Everyday we are reminded of the benefits of our yoga practice. When we have the chance we enjoy sharing this experience with our circle of friends and family. However, there is one among our community who has devoted herself to equally share her gifts with the young men and women who have been detained or are incarcerated in the juvenile systems. (more…)

Yoga can be for everybody. More and more college sports teams are looking to yoga to help improve balance in their sports performance. From the Philadelphia Inquirer they investigated the number of college athletes who are doing downward dog and frog along with their sprints and push-ups.

The article “School athletes, if not science, embrace yoga” quotes a number of student athletes who are having their first experience with yoga in their workout rooms.  Such as Lacrosse player Mike Distler “It makes us a little more in tune with our bodies,” he says, “It definitely stretches us out more than we ever would during the week.” (more…)

So often we begin a yoga practice to release built up tensions, and stresses from our active lives. And then we soon find that what we are actually gaining is a balance of spirit, mind and body. But as one creative non-fiction teacher discovered – the release of a creative self-can also be a result of a consistent yoga practice.

Michael McColly of Columbia College Chicago and Northwestern University was reading story after story of self-abuse, addictions and rape from his students. (more…)

According to the Center for Disease Control, 1 in every 150 births are diagnosed with autism. This disease unbalances the neurological system and decreases the standard functioning of the brain.  Dr. Kari Kassir M.D. has researched the alternative methods of treatment and the effectiveness of yoga for autistic children. (more…)

“Competition is the foundation for all democratic societies. For without ‘Competition’, there is no democracy.” Bikram Choudhury

The 5th International Yoga Asana Championships will be taking place this coming week at the LAX Westin Hotel. Participants from around the world will gather to demonstrate a series of compulsory asanas and two personally selected by the participant all within 3 minutes.  The adult division are required to present the asanas: Standing-Head-to-Knee, Standing Bow Pulling Pose, Bow Pose, Rabbit Pose, Stretching Pose which all come from the work of Patanjali. The Youth Division is required to present four asanas with an additional two of their choosing. (more…)

The International Association of Black Yoga Teachers is a membership based organization that provides access to the practice of yoga with a pointed interest in serving the  African Diaspora as well as other communities. In recent years their dedication has taken them to supporting the efforts of local yoga practioners in Ghana.

In Spring 2008 the organization, lead by Krishna Kaur will be returning to Ghana to work with the men and women who are committed to becoming yoga teachers for their communities.  (more…)

In this month’s issue of Yoga Journal, there was a thoughtful article entitled “10 Tools for Creating Your Happiest Life.” In this article it covers areas such as “Plug in to your spiritual self, get energized about your future, let go of the old and honor your physical self.” This last one seems to parallel closely with our yoga practice. (more…)

Extraordinary people are ones that don’t hesitate in their actions when they realize one simple act can benefit a whole community. Such was the selfless act of Mangala Sarda, yoga instructor, who created a Braille book on yoga for the visually impaired communities in India.

As a teacher of the National Association of the Blind she devoted 10 years to teaching students. It was from this experience that she understood that to provide the asanas in a “simple and basic” way would be the most effective for those wishing to begin a yoga practice. (more…)

It is that time of the year again and Yoga Journal is in full force with their next set of conferences.  For the 5th Annual Yoga Journal event in San Francisco January 18-21, they have described the event as “…a day seeking your innermost ‘center of excellence’ or the link between spiritual and social activism..” (more…)

Sometimes we find the most helpful information in some of the most unusual spots. This week we came across a post all about yoga teachers and classes in Tucson, Arizona on the Arizona Night Buzz online site. Typically they are covering the hotspots in the city from clubs to video and restaurants. I found it to be a good article for anyone looking for basic information as well as specific locations of several yoga studios in the Tucson area. (more…)