover after cancer, surgery and grief.
The health benefit for the yoga teacher: Helping others unfold and heal. Sharing a 5,000 year old wisdom and watching it work its wonder on yet another generation of seekers is powerful.
By Nina Rao
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Q. Why did you think Springfield needed a yoga school?
A. Before we started our school here, there were eight registered yoga schools in Missouri, all of them in the Kansas City and St. Louis areas. Many teachers or would be teachers were traveling to those cities or to Arkansas to receive certification. Springfield needed an accessible, affordable training program, and now we have one.
Q. Do certain personalities lend themselves better to being yoga instructors?
A. It is almost easier to state what personalities don't make good teachers. Those who want to show off their own skills or abilities are not always able to empathize with students.
Compassion, and the desire to help each student feel better when they leave your class, is key to being a good yoga instructor.
Those wanting to teach yoga have a range of backgrounds, from college students to professors, accountants, musicians and physical therapists.
Yoga means 'union' in Sanskrit, the Indian language in which yoga was originally taught. In practice, yoga is the union of body, mind and spirit. Sometimes when a student taps into this, he or she wants to share it with others.
Q. What draws people to practice yoga?
A. People come from all areas to practice yoga. Many have read about yoga or tried a video and are curious to learn more. Some have a doctor's recommendation. Some come to broaden spiritual horizons, some to lengthen hamstrings.
Q. How long does it take to become an expert at teaching yoga?
A. Do you mean in lifetimes? I don't know: I am still a student.
I have studied with many people who are experts in the physical practice of yoga, or asana. The only expert at the spiritual side of yoga I have ever known never put us into any other pose than seated meditation.
However, it can take less than a year to become a certified teacher at the 200-hour level through our program, which encompasses asana and alignment, breathing technique, knowledge of Sanskrit, yoga philosophy, physiology (both Western and ayurvedic) and a broad range of styles.
Q. What are the health benefits to doing yoga? Are there separate health benefits to teaching yoga?
A. As yoga teachers, we witness amazing transformations in people's bodies. We see relief from chronic health issues ranging from fibromyalgia to co-dependency. We see people recover after cancer, surgery and grief.
The health benefit for the yoga teacher: Helping others unfold and heal. Sharing a 5,000 year old wisdom and watching it work its wonder on yet another generation of seekers is powerful.
By Nina Rao
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Tuesday, 12 August 2008
FREE YOGA CLASSES
Free yoga and meditation classes for the public will be some of the highlights at the 4th annual Yoga for Peace festival to be held today in Dearborn.
The free festival will also feature music, spirtual chanting, children's activities such as face painting, and vegetarian and organic foods.
The event is open the public and will be held from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Ford Field Park, North Shelter, on Brady St., north of Michigan Ave., in west Dearborn.
The free yoga classes will take place all day until 5 p.m. and there will also be lectures on health, diet, and peace throughout the day.
According to a news release, 'Yoga For Peace is a celebration of peace, bringing people together to support peace in their lives, to live peacefully with the planet, and each other.'
The festival is sponsored by several yoga centers in metro Detroit.
Contact Niraj Warikoo at nwarikoo@freepress.com
By Niraj Warikoo
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
The free festival will also feature music, spirtual chanting, children's activities such as face painting, and vegetarian and organic foods.
The event is open the public and will be held from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Ford Field Park, North Shelter, on Brady St., north of Michigan Ave., in west Dearborn.
The free yoga classes will take place all day until 5 p.m. and there will also be lectures on health, diet, and peace throughout the day.
According to a news release, 'Yoga For Peace is a celebration of peace, bringing people together to support peace in their lives, to live peacefully with the planet, and each other.'
The festival is sponsored by several yoga centers in metro Detroit.
Contact Niraj Warikoo at nwarikoo@freepress.com
By Niraj Warikoo
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Monday, 11 August 2008
YOGA AND NOISE!
Yoga fans who gathered at the Cloverdale Amphitheatre to chant and practice breathing exercises under the tutelage of a famous guru were so noisy they woke up some of the town's residents.
The five day 'yoga camp,' led by Swami Ramdev Maharaj, attracted thousands of people to the park, some who paid up to $500 to sit closest to the stage.
But the event, which included a breathing exercise called pranayam and chanting along with testimonials and cheering by the crowd, woke up some residents at dawn on Saturday.
Sylvia Evans says 'amplified East Indian voices' woke her up at 5:30 a.m.
'They had big amplifiers and we could hear them speak,' said Evans, who lives a couple of miles away from the park near Highway 10.
In an email to the Now, Dennis Furnell says residents on the west side of 176th Street were 'blasted out of bed at 5:30 a.m. by drums and loud speakers.'
Furnell wonders why the event was allowed to skate around the city's noise bylaw when construction work can't start before 7 a.m.
Evans called the Surrey RCMP to lodge a complaint and was told that 'several' people had already called complaining about the noise.
She also called city hall to complain.
Evans, a resident of Cloverdale for 28 years, concedes that residents who live in town have to tolerate some noise from the park, the city's main stage for major concerts and other events such as Canada Day celebrations. But there's a limit.
'Five thirty in the morning, that's a little bit much. They could be a bit more considerate.'
Parks manager Owen Croy said the mayor's office received 'a few' noise complaint calls and the city's special events department got about a dozen calls 'especially around early morning chanting.'
Owen said the city will review the event with its partner, the Cloverdale Rodeo and Exhibition Association which approves some events at the park, which borders the rodeo grounds.
Owen said the city strives to strike a balance between hosting large events at a venue located in the town centre with respect for nearby residents' right to peace and tranquility.
'We recognize that people deserve to have a peaceful morning or sleep at their home and we will be working with the Cloverdale Rodeo and Exhibition Association for any future events of this nature to ensure that sound levels are monitored and that sound levels are kept at a reasonable level,' he said.
Owen said staff routinely monitors noise levels in city parks during events.
By Marisa Babic
THE LATEST PRANAYAMA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
The five day 'yoga camp,' led by Swami Ramdev Maharaj, attracted thousands of people to the park, some who paid up to $500 to sit closest to the stage.
But the event, which included a breathing exercise called pranayam and chanting along with testimonials and cheering by the crowd, woke up some residents at dawn on Saturday.
Sylvia Evans says 'amplified East Indian voices' woke her up at 5:30 a.m.
'They had big amplifiers and we could hear them speak,' said Evans, who lives a couple of miles away from the park near Highway 10.
In an email to the Now, Dennis Furnell says residents on the west side of 176th Street were 'blasted out of bed at 5:30 a.m. by drums and loud speakers.'
Furnell wonders why the event was allowed to skate around the city's noise bylaw when construction work can't start before 7 a.m.
Evans called the Surrey RCMP to lodge a complaint and was told that 'several' people had already called complaining about the noise.
She also called city hall to complain.
Evans, a resident of Cloverdale for 28 years, concedes that residents who live in town have to tolerate some noise from the park, the city's main stage for major concerts and other events such as Canada Day celebrations. But there's a limit.
'Five thirty in the morning, that's a little bit much. They could be a bit more considerate.'
Parks manager Owen Croy said the mayor's office received 'a few' noise complaint calls and the city's special events department got about a dozen calls 'especially around early morning chanting.'
Owen said the city will review the event with its partner, the Cloverdale Rodeo and Exhibition Association which approves some events at the park, which borders the rodeo grounds.
Owen said the city strives to strike a balance between hosting large events at a venue located in the town centre with respect for nearby residents' right to peace and tranquility.
'We recognize that people deserve to have a peaceful morning or sleep at their home and we will be working with the Cloverdale Rodeo and Exhibition Association for any future events of this nature to ensure that sound levels are monitored and that sound levels are kept at a reasonable level,' he said.
Owen said staff routinely monitors noise levels in city parks during events.
By Marisa Babic
THE LATEST PRANAYAMA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Friday, 8 August 2008
OLYMPIC YOGA?
Pros & Cons: Should yoga be an Olympic sport? YES
Shanon Buffington in a reclined butterfly pose at a Yoga center in Coppell, Texas.As long as they include Shavasana in the list of required poses, I'm all for it!
Anything that inspires more people to learn about and practice yoga is a good thing.
The potential benefits of Olympic yoga are so great that it's worth the risk of some people adopting a 'corrupt' competitive view of it.
Showcasing yoga will be a great way to encourage people to learn more about yoga generally.
The sort of role model notoriety that the yoga Olympians will receive has the potential to add cache to the practice.
I can appreciate the desires of those who want to restrict yoga from the Olympics because they feel it is non competitive at its heart, as I believe as well. But the practice of yoga has already withstood the test of time, and the benefits of bringing more widespread recognition to yoga and some of its very accomplished practitioners outweigh any risks to the purity of the practice.
By Steve Trutane
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Shanon Buffington in a reclined butterfly pose at a Yoga center in Coppell, Texas.As long as they include Shavasana in the list of required poses, I'm all for it!
Anything that inspires more people to learn about and practice yoga is a good thing.
The potential benefits of Olympic yoga are so great that it's worth the risk of some people adopting a 'corrupt' competitive view of it.
Showcasing yoga will be a great way to encourage people to learn more about yoga generally.
The sort of role model notoriety that the yoga Olympians will receive has the potential to add cache to the practice.
I can appreciate the desires of those who want to restrict yoga from the Olympics because they feel it is non competitive at its heart, as I believe as well. But the practice of yoga has already withstood the test of time, and the benefits of bringing more widespread recognition to yoga and some of its very accomplished practitioners outweigh any risks to the purity of the practice.
By Steve Trutane
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Thursday, 7 August 2008
YOGA IN MODERATION
While yoga can improve your strength, balance and flexibility, remember to perform the exercises in moderation, and at your appropriate skill level.
To help minimize yoga related injuries, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons offers the following guidelines:
1. Consult a doctor before participating in yoga if you have a medical condition or an injury.
2. Work with a qualified yoga instructor. Check out the instructor's experience and credentials.
3. Warm up thoroughly before a yoga session. Cold muscles, tendons and ligaments are vulnerable to injury.
4. Wear appropriate clothing that allows for proper movement.
5. Beginners should start slowly and learn the basics, such as breathing.
6. If you are unsure of a pose or movement, ask questions.
Do not attempt positions beyond your comfort level.
7. Learn the type of yoga you are performing. Yoga exercises come in several forms, some more demanding than others.
8. Stay hydrated.
9. Should you experience pain or exhaustion during a yoga session, stop or take a break.
10. Seek a doctor if the pain does not lift.
By American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
To help minimize yoga related injuries, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons offers the following guidelines:
1. Consult a doctor before participating in yoga if you have a medical condition or an injury.
2. Work with a qualified yoga instructor. Check out the instructor's experience and credentials.
3. Warm up thoroughly before a yoga session. Cold muscles, tendons and ligaments are vulnerable to injury.
4. Wear appropriate clothing that allows for proper movement.
5. Beginners should start slowly and learn the basics, such as breathing.
6. If you are unsure of a pose or movement, ask questions.
Do not attempt positions beyond your comfort level.
7. Learn the type of yoga you are performing. Yoga exercises come in several forms, some more demanding than others.
8. Stay hydrated.
9. Should you experience pain or exhaustion during a yoga session, stop or take a break.
10. Seek a doctor if the pain does not lift.
By American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Wednesday, 6 August 2008
YOGA BRINGS THE CROWDS
Thousands of people packed an outdoor amphitheatre in Cloverdale to see, hear and breathe along with Swami Ramdev Maharaj, whose brand of yoga has made him hugely popular around the world.
Participants of the five day 'yoga camp' paid up to $500 to sit closest to the stage for early morning sessions conducted by Ramdev from Wednesday to Sunday (July 30 to August 3).
In a light drizzle Friday, nearly 3,000 people sat on yoga mats as the Indian swami, wearing an orange robe, and two assistants faced them sitting cross legged under cover of the Millennium Amphitheatre stage. In rock concert style in a gated area, two large video screens flanked the stage as shivir (camp) participants watched and copied Ramdev's yoga breathing exercises, called pranayam.
It was all a 'very special' experience for Gulshan Esmail, who travelled from the Northwest Territories to be in the swami's presence. 'I've seen him on TV and I wanted to see it and learn it with him here,' she said. 'It's powerful to me, being here."'
Like several other participants interviewed by the Now at the yoga camp, Esmail said the swami's breathing exercises helped make her a healthier person.
Roger Dhir, a Burnaby realtor and one of the event organizers, said the pranayam breathing helped him fight his diabetes. 'I don't take any pills for that anymore, after doing this yoga,' he said.
'Some people here, they have given testimony that they've lost four, five pounds during one (yoga) session, It's crazy.'
His appearance in Cloverdale was Ramdev's first in B.C. following 'tour' stops in Houston, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. in July. 'I saw him in Toronto,' said Dhir, 'and then we begged him to come here to Vancouver, Surrey. We're lucky he agreed to come over here.'
Passes for the yoga camp sold for $100, $300 and $500.
In this digital age, Ramdev has built a significant, almost cult-like following through television appearances and a website that sells DVDs, books and audio cassettes.
'In India,' said Dhir, 'there can be a line two miles long of people hoping to see him.'
At times in his career Ramdev has dodged controversy, most notably that he's a Hindu evangelist promoting a religious agenda.
Nonsense, said Dhir.
'He does not preach any religion, he teaches (people) how to breathe better and how to exercise the inner organs in your tummy.'
Some local politicians took part in Ramdev's camp, including Newton North Delta MP Sukh Dhaliwal, Surrey Tynehead MLA Dave Hayer and Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts.
In Cloverdale, camp participants clapped at times as Ramdev spoke in Hindi mixed with bits of English (the words 'without medication,' 'DVD' and 'lifestyle change' could be heard). A few speakers at a microphone were cheered as they told personal stories of weight loss and improved health due to yoga.
Following the session, a few dozen participants, men, women and children, pressed close to the stage to take photographs of Ramdev and, as he walked down from the stage to a waiting black BMW, gathered around to offer their prayers and touch his feet.
'I'm very happy with the number of people who are here,' Ramdev told the Now through an interpreter. 'It's very excellent here, that people enjoy the yoga.'
By Tom Zillich
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Participants of the five day 'yoga camp' paid up to $500 to sit closest to the stage for early morning sessions conducted by Ramdev from Wednesday to Sunday (July 30 to August 3).
In a light drizzle Friday, nearly 3,000 people sat on yoga mats as the Indian swami, wearing an orange robe, and two assistants faced them sitting cross legged under cover of the Millennium Amphitheatre stage. In rock concert style in a gated area, two large video screens flanked the stage as shivir (camp) participants watched and copied Ramdev's yoga breathing exercises, called pranayam.
It was all a 'very special' experience for Gulshan Esmail, who travelled from the Northwest Territories to be in the swami's presence. 'I've seen him on TV and I wanted to see it and learn it with him here,' she said. 'It's powerful to me, being here."'
Like several other participants interviewed by the Now at the yoga camp, Esmail said the swami's breathing exercises helped make her a healthier person.
Roger Dhir, a Burnaby realtor and one of the event organizers, said the pranayam breathing helped him fight his diabetes. 'I don't take any pills for that anymore, after doing this yoga,' he said.
'Some people here, they have given testimony that they've lost four, five pounds during one (yoga) session, It's crazy.'
His appearance in Cloverdale was Ramdev's first in B.C. following 'tour' stops in Houston, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. in July. 'I saw him in Toronto,' said Dhir, 'and then we begged him to come here to Vancouver, Surrey. We're lucky he agreed to come over here.'
Passes for the yoga camp sold for $100, $300 and $500.
In this digital age, Ramdev has built a significant, almost cult-like following through television appearances and a website that sells DVDs, books and audio cassettes.
'In India,' said Dhir, 'there can be a line two miles long of people hoping to see him.'
At times in his career Ramdev has dodged controversy, most notably that he's a Hindu evangelist promoting a religious agenda.
Nonsense, said Dhir.
'He does not preach any religion, he teaches (people) how to breathe better and how to exercise the inner organs in your tummy.'
Some local politicians took part in Ramdev's camp, including Newton North Delta MP Sukh Dhaliwal, Surrey Tynehead MLA Dave Hayer and Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts.
In Cloverdale, camp participants clapped at times as Ramdev spoke in Hindi mixed with bits of English (the words 'without medication,' 'DVD' and 'lifestyle change' could be heard). A few speakers at a microphone were cheered as they told personal stories of weight loss and improved health due to yoga.
Following the session, a few dozen participants, men, women and children, pressed close to the stage to take photographs of Ramdev and, as he walked down from the stage to a waiting black BMW, gathered around to offer their prayers and touch his feet.
'I'm very happy with the number of people who are here,' Ramdev told the Now through an interpreter. 'It's very excellent here, that people enjoy the yoga.'
By Tom Zillich
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Monday, 4 August 2008
YOGA AND MEN
Once upon a time, when you spoke to men about yoga, they almost immediately had images of Lululemon clad women chanting verses of Sanskrit while bending their bodies into impossible positions.
For the hockey playing, basketball watching, sports obsessed male species, the practice of yoga was about as appealing as watching a Julia Roberts romantic comedy, twice.
However, times, and old standing stereotypes, have changed thanks, in part, to the evolution of male specific sport versus female specific sport. More women are tackling the football field while more men are doing the downward dog.
Yoga has become the new cross training for men looking to increase their flexibility and improve their muscle conditioning so the next time they hit the field or the rink, their bodies will bend into nearly impossible positions, willingly.
Paul McQuillan, a yoga instructor at Toronto's Bikram Yoga Centre, has been practising yoga, specifically, Bikram or hot yoga, a style of yoga that takes place in rooms heated to about 40 C, for three years. Yoga has improved both his physical and mental strength, he says, while revitalizing his energy levels. Here, he explains the advantages of yoga and how men can benefit from it.
1. Yoga works the entire body
In sports such as hockey, tennis or football, you tend to utilize only 10 to 15 per cent of the body, whereas yoga provides a workout that covers every muscle, joint and organ. The practice oxygenates the blood, creating more energy when you finish the exercise as opposed to depleting the body of it. You work every system: cardiovascular, skeletal, muscular and endocrine.
2. Yoga has benefits in the bedroom
Guarasana, or Eagle Pose, is a posture that sends fresh blood and oxygen to the sexual organs, so this is a particularly beneficial exercise for men in revitalizing their bedroom prowess! Trikonasana, or Triangle Pose, is a marriage of the heart and the lungs, two organs that don't usually interact. Not only does this posture increase cardiovascular endurance, but it is also the only known yoga posture that utilizes every organ, muscle and joint in the body.
3. Yoga works for every size
It does not matter how you look when you practise yoga. Whether you're a 250 pound linebacker or a 150 pound triathlete, yoga will push your personal boundaries by increasing your own flexibility, endurance and muscle strength.
4. Yoga decreases muscle soreness
Yoga is hugely beneficial in working out stiffness from other sports. When muscles are fatigued, they build with lactic acid, and yoga, which stretches and releases tension, helps flush that away. Runners in particular find yoga the best activity after a long endurance jog.
5. Yoga restores energy levels
Yoga practice doesn't deplete your body of all of your energy after a class, like, say, a gym workout, where your body is entirely fatigued after your session. Instead, it actually increases your vigour, making you feel more aware and revitalized.
6. Yoga trains your focus
Athletes like Wayne Gretzky, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and John McEnroe have heightened their performance levels through practising Bikram yoga. By combining mental, physical and emotional strength, they became better athletes at their chosen sport. Men can't seem to let their egos go, and in yoga, you have to train your mind to shut down, to stop thinking about work, what you're going to have for dinner or whether the Raptors are going to win the game. Traditionally, men have a more difficult time doing that than women, although, once they do let go, their focus on the positions, and the difficulty in holding them, improves vastly.
7. Yoga flushes your system
The practice of yoga is often referred to as 'intense,' especially in Bikram. When you are working in a room heated higher than your body temperature, you sweat a considerable amount. The pounds dramatically shed off your body and, more importantly, you rid yourself of all the pent up toxins. Due to the heat in Bikram, it has been noted that you are essentially creating an artificial 'fever' in the body, therefore enhancing the immune system.
8. Yoga balances the mind
Yoga has such a great sense of community to it and it really allows for mental clarity and focus. After you practise, you feel more grounded, less self absorbed and calmer. This type of mental clarity really helps in other sports or activities you may be involved in.
By Sympatico/MSN
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
For the hockey playing, basketball watching, sports obsessed male species, the practice of yoga was about as appealing as watching a Julia Roberts romantic comedy, twice.
However, times, and old standing stereotypes, have changed thanks, in part, to the evolution of male specific sport versus female specific sport. More women are tackling the football field while more men are doing the downward dog.
Yoga has become the new cross training for men looking to increase their flexibility and improve their muscle conditioning so the next time they hit the field or the rink, their bodies will bend into nearly impossible positions, willingly.
Paul McQuillan, a yoga instructor at Toronto's Bikram Yoga Centre, has been practising yoga, specifically, Bikram or hot yoga, a style of yoga that takes place in rooms heated to about 40 C, for three years. Yoga has improved both his physical and mental strength, he says, while revitalizing his energy levels. Here, he explains the advantages of yoga and how men can benefit from it.
1. Yoga works the entire body
In sports such as hockey, tennis or football, you tend to utilize only 10 to 15 per cent of the body, whereas yoga provides a workout that covers every muscle, joint and organ. The practice oxygenates the blood, creating more energy when you finish the exercise as opposed to depleting the body of it. You work every system: cardiovascular, skeletal, muscular and endocrine.
2. Yoga has benefits in the bedroom
Guarasana, or Eagle Pose, is a posture that sends fresh blood and oxygen to the sexual organs, so this is a particularly beneficial exercise for men in revitalizing their bedroom prowess! Trikonasana, or Triangle Pose, is a marriage of the heart and the lungs, two organs that don't usually interact. Not only does this posture increase cardiovascular endurance, but it is also the only known yoga posture that utilizes every organ, muscle and joint in the body.
3. Yoga works for every size
It does not matter how you look when you practise yoga. Whether you're a 250 pound linebacker or a 150 pound triathlete, yoga will push your personal boundaries by increasing your own flexibility, endurance and muscle strength.
4. Yoga decreases muscle soreness
Yoga is hugely beneficial in working out stiffness from other sports. When muscles are fatigued, they build with lactic acid, and yoga, which stretches and releases tension, helps flush that away. Runners in particular find yoga the best activity after a long endurance jog.
5. Yoga restores energy levels
Yoga practice doesn't deplete your body of all of your energy after a class, like, say, a gym workout, where your body is entirely fatigued after your session. Instead, it actually increases your vigour, making you feel more aware and revitalized.
6. Yoga trains your focus
Athletes like Wayne Gretzky, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and John McEnroe have heightened their performance levels through practising Bikram yoga. By combining mental, physical and emotional strength, they became better athletes at their chosen sport. Men can't seem to let their egos go, and in yoga, you have to train your mind to shut down, to stop thinking about work, what you're going to have for dinner or whether the Raptors are going to win the game. Traditionally, men have a more difficult time doing that than women, although, once they do let go, their focus on the positions, and the difficulty in holding them, improves vastly.
7. Yoga flushes your system
The practice of yoga is often referred to as 'intense,' especially in Bikram. When you are working in a room heated higher than your body temperature, you sweat a considerable amount. The pounds dramatically shed off your body and, more importantly, you rid yourself of all the pent up toxins. Due to the heat in Bikram, it has been noted that you are essentially creating an artificial 'fever' in the body, therefore enhancing the immune system.
8. Yoga balances the mind
Yoga has such a great sense of community to it and it really allows for mental clarity and focus. After you practise, you feel more grounded, less self absorbed and calmer. This type of mental clarity really helps in other sports or activities you may be involved in.
By Sympatico/MSN
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Sunday, 3 August 2008
YOGA AND ARTHRITIS
Pain in the joints is a common problem which may vary from a minor discomfort to a disabling chronic problem affecting the quality of life to a great extent. The biomedical inventions have given great mobility and functional ability for damaged joints. It is not unusual to find persons with 10 to 20 joints (small and big) replaced as and when the joints get damaged, which has helped them to live their lives in comfort. Thanks to fascinating advances in medication too, which has definitely saved an arthritic from the devastating side effects of steroids. But, have we hit the nail on its head? Have we been able to cure or prevent joint diseases? The answer is a clear 'No'.
Increasing problems of aging changes in the joints are expected as our life expectancy and longevity have increased all round the globe. But what about the other types of arthritis which are hitting younger persons? Rheumatoid arthritis, a disease of temperate climates, is still an enigma as we have not been able to remove the root cause of the disease.
Special Techniques
Passive Rotation of Toes
Sthiti: Dandasana or sitting in a chair.
Practice
Bend the right leg at the knee, place the right foot on the left thigh.
1. Move the individual toes with the left hand (i.e., passive movement) bending them forward & backward, right & left followed by clockwise and anti clockwise rotation five times each.
2. Then hold all the toes with the left hand, rotate and bend them forward and backwards.
3. Repeat the same practice with the left foot.
Note
1. While practicing with individual toes, pull them outwards with the hand before moving them.
2. If necessary, the instructor does the passive movement for the patient.
Disclaimer: Before practice, please consult your doctor in case you are suffering from ailments. It is recommended to practice under the guidance of experts.
By www.living.oneindia.in
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Increasing problems of aging changes in the joints are expected as our life expectancy and longevity have increased all round the globe. But what about the other types of arthritis which are hitting younger persons? Rheumatoid arthritis, a disease of temperate climates, is still an enigma as we have not been able to remove the root cause of the disease.
Special Techniques
Passive Rotation of Toes
Sthiti: Dandasana or sitting in a chair.
Practice
Bend the right leg at the knee, place the right foot on the left thigh.
1. Move the individual toes with the left hand (i.e., passive movement) bending them forward & backward, right & left followed by clockwise and anti clockwise rotation five times each.
2. Then hold all the toes with the left hand, rotate and bend them forward and backwards.
3. Repeat the same practice with the left foot.
Note
1. While practicing with individual toes, pull them outwards with the hand before moving them.
2. If necessary, the instructor does the passive movement for the patient.
Disclaimer: Before practice, please consult your doctor in case you are suffering from ailments. It is recommended to practice under the guidance of experts.
By www.living.oneindia.in
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Friday, 1 August 2008
YOGA AND STRESS
Twice a week, New York hedge fund manager Michael Karsch does a trade many financial professionals wouldn't attempt: He swaps his bank of computers for a blue mat, sweatpants and some 'sun salutations,' a flowing series of poses including forward bends.
Karsch is one of a growing number of bankers, traders and money managers who, in a time of market turbulence, are looking to the ancient Indian discipline of yoga in search of inner peace. From yoga, he knows to 'take a step back, have a breath and stay focused,' says Karsch, of Karsch Capital Management LP, a roughly $3 billion fund.
Yoga, of course, has been growing in popularity for years in the West. The magazine Yoga Journal estimates that about 15.8 million people in the U.S., or 7 percent of adults, now practice it.
Today, studios and private teachers in New York and London report increasing demand from financiers.
Allianz SE's Pacific Investment Management Co., D.E. Shaw & Co. and Karsch Capital are among the companies playing host to yoga classes.
Billionaire fund managers Paul Tudor Jones and William Gross both practice Ashtanga, an active form of yoga that involves flowing through a set series of poses.
Bond fund guru Gross, a founder of Pimco, does yoga five days a week and says some of his best ideas come when he is standing on his head, or sirsasana, supported by the forearms on the floor.
At Karsch Capital, about a third of the 33 employees take yoga classes at the company's 26th floor Manhattan offices each week. Still, hard core yoga on the job is a bit much for the boss. Since he's at the office, Karsch wears socks during class instead of going barefoot. And he omits some poses. 'I still feel like doing handstands during work is a little inappropriate,' Karsch says.
Karsch, 40 years old, started doing yoga three years ago on the recommendation of a fellow hedge fund manager, John Griffin, founder of Blue Ridge Capital LLC in New York. Blue Ridge Capital also holds yoga sessions at the office.
D.E. Shaw, a $39 billion New York hedge fund known for using complex computer models, recently started offering hourlong yoga classes at the office. About 80 of the company's 750 New York employees have signed up for the sessions, which have been so popular they often are oversubscribed.
'There's been tremendous demand,' says spokeswoman Darcy Bradbury, who attends the classes herself. At Pimco, Gross has prompted senior colleagues to start stretching, and the company holds morning yoga sessions during client conferences and staff retreats.
A CHANGING CLIENTELE
The yoga industry is adapting to and courting its new, wealthy customers. Yoga retreats in places like Malibu, which offer grueling regimens of several hours of yoga a day, have become popular destinations for the finance crowd.
Catharina Hedberg owns a yoga retreat called The Ashram in the Southern California hills near Malibu and says she has seen an increase in finance types attending over the past five years.
Now, about a quarter of her customers, who pay $4,250 for a one week stay, are financiers. The retreat offers a hard-core program of 6 a.m. yoga sessions with an alcohol free, caffeine free vegetarian diet that she says is popular with the Wall Street crowd.
'Every week you see someone from hedge funds,' says Hedberg.
Teachers say one key principle poses an implicit challenge to Wall Streeters: Value the process of hard work rather than the rewards it brings.
Finance 'is the antithesis of what yoga is about in terms of inner peace,' says Claire Missingham, a yoga teacher in London. But Missingham, whose pupils have included bankers and hedge fund managers, says it can be highly beneficial for them. Yoga traditionalists say practicing yoga should be about more than just gaining physical benefits: It's a way of approaching life, including work.
Some financiers are introduced to yoga by their spouses. Some turn to it after suffering sports injuries. Some endure teasing from friends. It's 'considered soft' by some, says Karsch.
THEY COME TO YOU
Michael Wald and his wife, Julie, run a business called Namaste New York that caters to the financial crowd. It offers private yoga lessons and group classes at the office, often scheduled for before or after markets close. Cell phones and BlackBerry devices are forbidden in class, though assistants occasionally interrupt a session. The largely female network of teachers are instructed to not wear anything too clingy. And, no chanting.
Namaste has about 20 corporations as clients, which pay as much as $65,000 annually, as well as roughly 60 individual clients paying about $150 to $225 per session. In recent months, as markets have gone wild, Julie Wald has noticed increased tension in the neck and back of her clients. Another sign of stress among her students: difficulty sitting still.
Luciano Cortese, a broad shouldered 48 year old hedge fund manager, says he used to bang his desk, throw things or yell at someone when his job became particularly stressful. But since starting yoga in January, he has been taking the stock market's jolts in stride, he says.
'I just say to myself tomorrow is another day.'
One morning recently, a barefoot Cortese gingerly moved through a series of forward bends, backward arches and twists on his yoga mat laid out in the television room of his Long Island, N.Y., home.
His personal instructor, Kirtan Smith, encouraged Cortese to focus on his breathing and helped maneuver him deeper into the postures.
At the end of the hour and a half long session, Cortese lay on his back for a few minutes of relaxation, or savasana. He dozed off, snoring lightly.
When he awoke, he bounded upstairs to check the market on his computer.
By CASSELL BRYAN-LOW
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Karsch is one of a growing number of bankers, traders and money managers who, in a time of market turbulence, are looking to the ancient Indian discipline of yoga in search of inner peace. From yoga, he knows to 'take a step back, have a breath and stay focused,' says Karsch, of Karsch Capital Management LP, a roughly $3 billion fund.
Yoga, of course, has been growing in popularity for years in the West. The magazine Yoga Journal estimates that about 15.8 million people in the U.S., or 7 percent of adults, now practice it.
Today, studios and private teachers in New York and London report increasing demand from financiers.
Allianz SE's Pacific Investment Management Co., D.E. Shaw & Co. and Karsch Capital are among the companies playing host to yoga classes.
Billionaire fund managers Paul Tudor Jones and William Gross both practice Ashtanga, an active form of yoga that involves flowing through a set series of poses.
Bond fund guru Gross, a founder of Pimco, does yoga five days a week and says some of his best ideas come when he is standing on his head, or sirsasana, supported by the forearms on the floor.
At Karsch Capital, about a third of the 33 employees take yoga classes at the company's 26th floor Manhattan offices each week. Still, hard core yoga on the job is a bit much for the boss. Since he's at the office, Karsch wears socks during class instead of going barefoot. And he omits some poses. 'I still feel like doing handstands during work is a little inappropriate,' Karsch says.
Karsch, 40 years old, started doing yoga three years ago on the recommendation of a fellow hedge fund manager, John Griffin, founder of Blue Ridge Capital LLC in New York. Blue Ridge Capital also holds yoga sessions at the office.
D.E. Shaw, a $39 billion New York hedge fund known for using complex computer models, recently started offering hourlong yoga classes at the office. About 80 of the company's 750 New York employees have signed up for the sessions, which have been so popular they often are oversubscribed.
'There's been tremendous demand,' says spokeswoman Darcy Bradbury, who attends the classes herself. At Pimco, Gross has prompted senior colleagues to start stretching, and the company holds morning yoga sessions during client conferences and staff retreats.
A CHANGING CLIENTELE
The yoga industry is adapting to and courting its new, wealthy customers. Yoga retreats in places like Malibu, which offer grueling regimens of several hours of yoga a day, have become popular destinations for the finance crowd.
Catharina Hedberg owns a yoga retreat called The Ashram in the Southern California hills near Malibu and says she has seen an increase in finance types attending over the past five years.
Now, about a quarter of her customers, who pay $4,250 for a one week stay, are financiers. The retreat offers a hard-core program of 6 a.m. yoga sessions with an alcohol free, caffeine free vegetarian diet that she says is popular with the Wall Street crowd.
'Every week you see someone from hedge funds,' says Hedberg.
Teachers say one key principle poses an implicit challenge to Wall Streeters: Value the process of hard work rather than the rewards it brings.
Finance 'is the antithesis of what yoga is about in terms of inner peace,' says Claire Missingham, a yoga teacher in London. But Missingham, whose pupils have included bankers and hedge fund managers, says it can be highly beneficial for them. Yoga traditionalists say practicing yoga should be about more than just gaining physical benefits: It's a way of approaching life, including work.
Some financiers are introduced to yoga by their spouses. Some turn to it after suffering sports injuries. Some endure teasing from friends. It's 'considered soft' by some, says Karsch.
THEY COME TO YOU
Michael Wald and his wife, Julie, run a business called Namaste New York that caters to the financial crowd. It offers private yoga lessons and group classes at the office, often scheduled for before or after markets close. Cell phones and BlackBerry devices are forbidden in class, though assistants occasionally interrupt a session. The largely female network of teachers are instructed to not wear anything too clingy. And, no chanting.
Namaste has about 20 corporations as clients, which pay as much as $65,000 annually, as well as roughly 60 individual clients paying about $150 to $225 per session. In recent months, as markets have gone wild, Julie Wald has noticed increased tension in the neck and back of her clients. Another sign of stress among her students: difficulty sitting still.
Luciano Cortese, a broad shouldered 48 year old hedge fund manager, says he used to bang his desk, throw things or yell at someone when his job became particularly stressful. But since starting yoga in January, he has been taking the stock market's jolts in stride, he says.
'I just say to myself tomorrow is another day.'
One morning recently, a barefoot Cortese gingerly moved through a series of forward bends, backward arches and twists on his yoga mat laid out in the television room of his Long Island, N.Y., home.
His personal instructor, Kirtan Smith, encouraged Cortese to focus on his breathing and helped maneuver him deeper into the postures.
At the end of the hour and a half long session, Cortese lay on his back for a few minutes of relaxation, or savasana. He dozed off, snoring lightly.
When he awoke, he bounded upstairs to check the market on his computer.
By CASSELL BRYAN-LOW
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
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