Once the domain of New Agers and suburban moms, yoga has become firmly planted in Baltimore’s inner city, and now researchers believe the ancient practice may help elementary school students cope with the stress of growing up in impoverished, violent neighborhoods.

Researchers and lay people alike think yoga may help adults reduce stress. The popularity of the practice has surged, and it’s used as therapy for cancer patients and battered women, and as a treatment for back pain and depression.

But even as schools get in on the trend, the effect of the practice on children has …

If you’ve already experienced yoga or you’re thinking about trying it, Himalayan Yoga and Meditation Center in downtown Palatine could help you find the peace and balance so many busy Moms seek.

“Our focus is on meditation; it will help with stilling and quieting your mind so you can begin to discover more about yourself,” said Diane McDonald, director.

During meditation, instructors encourage students to keep their spines straight, which not only promotes good posture but also proper breathing technique.

McDonald said classes can give Moms the tools to meditate at home…

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so even the busiest calendars can be accommodated.

“Meditation has really helped me to focus; as Moms we do so …

Yoga, the ancient practice of breathing, movement and meditation, is thriving in Montreal. In fact, there are so many types of yoga now on offer that you can choose a practice entirely based on your sensibilities, such as bikram if you like it hot, ashtanga if you like it more physical, kundalini if you’re interested in breathing alignment, or kripalu, which adds meditation.

As more people, young and old, take up yoga for good health, suppleness and sometimes for enlightenment, they often discover that they want more than a yoga class a few times a week.

They look for a favourite spot at home where they can complete the …

No one denies that Hinduism’s most sacred and ancient texts, including the Bhagvad Gita, describe different kinds of yogic practices. But what does this ancient and sacred tradition of yoga have to do with what people all around the world do in yoga classes in gyms and fitness centres today?

To most Indians, such questions are nothing less than sacrilegious. Yoga is for them what apple pie and motherhood are for Americans: a living symbol of their way of life.

Indians tend to affirm their claims on yoga by trotting out the familiar icons of the ‘5,000-year-old Vedic tradition,’ which supposedly stretches from the Pashupati seal of the (actually very unVedic) Indus Valley …

Kimberley Soranno, a 39-year-old Brooklynite undergoing an in vitro fertilization cycle as part of her quest to become pregnant, had gone to her share of yoga classes, but never one like that held on a recent Tuesday night in a reception area of the New York University Fertility Center. There were no deep twists or headstands; just easy “restorative” poses as the teacher, Tracy Toon Spencer, guided the participants — most of them women struggling to conceive — to let go of their worries.

“Verbally, she brings you to a relaxation place in your mind,” Mrs. Soranno said, adding, “It’s great to do the poses, get energy out and feel …

From Tuesday, Feb. 8th to Saturday, Feb. 12th, 2011, YogaHub will be hosting its second annual Virtual World Yoga Conference. This year’s theme, “Yoga, Meditation, and the Philosopher’s Stone” is dedicated to cultivating inner practice through a variety of workshop topics focusing on yoga, health, and happiness.

Bodhipaksa will be leading a workshop on Transforming Hurt and Anger Through Self-Compassion, which will explore how we can using compassion and mindfulness to prevent angry outbursts and even resentment from taking root in our mind.

The conference is audio-based, and participation is by phone or by listening to streaming audio on the internet. Participants can ask questions and have discussions …

From Tuesday, Feb. 8th to Saturday, Feb. 12th, 2011, YogaHub will be hosting its second annual Virtual World Yoga Conference. This year’s theme, “Yoga, Meditation, and the Philosopher’s Stone” is dedicated to improving an individual’s inner practice through a variety of workshop topics focusing on yoga, health, and happiness.

“The response to our first Virtual World Yoga Conference on yoga, health and happiness, held last year, was far more than we had hoped for”, says YogaHub founder Christina Souza-Ma. “We had participants from over 30 different countries throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Since our intent is to establish a global community, this year’s goal is to have …

Five days. Sixty teachers. 75 workshops. All available online!

This is the conference where you don’t have to leave home, spend hours in a cramped plane, or pay for a hotel room.

Bodhipaksa will be teaching a workshop on this exceptionally rich and innovative online conference that runs from Feb. 8–12. His course is called “Transforming Hurt and Anger Through Self-Compassion,” and it’s about a powerful method for catching anger before it has a chance to get going, and for compassionately healing the hurt that leads to angry outbursts.

But there are many more teachers presenting on …

While it may be difficult to get the little ones sit still, Ryoko Donald is teaching students at Kitchener Elementary yoga and meditation.

“I just love helping children. They’re amazing,” Donald said. “It’s such a pleasure to work with the little kids.”

Every Wednesday, Donald holds a drop-in yoga session at Kitchener where her two children attend school.

Usually about 30 to 40 students show up for the half-hour sessions in the gym. Donald said the meditation part can be difficult with kids.

“They smile, they laugh, they try to talk, but I think we just have to keep it short,” she said.

The sessions help the students strengthen their muscles while calming their …

Yoga seems to have been “reincarnated” in America and some other parts of the world.

Various organizations are promoting “Christian Yoga”, claiming to provide a Christian approach to yoga. There are DVDs like “Christoga: Yoga Filled Body – Christ Filled Soul” (60 minutes of Yoga with bible scriptures recited by Janine. Yoga with Christ as the meditation focus!). There is a “Christian Yoga Magazine”. There are books like “Yoga for Christians: A Christ-Centered Approach to Physical and Spiritual Health through Yoga”,” Holy Yoga: Exercise for the Christian Body and Soul”, etc.

Welcoming the widespread interest in yoga, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, …