COLLINSVILLE On a hot summer afternoon, Mary Ellen Mullins rowed a paddle board upstream on the Farmington River.

After traveling several hundred yards to a calm spot on the river, she anchored the 11-foot board for a SUP Yoga session.

" 'What's SUP' is a popular thing to say around here," said Mullins, who explained the term SUP is short for stand-up paddling, in which participants stand up on a paddleboard, similar to a surfboard. She has added yoga to the equation.

The Canton woman has been teaching Hatha Yoga and Qi-Gong in the Farmington Valley for nearly 20 years, and over the last few years she's taught a number of paddle board classes with Collinsville Canoe & Kayak.

She said although the yoga poses are the same, the SUP Yoga experience can't be compared to traditional mat yoga. "There's something magical about doing yoga outside, on the water," she said.

After a warm-up, Mullins went through a series of poses on the board, from forward folding stretches and downward dog to the more complex pigeon pose. The river was fairly calm, but a slight wind presented a additional challenge to the workout.

"The biggest challenge is staying balanced on the board of course. The reward is Shavasana at the end being out in nature in the summertime," said Mullins, referring to a meditation period during which participants are allowed to rest as the river current carries them downstream.

Mullins said the unique workout is a great way to strengthen core and supporting muscles. "It's good for flexibility, it's good for balance, it's good for strengthening the muscles, it's good for your stress level, and being in nature, it helps you unwind."

She said after paddling out and getting comfortable on the board, the yoga sessions last about 45 minutes. The level of difficulty depends on the skill level of those participating.

In addition to SUP Yoga, Mullins teaches basic paddle board lessons as well as SUP Fitness classes. Classes run from $35 to $49.

Read this article:
Canton Instructor Takes Yoga To The River

HP's recent Pavilion x360 promises a full-featured fold-back hybrid design in an 11-inch ultraportable body, for about the same price as a basic budget laptop. Dell's Inspiron 3000 offers much the same thing. Lenovo, the company that made this design popular in the first place with its Yoga series, also sees the need to bring hybrids to budget shoppers, which explains the 11-inch Yoga 2 11.

Like the recent 13-inch Yoga 2, this version keeps the 360-degree fold-back hinge from previous-gen Yogas, but cuts some of the higher-end features, such as better-than-HD displays or ultra-thin designs. At the entry level prices we're looking at, the Yoga 2 11 is also powered by an Intel Pentium CPU, rather than a Core i-series, although those are available as well.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Speaking of prices, if you want to buy anything from Lenovo, you're usually better off buying one of the company's identical, or ever-so-slightly different, models made especially for Best Buy. Same machines, often with lower prices. In this case, a Yoga 2 11 with a Pentium CPU, 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive is $530 (450) from Lenovo (down to $490 for a Celeron CPU, available only in the US). In the US, from Best Buy, the same configuration is a very reasonable $450. (Similar models are not available in Australia, where the only Yoga 2 11 available costs AU$1,000.)

Upgraded, US-only models include a version with a Core i3 CPU for $579, and a Core i5 with a 128GB SSD for $699 -- reasonable, but not exactly bargains, considering the budget-feeling design.

Some configurations of the HP x360 cost less than the Lenovo, but the Yoga has a couple of distinct advantages which make it worth the extra money. It's thinner, lighter, feels a little more solidly built, and -- most importantly -- it has a decent 1,366x768 11.6-inch display. In contrast, the HP x360 has a simply awful display that looks much worse when comparing the two systems side-by-side.

The basic idea behind a fold-back hinge hybrid is the same across products from Dell, Lenovo, HP, and others. You can position the system as a traditional clamshell laptop, then bend the lid backward, past 180 degrees, stopping at a kiosk or table tent form in the middle, or else folding it all the way back into a tablet shape.

It's a concept we've supported since the original Lenovo Yoga model, and it's telling that both Microsoft and Best Buy used the Yoga extensively in Windows 8 launch ad campaigns to describe the utility of the Windows 8 tile menu and touchscreens.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Why this over pull-apart hybrids or ones with screens that swivel around on a central hinge? The fold-back hinge does the least to interfere with the traditional clamshell laptop design; and it's relatively inexpensive to engineer, according to our conversations with PC makers.

Continued here:
An entry-level Yoga that's flexible but affordable

Monroe --The Biedenharn Museum and Gardens will host three Saturday morning yoga sessions this summer on Saturday, July 19, Saturday, August 16 and Saturday, September 20 from 7:00 am -8:00 am.

Each session will have a different area Yoga instructor leading the one hour session. These classes should attract people that would like to experience the beauty and soothing effect provided within ELsong Garden prior to their regular Saturday morning yoga class at a local indoor facility. Biedenharn's location should appeal to area runners who can get a great morning stretch in the garden then head across the street for a run on the Ouachita River's Levee or in Monroe's beautiful Garden District. Class fee is $10 per session to be paid the day of class.

ELsong Garden is the perfect backdrop for yoga. The subtle fragrance of garden flowers carried by gentle breezes along with the sounds of birds and water are part of the calming influence participants will experience during yoga sessions within the Biedenharn's walled garden. The instructors are experienced YogaFit Certified yoga instructors. They welcome participants of all experience levels and will pay special attention to persons with little or no yoga experience.

The Summer Yoga schedule is- Saturday, July 19 - 7:00-8:00 - Dawn Etheredge, Instructor Saturday, August 16 - 7:00-8:00 - Stacie Austin, Instructor September, September 20 - 7:00-8:00 - Cynthia Johnson, Instructor

Participants need to bring a yoga mat and comfortable clothes. Participants who are new to yoga are asked to check with their physician as they should before beginning any new exercise routine. Restrooms are available but all other areas of the Museum will be closed until regular opening hours. Annual passes are not valid for these sessions. Classes will not be rescheduled in case of rain.

Read the original post:
Yoga In The Garden - Summer Series