Arm balances in yoga are considered more yang (pronounced: yon) in nature, they are active poses that require your attention, focus and muscular energy. Yin poses, on the contrary, are more inward and stretch tissues and muscles. In Yin poses we focus on receiving, stretching and breathing. A mix of Yin and Yang are necessary for a body to be in balance. Both types of poses should encompass a complete practice.

Yoga for Strength

Arm balances both build and require core strength, which creates a bit of a chicken and egg scenario. Which comes first? The pose or the building of the strength required for the pose? Consider this: muscles have memory. Each time a new pose is practised, the body remembers and adapts to be able to do the pose. Which means, each time it is practised, a bit of improvement is realized. Once enough strength is built up, the pose is achieved.

Tips for arm balance success:

• Have patience with yourself
• Set a goal to achieve one new pose at a time
• Practice the desired pose often
• Find different ways to get into the pose (one may be easier than another)
• Study someone demonstrating the pose

Children’s yoga classes have grown immensely – with new yoga lovers born daily. Many parents turn their children to yoga as a way to help them relax, and counter stress from piles of homework, competition activities, and packed schedules. Yoga postures along with specific breathing techniques are designed to stimulate specific areas of the body and the brain resulting in a release of tension.

The result for many is a powerful feeling of relaxation, inner strength and the ability to quiet one’s mind in order to be fully present in the movement. Children practice sitting still and engaging in the quiet art of controlling their bodies. This results in most children emerging calmly from their classes. Yoga is especially helpful for calming overstimulated kids.

Aside from decreasing stress, yoga is also helpful in building strong muscles and increasing flexibility. There are several styles of yoga including hatha yoga which focuses on merging energy from the left (ha) side of the body with the right (tha) side of the body in the centre of the spine. Iyangar yoga focuses on moving one’s body into alignment. Much attention is given to aligning the postures correctly and props such as straps, blocks, and …

Let’s think about it. You carry the memories of your life and you have the ability to think about what may come in the future. You can plan. You can reminisce. You can replay events and ponder what you should have said. You can imagine new and innovative ideas. All these are thoughts, electro-chemical lightning in the brain. The ability to think is an important part of being human.

When one plays music, it involves an action that is happening right now, in the present. When one practices yoga, the same is true. In fact, life itself is only happening right now. You may memorise a piece of music. You may memorize a set of yoga poses to follow in your practice. When you play or practice, these memories guide you, but the playing is not a memory, and the pose is not a memory. These things are actions that exist in real-time now. Your breath flows in and out of your lungs right now. The music is heard right now. The body stretches right now. The experience of hearing and feeling is right now and you are immersed in it.

As discussed in Music Yoga #1, your breath is …

Coming to a class near you very soon, could be the face exercises developed by yoga teacher Annelise Hagen. A seasoned yoga teacher based in New York, she wrote the book The Yoga Face: Eliminate Wrinkles with the Ultimate Natural Facelift published by Avery/Penguin. She shows the reader how to perform a series of facial exercises to improve appearance and the philosophy behind this new anti-aging secret.

Hagen says that by working out the muscles on the face as we do our bodies, it will prevent them from sagging and getting flabby. With the idea in mind that yoga practice rejuvenates the body, Hagen began incorporating relaxation of the face while doing poses during her classes. That‘s when she began seeing a change in the tone of her and her student’s faces. As a result, she started developing a program specifically for anti-aging purposes that involved yoga, and face work. Her program teaches that by training the muscles on the face, a person can regain lift and suppleness that was once lost.

These exercises are a great alternative for people having or considering invasive procedures. Also, it’s worth a try for consumers who spend so much money on anti-aging products. …

Finding a yoga studio can be a challenge whether at home or abroad, especially if you are looking for yoga studio that has the fitness interests and health considerations of pregnant women as a priority. Whether you are vacationing in Hawaii and looking for a quick down-dog fix, or residing there and hoping to start a prenatal practice, here are some suggestions for the beginner or advanced mother-to-be.

Purple Yoga Hawaii

Purple Yoga Hawaii is dedicated to meeting the needs and expectation of students. They take a progressive stance on teaching, which focuses on improving the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of students over the long-term. They are especially mindful of each student’s needs and abilities, which creates a friendly and supportive environment for seeking prenatal yoga. Their prenatal classes focus on breathing technique that can be used any time and might be particularly helpful during labor. The postures (asanas) selected for their prenatal classes work to safely strengthen your arms and legs, as well and stretch and lengthen the spine and abdomen, making room for your growing baby. They also offer mom and baby classes, so the practice doesn’t stop with delivery!

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One of North America’s first brushes with yoga occurred when the Hindu Swami Vivekananda delivered his landmark address at the World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago, 1893. The monk and philosopher’s introduction of eastern thought, especially the Vedantic philosophy and its practice in “yoga,” opened up eastern spiritual traditions to legitimacy and respect in the west.

Over one hundred years afterwards, North America’s latest yoga landmark came as Vancouver-based yoga retailer lululemon announced on May 1, 2007 that it was seeking $200 million in a bid to go public and double the number of its stores, which currently include 52 ultra-trendy locations across Canada, the U.S. and Japan.

Seemingly evolving from fringe philosophy to ubiquitous mainstream frivolity – yoga poses now appear on cereal boxes – yoga’s genesis in North American culture has not been entirely Zen (not that yoga should be confused with Zen philosophy). Defined alternatively as a science, religion, physical therapy, psychological therapy, cult, philosophy, way of life and more, yoga’s alleged benefits (and detriments) have been haggled over by a variety of practitioners. The argument is often over the “true” nature of yoga, which has become as nebulous and changeable a concept as the definition of …

The warm fresh sea breeze, open space, the sound of water and seagulls and the white sand make outside yoga on the beach in sunny Florida an ideal practice.

Sunny Florida, a peninsula surrounded by water, can be ideal for practising yoga not only outdoors, but also on the beach. The climate mimics how yoga was performed originally outside in the hot outdoors. Enjoy a safer form of hot (or warm) yoga with cool ocean or bay breezes to remove sweat naturally during practice.

Advantages of Yoga on Beaches

Rarely are crowds or sandflies a real issue but the advantages of beach yoga negate any minor inconveniences. The advantages are many:

• Fresh air smells better than any candle-scented indoor space.
• Classes are open to all levels.
• Cost is usually less than classrooms since the space isn’t rented or owned or managed otherwise.
• Music is natural, literally new wave music of the great outdoors including bird and wildlife sounds and lapping water.
• Teachers are usually certified and dedicated.
• Sunsets and sun salutations are truly saluting the sun.
• The sand serves to plant the feet on the earth.
• Muscle work and balance are part of life and the irregular surface of

Dallas students are getting fit thanks to school and after school yoga programs. Find out where area kids can build strength and get their Om on.

Adults in the Dallas-Fort Worth area have access to a vibrant and continuously expanding yoga community. Recently, the enthusiasm for the mind-body practice has spread to the younger generation through an increasing number of yoga programs available for children.

Growth of Kids Yoga in Dallas

According to Ginger Newberg, 200-Hour (HR) Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), the demand for kids’ yoga is growing at studios, gyms and in less traditional locations, such as schools and museums. Says Newberg, “Yoga is now being offered in schools and camps across the city.” Newberg credits much of the growth in children’s yoga programs to Taylor Yoss, owner of Yogees: Yoga 4 Kids. Yoss, a 200HR RYT, is one of the pioneers of yoga for kids ages 4-8 in the Dallas Metroplex. She travels to schools, studios and homes teaching her fun but disciplined style of yoga to children. She believes one reason its appeal has spread is that more people recognize that yoga is something that can help everyone especially over-scheduled, stressed-out young people. “Yoga is about the …

Schoolchildren call it “criss-cross applesauce”. Sukhasana is the simple seated position frequently used at the beginning of class to center.

This pose is comfortable, grounding, centering, and easy enough for most people to be able to draw their attention inward. It can be modified to be made more comfortable for those unable to sit comfortably on the floor.

In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra 2:46 – translations of the ancient Sanskrit include “the posture of yoga should be gentle and easy”, “firm and without strain”, or “steady and pleasant”. Many yogis apply this to every asana used in Hatha Yoga, while others contend that this statement is referring only to the meditative posture assumed for hours or days at a time.

Regardless of Patanjali’s original meaning, it is absolutely without question that Sukhasana is meant to be easy!

Benefits of Sukhasana

Comfortable Sukhasana reminds us how to relax. Taking advantage of the intrinsic equilibrium of the spinal cord, Easy Pose forms the solid foundation necessary for a present and meditative mind.

How to practice Sukhasana

• Find a comfortable seated position on your mat, with your legs crossed however you like
• Reach around with your hands, and pull the skin out from

Practiced by people for more than 5,000 years, yoga helps improve flexibility, muscle tone, blood flow, and oxygen distribution throughout the body. The meditative elements that are included help increase mind and body awareness. As the practice continues to gain global momentum, more and more people are finding innovative ways to include yoga in all elements of their lives, including their relationships with animals.

Linda Guanti, a yoga enthusiast and horse owner in British Columbia, Canada, has found a way to combine her love for yoga and horses through the unique practice of yoga with horses.

“Yoga with horses gives you a way to connect with your horse if you can’t ride,” she says.

Yoga Provides Pain Relief, Improves Flexibility and Athleticism

Linda found traditional yoga several years ago when she was searching for relief from a back injury she suffered following a fall from a horse in her early teens.

“I’d been through years of physiotherapy and painkillers and was still suffering, so I tried including yoga and the benefits were amazing. I had less pain and more flexibility, and as a result, my riding began to improve,” she says.

As Linda’s riding abilities began to improve, …