Yoga May Reduce Risk of Heart Disease
Leading cardiologists, including Dean Ornish, MD, have helped increase the popularity of yoga by touting its ability to assist in preventing and managing heart disease. Now investigators at the Center for the Study of Complementary and Alternative Therapies at the …
What Is Yoga Therapy?
In the traditional Indian system of health care known as Ayurveda, hatha yoga is used as a therapeutic modality. The name Ayurveda combines two Sanskrit words, ayur, meaning “life,” and veda, meaning “science, or knowledge.” Literally translated, Ayurveda means “the science of life.”
In the Ayurvedic system, which is …
Yoga for Kids
Yoga for kids is exploding in popularity and gaining acceptance in schools. An ongoing survey on the state of “youth yoga” finds that kids’ yoga is taught in community centers, yoga studios, private and public schools, and after-school programs throughout the U.S. …
Review of Studies on Yoga and Depression
One of the obstacles to promoting the benefits of mind-body exercise to modern healthcare providers is the lack of solid research evidence to support the health claims. In recent years, this lack of evidence has stimulated many more researchers to conduct studies so that healt…
Yoga Instructors Rush to Help Katrina Survivors
In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, yoga teachers were among the many who hurried to provide aid. Amy McDowell, chief financial officer of YogaFit® Training Systems Worldwide Inc., based in Redondo Beach, California, made this appeal to 35,000 YogaFit-certified instructors: “In the spirit of helping our fellow man, cat, dog and other living beings, we enc…
Yoga Booms in China
“Yoga is now popular in China, and more and more Chi…
Yoga Helps Manage Weight in Midlife
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…
IDEA Member’s Study Shows Yoga Benefits Older Adults
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…
Indian Government Protects Yogic Traditions
The Union government of India is taking steps to protect its modern treasure trove of yogic traditions, according to an article in The Economic Times. The government is creating a digital database of 1,500 yoga postures and their therapeutic properties. The health ministry…
Yoga for Menopausal Symptom Relief
Good news for sufferers of hot flashes and night sweats. Peri- and postmenopausal women who practice yoga increase flexibility and improve their quality of life, according to a study conducted at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey in Pomona (52nd Annual Meeting of the America…
Bikram Yoga Case Settles
The Bikram Yoga case settled out of court in May 2005, avoiding a federal court hearing to determine whether Bikram Choudhury’s copyrighted sequence of 26 poses and two breathing exercises could be legally protected.
The case involved Open Source Yoga Unity, an organization based in San Francisco, California, and Choudhury, based in Beverly Hills, California. While details o…
Yoga Passes the Low-Back Test
Practicing Iyengar yoga helps people with low-back pain, according to a preliminary study published in Pain (2005; 115, 107–17). Low-back pain affects 70%–85% of North American adults at some point during their lifetime. Of the Americans who practice yoga, 21% …
Yoga Inspires Hip-Hop Fans, Plus-Size Participants
Yoga is in the house. Just when you thought every variation of yoga had hit the market, hip-hop yoga programs are reaching out to attract more new audiences. Russell Simmons, hip-hop pioneer and cofounder of Def Jam Records, has produced Yoga Live™, a series of yoga programs set to hip-hop music. “If yogis were the only people in America who could vote,” Simmo…
Yoga for Back Care
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Size-Friendly Yoga for Larger Audiences
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…
Yoga Improves Sleep
People who suffer from chronic insomnia tend to feel energized at night, both mentally and physically, so they find it difficult to wind down and fall asleep. A preliminary study published in Applied Psychophysiology Biofeedback (2004; [4], 269–78) evaluated the effect of daily yoga practice to determine whether it could lower levels of arousal and make it easier for subjects…
American Yoga Market Is $2.95 Billion Strong and Growing
Americans spend $2.95 billion per year on yoga classes and products, according to the second annual “Yoga in America” survey, sponsored by Yoga Journal. The study reported that 16.5 million Americans, about 7.5% of the adult population, now practice yoga.
Interestingly, 18- to 24-year-olds are the fastest-growing age group. Participants in this bracket increased…
With a Down Dog Here and A Down Dog There, Kids Enjoy Yoga and Meditation at Daycare
Teeny yogis and yoginis in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, are enjoying both yoga and meditation at their local daycare center and preschool, Wisdom and Wonders.
Tracey Thomas, yoga instructor and co-owner of the center, has been a daycare and grammar school teacher for over a…
Does Mindful Exercise Improve Mood?
Do you find yourself saying, “Ahh” after &ldqu…
Renewed Interest in Yoga in India
In India, the birthplace of yoga, modern Indians are redis…