Yoga Facts http://theyogafacts.com en-us Copyright 2007, Yoga Facts team. 240 Pranayama Yoga Breathing Workshop B http://theyogafacts.com/article.asp?articleid=76482 Mon, 8 Feb 2010 07:22 GMT http://theyogafacts.com/article.asp?articleid=76482 This workshop will cover 3 of the remaining 6 postures. She will first discuss the meaning, concepts, and benefits of Pranayama. You will feel refreshed and full of life force after the class, and can take these techniques with you for
practicing at any time or place. Yoga works primarily with the energy in the body, through the science of pranayama, or energy-control.Prana means also ‘breath.’Tuition: $30 when fully paid by Mar. 20th, $40 thereafter.

]]> Gear • Capri Cut Yoga Pant with Built-in Knee Pads http://theyogafacts.com/article.asp?articleid=76415 Thu, 4 Feb 2010 10:36 GMT http://theyogafacts.com/article.asp?articleid=76415

What — Capri cut exercise pants with knee pads for yoga positions.How much — $55 suggested retail.Where — At Fila USA, alturl.com/wmck, or check with exercise stores; delivery started last month.

Why buy it — For when yoga pads and towels aren't enough, Fila has added pads in the knees. The company got the idea by asking customers on its website how to improve its products. Suggestions also resulted in wicking Nylon-Spandex fabric and a more comfortable elastic waistband.

]]> Rolling Out the Yoga Mat http://theyogafacts.com/article.asp?articleid=76353 Wed, 3 Feb 2010 11:59 GMT http://theyogafacts.com/article.asp?articleid=76353 Long popular at spas and retreat centers, yoga classes have been spreading to mainstream hotels, resorts and tour operators over the last several years. As the ancient stretching and meditation practice gained popularity, the travel industry began seeing dollar signs in sun salutations. Soon, yoga classes were showing up on the on-demand channels in Hyatts and Marriotts, and at the Kimpton hotel chain mats and straps were available to guests who asked.

Rolling Out the Yoga Mat

Spas and resorts began to tweak their yoga programs by hosting weeklong retreats with yoga masters like Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman, who attracted a cultlike following.Now, with yoga becoming so mainstream, properties from chain hotels to bed-and-breakfasts are looking for new ways to incorporate it into their programs to pique guests’ interest and reach their wallets.

]]> Yoga expert: Violence is state of mind and can be eliminated http://theyogafacts.com/article.asp?articleid=76021 Mon, 1 Feb 2010 07:23 GMT http://theyogafacts.com/article.asp?articleid=76021 Violence doesn't have to be a physical act. It is a state of mind and can be emotional, Reema Datta said. Founder of Usha Yoga Foundation, Datta has taught yoga since 2003 in Africa, South America, Asia, Europe and throughout North America.

In her workshops and retreats, Datta shares her practice of mantra, asana, pranayama, ayurvedic cooking and her explorations of spiritual practices and philosophies from around the world. A busy weekend for Datta ended Sunday evening at All Saints Episcopal Church in Frederick where she discussed ancient Indian and Tibetan perspectives on peace and violence.

]]> Yoga teacher buys 3BD in East Pinecrest http://theyogafacts.com/article.asp?articleid=75810 Sat, 30 Jan 2010 06:10 GMT http://theyogafacts.com/article.asp?articleid=75810 Hilary and David Gershman bought a three-bedroom, two-bath home at 6124 S.W. 104th St. in Pinecrest from Richard and Caroline Lee for $965,000 on Jan. 20. The Lees bought the property for $765,000 in March 2002. The 4,359-square-foot house was built in 1955 in the East Pinecrest neighborhood.

Mrs. Gershman is a yoga teacher with Prana Yoga Miami. She began practicing Yoga in 1999 at the Jivamukti Yoga Center in New York. She attended Columbia University, where she graduated with a degree in psychology. According to BlockShopper.com, there have been 212 home sales in Pinecrest during the past 12 months, with a median sales price of $608,000.

]]> Yoga Gives Back at Yogis Anonymous This Weekend http://theyogafacts.com/article.asp?articleid=75690 Fri, 29 Jan 2010 06:16 GMT http://theyogafacts.com/article.asp?articleid=75690 How(ing) himself to be a leader who has managed to translate visions into practical action for the benefit of millions of people, not only in Bangladesh, but also in many other countries. Loans to poor people without any financial security had appeared to be an impossible idea. From modest beginnings three decades ago, Yunus has, first and foremost through Grameen Bank, developed micro-credit into an ever more important instrument in the struggle against poverty.

Yoga Gives Back at Yogis Anonymous This Weekend

Yunus' concept of the micro-loan and how he envisioned it to change the world inspired Joel Bender and Kayoko Mitsumatsu to found Yoga Gives Back, a non-profit organization that coordinates fundraisers throughout the world. Yogis Anonymous (YA) will hold its Yoga Gives Back fundraiser Saturday, January 30 beginning at 7:30 pm. Ally Hamilton said in a recent interview, "We've been doing a lot of giving back recently, especially with Haiti." YA held 3 fundraisers for Haiti relief efforts.

]]> Eating Chocolate During Yoga Now a Good Idea? http://theyogafacts.com/article.asp?articleid=75517 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 06:29 GMT http://theyogafacts.com/article.asp?articleid=75517 Eating Chocolate During Yoga Now a Good Idea?The latest Times trend piece looks at a new combination of exercise and indulgence that is taking the city by storm: foodie yoga. Yes, combining the ancient and often holy practice of yoga with bacon and wine has become extremely popular. One yoga teacher, Sadie Nardini, claims it is a backlash against the "yogier than thou" mentality that purists hold, but is eating while doing yoga pushing the "anything goes" idea a little too far?

While people have indulged in both yoga and food trends for decades, many studios are bringing the food into the classroom. Exhale Spa offers a "Yoga for Foodies" class, started by David Romanelli, that starts with an hour of yoga, and ends with encouragements to “ssssmell the squassshhhh waaaafting through the air,” as yogis dine on butternut squash soup, pasta and wine. Of course, these courses have opened up an even bigger debate about omnivores v. vegans in yogic culture. Ahimsa, the first rule of yoga, is not to harm others. "Others" has been interpreted to include humans, animals and even diets where "each vegetable must be grown in an atmosphere of positive energy." The Yoga for Foodies classes are definitely not for the purists.

]]> Night moves: Sleep yoga may be better than counting sheep http://theyogafacts.com/article.asp?articleid=75516 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 06:28 GMT http://theyogafacts.com/article.asp?articleid=75516 The irony wasn’t lost on Graydon Moffat: She was making her living helping others relax, but she was a stress case herself, unable to enjoy a good night’s sleep. Ms. Moffat, a Toronto yoga instructor, was roused from her slumber almost every day between 2:30 and 4 a.m. She eventually threw a washcloth over her alarm clock – the bright green digits were a painful reminder of how little sleep she was getting.

Night moves: Sleep yoga may be better than counting sheep

“Sometimes I would be so desperate that I would go get something to drink – like alcohol,” she recalls. “I would try things like banana and warm milk. ... If I would get really desperate I would take a sleeping pill.”It was years before she realized a remedy was staring her in the face.

]]> When Chocolate and Chakras Collide http://theyogafacts.com/article.asp?articleid=75430 Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:05 GMT http://theyogafacts.com/article.asp?articleid=75430 The words of Ziggy Marley’s “Love Is My Religion” floated over 30 people lying on yoga mats in a steamy, dim loft above Madison Avenue on Friday. All had signed up for a strange new hybrid of physical activity: first an hour of vigorous, sweaty yoga, then a multicourse dinner of pasta, red wine and chocolate. As soon as the lights went up, dinner was served on the floor: an (almost) seamless transition designed to allow the yogis to taste, smell and digest in a heightened state of awareness.

When Chocolate and Chakras Collide

'“It’s a little weird to sit on a sweaty yoga mat and eat soup,” said one woman, not pausing as she spooned up a smooth, cinnamon-spiked butternut squash purée from a bamboo bowl. “But people are used to doing some weird things in yoga class.”Joy Pierson, the chef at the nearby Candle Café, a vegan restaurant that supplied the meal, sat cross-legged at the front of the room, encouraging everyone to breathe in slowly. “Ssssmell the squassshhhh waaaafting through the air,” she intoned.

]]> Yoga stretches lifespan http://theyogafacts.com/article.asp?articleid=75117 Mon, 25 Jan 2010 07:34 GMT http://theyogafacts.com/article.asp?articleid=75117 Yoga stretches lifespanIL-6 is part of your body’s inflammatory response and it used to measure levels of inflammation in your body. High levels of IL-6 have been linked to heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, arthritis and other age-related illnesses. Reducing inflammation can lengthen lifespan so researchers decided to see if a simple life change such as doing yoga might impact inflammation. They compared a group who had done yoga once or twice week for two years to a group who had done yoga for no more than six to twelve weeks. The regular yoga practitioners had IL-6 levels that were 41 per cent lower than the yoga “novices”. The “yoga experts” also showed smaller increases in IL-6 after stressful experiences than the novices. Exactly how yoga yields this benefit is hard to say but it is not stretching it to say that regular yoga practice could lengthen your life.

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