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Nutrition expert uses yoga to relax outdoors

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Eating well, exercising and getting outdoors are three effective methods of improving one's health and well-being, and Charlotte Watts does them all at once when she takes her breathing exercises outside. According to the UK Telegraph, the nutritionist, writer and mother uses yoga and meditation to relax after a long day of work.

Watts wrote the book 100 Foods to Stay Young, and in addition to being an author and a guest on numerous television programs, she teaches yoga in her spare time.

She told the newspaper that even 15 minutes of yoga – which, in truth, is all she has time for in her off-hours – helps her unwind and empty her head of the day's whirl of thoughts.

What makes the routine especially relaxing is that Watts chooses to do it in nature. She even gave advice on a simple pose that can increase energy flow.

"Sometimes, I am so tired I simply lie down with my legs up the wall. This pose is incredibly relaxing, and feels like every limb is falling into the floor – you can feel the tension melting away," she told the news source.

A study published in the journal Leisure Studies has confirmed that doing yoga outdoors can increase feelings of connection to and appreciation for nature.

Filed under Yoga News
May 26, 2011

Yoga improves body image, mindfulness among college-age women

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The effect that yoga has on certain aspects of personal development can hardly be overstated. Besides being a healthy way to engage in low-impact exercise while reconnecting the mind and body, this holistic regimen has been shown to have a wealth of positive psychological effects, including the improvement of one's own self-image, according to recent research.

A dissertation written by Washington State University psychological counselor and PhD candidate Sara Elysia Clancy stated that college-age women who take yoga reported experiencing improvements in bodily satisfaction and reductions in self-objectification.

It is a testament to the power of yoga that such a dynamic exercise system, combining deep breathing with gentle stretches, can help women overcome being saturated by media images of thin models.

The National Institute on Media and the Family reports that by age 17, 78 percent of U.S. girls are unhappy with their bodies.

However, yoga may help. Clancy found that after three months of daily yoga, female college students were happier with their self-image and reported lower body dissatisfaction scores.

The researcher added that in her investigation, she noticed that women experienced the greatest gains in the areas of acceptance, mind-body connection, physical compassion, awareness, physical functioning and mindfulness.

Filed under Yoga News
May 24, 2011

LeBron James says yoga boosts his endurance on the court

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Taking yoga classes can do more than speed the journey to relaxation and tranquility. It can also increase vigor and vitality, which is something that LeBron James revealed when he admitted that yoga is a part of his off-season training regimen.

The basketball star, who recently joined the Miami Heat, said that he is able to stay in the game for so long due primarily to an exercise routine that includes yoga, swimming and pilates, according to the city's newspaper, the Herald.

James is second only to the Chicago Bulls' Luol Deng in average minutes spent on the court during the NBA playoffs. Currently, "King James" spends 43.4 minutes on-court, the news source said.

Yoga has helped him build stamina. Individuals who use stretches, deep breathing, tai chi, meditation and other holistic mind-body routines often report that their inner energy has been amplified, even as they find themselves more at ease than ever before.

“Does it work for everybody? I don’t know,” James told the newspaper. “I’m not a guru about how to be in the best condition – don’t let me sit here and tell you that. But it works for me.”

Filed under Yoga News
May 23, 2011

Tampa Bay Rays’ third baseman does yoga for charity

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Talk about having a little life balance. Tampa Bay Rays' third baseman and two-time Golden Glove winner Evan Longoria recently started practice with a headstand. He told the St. Petersburg Times that this is his favorite yoga position, one that he shared with a dozen other people as part of a charity event to raise money for the Moffitt Cancer Center.

Longoria has been practicing yoga for the past three years, during which time he was named the American League's Rookie of the Year and was picked for three consecutive All-Star games.

Though he had not ever organized such a charity event before, he remarked to MLB.com that he would consider making it a monthly event.

"I had never really heard of somebody doing yoga for charity, so that was kind of what I put my finger on," he told the news source.

In the meantime, his personal yoga regimen remains unchanged, not to mention his favorite yoga posture.

"Doing the upside-down stuff is the most fun for me," he told the Times.

While standing on one's head isn't the only method for holistically redirecting energy to the mind, it's certainly one of the more straightforward ways.

Filed under Yoga News
May 19, 2011

Yoga may complement traditional medical therapies

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While physicians rarely recommend that ill individuals pursue alternative courses of treatment for serious diseases, an increasing number of doctors are suggesting that patients seek out yoga and meditation as a complementary therapy, one that adds to pharmacological remedies rather than taking their place.

For instance, several studies have shown that engaging in a holistic mind-body practice can improve pain management in those overcoming cancer or other severe conditions.

Clinical psychologist Joseph Nowinski wrote on the website of the Huffington Post that at least 10 randomly conducted trials have indicated that yoga may improve aches, mood and quality of live for cancer patients, primarily women who have been hospitalized for breast tumors.

Likewise, he stated that anecdotal evidence suggests that tai chi can help elderly Americans become more physically active and less emotionally distressed.

Also, the rate at which physicians are suggesting complementary treatments like yoga and meditation is on the rise. A recent study published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine determined that among adults who engage in mind-body therapies, 3 percent report doing so at the suggestion of their doctor.

Filed under Yoga News
May 16, 2011

Yoga festival comes to beach town

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In a way, it is appropriate that a large yoga event will be held in Virginia Beach, a town that already knows so much about relaxation and stress reduction. A three-day yoga festival will be held in the city's Oceanfront Hotel, according to the news site Hampton Roads.

One yoga instructor told the website that after years of not understanding what the big deal was, all the benefits of practicing yoga finally fell into place in her mind.

Kate Patterson, who teaches yoga in Hawaii, said that what finally won her over was the self healing power of the regimen, of which humans have been making use for thousands of years. Specifically, Patterson took up the soothing, holistic mind-body system after a medical condition left her unable to go jogging.

"I realized that it was such a very healing method. It changed my life," she told the source. Now, she is hosting the festival, hoping to change the lives of others. "The problem, according to yoga, is that we're disconnected, and the solution, according to yoga, is to reconnect."

For those who practice Dahn Yoga, reestablishing the link between mind and body is the number one priority.

Filed under Yoga News
May 5, 2011

Yoga program improves paralyzed teen’s speech

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When it comes to overcoming the aches and tension associated with nerve damage, Dahn Yoga DVDs offer a number of exercises that target the neurological side effects of certain conditions. The power of yoga to coalesce and redistribute the body's energy is exemplified by the case of a Calgary teen who recently regained the ability to speak after suffering from paralysis.

As reported by the Toronto Sun, 16-year-old Micaela, a quadriplegic patient at the Alberta Children's Hospital (ACH), used deep breathing techniques and a regimen known as "laughing yoga" to reinvigorate her lungs and voicebox following a severe case of meningitis and encephalitis.

The teen suffered from these conditions due to a rare, inherited liver disorder. She was unable to verbally communicate in any way, beginning at age 13, the newspaper stated.

However, with the help of two physical therapists from the ACH and regular yoga exercises, Micaela's parents told the news source that their daughter is speaking and laughing out loud for the first time.

Individuals who engage in Dahn Yoga have reported improvements in chronic pain and joint aches caused by diseases like multiple sclerosis and arthritis. 

Filed under Yoga News
May 2, 2011

Yoga may supplement psychological treatment for eating disorders

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Dahn Yoga benefits people of all ages, backgrounds and body types, which may be why so many satisfied members have written testimonials expressing their jubilation at having found the regimen in the first place. Besides being an appropriate exercise for people in a frail condition, yoga may augment psychological therapy for individuals with serious mental conditions.

Yoga has been found to accommodate the physical needs of patients in relatively weak conditions. A study published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine recently determined that low-impact yoga exercises may help elderly individuals with chronic heart failure stay active.

Now, research appearing in the journal Eating Disorders suggests that the holistic discipline may be an appropriate supplement to rehabilitation programs for anorexia nervosa, bulimia and binge eating disorder.

Laura Douglass, the author and an interdisciplinary studies student at Massachusetts' Lesley University, is careful to note that on its own, yoga is not a thorough treatment for people with these conditions. Instead, it may be a constructive part of an integrated mental and physical healing program, she states.

Douglass notes that yoga may come at the problem of body image by way of sociological, neurological and spiritual inroads.

In addition to making an individual more aware of his or her own physique, Dahn Yoga mindfulness meditation can emphasize the importance of maintaining a strong, accepting connection between mind and body.

Filed under Yoga News
Apr 29, 2011

Charlestonians practice yoga, flash-mob style

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Individuals who practice Dahn Yoga brain wave vibration – which is a form of moving meditation – know that the urge to practice yoga can occur anywhere, since it can be done effortlessly out in the open. To wit, a flash mob of 100 people recently performed yoga in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, according to WCBD TV, an NBC affiliate.

Skip Rector, a yoga instructor at the College of Charleston, told the news station that the idea occurred to him in 2010, when he visualized hundreds of students doing the "sun salute" pose together.

After conferring with some of his students, Rector decided that they could all do a little yoga in public as part of a flash mob, which is a group of individuals who suddenly perform an unexpected activity in the middle of a crowded area before quickly dispersing.

"The students in my classes were extremely enthusiastic when I mentioned it and we just went from there," he told the news source. "During the mob, seeing so many people doing yoga was empowering – students coming together in unison to do something that is good for them individually and also to show observers that anyone can do yoga."

Filed under Yoga News
Apr 26, 2011

Yoga in the military? Sir, yes, sir!

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Dahn Yoga exercises are low-impact, comfortable, quiescent ways to ease out of life's daily tension. In that regard, yoga has little or no place in the military, right? Wrong, say a number of wounded veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces, who recently told NPR that yoga has helped them heal.

The Warrior Transition Union in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, has developed what it calls "enhanced physical training," a regimen for injured soldiers that involves yoga, stretching and meditation.

One veteran, wounded Specialist Michael Stefan, told the news source that for him, yoga instruction strikes a balance between physical activity and mental repose. This equilibrium has helped him begin to overcome the damages of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

"Seeing soldiers get killed, and working on them and the memories and flashbacks that go along with that, this is the outcome," he said to the news channel. "But now I'm at my point in life where I'm transitioning out of the Army…so now I need to better take care of myself."

Studies have shown that mild yoga and meditation can help those with PTSD ease their psychological symptoms and reduce the physical feelings of panic.

Even for civilians who have never left their hometowns, the meditative pursuits of Dahn Yoga can soothe away anxieties of all kinds.

Filed under Yoga News
Apr 21, 2011

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Though it was founded in the 1980s, Dahn Yoga's basic precepts and techniques are directly descended from methods practiced five millennia ago in East Asia. These precepts include the importance of the mind's partnership with the body, as well as the need for a balanced bond between the two.

Today, thousands of Americans practice Dahn Yoga everyday, many of whom are delightedly trying it for the first time. Taking a little time out of one's day to stretch, breathe, pose and meditate with a gentle smile on one's face can radically change one's mood and outlook.

This blog offers responses to news items that prominently feature Dahn Yoga and its neighborhood centers.

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