This is our second year of attending the festival, and we found that there were quite a lot of changes from last year. For a start, the venue was changed from the LA convention center to the beautiful campus of Loyola Marymount University.

I didn’t attend the Global Mala portion, although I could watch from a distance the sea of beautiful Yoginis who were taking classes from instructors and listening to guest speakers.

I stayed around the Yoga Health Festival instead, where my son, a YogaHub Team member and I encountered a lovely Yoga instructor, Jules Hogan, who teaches yoga to children here in LA. She had set up a little area just for kids, with dance ribbons, hoola hoops, and music. During the two-day event, she also held classes for children. She was wonderful, energetic, funny, and so enchanting – not only towards the children but to the adults as well. She made up wonderful stories for each yoga pose that had us adults laughing and all the kids playing along. Since taking that class, my toddler is now walking his Down Dog and slithering like a snake in Cobra!

Jules incorporates fun and joy into the practice of yoga for children. If you and your child live in Los Angeles, I highly recommend that you check out her classes at Updog Downdog Yoga.

In the meantime, I will gather more information about her and other wonderful yoga teachers for our children. Stay tuned!

Tags: yoga month, global mala, yoga health festival, yoga for kids, updog downdog yoga

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Sean and Karen Conley, owners of Amazing Yoga in Pittsburgh, are regular teachers at the Pittsburgh Steelers training center. Players from the Steelers are being offered regular yoga classes as part of their in-season training. As a skilled instructor who recognizes the benefits of a regular practice due to his own football injuries, Sean is able to encourage other football players to explore this new avenue of exercise.

Given the nature and goals of his football player students, Sean has specifically designed a program that is both therapeutic and athletic. The program he provides has been well received and supported by Garrett Giemont, the head strength and conditioning coach for the Steelers. “This is something that will always be used in my program,” Giemont says. “It helps the players with balance, pro-receptive strength and flexibility. It’s also a mind break.”

Although it may not be every player’s choice of exercise, Sean and Karen have seen an ongoing interest and growing participation in their yoga sessions. As Sean points out, “We live in such a driven, competitive world that yoga can be a nice complement to all athletic endeavors.”

If you found this blog interesting, you may be interested in reading about yoga for basketball players, or how golfers practice yoga to improve their game.

For a full article read on Sean and Karen’s Amazing Yoga, go to the Post Gazette.

Tags: yoga for athletes, football and yoga, Sean Conley, Amazing Yoga, Steelers do Yoga, yoga for healing injuries

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Now at the age of 45, he is a shopkeeper by trade and a popular and well-respected water yoga performer. Having spent many hours over the years practicing in the pond next to his shop, he has now mastered the art of performing complex yogic positions in the water. Adak credits his water yoga practice with giving him excellent health, explaining, “I have learnt this myself. I have taken this up due to health reasons. It was also an effort for survival amidst all that water.”

Adak is extremely popular with the residents of his village, who are inspired by his achievements in the water. He is pleased with his popularity as the “Water Yogi” and is now aiming to enter the Guinness Book of World Records.

To learn more about Adak and yoga in the water, read a News Track India article.

Tags: water yoga, floating in water, Gopal Chandra Adak, water yogi

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Yahweh Yoga is a yoga studio based in Arizona that encourages individuals of all faiths to practice yoga for their emotional and physical health. Founded by DeAnna Smothers and her daughter Courtney Kutta, the studio’s mission is to inspire “lifestyles that are naturally healthy, fresh and joyful”. The studio’s instructors bring with them a wealth of experience as Certified Christian Yoga Teachers (CCYT), Experienced Registered Yoga Teachers (E-RYT), and Registered Yoga Teachers (RYT) with Yoga Alliance®.

Yahweh Yoga’s popular in-studio classes include “Gentle Journey”, which is designed to de-stress and tone mind, body, and soul, “Faithful Flow”, which focuses on centering the mind and body, and “Stretch, Relax and Restore”, a soothing practice suited for individuals requiring emotional and physical restoration.

Due to the popularity of these workshops, Yahweh Yoga has developed a series of Christian-based yoga DVDs for home practice. These DVDs were created “especially for believers in Christ so they feel comfortable practicing to music and in a setting that makes them feel at home.”
In addition to the DVDs, Yahweh Yoga has recently published “Christian Yoga: Restoration for Body and Soul”, a beautifully illustrated guide that provides a Christ-centered yoga practice and is “perfect for those seeking to strengthen their understanding of Christian yoga and deepen their yoga practice”.

Individuals who have participated in the studio’s workshops and/or purchased their products express how inspiring it is to practice yoga through Christian based music, scriptures and prayers. Perhaps practitioner Carol Travilla explains it best, saying “A Yahweh Yoga class is like a mini soul retreat.”

Tags: yahweh yoga, Christian-based yoga, DeAnna Smothers, Courtney Kutta, Christ-centered yoga practice

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As my son continues to grow and become more mobile, however, I’ve noticed that he is not as willing to stay still while I massage him. These days, he just wants to play and crawl around on the bed. So the other night I decided to play along by doing some yoga poses with him. We started with Playful Pose, which required him to lie on his back with his legs in the air. I took advantage of him being in this position by massaging his diaper area, chest and arms – and then I quickly whipped on his diaper. We followed that pose with his favorite one, Downward Facing Dog. Well, at least I think it’s his favorite as it always makes him laugh and giggle. While he was in that position, I massaged his legs, back, and arms. Then, as I was stroking him from his back to his scalp, he just naturally went into a child pose – awesome!

When I’m massaging him, I use my concoction of Organic Almond oil, Jojoba Oil, and Essential Oils by Young Living Oils, called “Peace and Calming”. It’s gentle and soothing, and I adjust the quantities of the mixture according to the dryness of his skin.

Combining yoga with his nightly massage was a stroke of genius (even if I say so myself) – and a great way to interact with my son and enjoy our time together. Isn’t it wonderful to have the opportunity to explore new ways and ideas together as parent and child? I cherish these moments with my son and know that they will always be part of my most precious memories.

Tags: baby massages, yoga with a toddler, mommy and baby rituals, baby oils, mommy and baby yoga

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The conference, which is entitled Yoga for Health, will run from October 3rd to October 5th in Marin County, CA. Organizers have invited highly respected and renowned keynote speakers, including Joel Kramer, who is widely regarded as “the father of modern American yoga”, Yogacharya Dr. Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani, Chairman of the International Centre for Yoga Education and Research at the Ananda Ashram in South India, and Rama Joti Vernon, founder of the International Yoga College, the California Yoga Teachers’ Association and Unity in Yoga International.

This conference will offer panel sessions that explore the therapeutic benefits of yoga for physical ailments and mental well-being. These diverse sessions will range from “Yoga Practices to Energize the Chakras”, “Yoga and the Mind”, and “Therapeutic Yoga for People with Chronic Pain” to “Yoga for Grief Relief”. Participants will have the opportunity to participate in a morning yoga class, a panel discussion, and two workshops, which will be followed by a lunch and presentation by a keynote speaker.

All sessions will take place daily at the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel, with weekend packages available.

Tags: Yoga for Health, International Yoga Therapy Conference, therapeutic benefits of yoga, Joel Kramer, Dr. Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani, Rama Joti, Chakras

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Recognized by Yoga Journal as “one of the most influential yoga teachers in the country”, Dunn began learning yoga in 1974 from one of the pre-eminent yoga teachers, B.K.S. Iyengar. The practice of Iyengar yoga emphasizes strength, endurance, and alignment, and Dunn’s commitment and devotion to her practice enabled her to progress from student to teacher. She spent much of her time with the Iyengar Yoga Institute of New York and eventually became its Director. She went on to become a founding member of three other Iyengar Yoga Institutes in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York.

Dunn, who was born in Ann Arbor, never forgot her roots. She visited her hometown once a year for 25 years, holding Iynengar yoga workshops and classes at the Y. She was highly thought of in the community, and their perception of her was summed up by long-time resident Kay Huntzicker, “The word that best describes Mary Louise is grace. She embodies that word in many of its dimensions.”

There is no doubt that Mary Palmer Dunn will be missed by all those who were fortunate enough to have known her.
For more information on this inspirational and amazing woman, read an article from Ann Arbor News.

Tags: Mary Palmer Dunn, yoga master, influential yoga teacher, director of Iyengar Yoga Institutes

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And if you are an avid gardener who is looking for a way to relieve your sore knees or stressed back from all your outdoor activity, the DVD “Yoga for Gardeners” may be just what you’ve been waiting for.

Gail Dubinsky, an orthopedic physician, yoga teacher and passionate gardener, has collaborated with Maile Arnold, a well-known Sonoma County garden designer, to introduce this unique yoga experience.

Gail, who is a specialist in soft tissue neuro-orthopedic injuries and adaptive/theraputic yoga, explains that “Our focus is to help prevent injuries and promote healing, while enhancing self care and optimum health”.

The DVD demonstrates how to adapt common bends and reaches that gardeners do into yoga stretches. It also shows a series of modified yoga poses that helps to alleviate common ailments that gardeners experience, such as shoulder and lower back pain.

So for all you passionate gardeners who find yourselves unable to do as much gardening as you’d like to because of various ailments, check out the Yoga for Gardeners DVD.

Tags: yoga for gardeners, Gail Dubinsky, adaptive and theraputic yoga, yoga stretches

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However, seven years later he has emerged from prison a changed man. Now 31, M P Parthiban proclaims that “For me, prison was truly a place of reform. I am a new man now.” During his seven years in the Coimbatore central prison, he took advantage of programs that taught him how to channel his past behavior into positive results.

His efforts resulted in his being given a reduced sentence, thereby enabling him to leave prison early. Since his release, he has become “a yoga teacher, tailor, painter, photographer, a graduate in Tamil literature and a diploma holder in education technology”.

He expresses appreciation to the prison officials and government for his early release, saying, “My youth would have been wasted inside the prison if I had not been released now.”

Visit The Times India for more information on M P Parthiban and other reformed individuals.

Learn about prison programs that help inmates reduce stress.

Tags: prisoner to yoga teacher, M P Parthiban, becoming a better person, reform

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Andie explained that her ideal way of maintaining a healthy lifestyle is to practice yoga. “Yoga is a big part of my life. It is really good for your spirit and your bones. (Yoga keeps you) strong and flexible at the same time.” Andie’s advice to her children is to “stay true to yourself. When you are authentic, you create a certain energy…people want to be around you because you are unique.”

And when asked what her next venture would be, Andie replied, “I’m waiting to find out about the pilot (of a TV show she just finished filming). I’m planning on it working out. Or I’ll do more yoga and grow spiritually. One or the other; both…are just fine.

You can read the full interview with this serene and accomplished actress at Courant.

Tags: Andie MacDowell, yoga and flexibility, Andie MacDowell turns 50, yoga strength

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