Lifestyle gurus are eyeing up New Zealand as the next emerging yoga market.

It's led one Kiwi couple to take on a big financial risk and introduce the country's first ever yoga festival, Wanderlust, which kicks off on Sunday at Western Springs in Auckland.

Wanderlust is the spiritual home of thousands of yoga fans. Every year they gather at the International Yoga Festival to practice, hike and cook, all while trying to find their "true north", or inner peace.

"Wanderlust Festival started in 2009 in northern California in the States, and it's grown very rapidly over the last seven years to include about 13 festivals," says director Jonnie Halstead.

And now it's coming to New Zealand for the first time.

Jonnie and Jacque Halstead have bought the franchise rights for here and Australia on an eight-year term.

"They already had their sights set on Australia and New Zealand, and were looking for partners down under," says Mr Halstead. "It was a little bit like, where have you been? Because they definitely have been watching Australia and New Zealand."

After organising classic Kiwi music festivals like Homegrown and Coromandel Gold, Mr Halstead says the idea didn't sit so well with him at first.

"I asked what it is and she said a yoga festival, and I instantly poo-pooed it, and thought "Yoga? That's my wife's business."

But New Zealand is starting to be seen as a yoga market with room to stretch. The most recent study on yoga participation levels in New Zealand is seven years old. It found 9 percent of adults had done yoga or Pilates in the previous year, but that number is thought to have increased since then.

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Yoga festival Wanderlust comes to Auckland

PHOENIX -- When the A's break camp on Wednesday, each player will be making room in his carry-on bag for a DVD.

It won't be a memento of the Cactus League. The DVD will be a baseball-specific program of yoga stretches put together by Phoenix-based yoga instructor Katherine Roberts.

"It's not your mom's yoga," said Roberts, who is in her third spring training leading the A's in yoga stretches.

It's not typical for baseball teams to go in heavily for yoga, Roberts said, although some players do it on their own. But a handful of teams have incorporated yoga into their pregame stretching program, and many of the A's players swear by it.

"Yoga is awesome," catcher Stephen Vogt said. "And the way Katherine helps us use it is great. As a catcher, I have to squat and get into all kinds of compromising positions during a game. With yoga, it's easier for me to get loose and to stay flexible. I tried it a little three years ago when I was with Tampa Bay, but after doing it here, it's something I do all the time."

Even manager Bob Melvin is a fan. He was an active participant last year, and "I would be out there now," he said, but for his ongoing back pain.

Reliever Sean Doolittle said the A's use of yoga the last few seasons was one of the things that made his move from hitter to pitcher go as flawlessly and quickly as it did.

"I love it all; it's all about getting to know your body," Doolittle said. "I probably don't need the DVD, though. Katherine's been with us for a few years now, and I know a lot of the exercises by heart."

Doolittle says he practices some form of yoga a couple days a week in the offseason and does some form of it most days during the baseball calendar.

That's not to say the A's have personal yoga mats and are styling yoga wear. That's not the way Roberts wants them to approach an exercise for which she is an advocate in over 30 countries through her company, Yoga For Golfers.

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Oakland A's incorporate yoga into their daily routine

Jess Lee

CALM BLOKES, FOR NOW: Paul Shadbolt, Gilbert Napier and John Richards are taking part in Grumpies Yoga, a yoga class just for men.

Grumpy guys are becoming mellow men thanks to a yoga class designed just for them.

Grey Lynn yoga teacher Tracy Adshead created Grumpies Yoga to help middle-aged men de-stress, build strength and prevent injuries.

Most men's testosterone levels naturally begin to drop after the age of 30, which can have a negative effect on their mood, Ms Adshead says.

"According to a UK survey, men over the age of 52 start becoming noticeably grumpy."

Yoga has become a great way to switch off for 49-year-old Paul Shadbolt.

"I find that the gym is a more active exercise, whereas doing yoga is passive, it's more relaxing," he says.

"It's a good counter if you've had a bad day at work. If you go to the gym you can still be on that same vibe but coming to yoga you forget about it."

The "grumpies" title is a good fit, he says.

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Yoga just for grumps

LITTLE ROCK, AR --There are over 200 different cancers. Colon cancer is the most treatable, if it's caught early.

The number of overall colon cancers have gone down but it seems to be rising in the younger populations.

Donna Terrell has a personal story to tell.

This is her daughter Queah.

She was diagnosed at 27-years-old with colon cancer and there was no familyhistory of it. She always made it a point to get the word out to other young people.

She wanted them to know that colon cancer is not only an older person's disease, it strikes younger people too.

She carried that message as long as she could but she passed away three years ago.

Donna is picking up where she left off.

The main question is: Why are so many younger people getting this disease?

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Donna Terrell's Motivation for Yoga Warriors