Twenty percent of all those who undergo surgery for lower back pain will get no relief. The remaining 80 percent will have problems ranging from mild to severe. All will have trouble with spinal flexion. Yoga does not offer cures. It simply promises that if you faithfully practice these asanas Read more…
Many computer users around the world face the problem of back pain. Having your back against the wall usually means you’re in trouble. But for certain yoga positions, having your back firmly against a wall will aid health. In Hatha Yoga, the practitioner forms what Swami Gitananda calls body geometry–triangles, Read more…
Stand straight against the wall and stretch the feet about three to four feet apart. Inhale and raise arms up to shoulder level, palms down. Point right foot to the right and slightly turn in left foot. Bend right knee to form a right angle, with thigh parallel to the Read more…
Stand with your back against the wall. Place your feet two or three feet apart. Keeping feet firmly on the floor, and weight balanced on heels and toes, stretch your body up, pressing shoulders back and allowing arms to hang at your sides (Fig. 1). Inhale. Exhale and slowly bend Read more…
When Trace Bonner launched Holy Cow in West Ashley’s South Windermere Shopping Center last summer, she didn’t know what to expect. Now she’s teaching 16 classes a week and adding another instructor. And while she credits the center’s success in part to its cute cow logo and convenient location, there’s Read more…
There are actually several branches of yoga, including bhakti, the yoga of devotion, and jnana, the yoga of knowledge. The most widely practiced branch in the US, the one typically offered at gyms and exercise studios, is hatha yoga, which is physical yoga. But there also are different styles of Read more…
Yoga, which means discipline, was developed in the year 300 by an Indian Hindu named Patanjali. Its purpose is to stretch the muscles, strengthen the body and increase concentration. It can also help you relax, if you have trouble doing that. No wonder this ancient discipline has become popular among Read more…
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 Read more…
After a surge of interest during the consciousness-conscious ’60s, yoga began to fall out of favor. Exercisers apparently lost patience with the activity, which offers slow but steady results, and turned to the fast pace and quick shape-up of aerobics. Now yoga is back-less mystical than in the past, less Read more…
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 Read more…
It is incredible what yoga does for skiing. People can ski all day long and much better. Conditioning before hitting the slopes can increase the safety and enjoyment of the sport. Most ski injuries occur early in the day when muscles are tight and enthusiasm is high, and late in Read more…
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 Read more…