students and faculty as well as local business employees plans to open Sunday, Sept. 1 on North University Avenue.

aUM Yoga is opening in the 900-square-foot space at 715 N. University underneath Silvio's Organic Pizza. The building is owned by SRK Investments.

What is now a cozy, one room studio with freshly painted lavender walls was originally used as storage space until a pilates studio moved in and completely converted the location about a year ago. According Chris LaBelle of SRK Investments, the space was vacant for six months before aUM owner Jessie Lipkowitz, a U-M graduate, signed the lease.

Im very excited to have aUM Yoga move in , LaBelle said. I think that Jessie is a go-getter and she is making wonderful changes in the building already. Down the hall is Nola's Underground Salon and the combination of the two in the building is wonderful. The energy level is so high.

Lipkowitz began working on the space immediately upon signing the lease, and she said there are still a few things that need to be done before the studio opens.

Weve done a lot to the space to make it our own, she said. It used to have a drop ceiling, which we tore out and weve installed new lighting, painted and decorated since moving in.

aUM Yoga is a one-room studio offering about 30 classes per week.

Photo by Jessie Lipkowitz

The studio will offer about 30 classes a week, and will be open seven days a week. Classes start on Michigan Time or 10 minutes after the hour, so students can come directly from class. The aUM Yoga website has class descriptions, which includes power vinyasa, slow flow and intro to flowing yoga, among others.

We have a variety of classes - heated and non-heated - as well as a range of classes from easy to hard, Lipkowitz said. But what is really going to excite people is the price.

Read more from the original source:
'Fun and collaborative' yoga studio to open near U-M campus this weekend

Sandra Bullock and George Clooney did a lot of Bikram yoga, met astronauts and drank while preparing for "Gravity."

Sandra Bullock. UPI/John Angelillo

Sandra Bullock and George Clooney opened up about training for their upcoming movie "Gravity" during a press conference to promote the film, which opened the Venice Film Festival, on Wednesday.

The movie is about a medical engineer (Bullock) and an astronaut (Clooney) who are stranded in space after debris from a satellite crashes into their space shuttle.

Asked about how they trained for the role, Clooney said, "Sandy and I did a lot of Bikram yoga together."

"We're good that way. Very flexible," Bullock added.

Bullock, who called her role in the film the "most challenging" she's had thus far, told reporters she also trained with real astronauts.

"They were incredibly helpful, and they gave me an inside visual as to why they do what they do, she said. It was the craziest, most bizarre, and most challenging shoot Ive ever done.

Regarding how she stays in such good shape at 49, the "Heat" star explained she thoroughly enjoys dancing.

"I love to dance, I have a background, I was a gymnast, I was a dancer, I just don't like gyms I'm very bored so I'm just cardio, music, just blast the music for an hour and don't stop moving your body. Lightweights," she said. "I have a 40 pound 3-year-old who still is a baby and insists on being carried so I must stay strong. So just that."

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Sandra Bullock, George Clooney did yoga for 'Gravity'

A man who spent nearly half of his life in prison for murder is opening a yoga studio in one of Chicagos more violent West Side neighborhoods.

Marshawn Feltus hopes his new yoga studio will bring peace to the troubled streets of Austin.

On a summer day, Feltus walked past boarded-up buildings and groups of people clustered on front stoops and street corners.

He and two staff members wore matching t-shirts and carried yoga mats.

They regularly recruit people this way for their yoga studio -- the first in Austin.

The first group he approached just blankly stared at him from the front porch they were sitting on, but he pulled a teenage boy aside and started talking to him.

Feltus told his story to everyone he ran into along Chicago Avenue that day. Within a few minutes of recruiting, he had a six-foot-tall former inmate reaching high into the air and breathing deeply.

He says he knows what young people on the streets are going through because he was a gang member 20 years ago -- in the same neighborhood.

Feltus was in a gang, and what started out as an argument and fistfight over territory, ended with him seeking retaliation.

He shot a guy twice and killed him.

The rest is here:
Former inmate brings yoga to Chicago’s West Side

By Adam Ghassemi

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. Yoga can simply be an escape. Every pose and moment that passes can strengthen the body and mind.

But what you're trying to forget can turn it into a lot more than a workout.

"You're literally in the present moment and you're not really thinking about anything else," said Felicia Mason, owner of the new Agni Yoga Studio in Clarksville.

Mason grew up doing gymnastics, and eventually yoga. She opened the studio quietly in July to continue a balance she's done her entire life, trying not to over think if a loved one will come home.

"Always, pretty much, he's going to come home," she said tearing up Thursday.

Mason's husband, Henry, is stationed at Fort Campbell, and goes on regular deployments. She watched her father do it, and now her husband. Yoga is how she hopes others will learn how to cope.

"We have to be the head of the households and we have to keep things together and for yoga, I would say, it's almost like our outing," Mason said.

One of her instructors, Sara Hayes, is in the same boat. She's a military spouse trying to help others live in the present.

"I think it offers a way to let go of whatever happened," Hayes said.

See the original post here:
Yoga Studio Caters To Military Families

Dr. Oliver recently met Elena, a 45-year-old woman who came to the ER with severe back pain. Elena said that she had always had "a bad back," but in the last few weeks her pain had become much worse. Her family doctor had prescribed an antiinflammatory medication, which Elena, whose name and identifying details have been changed to preserve patient confidentiality, was taking faithfully along with Tylenol. Nevertheless, Elena was severely limited in her daily activities because of her back pain.

Elena's mood was suffering and she was becoming increasingly tearful and irritable. Previous tests performed by her family doctor indicated that surgery would not be a remedy. Her family was growing worried, as Elena was in constant pain, so in frustration they brought her to the ER to seek other treatment options.

Cases like Elena's are common, and low back pain affects up to 85 per cent of the population at some point. Fortunately, most low back pain resolves relatively quickly on its own. But one in 10 people end up like Elena, with chronic back pain that imposes serious restrictions on their lifestyle. This minority of back pain sufferers actually account for the majority of doctor's visits and healthcare costs related to the condition. In 2001 in Alberta, more than a quarter of work-loss claims were associated with lower back pain.

While opioid medications like Tylenol 3 can be effective for low back pain, Elena was concerned about their possible side-effects. (And rightly so - these medications are associated with stomach upset, constipation, and some risk of addiction if taken improperly). And not all patients can take anti-inflammatory medications like Elena can, due to their adverse effects on the stomach and kidneys.

Are there other options other than medication for low back pain sufferers? Certainly. Different lifestyle therapies have been studied, including changing one's mattress, patient education, and exercise/ physiotherapy programs. The American Pain Society has previously stated that one form of yoga, called Viniyoga, can be a useful adjunct for patients with chronic low back pain.

The core strengthening, stretching, and relaxation exercises central to yoga practice are thought to address both the physical and mental aspects of chronic low back pain. While this seems intuitively sensible, is there hard proof that yoga could work for someone like Elena?

In fact, the benefits of yoga are not limited to the theoretical - there is a scientific basis for recommending yoga for back pain. In the Clinical Journal of Pain, researchers recently published the results from a combined analysis of ten separate studies looking at the effect of yoga on pain and quality of life in back pain sufferers. For the most part these studies looked at patients with at least several weeks of back pain. Through a process akin to a coin flip, patients were assigned to yoga or to effective alternatives such as exercise or physiotherapy.

In the first few weeks after starting yoga, patients experienced an almost 50 per cent reduction in pain, and a 60 per cent reduction in back-pain related limitations. One year out, the long-term benefits were not quite as impressive, but there were positive effects seen nonetheless. It's important to note that overall quality of life did not appear to improve with yoga - but only four of the 10 included studies measured quality of life so these results are less certain.

Now before we suggest that all chronic back pain suffers sign up for yoga classes there are a few issues to keep in mind. For one, the nature of these studies makes it possible for a strong placebo effect to come into play. When researchers test medications they can give patients a sugar pill that looks identical to the medication under study. This helps sort out whether any benefits seen are due to a true effect from the studied medication, or whether the simple act of taking a pill (even a sugar pill) is providing symptom relief.

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Yoga shows promise for back pain

Budgets not exactly the most fun topic around, right? However, I think that the reason people find budgets to be so restrictive and frustrating is not because of the act of budgeting itself but rather the way we talk about it.

So many approach budgeting as a one-size-fits-all philosophy, but that couldnt be further from the truth. A budget has to fit your life like a glove in order to work.

What if we compare budgets to physical fitness regimens? Sure, you can try a fad diet and maybe lose a few pounds fast but how long will the weight stay off? Probably not for long. Fad diets are hard to maintain, one size fits all philosophies. But if you adopt a whole new fitness and eating regimen that fits your lifestyle and your personality, then you are much more likely to have long-term success.

The same goes for budgeting. To have long-term success you need a holistic approach that you can maintain for years to come. So how can you find out what approach works for you? Try looking at it like your favorite fitness regimen (or the one that seems most like one you would try)!

Crossfit = Gazelle Intensity

Crossfit is a workout regimen so intense many are known to be physically ill after their first session. Crossfit pushes you to the extreme, but its all about giving it your all. You may not have had perfect form in your workout, but you finished and youll do it again and do it better next time.

Crossfits converts often find themselves changed people after only a few short months often stronger than they had been their whole lives, no matter what their age. But it takes a serious commitment and a fighter mentality. If this workout sounds like something youd like to try, then youd probably also be a gazelle intense budgeter.

Gazelle intensity is a financial philosophy first articulated by Dave Ramsey that focuses on stopping at nothing to reach your financial goals. There are no breaks, no excuses. Someone using gazelle intensity to pay off debt or reach financial goals doesnt just set a budget and stick to it, they find every avenue possible to reach their goals faster. This type of budgeting isnt for the weak of heart but it is for those who want to get rid of debt as fast as humanly possible and have a tunnel vision focus to succeed.

Yoga = Homesteading

So what if you like the commitment level of Crossfit, but prefer to take things at a slower pace? Yoga lovers are equally as focused on committing to the process but believe in never pushing your body too far. The most important thing in yoga is to focus on your breath and listen to your body. Only go as far as your body can go each and every time and slowly your strength, flexibility, and yoga practice will improve. Each day is a new journey in yoga and a new opportunity to explore the possibilities of what you can do.

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Yoga for Your Finances?

GOLDEN, CO--(Marketwired - Aug 28, 2013) - Miracle of Yoga announces the release of its new line of yoga videos, which are created specifically for women practicing prenatal yoga. All the yoga positions will be safe and health-building for both the mother and the baby.

Owner of the studio, Christian Leeby, has wanted to provide these helpful videos for some time now. They are part of a move to diversify the ever-growing body of videos and instructions available on the Miracle of Yoga website. By teaching yoga for pregnant women, Leeby is able to address a growing need in the community.

The new line of yoga videos will be geared toward meeting the various needs of pregnant women. Topics will include working toward safe fitness, maintaining body stability, relieving physical tension, breathing properly, and reducing many of the common pregnancy pains. Yoga positions and instructions will be geared specifically toward varying stages of pregnancy. All classes will help to calm mental and emotional stresses as well as mitigating physical tension.

The yoga studio will add at least one new prenatal video a month. These videos will be posted in a growing library that includes 15-minute classes, sun salutations, back care, and office yoga.

"Yoga is the best exercise for pregnancy," states Leeby, "as long as you are careful to avoid those yoga poses that should not be practiced. Yoga is safe and effective in helping the soon-to-be mom deal with the physical and mental stresses of carrying a baby."

Since prenatal care differs from general physical wellbeing and often requires more thoughtfulness on the part of the mother, this line of classes will meet an important need. Yoga for pregnant women is a category often overlooked by teachers, but Leeby aims to change that. These videos will explain essential elements of prenatal care, not only for women in the yoga community but also for those women simply seeking the best care during their pregnancies.

For more information and to begin watching prenatal yoga videos, please visit http://www.miracleofyoga.com.

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Miracle of Yoga Launches Line of Prenatal Yoga Videos