As lead womens educator at Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns in San Diego, Tina Bird sees plenty of health benefits among the new moms who take part in the hospitals Baby and Me yoga classes.

She said many new parents have lots of anxiety and stress, but practicing yoga on a regular basis helps relax the mind and body. Some people may find it improves sleep, and the relaxation it offers can release stress and allow weight loss to happen naturally.

During class, parents are being given the skills to help them reduce anxiety, resulting in relaxation, said Bird. Calmer parents often result in babies that cry less.

But its not just moms of little ones who can reap yogas health benefits. Yoga can be done at any age, and it boosts the body in many good ways.

Bird said yoga postures and exercises focus on all parts of the body. The result is improved muscle tone and increased flexibility with little impact on the joints.

According to Yoga Journal, taking joints through their full range of motion can play a part in preventing degenerative arthritis or help prevent disability by squeezing and soaking areas of cartilage that may not always get used.

Karen Sothers, who teaches mindfulness-based yoga and meditation at Scripps Center of Integrated Medicine, said one of the focuses of yoga is balancing the body where its weak. For instance, she said, if someone has tight hamstrings, it can contribute to back pain. She said yogas bends and twists can strengthen areas that are weak and lead to less pain.

She said yoga also focuses on teaching balance, which can be helpful for those who are older by preventing fewer falls that could result in bone breaks or fractures.

In addition, she said, yoga improves blood circulation, which can decrease the workload on the heart.

Yoga Journal also reports that those who regularly get their heart rates into the aerobic range can lessen the risk of heart attack and can relieve depression. While not every yoga class will take the heart to that range, it can happen if the class is vigorous.

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Yoga offers health benefits for all ages

Twelve-year-old certified yoga instructor Jaysea DeVoe teaches her yoga class at the Bergamot Spa in Encinitas, California March 18, 2014. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)

Twelve-year-old yoga instructor Jaysea DeVoe does schoolwork at her home in Leucadia, California March 28, 2014. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)

Twelve-year-old certified yoga instructor Jaysea DeVoe teaches her yoga class at the Bergamot Spa in Encinitas, California March 11, 2014. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)

Twelve-year-old certified yoga instructor Jaysea DeVoe (R) does the mermaid pose with her friend Miely as they float on their paddle boards after the sun sets in Encinitas, California March 19, 2014. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)

Jaysea DeVoe is a yoga instructor who has the challenging job of teaching fidgety preschoolers the ancient practice, but once her charges get going, she says, "they really start to focus and listen."

DeVoe knows a thing or two about childhood and focus, for she is only 12 years old and just recently became a certified yoga instructor after completing 200 hours of teacher training. She is believed to be the youngest certified female yoga instructor in the United States.

In addition to her pint-size students aged 4 to 6, DeVoe teaches teens and fellow tweens in her California beach town of Encinitas and is about to start a family yoga class. Oh, and she just told her dad she wants to look into making eco-friendly yoga mats.

"I feel like I want to do this for a long time because I love teaching so much," says DeVoe, the picture of a California beach girl, with long blond hair and long legs to match.

But Jaysea is not alone in her entrepreneurial zeal. Her twin brother is a sponsored competitive surfer and works at a surfboard fin manufacturing company. Her 15-year-old brother is a "professional water man," a spear fisherman, rod and reel angler and surfer who also teaches and has sponsors.

Encinitas, 25 miles north of San Diego, happens to sit at the junction of laid-back beach life, high-octane sports and entrepreneurial gumption. Skateboarder-turned-businessman Tony Hawk and Olympic gold snow boarder Shaun White are both based in Encinitas.

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Youngest yoga teacher in US

For months, Howard County officials have been urging residents in the Darrough Chapel subdivision to hook up to the neighborhoods new municipal wastewater system.

Many of the 120 homeowners have complied, but the three who havent are now facing a court order from the Howard County Board of Commissioners.

The order requires that residents discontinue use of any septic tanks, immediately connect to the wastewater system at their own expense and pay any costs associated with hooking up to the system. The defendants listed on the court order are Erin K. Caddell, Larry J. Newton and Napolean and Norma A. Garcia.

Howard County Attorney Larry Murrell said he plans to mail one more letter to each of the residences to inform them that legal action is being taken to make sure they cooperate in connecting to the system as soon as possible. He expects that court orders will be received by the residents on either Thursday or Friday.

Over the past year, there have been substantial efforts [ to get everyone hooked up], Murrell said. Everybody has been hooked up, except for three [residences].

The project, which was paid for by a $600,000 redevelopment block grant, installed gravity feed sewers in the subdivision east of Kokomo that had been plagued by failing septic systems on both sides of Markland Avenue.

In March of 2011, the city of Kokomo and Howard County entered into a memorandum of understanding to provide sanitary sewer service to the Darrough Chapel community. Under the terms of the MOU, the county agreed to obtain the $600,000 grant to construct a sewer collection system, while the city agreed to extend its sewer interceptor and allow connection to the newly-constructed collection system.

The county has since completed the project and has facilitated the hook-ups by providing financial assistance to homeowners. It provided a licensed contractor while offering a special financing plan to pay hook-up expenses over a five-year period.

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Howard Co. seeks court order to force Darrough Chapel sewer connections