This summer more than 20 million Americans are getting ready for a little downward dog. What started out as 5,000 year old spiritual practice has now grown to an international sensation.

Just like Starbucks, studios are popping up on every corner and the obsession has no signs of slowing down any time soon. Business owners across America are hot for yoga. From designer clothing lines LuluLemon and Sweaty Betty to dozens of luxury retreats, stretching from California to New York, this year yoga is estimated to become a $30 billion business worldwide.

Exercise enthusiasts swear by the practice. In an interview on ABC's "Real Biz with Rebecca Jarvis" Kay Kay Clivio, lead trainer at Pure Yoga, says the benefits are endless. "Yoga helps you manage stress in your daily life, breath better and increases focus on the job."

But for someone not familiar with yoga, the practice can be a little misleading. While Kay Kay Clivio was in studio, ABC asked her to clear up the myths surrounding this practice and give working moms five yoga moves to do in five minutes.

The Truth about Yoga 7 Myths Debunked

1. Yoga is a religion

False. "Yoga is a practice of unifying the mind and the body. It is a practice of Self-Study and developing a relationship with the most important person in your life YOURSELF:) Yoga is a science- not a religion."

2. Yoga is easy

"If you think that yoga is easy then you are doing it all wrong. Even a basic yoga class should be challenging if you are approaching the class correctly. There are many different styles of yoga. Some are more mellow than others from a vinyasa yoga or ashtanga class, where you are moving more vigorously. Find a level that is right for you.

3. You have to be flexible to do yoga

Go here to see the original:
5 Yoga Moves in 5 Minutes for Working Moms

By Emily J. Minor

There comes a time in middle age when you have to pull up your big-girl yoga pants, and my time arrived on a Tuesday morning in late April.

Downward-facing dog? Me? Talk about serious potential for disaster.

Sometimes I cant get out of my beach chair.

So the first thing I did was look around, in total and utter judgment, which is really no way to get all zen for the newspapers monthly Mindful Living series.

But I had to know.

Which one of these broads was gonna have to pull me up off the floor, back into upward-standing kind-of breathing?

Turns out it was just little ol me.

When youre a regular soul, that is a sometimes well-adjusted 57-year-old woman who likes swimming, happy hour and binge watching the Showtime series Masters of Sex, sitting still and silent amid the super-cute yogis can be pretty intimidating.

Even beyond that me in my white Hanes T-shirt and them in their light and flowy Lululemon gear there were some practical matters at hand. Ive never been able to touch my toes. Ever. Sitting cross-legged was apparently some sort of youthful indiscretion. I have Type 1 diabetes and wear an insulin pump 24-7, so Im constantly checking my blood sugar.

See the article here:
Yoga for the ultimate beginner: Can Emily stand up after Downward Dog?

June 8, 2014

By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS

Photos and video by MARIO IGNACIO IV and MARIO I. ESPINOSA

THE amazing thing about yoga is that you are empowering yourself without being conscious that that is what you are doing.

Yoga instructor Jasper Colina, who just opened OM Yoga Studio in Paraaque (he also teaches yoga at Fitness First), shares the experience of a female student who had fear of crossing the street. After several yoga sessions, she experienced changes within herself. She became confident with every pose she was able to accomplish and later on mustered enough courage to cross the street by herself.

Colina said most people initially go into yoga for physical fitness. In the process, however, they undergo not only physical change but also inner transformation which usually leads to a change in lifestyleone that is gentler and more meaningful.

One of Colinas students, Virginia Carag, attests to that.

A retired bank executive, Carag said she once ballooned to 280 pounds and was miserable. She was then taking care of her sick husband and kain ako ng kain (I kept eating).

One day, after her husbands death, she was cleaning her room and saw her old photos when she was Miss PNB (Philippine National Bank). She felt depressed and cried.

Link:
The empowering effect of yoga

By Alan Mozes HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, June 5, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Life with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias can be difficult for the affected individual and his or her caregiver.

But a small British study suggests that a "holistic" program involving yoga, meditation and other interventions can ease the burden for both.

"This is an activity that caregivers and patients can do together," said study lead author Yvonne J-Lyn Khoo, a researcher with the Health and Social Care Institute at Teesside University in Middlesbrough, U.K. "Because everyone is doing the program together, caregivers have peace of mind to at least allow themselves to 'let go' and do some exercise."

One expert in the United States said programs like this are sorely needed.

"Caregivers for people with dementia are under so much stress," said Catherine Roe, an assistant professor of neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "They often neglect themselves and have no time do things like exercise or mediate. So this is one way that might be possible," she said.

The study, which received assistance from the U.K. Alzheimer's Society, was published recently in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies.

The program, called "Happy Antics," involved eight patients with dementia, five of their caregivers, and two research volunteers. Participants ranged between 52 and 86 years of age when the study launched in 2013, and over the course of six weeks 70 percent of the group completed all six 45-minute sessions.

Sessions included some combination of group discussion, stretching, bending, breathing exercises, tai chi, yoga, meditation, qigong and dance. Movement was accompanied by music and was described as "nonstrenuous," and usually occurred while seated, Khoo explained.

"The general impression is that people with dementia don't exercise, won't exercise or can't exercise," Khoo said. "But our findings show that it may not necessarily be that way."

Continued here:
Yoga, Meditation May Help Dementia Patients and Caregivers Alike

(HealthDay News) -- Although yoga is believed to boost physical and mental health, it does not seem to help ease symptoms of asthma, a new study finds.

Even so, experts from the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) noted that if it makes people with asthma feel better they should continue to practice it.

"Many asthma sufferers look to complementary therapies, such as yoga, to help relieve their symptoms," Dr. Michael Foggs, an allergist and ACAAI president, explained in a news release from the organization. "If yoga helps them to feel better and breathe better, patients should by all means practice it. At the same time, we don't advise that yoga be recommended to asthma sufferers as a treatment."

The researchers analyzed 14 previous studies involving 824 adults from North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, to find out if yoga could help treat symptoms of asthma and improve the lung function and quality of life for people with the respiratory condition.

"We reviewed the available data to see if it made a difference and found only weak evidence that it does," study author Holger Cramer, director of yoga research at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany, said in the news release. "Yoga can't be considered a routine intervention [treatment] for patients with asthma at this time. But it can be considered an alternative to breathing exercises for asthma patients interested in complementary interventions."

Experts point out that prevention strategies are key to managing asthma. People with the condition should work with their allergist to identify their asthma triggers and avoid them. Possible asthma triggers include allergens, respiratory infections and cold temperatures.

For those with unpredictable asthma that flares up at least twice a week, there are medications that can be taken long-term to keep the condition under control. Allergic asthma can also be treated with allergy shots if the allergens can't be avoided.

The findings were published in the June issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

More information

The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute provides more information on asthma.

View post:
Yoga may not help ease asthma