ENCINITAS, Calif. (AP) A Southern California school district has accepted a $1.4 million grant to expand a student yoga program that sparked religious complaints and a lawsuit.

Trustees of the Encinitas Union School District voted Wednesday to accept the grant from the Sonima Foundation to expand teaching at its nine campuses.

The foundation, formerly known as the Jois Foundation, is the same nonprofit group that initially funded the yoga fitness program for the SanDiego County beach community. The foundation has said it believes the program will become a national model to help schools teach students life skills.

The new grant will provide funding to increase the number of teachers from 10 to 18, including professional development instructors who will train teachers in the physical activity and character development parts of the curriculum, district Superintendent Tim Baird said.

The program made national headlines after some parents argued it violated their religious freedom and promoted non-Christian religion, citing yoga's roots in Eastern religions.

The school district said the program as taught was secular.

A couple that opposed the classes sued the district in February but a judge ruled against them last month. Dean Broyles, the attorney who filed the suit, said he plans to appeal.

Broyles, who is president of the Escondido-based National Center for Law & Policy, also condemned the district's vote to accept the new grant.

The "decision to double down on its flagrant religious freedom violations is an outrageous breach of public trust," he wrote in an email.

Baird has said most students and parents support the program.

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Encinitas schools accept $1.4m grant to expand yoga program

(PRWEB) August 01, 2013

Alameda, CA- Yoga Alameda is pleased to announce the launch of their pre and post natal yoga program beginning November 2103. Registered/Certificated Pre Natal Yoga Teacher, Rebecca Trissell, heads the program bringing more than 10 years yoga teaching experience to the program. Graduating from Yoga Tree and Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco.

She is qualified by Yoga Alliance to teach classes in pre and post-natal yoga. Which differentiates Yoga Alamedas Pre and Postnatal program from others. Having a trained professional in pre and post- natal yoga assures safety and quality instruction.

Yoga Alameda holds pre natal yoga classes three times a week and post natal, mom and baby yoga workshops once a month. This quality pre and postnatal yoga programs offer a multifaceted approach to exercise that encourages stretching, mental centering and focused breathing. Research suggests that prenatal yoga is safe and can have many benefits for pregnant women and their babies. Prenatal yoga can: improve sleep, reduce stress and anxiety, increase the strength, flexibility and endurance of muscles needed for childbirth, decrease lower back pain, nausea, carpal tunnel syndrome, headaches and shortness of breath. Decrease the risk of preterm labor and pregnancy-induced hypertension. Prenatal and Postnatal yoga can also help you meet and bond with other women and prepare for the stress of being a new parent.

Yoga Alameda offers a quality, well-balanced pre and postnatal program to the community of Alameda. Brining experience and commitment to all their classes.

For more information and current class schedules please contact:

Rebecca Trissell http://www.yogaalameda.com yogawomyn(at)yahoo(dot)com

510.814.1927

1706 Lincoln Ave Alameda, CA 94501

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Yoga Alameda Offers Quality Pre and Postnatal Yoga Classes

Move over Vinyasa and Bikram, theres a new type of yoga in town: Broga.

Broga classes are popping up throughout the country and theyre specifically geared towards men.

We're here to exercise, we're here to feel good. There's no chanting, there's nothing kind of overt about it, said Ryan Farrell, a Broga instructor at Aerial Fitness in Riverhead, N.Y. Youre exercising with a bunch of other guys. It's all cool.

Broga combines core-strengthening, muscle toning and cardio with exercises meant to improve flexibility.

If you tell a guy, With a straight leg, reach down and touch your toes, they can only make it mid-thigh, maybe, and they're done, Farrell said. A lot of guys... tend to focus on upper body, they will stretch out their armsbut their back carries a lot of tension.

After attending his first Broga class, 22-year-old Sean Fender declared himself a big fan.

I've never sweated this much in a yoga class, and I've never had the burn quite as much in the quads and in the core, Fender said.

Though women are allowed to join in on the Broga classes at Aerial Fitness, Fender said that the mostly male environment made him feel more comfortable.

Sometimes it can be intimidating with the girls in there that can bend into a pretzel, and you're just sitting there like, Okay...just trying to keep my back straight, and trying not to break anything, Fender said.

Like most traditional yoga classes, Broga is a great way for guys to de-stress and relax.

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Broga: A new type of yoga for men

Panaji, August 1 (IANS) Melt away your stress in a Hatha yoga class or relax in a Nidra yoga class. The first edition of the Zambhala, a yoga, music and life spirit festival, is set to take the festive fever here notches higher in December.

The annual extravaganza, announced by Seventy Event Media Group, will bring together known yoga experts, spiritual teachers, practitioners and healers from India and across the world.

To be held Dec 21-22, the event will offer a curated mix of live entertainment, spirituality, music and dance.

"India is the spiritual home of yoga and the search for personal enlightenment and it's incredibly exciting to create the Zambhala Festival here. In a sense, we are building India's Glastonbury Festival - with yoga and spirituality at the heart of it," Martin Da'Costa, CEO, Seventy Event Media Group, said in a statement.

"Zambhala is an answer to the question that so many of us are asking - how to grow, strengthen, and build ourselves in this life," D'Costa added.

The line-up of international practitioners include some of the world's best yoga teachers - Jehangir Palkhivala and Deepika Mehta from India, Eoin Finn from Canada, Janet Stonefrom California and Duncan Wong, who has previously taught Madonna, Bjork and Sting.

Visitors will be able to seek peace, solace and engage in a multitude of activities like choosing from five different kinds of yoga, Sufi whirling, Shamanism, learning and knowing mind, body and soul and crystal healing.

The two-day festival will also feature workshops on different mediation techniques, chanting, group channeling and astro-gazing. Visitors at Zambhala can participate in various group activities or one-on-one sessions with healers and practitioners.

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Goa to host Zambhala yoga, music fest

GOLDEN, CO--(Marketwired - Aug 1, 2013) - Yoga, a discipline practiced for its challenging motions involving self-awareness, intense concentration and a sense of higher consciousness, has been around for centuries. Originating in India, this ancient practice has only recently gained popularity in the United States.

This winter, Miracle of Yoga owner and certified yoga instructor, Christian Leeby, will be taking yoga back to its roots. Leeby and enthusiastic students will be traveling to Mysore, India, a place where many traditional yoga practices originated, to immerse themselves in an ayurvedic yoga retreat from December 10-19th.

The 10-day retreat is open to individuals of all ages and yoga-skill levels. Participants will receive multiple ayurvedic treatments, depending on individual packages, while relaxing at the Indus Valley AyurvedicCenter. Daily yoga classes, comfortable lodging, impeccable food and daily excursions throughout the local area are all available.

"You can think of ayurvedic treatments as different types of massages that have specific healing effects," Leeby said. "The ayurvedic body treatments are super healing, both physically and emotionally."

Leeby, retreat group leader, will be teaching daily yoga classes, including beginner yoga and advanced yoga sequences. "Mentally and spiritually, it's quite a perspective change to be in India," he said. "Mainly because of the devotion they exhibit." Leeby has traveled to India a total of six times and last attended the Mysore retreat in 2009 with a group of 18 students.

"Everyone should experience India," he said. "Magical things happen there."

Leeby is owner of Miracle of Yoga, an online yoga community dedicated to helping individuals grow in their practice from the comfort of their own home. Leeby regularly updates his video library with numerous yoga videos throughout the week. He offers in-depth teaching in yoga poses, tips and full-length classes.

Students can make inquires about the India retreat by e-mailing Leeby at Christian@yogaretreatindia.com or by visiting the Yoga Retreat in India Web site at http://www.yogaretreatinindia.com/.

Leeby can also be contacted through the Miracle of Yoga Web site at http://www.miracleofyoga.com/.

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Miracle of Yoga Prepares for Winter Ayurvedic India Retreat

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEGKtGsuvh8

Dog yoga, or Doga
It #39;s yoga with your best friend. Fitness expert Cody Butler, along with Nicole and Snoop, demonstrate dog yoga, or doga.

By: kxan

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Dog yoga, or Doga - Video

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rtcs1j47XbA

Yoga Stretches! Healthy Mind, Healthy Body Videos with Kati Morton
Yoga Stretches! Healthy Mind, Healthy Body Videos with Kati Morton Kati Morton, MFTI Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/katimorton Subscribe to my channel: htt...

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Yoga Stretches! Healthy Mind, Healthy Body Videos with Kati Morton - Video

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v7dLxUsWMA

Mindfulness Meditation: New Age Mantra Relaxation Music , Yoga, Massage Nature Sounds
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/mindfulness-meditation-50/id575494536 Mindfulness Meditation: New Age Mantra Relaxation Music , Deep Sleep, Yoga, Massage ...

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Mindfulness Meditation: New Age Mantra Relaxation Music , Yoga, Massage

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Song: Morning Mist / Album: Yoga / Artist: Michael Benghiat
http://www.atpeacemedia.com/ YOGA, offers life enhancing, renewing, acoustic massage music for yoga, meditation, relaxation, stress-relief and the healing ar...

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Song: Morning Mist / Album: Yoga / Artist: Michael Benghiat - Video

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Song: Shadows / Album: Yoga / Artist: Michael Benghiat
http://www.atpeacemedia.com/YOGA, offers life enhancing, renewing, acoustic massage music for yoga, meditation, relaxation, stress-relief and the healing art...

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Song: Shadows / Album: Yoga / Artist: Michael Benghiat - Video