Yoga More Popular Than Ever
Reported August 31, 2008
Who knew terms like downward facing dog, flowering lotus, and half camel would ever be phrases of popular culture without a chorus of snickers being heard throughout a studio, classroom, or lecture hall? Unless you’ve been hiding in a box since the Millennium started, you know what yoga is. The spiritual-based exercise trend has been popular since celebrities started showing up on the red carpet looking extremely lean and giving their props to their personal trainer, their handpicked menu, and the low-resistance, high-meditation strategy that is yoga.
You know that old saying, “You don’t know who you are until you know where you came from?” Well, Hollywood didn’t invent yoga; India did thousands of years ago as part of the ancient system of Ayurveda. Yoga, now more than ever, is popular among kids, young adults, and men and women alike.
However within the popularity of this trend, when it comes to spiritual enlightenment, some wonder if holding poses, using your core, and/or sweating out impurities are still yielding the best results that they can. More and more kids are being taught yoga in the classroom to help free up their stress levels and improve concentration inside and outside of the classroom for a better balanced mind and body. Even vacationing has an outlet for providing one of a kind workout options for kids these days. Princess Cruises just announced its kid’s yoga program onboard their ships. Launching this fall, children as young as three can take part in the free classes aimed at promoting movement and parents are encouraged to join in the thirty-to-sixty minute classes.
From kids to the elderly, and everyone in between, yoga has also seen a recent boost from menopausal women. Doctors in India took a group of 120 menopausal women between the ages of 40 and 55 and broke them into two groups: one group practiced yoga five days a week for eight weeks and the control group focused on controlling their diet and exercise regimens. The yoga group also was educated on the properties of yoga, as well as how to manage stress through posing, stretching and breathing. The control group was lectured on diet, stress management, exercise and the process of menopause. The Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana of Bangalore, India’s team of doctors including Dr. R. Chattha, noticed after eight weeks a significant change in the yoga group. The women in the yoga group overall had reductions in night sweats, problems sleeping, and hot flashes-usual symptoms of menopause-whereas the control group did not notice these changes.
If you’ve never tried yoga, the good news is that you still can. Yoga centers are popping up everywhere from Hollywood Boulevard to Hollywood, Florida, and flexibility is not an issue. With many different types of yoga, beginners can start small and work their way up to the peace of mind they want. Coincidentally, this September is also the first annual Yoga Month. Approved as a National Health Observance (NHO), Yoga Month is a year round, community-based sponsorship program used to promote health and wellness. During September, the Yoga Month tour throughout the United States and Canada will help to bring yoga awareness to others through support groups, teacher networking devices, and forums to promote new ideas and products that coincide with a yoga-centric lifestyle.
Whether you’re a cancer patient, survivor, health nut, or just looking to gain a healthier perspective, join in the fun, get stretching and remember that it’s alright to snicker when someone asks you to do a half camel.