Practicing yoga for at least three hours a week for three months reduced the fatigue and inflammation in breast cancer survivors, compared with survivors who did no yoga, researchers reported.

And the more yoga, the greater the change.

At six months three months after the formal yoga had ended fatigue was 57 percent lower in the women who had done yoga, compared with those who had not. Inflammation, measured by blood tests, was reduced by up to 20 percent, said the researchers, from the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center.

We also think the results could easily generalize to other groups of people who have issues with fatigue and inflammation, Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, the lead researcher and a psychiatry and psychology professor at Ohio State, said in a statement.

Two hundred breast cancer survivors were divided into two groups: one that took two 90-minute Hatha yoga classes a week, and one that did no yoga. The yoga practitioners also were encouraged to do additional yoga at home, and did so an average of almost 25 minutes a day. The women were yoga novices.

The researchers noted that yoga can be tailored to various abilities the women in the study were ages 27 to 76 and has been shown to help with mood and sleep among cancer survivors.

The study did not include aerobic exercise, and the participants did not lose weight.

And that, Kiecolt-Glaser said by telephone, led to a surprise. Other research had shown that inflammation a mechanism for loss of function and disability was unlikely to be reduced without weight loss. But she said there could be several reasons why her subjects had reduced inflammation without losing weight, including that yoga helps sleep and stress, which are associated with inflammation.

The women practiced Hatha yoga, a restorative form that was recommended by an expert in Columbus, Ohio, Kiecolt-Glaser said.

Breast cancer treatment can be exhausting, and that can lead to less activity, which in turn can lead to a decreased capacity for activity in what Kiecolt-Glaser called a downward spiral.

See more here:
Yoga beneficial to cancer survivors

There will be free classes all day in several types of yoga and meditation, plus an acro-yoga show thatll demonstrate a dynamic way to loosen up a too-tight back.

And, speaking of being too-tight and the aches and pains that go with them, relief will be in sight here, with free holistic treatments all day, including Thai massage, acupuncture, Shiatsu Shin Tai, Qi Healing and Reiki.

And: a free organic lunch will be provided.

Its a perfect opportunity to try out yoga and treat yourself to a holistic healing mini-session, said Carolyn Cohen, owner and director of Jaya Healing Arts & Yoga Studio, which will host the open house this Saturday (Feb. 1) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Jaya studio is on the second floor of 21 Bridge St. in Lambertville.

Ms. Cohen and a partner will do the acro-yoga demonstration.

The flier is held aloft, at the base of his or her spine, on the feet of a partner who is lying on a mat with his or her legs held perpendicular to the floor.

The feet are at the base of the fliers spine, Ms. Cohen said. By being loose in this position, the flier can release compression in their spine. Acro-yoga can also help the lower back of the base thats the partner whos holding the flier aloft.

Kundalini yoga is one of the other types of yoga that will be taught Saturday.

Kundalini is focused on internal cleansing, Ms. Cohen said. It focuses on the endocrine and lymph systems. Its less physical than other types of yoga.

Other classes will be in alignment vinyasa, warm vinyasa, yoga nidra and qi gong.

View original post here:
LAMBERTVILLE: Yoga studio has remedy for winter aches and pains

Sacramento, CA (PRWEB) February 18, 2014

Whether the visitor is new to Yoga or simply new to the Sivananda practice, begin a Yoga journey in the ideal setting of the Yoga Retreat. Through immersion into the basics of yoga and extensive guided practice and theory studies, students will build your yoga practice on a solid foundation that will be sure to give a stable and joyous practice to last a lifetime. For more information please visit http://sivanandabahamas.org/course.php?course_id=3957

Mandatory Book: Yoga Mind & Body, Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center (available at the Ashrams boutique from December June, online and at the Sivananda Centers' stores worldwide.)

This course draws on ancient yogic wisdom for establishing inner and outer health and peace, and incorporate the 5 points of yoga as shared by Swami Vishnudevananda. These are:

Proper Exercise (Asanas) - Yoga poses help develop a strong, healthy body by enhancing flexibility and improving circulation. Proper Breathing (Pranayama) - Deep, conscious breathing reduces stress and many diseases. Proper Relaxation - Helps keep the body from going into overload, easing worry and fatigue. Proper Diet - Eating simple, healthy and vegetarian foods that are easy to digest notably have a positive effect on the mind and body, as well as the environment and other living beings. Positive Thinking and Meditation

Located across the bay from Nassau, on one of the finest beaches in the world, the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat is an island paradise with a tropical garden, crystal clear water and pure white sands - a true sanctuary of peace and natural beauty. Recognized among world Yoga Retreats, the ashram offers year-round programs presented by world renowned speakers, as well as certification courses on various yoga related topics through which you can expand your knowledge, gain a new skill and get certified while enjoying a joyous yoga practice and blissful relaxation. The Yoga retreat center also offers year-round Yoga teacher training programs, Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy Courses, Yoga for beginners, Yoga vacations and many other courses.

For more information, please visit http://www.sivanandabahamas.org.

See the original post here:
Yoga for Beginners Course Offered in Caribbean Sivananda Yoga Retreat in the Bahamas

Hot yoga classes are soaring in popularity. A number of celebrities, including Lady Gaga and Madonna, swear by hot yoga. So do legions of yoga practitioners. But many of the hot yoga classes require heat of at least 105F and humidity around 40 percent. Is exercising in extreme heat and humidity healthful? Consumer Reports medical experts have a caution.

Though there is little specific research on hot yoga, we do know that exercising in extreme heat can cause a number of uncomfortable and even dangerous symptoms. It can lead to heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Warning signs include feeling lightheaded or dizzy, or experiencing nausea or muscle cramps. If you suffer more serious symptoms either during or after class, such as unusual weakness, fever, vomiting, or confusion, Consumer Reports advises going to the nearest emergency room.

Bikram hot yoga practitioners say the high temperature and humidity promote health. Studio owner Rich Pike says he hasnt had complaints of heat exhaustion and touts the benefits. He says, Heat allows you to bend safely and be more flexible. What the sweating does is it eliminates toxins through your sweat.

Consumer Reports says that though the heat may help you stretch further, it can also cause you to overstretch, leading to possible joint or muscle damage.

Consumer Reports advice: Whatever exercise you do, stop if you feel pain or heat exhaustion. Be sure always to drink plenty of water. And with any type of yoga, Consumer Reports says there are steps you can take to avoid picking up viruses or bacteria. Bring your own mat and towels. Cover any cuts or scrapes with an adhesive bandage, and use alcohol wipes to wipe down any surfaces, such as mats or blocks.

Read this article:
Dont Waste Your Money: Hazards of Hot Yoga

Guardian photo by Saul Bromberger and Sandra Hoover

GOLDIES In 1979, Sara Shelton Mann the farm girl from the wilds of Tennessee who ended up studying with such greats as Alwin Nikolais, Erick Hawkins, and Merce Cunningham moved to San Francisco. Earthquake country. And did she ever shake up the place. With Contraband, the collective of performers she directed until 1996, she reconfigured what the dancing body can be. Their aim, she has said, was to "make bold live theater with an aggressive, lyric physicality."

But why San Francisco? "I was lonely in those cold winters in Nova Scotia," she recalls; she'd been working there with a support of a Canadian arts support program. So she jumped at the chance when Mangrove (the all-male troupe that grew into Mixed Bag Productions) invited her to join it. It was here where she translated concepts like "improv-based," "collaborative," "interdisciplinary," and "dance theater" into vital, raucous, and highly effective performances that inspired a whole generation of artists to wander into unknown territory. The Bay Area would not be as welcoming and supportive of experimentation in dance were it not for the ongoing presence of Sara Shelton Mann.

With Contraband, she staged pieces in theaters, warehouses, the pit of a former apartment building, an abandoned public housing project, under bridges, and on the streets, both in this country and abroad. The troupe described itself as wanting to "manifest joyous creation reclaiming the flight of the imagination, laughter, love, truth, and evolutionary impulse."

The works were irresistible because of the daring, the force, and the integrity of the processes that made them possible. "We believed that art could change the world," Shelton Mann says. At the height of the AIDS crisis, Evol turned the concept of love inside out.Religarehonored the people who died or became homeless after the 1975 arson fire that gutted the Mission District's Gartland Apartments.Oraclewas a painful examination of the burdens of the past. TheMira CyclesandMonk at the Metdug deep into spirituality, both individual and communal.

"I had only one rule," she explains. "Everybody does personal inquiry, everybody does contact, everybody sings, everybody dances, everybody writes, everybody makes images, everybody works outdoors."

This process encouraged individual voices to emerge, allowing members of the group to go on to substantial careers of their own. Besides designers and musicians, there were, among others, Rinde Eckert; Jess Curtis ("Contraband was an amazing laboratory of group process and collaboration, always with Sara at the center," he says); Keith Hennessey ("Working with Sara revealed me to myself, and revealed me to the worlds around me"); Nina Haft ("I like to think my work is better for having been part of that wild soup of training in the '80s. Sara still amazes me with what she does"); and Kim Epifano ("We learned from each other as we created with Sara's thrust of topic and mastery of metaphor. It was a place where gender did not define the physicality but a common ground of athletic love").

Indeed, in addition to her formidable reach as an artist, Shelton Mann's role as a teacher has been immense. The latest wave of artists to find Shelton Mann and the rare degree of mutual inspiration she offers includes many of the most persuasive dance makers in the Bay Area.

"When you've trained with Sara, and you've worked with Sara, your idea of dance really explodes," says Jesse Hewit. "You identify what your dance is in your body." Hewit explains the difference as distinct from a focus on mere technical perfection. "The dancing is crazy virtuosic," he notes, "but not virtuosic in the high-kick, pointed-toe sense; virtuosic in that it's infused with an intense energetic focus."

View original post here:
Goldies 2014 Lifetime Achievement: Sara Shelton Mann