Is it any surprise models are wrapping their wrists in mala beads, fashion designers are heading off to India for yoga retreats and there’s a new line of active wear that takes its name from the Sanskrit mantra om. To the uninitiated, yoga is pretzel-like poses and a dim memory of the Beatles visiting the…
For Gail Stuart, who is finishing a beginner’s series, yoga is an antidote to the stress of her job at the Medical University of South Carolina, where she works with psychiatric research. You just walk through the whole process, and you feel yourself slipping away. It’s a different workout, she says, a welcome alternative to…
The best place to start is with a class, where a teacher can show you how to adapt poses using props and help you learn proper technique for the postures. The good news is that yoga classes have never been more widely available. You’ll find them at small studios, health clubs and gyms. The hard…
At one time it seemed that yoga was little more than a dated hippie fad, rather like the lava lamp. But now this ancient health system is back in vogue. Celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna, and Julia Roberts and Sting are not shy about advocating the mental and physical benefits of the discipline. It…
The size of the waist is an indication of overall fitness for many people. Most health experts agree that a smaller waist is healthier than a big one. The reasoning behind this is that increases in fat around the waist usually result in increased health risks such as diabetes, high cholesterol and blood pressure. In…
In a corporate environment one of the things that makes a critical difference for employees is a relaxed congenial environment. The headquarters of Google is one of the most productive places in the world and every idea that comes out of the Google thinking tank seems to be another winner, yet this is achieved in…
Yoga used to be the kind of thing someone’s eccentric aunt did – a woman with a braid wrapped around her head who entertained the children by putting her foot behind her neck. I tried screening three different videos on a day when my neck and shoulder muscles were tighter than last year’s jeans. I…
There are a great many people who are in the unfortunate position of having to live with painful aches and pains caused by severely damaged or inflamed joints. For some people it is a discomfort, and that is bad enough, but for others arthritis can turn them into a virtual cripples. Arthritis has been something…
In today’s society carrying excess weight is becoming the norm rather than the exception. Lifestyles are increasingly sedentary, peoples diet is becoming increasingly processed and fatty and food contains more and more calories, additives and preservatives. Children prefer television over playing with their friends, which is perhaps a direct reflection on parents who prefer television…
Yoga is different things to different people, so what it means to you will depend greatly on how you were introduced to it and how you enjoyed your initial experiences with it. For some people Yoga is simply a method of exercising that ensures they have a healthy supple body. For other people Yoga transcends…