Boston Yoga — No comments
20
Jan 12

People who are curious about Boston yoga classes don’t have to fear injury

People who are curious about Boston yoga classes don't have to fear injury.

People who are curious about Boston yoga classes don't have to fear injury.

The yoga world has a major bee in its bonnet after an article from the New York Times covered a wide range of injuries connected to the practice of the mind-body regimen. Practitioners believe the story was unfair because it did not point out that injuries can be easily avoided if people know what they are doing. So if you're interested in Boston yoga classes, don't let these horror stories deter you.

Here are some tips for ensuring that your yoga experience is safe, fulfilling and productive, compiled by The Boston Globe.

1. Find your level. "The only thing you need to do as a beginner is act like a beginner," said instructor Justine Wiltshire, as quoted by the news source. "You are not meant to know everything – in fact, you'll always be a student. The joy is in the journey."

2. Find the right teacher. Things you may want to pay attention to are a teacher's sense of humor, style and use of language. You should generally look for someone who is knowledgeable and caring.

3. Listen to your body. This will be especially important in injury prevention.

4. Find a style of yoga that works for you. If you're looking for something that emphasizes calm and serenity, you may want to look into Dahn Yoga centers.

When done correctly, yoga can have a wide range of health benefits. These may include better stress management and improvements in body composition.

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Balance Life — No comments
16
Jan 12

Yoga can teach stressed-out Americans how to live a balanced life

Yoga can teach stressed-out Americans how to live a balanced life.

Yoga can teach stressed-out Americans how to live a balanced life.

What do raising a family, dating and the economy have in common? These are all potential sources of stress! However, a recent survey conducted by the American Psychological Association (APA) has found that between 2007 and 2011, the average stress level of the nation has gone down from 6.2 to 5.2 (on a 10-point scale), as reported in USA Today. But it's not because there are fewer things to stress us out – people may simply be learning how to live a balanced life!

"We like to think what's happening is better management," said Norman Anderson of the APA, as quoted by the news source. "Part of the good news from the study is that a majority of people recognize stress as a problem and something that needs to be attended to. I'm not sure that would have been the case a generation or two ago."

The most effective stress management techniques include yoga, jogging and other exercises, according to the news source. Physical activity not only distracts people from stress – it also undoes some of the negative health effects of this mental force.

People who are interested in this mind-body regimen should check out their local Dahn Yoga Centers. According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, yoga can also improve one's blood chemistry and physical strength.

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Dahn Yoga Community News — No comments
04
Jan 12

Women learn balanced life skills from yoga

Women learn balanced life skills from yoga.

Women learn balanced life skills from yoga.

One of the unspoken tenets of polite society suggests that you "hold it together": whatever problems you have bugging you, you deal with it in your own time without bothering others unnecessarily. But even the strongest among us knows what it's like to feel as if you can't hold it together any longer. So what can you do? Turn to yoga, which can teach balanced life skills.

"It's liberating," said practitioner Jen Stier, as quoted by West Hartford News. "Yoga allows people to shed layers and drop the facade that they usually walk around with every day."

Stier explained that before taking up yoga, she had been coping with an abnormal bodily response to stress. Other women from her class believe that the mind-body regimen has helped them deal with the emotions of other trials, ranging from eating disorders to job losses.

Instructor Barbara Ruzansky told the news source that the sense of community fostered by the class may be an asset to students.

Women who are interested in finding such a community could start looking at Dahn Yoga centers. They would certainly be in good company. According to a survey conducted by the Yoga Journal in 2008, more than 72 percent of yoga practitioners were female.

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Boston Yoga — No comments
28
Dec 11

Yoga helped some Bostonians remember how to balance life on Christmas day

Yoga helped some Bostonians remember how to balance life on Christmas day.

Yoga helped some Bostonians remember how to balance life on Christmas day.

The hustle and bustle of the holidays are enough to drive anyone out of their mind: insane shopping malls, harsh winter weather, family gatherings with relatives and so on. However, some Bostonians turned to yoga in order to remember how to balance life on Christmas day.

"The holidays, even though they're wonderful, they can be stressful," said Arlington resident Maureen Dolan, as quoted by The Boston Globe. "It's almost like yoga is more necessary at this time of year."

Dolan went on to tell the news source that Boston yoga classes helped relieve some of the tightness she was feeling in her neck, shoulders and, yes, her mood.

Elsewhere around Boston, other people were also opting to spend Christmas day partaking of more intimate activities. Some decided to go to church or avoid larger parties in favor of food and drink shared with a single companion.

More than 13 million Americans were reaping both the mental and physical benefits of yoga as of 2007, according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a division of the National Institutes of Health. These positive changes may include better stress management, blood pressure, lung capacity, body composition, flexibility and physical strength.

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Balance Life — 1 comment
19
Dec 11

Yoga teaches ‘Vampire Diaries’ star a balanced lifestyle

Yoga teaches "Vampire Diaries" star a balanced lifestyle.

Yoga teaches "Vampire Diaries" star a balanced lifestyle.

Life is hard enough when you're a teenage girl and you have to deal with school and living with parents who just don't understand you. Try being "The Vampire Diaries" heroine Elena Gilbert, who also has the added pressure of being torn between the two loves of her life – both vampires. Perhaps if Elena took up yoga like her real life counterpart, Nina Dobrev, she could learn to lead a more balanced lifestyle.

Like any television actor, Dobrev has to maintain a certain level of physical fitness for the cameras, which she accomplishes with the help of yoga. However, she refuses to take her fitness to extremes, and allows herself the luxury of indulging her sweet tooth on occasion.

"It's all about balance," Dobrev told Us Weekly. "I love to indulge and eat yummy things, but then I go to yoga and exercise."

In addition to yoga, Dobrev helps herself stay fit with her favorite line of health shakes.

The benefits of a Massachusetts yoga class are not just physical, according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a division of the National Institutes of Health. This mind-body regiment can also improve one's mood, sense of well-being and ability to handle stress.

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Dahn Yoga Boston — No comments
13
Dec 11

Dahn Yoga Boston Helping With Food Drive

The Dahn Yoga team and Dahn Yoga community will be teaming up this Christmas with the Greater Boston Food Bank to help deliver food to those in need. Dahn Yoga & Health Centers, has been helping individuals balance their bodies and minds for years. Now it is working to ensure more people enjoy a happy and healthy holiday season.

Individuals immersed in Dahn Yoga classes, as well as visitors in general, should feel free to donate food at all Dahn Yoga corporate, franchise and affiliate locations.

Practitioners and all the residents of the Boston area are also invited to take part in a special holiday offering – anyone who donates non-perishable food items will be given a discount toward the purchase of classes and memberships. To learn more about this exciting event, visit DahnYoga.com.

 

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Boston Yoga — No comments
09
Dec 11

Yoga teaches med school students how to balance life

Yoga teaches med school students how to balance life.

Yoga teaches med school students how to balance life.

It is common knowledge that medical school students are under a lot of pressure: loads of studying, difficult professors, tuition and so on. However, doctors at Boston University are using yoga to teach students not only how to balance life, but also how to impart this knowledge to their future patients.

The course "targets the unique challenges and stressors medical students face as well as offers a fairly advanced level of intellectual content appropriate for the medical students," said instructor Robert Saper, as quoted in BU Today.

One component of the class reviews the scientific literature on the physiological benefits they can reap from yoga, such as improvements in anxiety symptoms and a balance of breath and heartbeat, the news source said.

In addition to helping students relax and teaching them some of the science behind yoga, the course is also part of a research study on the effects of this mind-body exercise on the mental health of med school students. Previous studies showed that 25 percent of this population will become depressed at some point in their education, according to BU Today.

People who are interested in taking a Boston yoga class are not alone, nor are those who hope to teach one. One yoga industry organization estimated that as of 2005, there were about 70,000 certified yoga instructors around the nation, as reported by U.S. News & World Report.

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Balance Life — No comments
02
Dec 11

Yoga can teach patients how to balance life again

Yoga can teach patients how to balance life again.

Yoga can teach patients how to balance life again.

Car accidents, robbery, a natural disaster, domestic violence – these are all things that people would rather not experience again after living through them once. Unfortunately, people who have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can relive these events constantly in their minds. However, new research suggests yoga can teach these individuals how to balance life again, as reported by dailyRX.

In a study conducted at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, researchers treated American war veterans with mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) therapy, which consisted of two to three hours of yoga, meditation and other exercises a week.

Over the course of six months, the researchers observed improvements in their subjects' symptoms.

Peter Strong, founder of The Boulder Center for Mindfulness Therapy, said that the key to MBSR practices, such as Massachusetts yoga classes, is increasing one's ability to engage with both the inner emotions and the outside world.

"Through training, we can cultivate a non-reactive mindfulness-based relationship with the contents of our mind, including painful and traumatic memories," Strong told the news source. "We can learn to 'sit' with our inner pain without becoming lost in reactive thinking and the suffering that accompanies reactive thinking."

Within a year, 3.5 percent of American adults experience PTSD, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Symptoms may include persistent flashbacks, emotional numbness or insomnia.

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Boston Yoga — No comments
29
Nov 11

Boston yoga classes may provide cost-efficient relief for back pain

Boston yoga classes may provide cost-efficient relief for back pain.

Boston yoga classes may provide cost-efficient relief for back pain.

The breakneck pace of everyday life – including work and raising a family – could cause back pain or other chronic health problems in people who struggle to find a balance. However, Boston yoga classes may be a cost-efficient way to approach such problems.

Researchers at Boston Medical Center are conducting studies to assess how well yoga can help individuals who live in poor neighborhoods. People in this population who have back pain also tend to have other conditions as well, researcher Robert Saper told The Boston Globe. These patients may also have diabetes, hypertension, depression and other problems.

In a previous study, Saper demonstrated that yoga can alleviate pain and reduce the need for medicinal treatments. He is currently conducting more studies in order to assess the optimal amount of yoga, and compare the exercise to physical therapy.

"We hypothesize that yoga classes will be as effective as physical therapy, but more cost effective," Saper told the news source, adding that positive results will hopefully persuade insurance companies to reimburse the treatment, allowing patients to balance life fitness as well as their finances.

As of 2007, more than 13 million American adults reported practicing yoga within the previous year, according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a division of the National Institutes of Health.

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Balance Life — No comments
16
Nov 11

Both chiropractic medicine and yoga can balance life fitness

Both chiropractic medicine and yoga can balance life fitness.

Both chiropractic medicine and yoga can balance life fitness.

People may compartmentalize chiropractic treatment as "medicine" and yoga as "exercise," and "never the twain shall meet." However, both of these practices can balance life fitness, according to a woman who works as both a yoga instructor and chiropractor.

"They have complementary intentions and philosophies, enhancing your attention of postural alignment and helping you understand the relationship between your physical structure and your health," said Loren Hager, as quoted in The Wilton Bulletin in Connecticut. "While chiropractic is already widely accepted as a natural way to combat back and neck pain and injuries, yoga can also be quite helpful for these common ailments."

Students in Boston yoga classes can use chiropractic medicine to deepen their understanding of the yoga poses by using proper alignment, according to Hager. This will help protect the joints. On the other hand, chiropractic patients can use yoga to condition their muscles and augment their treatments.

According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), research suggests that yoga can help improve mood, muscle relaxation, strength, flexibility, stress management and body chemistry. As of 2007, 13 million adults in the U.S. reported practicing yoga within the preceding year.

NCCAM is supporting research to study the relationship between yoga and chronic lower back pain, arthritis and other ailments.

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