Yoga Articles

Silver Age Yoga is a unique yoga discipline designed for seniors that combines hatha yoga and principles of gerontology. The program was developed by seasoned yoga instructors in cooperation with scientists—many of them yoga practitioners—from the University of California at San Diego (UCSD); the Stein Institute for Research on Aging, a department of UCSD; and physicians affiliated with Scripps...

According to research from the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty’s 2005 Global Study, “Beyond Stereotypes: Rebuilding the Foundation of Beauty Beliefs,” 70% of teenage girls who feel bad about their looks respond by withdrawing from life. They avoid school, cancel doctor visits and feel afraid to speak up in class. More than 90% of girls want to change at least one aspect of their appe...

People in midlife who regularly practice yoga are less likely to gain weight than those who do not practice yoga, according to a study published in the July–August issue of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine (2005; 11 [4], 28–33). Researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle studied 15,550 adults ages 53–57 years from 2...

Leigh A. Milne, IDEA member, yoga teacher and personal fitness trainer, conducted a small study in Vermont to assess how older adults might benefit from a 12-week yoga class. Milne and her team recruited 16 female subjects with an average age of 78 to participate either once weekly or twice weekly in 1-hour Iyengar yoga sessions. Before and after the study, an independent physic...

While hip-hop yoga programs entice teens and dance divas, Megan Garcia, a plus-size model and a yoga instructor for more than a decade, is reaching out to larger participants. “Yoga is for everyone,” affirms Garcia, who leads classes in New York City and has released a DVD titled “Just My Size Yoga.” Garcia herself is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 210 po...

In India, the birthplace of yoga, modern Indians are redis...

Members at the Athletic Garage in Pasadena, California, line up ...

Soldiers with the 320th Engineer Company, 565th Engineer Battalion, 130th Engineer Brigade, have been participating in weekly yoga sessions in Iraq, according to an article from the Army News Service. The classes began when Second Lt. Caprice Vargas, who had practiced yoga personally for about 5 years, began leading morning classes for her platoon members. When others heard about it, she expanded...

industry watch: program trends C R E AT I N G A S O O T H I N G S PA C E The 2000 IDEA Fitness Programs & Equipment Survey found that yoga and Pilates continue to be two of the fastest-growing activities in fitness facilities today. The challenge for exercise professionals, however, is to conduct mind-body programs like these in a space that enables participants to have a relaxing experience. Here...

exercise BY BARON BAPTISTE epetitive sports training, long hours of sitting at work, the activities of daily living or just a sedentary lifestyle. . . . All these can cause our bodies to become structurally and muscularly imbalanced. If chronic strain and imbalance continue unopposed, the body's systems start to break down and injuries begin to pile up. As the saying goes, "If you do what you did...