ENCINITAS The Encinitas-based Sonima Foundation is expanding its school yoga program with a grant for The Monarch School in San Diego, which serves children affected by homelessness.

The one-year, $62,000 grant will provide yoga for the schools more than 300 students in grades kindergarten through 12. The grant will cover yoga instruction, equipment, and other health and wellness teachings for students and staff members.

The Sonima Foundation, formerly the Jois Foundation, is scheduled to present the grant, with yoga demonstrations, this morning at the school, south of downtown San Diego near Petco Park.

Monarch became aware of the grant through volunteers and community partners, Monarch Schools CEO Erin Spiewak said. Once Sonima board members learned about Monarch and its mission, they decided they wanted to build a relationship with the students and positively affect the community by adding a yoga curriculum to their lives, the foundations Lauren Spiegman said.

Last spring, The Monarch School opened a new campus thats five times the size of its previous home.

The move allowed us to pursue this opportunity because we now have the physical space to offer the program, Spiewak said. The yoga program will greatly enhance the social and emotional programming we offer our students, and support our ultimate goal of enhancing our students academic performance in the classroom.

The public Monarch School is a partnership with the San Diego County Office of Education, which operates the educational program, and the nonprofit Monarch School Project, which provides support such as after-school care and counseling.

The Sonima Foundation already funds yoga instruction in several Encinitas public schools, a program that sparked a lawsuit and garnered national attention. In July, a judge ruled in favor of the Encinitas Union School District, rejecting arguments that the practice imposed religion in public schools. Soon after the verdict, the Encinitas district accepted an additional $1.4 million grant from Sonima to expand yoga in its schools.

michelle.breier@utsandiego.com (760) 529-4957 @UTSDbreier

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Encinitas foundation extends yoga program to Monarch School

A recent study reports that weekly classes of yoga or intensive stretching are equally effective at reducing low back pain and improving back movement, and the benefits lasted several months after the classes ended.

Each year, Americans spend more than $50 billion on low back pain. It is the most common cause of job-related disability and a leading reason for missed work. Various treatments are available, but none have proved to be highly effective for chronic back pain.

Several small studies have found that yoga may ease back pain. Based on ancient Indian philosophy, yoga has been practiced for more than 2,000 years. It typically combines physical postures, breathing techniques and meditation or relaxation. Because it integrates both mind and body, some people suspect yoga might be more beneficial than other exercise techniques in improving back pain. However, no studies have conclusively shown that yoga has this advantage.

To investigate, a team of researchers launched a clinical trial that enrolled 228 adults. All had moderate low back pain that had lasted for at least three months. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups. Two groups received 12 weekly 75-minute classes of either yoga (92 participants) or stretching exercises led by a licensed physical therapist (91 participants). Those taking yoga or stretching were asked to practice at home each non-class day for at least 20 minutes. The remaining 45 volunteers received a self-care book that described the causes of back pain and suggested exercise and lifestyle changes to reduce pain. The study results were reported in the Oct. 24, 2011, advance online edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The researchers found that after three months, the outcomes for the yoga group were better than those in the self-care group and continued to be better even at six months. The effectiveness of stretching was similar to yoga at six weeks, three months and six months. Compared to the self-care group, more yoga and stretching participants reduced their medication use for back pain. Those taking yoga or stretching classes also had better back functioning and were significantly more likely to rate their back pain as better or completely gone at all follow-up times.

The similar effectiveness of the two exercise-based approaches suggests that the benefits of yoga for back pain may have less to do with the mental component than with the physical aspects of muscle stretching and strengthening.

These results suggest that both yoga and stretching can be good, safe options for people who are willing to try physical activity to relieve their moderate low back pain. It's important for classes to be taught by instructors who can tailor the difficulty and adjust stretches and postures to accommodate participants' physical limitations.

Source: National Institutes of Health.

Originally posted here:
Yoga, stretching eases low back pain

I don't do yoga.

There, I said it.

I've tried yoga. I admire yoga. My wife occasionally does yoga. I even like to include a few yoga movements in some of my clients' workouts. But for some reason, I never became a yogi.

I do admire the increased flexibility, the stress release and the amazing balance people get from doing yoga regularly.

Some of you are yoga fanatics and swear by its benefits.But some of you may be offended when I tell you that yoga, by itself, is largely ineffective at helping you lose fat.

In 2005 and 2007, two separate studies measured the metabolic rate of people taking a beginner yoga class and found a calorie burn of 2.3-3.2 calories per minute, about the same calorie burn as strolling through the mall at a very leisurely pace.

This would equate to 104-144 calories burned during a 45-minute yoga class. At this rate, to burn 1 pound (or 3,500 calories) of fat, you'd have to perform over 28 hours of yoga.

Now, what if you are more advanced and do a very challenging yoga class? Another study, completed in 2006, asked that question and measured the heart rate of participants performing a more vigorous yoga exercise called Ashtanga. Researchers compared Ashtanga to the same types of beginner yoga routines from the other studies and found a slight increase in calorie burn. Emphasis on the word slight. At this rate, it would require 24 hours of Ashtanga yoga to burn one pound of body fat.

Why choose to go into a dark, smelly (there have been several reports of mold in Bikram studios), ridiculously hot (105) room to exercise? You may feel more exhausted, have a higher heart rate and sweat far more than in regular yoga, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're doing your body good.

When any room is excessively heated, your heart rate may increase and you may sweat (i.e. sitting on a couch and watching TV in a hot room). But does that mean you're improving your body? When your body temperature rises, your heart has to work extra hard to pump blood to your extremities to cool you down.

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Harley Pasternak Blogs: 4 Modified Yoga Poses to Boost Strength and Flexibility

Wednesday, September 18, 2013 Last updated: Wednesday September 18, 2013, 2:18 PM

Photos: Yoga with toddlers in Edgewater

CARMINE GALASSO/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Eva Perez, 2, and her dad, Frank Perez of North Bergen, following Adra Lemos' yoga class in Edgewater.

During a recent fitness class taught by Adra Lemos, a group of kids ages 18 months to about 5 years pretended to go on a jungle adventure. Sitting on the grass of the Marina Park in Edgewater, Lemos stretched her arms and legs into a "V" and said, "I think there is a river in our jungle and we're going to get into our boat and row!"

Kids and their parents complied, rowing their own V-shaped bodies with their arms creating the position known as Paripurna Navasana, one of the core poses in yoga.

"In kids' yoga I always make up some poses, but then I throw out a lot of real ones too," said Lemos, who teaches classes through her company, We Play Yoga, in her home studio as well as libraries, parks and other locations in Bergen County.

Yoga classes for kids are everywhere, for ages from infant to teenager. Yoga practitioners say the classes help children be calm, centered, focused on their bodies, strong and flexible.

"I think it also helps build confidence, self-esteem and self-awareness," said Lemos, who has been teaching yoga for three years and practicing for eight.

Crystal Streets, who was taking the We Play Yoga class in Edgewater, said she has practiced yoga for 10 years so it made sense to include her daughter, Lyra, 5. Not long ago the little girl saw an older friend having a tantrum and advised, " 'You have to calm down. Take deep breaths, like yoga,' " recalled Streets with a laugh.

Excerpt from:
Kids yoga classes in North Jersey are finding new popularity