Yoga News


9
May 11

Yoga works no matter what your size

Considering Dahn Yoga's well known willingness to accept practitioners of all ages and backgrounds, it is little wonder that the holistic mind-body program also opens its arms to people of any weight or health condition. Studies have shown that deep breathing, stretching and meditation can complement an effective weight loss regimen, which may be one reason that a unique yoga studio is offering classes solely for people who are large or overweight.

Michael Hayes, who operates the center Buddha Body, told Reuters Life! that he prefers to refer to his clientele as "plus-sized," since may of the studio's members are not technically carrying around excess body fat.

"There are heavy people who are fit and not necessarily fat," he told the news organization. "We have body builders who can't stretch because they're muscularly tight."

Hayes noted that many typical yoga styles do not accommodate people of larger size, adding that though flexibility and better health are big goals in his studio, many members find themselves shedding weight.

Dahn Yoga's soothing, accepting classes can help enthusiasts of all sizes lose weight and gain peace of mind.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that two-thirds of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese.


4
May 11

Yoga may soothe children with autism

Dahn Yoga benefits people from all walks of life, which may be one reason that thousands of Americans report experiencing improvements in their mental and physical health. Likewise, even for those who cannot fully express their appreciation, like children with autism spectrum disorders, may still benefit from yoga immensely.

Recently, KPTV Portland posted a video of an instructor using yoga to help an autistic boy manage his excess energy, which otherwise might be expelled in outbursts or tantrums. The woman, Jenny Ellringer, runs a yoga studio that caters to children as well as adults.

The source said that Ellringer has been working with the boy for more than half a year now. She told the news channel that the holistic mind-body regimen has worked wonders for the child.

"In yoga, there's a huge emphasis on breath and doing breath work, [on] learning how to calm and organize your central nervous system through breath," Ellringer said.

She added that deep breathing techniques and color-coded posture cards have helped the boy learn to maintain his physical energy in a more positive manner.


19
Apr 11

Job openings on the rise

A recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicated that there were more than 3 million job listings at the end of February.

The BLS’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for the month of February was released on Wednesday, April 13, and indicated that there were 3.1 million job openings listed on the last business day of the year’s second month.

These numbers represented an increase of 2.3 percent over the previous month, meaning that there are more opportunities for people who have been out of work. The number of job openings at the end of January was 2.7 million.

Stress management is essential when coping with unemployment as not having a job can lead to many problems not only financially but personally. Activities such as yoga can help one find his or her center and put perspective on their situation.

According to the BLS, the job opening numbers are trending upward since they bottomed out in June 2009 but they remain well below the numbers from December 2007, when the recession began.


18
Mar 11

Tai chi makes interconnectedness personal, growth possible

More than one Dahn Yoga book has explored the benefits of tai chi, an ancient, so-called "soft" martial art that harnesses the body's energy in the pursuit of mental and spiritual peace. Those who utilize tai chi may discover that their capacity for intellectual and personal development has expanded beyond their expectations.

Tai chi was first practiced in Asia thousands of years ago as a complement to martial arts. Unlike, say, judo or karate, tai chi was not meant to harden the body or prepare it for physical skirmishes.

Instead, the pursuit was created to help realign the body and mind by focusing inward on one's natural energy and purposefulness.

Today, many forms of the exercise exist, such as Qigong, which may be considered a close relative of tai chi, the Baltimore Sun reports. However, these techniques have long since shed any martial trappings they might once have had.

Dahn Yoga tai chi involves slow, gentle movements of the body, accompanied by serene reflection on one's connection to all things. Taking even a few minutes to practice tai chi puts a practitioner in a position of physical and mental repose.


23
Feb 11

Meditating, using yoga may help ease chronic pain

Popping in a Dahn Yoga DVD and spending an hour or two exploring oneself can be a delightful way to experience a little personal growth, not to mention a method for turning down the volume of the everyday pains of adult life. Underlying metaphysical pains, though, can be plain old persistent physical pain, and a new research review suggests that practicing yoga may ease chronic body aches.

A group of medical professionals from Duke University recently published a meta-study of 13 previous investigations into yoga's effect on persistent pain. Their results, which were published in the aptly titled journal Pain, showed that most of the studies detected a yoga-related reduction in pain, fatigue, insomnia, anxiety or depression.

The team concluded that the ancient art of practicing yoga for pain management is showing more and more promise as a modern tool for relaxing and assuages body aches of all kinds.

Likewise, enrolling in a yoga class or using a Dahn Yoga DVD may help individuals undergo some much-needed personal growth or mental and spiritual cultivation.