Conventional yoga classes with an instructor up front demonstrating positions to the class aren't generally a viable option for the visually impaired, but a team of computer scientists from the University of Washington (UW) is set to open this healthy activity up to such users with the help of Microsoft's Kinect.

The UW team, led by doctoral student Kyle Rector, has developed a program called Eyes-Free Yoga that uses the Kinect's skeletal tracking capabilities to read a user's body angles and then provide auditory feedback on how to perform poses in real time.

The system calculates the required angles using simple geometry and the law of cosines based on data of the user's body collected by the Kinect's cameras. It then instructs them on how to reach the desired pose, starting with the user's core, suggesting alignment changes if necessary, then progressing to instructions for the head and neck before finally giving directions for the arms and legs.

The system can provide around 30 different commands based on a dozen rules essential for each of the six poses the system is capable of providing instructions for, which include Warrior I and I, Tree and Chair poses. The instructions are in simple language, such as "Rotate your shoulders left,"or "Lean sideways toward your left." The system also provides positive feedback when the correct pose is achieved.

While practicing yoga herself as she developed the technology, Rector tested the program with 16 blind and low-vision people around to Washington who provided feedback. Although some of the test subjects had previously practiced yoga regularly, several had never done yoga before. However, 13 of the 16 said they would recommend the program and nearly all would use it again.

Although Rector says that the Kinect does have some limitations in terms of the level of detail with which it tracks movement, she chose it because of its open source software and wide market availability.

"I see this as a good way of helping people who may not know much about yoga to try something on their own and feel comfortable and confident doing it, says Julie Kientz, a UW assistant professor in Human Centered Design & Engineering who collaborated with Rector on the system along with research assistant Cynthia Bennett. We hope this acts as a gateway to encouraging people with visual impairments to try exercise on a broader scale," Kientz added. To that end, the team plans to make the program available for download online for use with a PC and Kinect.

Details of the system's development and testing is detailed in a paper (PDF) published in the conference proceedings of the Association for Computing Machinerys SIGACCESS International Conference on Computers and Accessibility in Bellevue, Washington.

Eyes-Free Yoga is demonstrated in the following video.

Source: University of Washington

Excerpt from:
Researchers turn Kinect into a yoga instructor for the visually impaired

Oct. 17, 2013 In a typical yoga class, students watch an instructor to learn how to properly hold a position. But for people who are blind or can't see well, it can be frustrating to participate in these types of exercises.

Now, a team of University of Washington computer scientists has created a software program that watches a user's movements and gives spoken feedback on what to change to accurately complete a yoga pose.

"My hope for this technology is for people who are blind or low-vision to be able to try it out, and help give a basic understanding of yoga in a more comfortable setting," said project lead Kyle Rector, a UW doctoral student in computer science and engineering.

The program, called Eyes-Free Yoga, uses Microsoft Kinect software to track body movements and offer auditory feedback in real time for six yoga poses, including Warrior I and II, Tree and Chair poses. Rector and her collaborators published their methodology in the conference proceedings of the Association for Computing Machinery's SIGACCESS International Conference on Computers and Accessibility in Bellevue, Wash., Oct. 21-23.

Rector wrote programming code that instructs the Kinect to read a user's body angles, then gives verbal feedback on how to adjust his or her arms, legs, neck or back to complete the pose. For example, the program might say: "Rotate your shoulders left," or "Lean sideways toward your left."

The result is an accessible yoga "exergame" -- a video game used for exercise -- that allows people without sight to interact verbally with a simulated yoga instructor. Rector and collaborators Julie Kientz, a UW assistant professor in Computer Science & Engineering and in Human Centered Design & Engineering, and Cynthia Bennett, a research assistant in computer science and engineering, believe this can transform a typically visual activity into something that blind people can also enjoy.

"I see this as a good way of helping people who may not know much about yoga to try something on their own and feel comfortable and confident doing it," Kientz said. "We hope this acts as a gateway to encouraging people with visual impairments to try exercise on a broader scale."

Each of the six poses has about 30 different commands for improvement based on a dozen rules deemed essential for each yoga position. Rector worked with a number of yoga instructors to put together the criteria for reaching the correct alignment in each pose. The Kinect first checks a person's core and suggests alignment changes, then moves to the head and neck area, and finally the arms and legs. It also gives positive feedback when a person is holding a pose correctly.

Rector practiced a lot of yoga as she developed this technology. She tested and tweaked each aspect by deliberately making mistakes while performing the exercises. The result is a program that she believes is robust and useful for people who are blind.

"I tested it all on myself so I felt comfortable having someone else try it," she said.

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Yoga accessible for the blind with new kinect-based program

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRhMeFnmHNg

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Rather than structure the advanced training after a conventional program, the curriculum is modeled after the university model with students taking coursework relevant to their major. Yoga Tree offers the following advanced majors: Alignment Based Yoga, Flow Based Yoga, Gentle & Restorative Yoga, Yoga & Psychology, Therapeutic Yoga, Yoga Philosophy, Women & Yoga and a General Studies Program for those who do not know their major or wish to specialize.

This new and unique model for training teachers will provide not only a unique educational experience for those who wish to teach, but will also allow the yoga professional community to more effectively serve a rapidly growing body of students with needs as diverse as the community itself. Courses are taught in two teacher training centers and 6 yoga studios in San Francisco, Corte Madera and Berkeley.

Additional information and the entire course catalog for the 500 Hour Program can be found here.

About Yoga Tree: Yoga Tree SF is known for the best instructors from around the world, teaching in studios that are clean, warm and supportive. Yoga Tree is a green company and is committed to helping the yoga community, people in need, the environment and the planet. It offers a variety of yoga styles, including advanced studies. All classes share one thing in common a comfortable, safe space in which to explore the body, mind and soul.

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WASHINGTON Breathing deeply, the organizers of a first-ever yoga art exhibit at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, part of the shuttered Smithsonian Institution, found a way to mount a gala Thursday night and a round of programs Friday, all without losing their composure.

The celebration goes on off-site from the Smithsonian property, even as government workers anticipate finally being able to go back to work as Congress appears close to reopening the federal government.

Its new territory for us, said Allison Peck, a spokeswoman for the Freer and Sackler Galleries, which contain collections of Asian art, as she described the effort to carry on despite the Oct. 1 shutdown when the federal government ran out of money.

This is a very tremendous show, she said. Its more trying to do the best with what were able to do.

The museum workers were able to organize the events because of a quirk in the way they are paid: about one-third of all Smithsonian employees are paid by a separate Smithsonian trust and not federal coffers. Others who are considered essential, such as the curator, were also able to work.

Without the revenue from the gala, the gallery stood to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars from donors and VIPs who are coming from all over the world to support the exhibition, a unique look at the practice of yoga over 2,000 years. The Sackler expects to take in about $450,000 from the gala.

The fundraising gala, co-chaired by actor Alec Baldwin and wife, Hilaria Baldwin, a yoga teacher, moved from the museum to the nearby Andrew Mellon Auditorium, a grand neoclassic building that is, ironically enough, also a federal building, but run by a leasing company.

The building is not federally funded, said Jenna Mack, president of Event Emissary, the company that books events for the venue.

The yoga exhibitions day of programs Friday for VIPs, press and the public will be held at National Public Radios new headquarters unless the government reopens in time, when it would move to the Sackler.

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Despite the shutdown mantra, Smithsonian yoga show will go on

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