At first, Amanda Brown felt this kind of nudge to teach yoga.

Over time, however, the feeling grew into a passion.

The Piqua natives first yoga experiences in the early 2000s left her satisfied with the workout and feeling relaxed and rejuvenated. She intended to take classes, but then a busy life as a professional, wife and later, mother absorbed her time.

A couple of years ago, Browns attention again turned to yoga. She studied for teaching certifications while continuing her full-time career as director of community resource development at the Tri-County Board of Recovery and Mental Health Services.

Last year, she decided to make yoga her full-time job. This April opened her own studio balanceYoga by Amanda in downtown Piqua offering classes for youth and adults.

This was what I was meant to do, to help people in this way, Brown said. I love it.

Brown and her husband, Dustin, have one son, Cohen, age 6.

Q&A with Amanda Brown

What is Your Business: balanceYoga by amanda (a studio for yoga and wellness), 312 N. Wayne St. Suite B, Piqua

Who: Amanda Brown, owner/teacher, balanceYoga, received 200 certification as a Nationally Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) in April 2012 and certification as a Subtle Energy Yoga Therapist (SEYT) in May 2012 at elementsLife. She has a bachelor of education degree in Community Health from the University of Toledo.

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Piqua native turns passion for yoga into business

Paddleboarding is one of the hottest water sports of the summer.

You utilize 85 percent of the bodys muscle, said April Yakaboski, owner of Aerial Fitness Hot Yoga in Riverhead, N.Y. Youre constantly in a state of motion so youre constantly balancing and stabilizing.

However, for those who wanted an extra challenge, Yakaboski created a brand new regimen. The new workout, called Floating Yoga incorporates yoga moves on a paddleboard.

We do about 10 to 15 minute paddles, so you get that experience, Yakaboski said. And then we anchor down so our board is not going everywhere, and we do about 30 to 45 minute yoga exercises, and then we get up and we paddle back. So its a full experience.

However, there is one big obstacle when it comes to Floating Yoga: staying on the board.

Its challenging, and every week I think I get a little bit better, because you trust the board a little bit more, said Rachel Goodale, a Floating Yoga student. Youre unstable, and its bringing that balanceyour core is working twice as hard. I love it.

For more information on Aerial Fitness Hot Yoga, visit http://www.aerialfitnesshotyoga.com/.

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New 'floating yoga' workout combines yoga moves and paddleboarding

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwired - July 25, 2013) - The British royals aren't the only ones with a baby announcement this week. Bendi Baby, of Topanga, California, is proud to announce its new line of baby and toddler yoga mats for newborns to age five. Designer and yoga teacher, Brooke Kochel, saw a need when her toddler started mimicking yoga poses and playfully hanging from her as she practiced at home each day. As a midwife and mother, Kochel understood the developmental needs of an infant and the everyday flow of life with children. Baby yoga is a simple and fun baby activity and bonding tool.

"People always ask me if babies really do yoga. I tell them if you watch a baby long enough, you'll realize yoga is all they do," Kochel said. Mommy and me, postnatal yoga and kids yogaclasses are popping up everywhere. Not only for yoga, the mats are multifunctional to be used for tummy time, infant massage, naps, physical therapy, baths and travel. Moms looking for interesting activities for toddlers will find these mats useful too.

Bendi Baby's eco-friendly mats, which come in sizes Baby and Tot, will be sold for $30 through an e-commerce website powered by Volusion and wholesaled to yoga studios, children and maternity boutiques and toy stores across the nation. The gender-neutral mats are reversible for both sedating and stimulating activities. A built-in antimicrobial, Microban, keeps the mat clean and makes it ideal for a child to nap on at daycare or diaper changes in public restrooms.

The mats' release follows the recent legal debate about yoga in schools, where a San Diego judge ruled teaching yoga in public schools is exercise, not religion. Kochel says it's the first time in history yoga has been passed down to another generation as a mainstream American activity: "A yoga teacher comes to my daughter's preschool and the kids love it. Yoga is not only a household name now, but a schoolyard name."

Bendi Baby, Inc. is a family yoga lifestyle company with headquarters in Topanga, California and Reydell, Arkansas. They are the first to feature a baby yoga mat. The CEO, Brooke Kochel, is a yoga teacher, midwife and mother of two. Please call 870-530-6110 or visit http://www.bendibaby.com. Join us on Facebookand Twitter at Bendi Baby Yoga. Email brooke@bendibaby.com.

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Bendi Baby Announces the Birth of a Baby Yoga Mat Company

Hot Method Yoga, 340 Lashley St., Longmont, 303-678-9642, hotmethodyoga.com

Instructor: Kevin Lincicome, of Boulder, started doing Bikram yoga in 2000 and was certified as a teacher in 2003. He attended Tony Sanchez's teacher training last April.

He opened a studio in Westminster in 1995 and in Longmont four years ago, under the name Bikram's Yoga College of India. About a month ago, they changed the name to Hot Method Yoga and changed the direction a little, too, by breaking away a bit from the Bikram name and exclusive Bikram style of yoga.

The Master Core Series is a new class, as of May.

What is the workout? The Master Core Series is a hot yoga class developed by well-known yoga teacher Tony Sanchez, of the Ghosh lineage. The class includes about 40 different postures in a specific order, chosen from the 84 original Ghosh postures.

What's different: The better-known style of Bikram yoga was created by one of Ghosh's students. This class has a stronger emphasis on maintaining the purity of the original lineage than Bikram.

"Bikram has gotten so averted off of the original," Lincicome says. "He's done a brilliant job of packaging it for everyone, one size fits all."

Unlike Bikram, the teachers in this class do not correct your postures.

"Your stance is your stance, my stance is my stance, and they don't have to be the same," Linicome says. In that, these classes are less rigid and more individual, working you from the inside out.

"Once you get out of the box and you see what a beautiful world of yoga there is out there when you're not constricted -- Bikram is very, very controlling about what you can and can't do, can and can't say, the temperature, everything is controlled by Bikram, and to his detriment," Lincicome says. "Once you break away and get a little bit of freedom, you realize wow, there's really amazing stuff out there, and this is one of those things."

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Workout: Master Core Series at Hot Method Yoga

Its called Stealth Yoga. Its a yoga class designed for prostate cancer survivors.

The exercise helps the men regain their strength and flexibility by sneaking yoga in with resistance training.

Nicole Culos-Reed, PhD, a researcher with the University of Calgary Kinesiology department has studied the impact of yoga on prostate cancer survivors and determined it helps in their recovery.

The yoga helps the men maintain their lean muscle mass. Culos-Reed says from a physiological point of view, when you have muscle wasting you want to sit and you dont want to do things that cause more fatigue. It creates a downward spiral.

The yoga class is held at the Calgary Prostate Centre, and participants say the camaraderie is as important as the exercise.

John White says to actually talk to guys who are in the same boat and may have come up with some ideas and experiences thats absolutely invaluable.

The goal is to expand that program so that it is available through the City of Calgarys Parks and Recreation department at other locations in the city.

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Stealth Yoga

Hot yoga is as a safe as yoga in regular temperatures, according to a new study (July 24, 2013)

12:10 p.m. EDT, July 24, 2013

You may feel like you're going to die during that hot yoga class, but a new study finds the extreme heat is no more strenuous on the body than taking the class in a room with lower temperatures.

Researchers found no difference in the increase in core temperature or heart rate in those who took a 60 minute hot yoga class and those who took a regular yoga class, according to an independent study commissioned by the American Council on Exercise.

The safety of the sport has often been debated because some think the temperatures, which can range from 90 to 105 degrees, can cause dehydration and heat exhaustion or lead to muscle damage.

The study was conducted by the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse's Department of Exercise and Sport Science.

Anytime exercise is conducted in extreme temperaturs, it's important to remain hydrated and to watch for overheating," ACE Chief Science Officer Dr. Cedric Bryant said in a statement. "However this study showed that while higher sweat levels may cause participants to feel like they were working harder, heart rates showed they were actually at comparable levels whether in the regular or hot yoga class."

Bryant said more study needs to be done on classes with the highest temperatures, such as Bikram yoga, which is taught in temperatures of 105 degress or higher.

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Hot yoga is safe, study finds

A P.E.I. yoga instructor is offering classes to help people recover from addictions through yoga and meditation.

Michelle Burns yoga teacher, meditation instructor and life coach has been teaching yoga at the provincial addictions treatment facility at Mt. Herbert since December, and is also creating retreats for people recovering from addictions.

The yoga classes at Mt. Herbert are covered by the province.

"I just think we need as many tools, techniques and processes available to people as we can possibly get so that there is a variety of different options available," said Burns.

She said people who've taken the yoga classes have seen less need for sleep and anxiety medication, feel less stress and more confident in their lives.

As part of her private practice Burns plans to offer more yoga classes specific to addictions in the fall. Those classes would be outside the treatment facility. She plans to look for funding and sponsors to make the classes accessible for those who need it.

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P.E.I. addictions centre offers yoga class

TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) -

Stress relief, pain relief, a better night's rest all good reasons to give yoga a try, unless, maybe, you're a man.

A recent study found that men are getting hurt in the yoga studio at a much higher rate than women, and those injuries to men are much more serious.

Ed Fuller is a triathlete. He started yoga two months ago at the urging of his wife. Now, he's a regular.

"It's really not for wimps," Fuller said. "It's very strenuous and it works the muscle groups you may not work in any other kind of sport."

See a comprehensive list of yoga poses here

But for former yoga enthusiast Michael Conti, a once-active lifestyle of traveling with his wife and hiking with his son is over. He says he now lives his life in pain, and he blames yoga.

"I thought maybe I tweaked my knee or something, and then it turned out to be much more serious than just a meniscus problem," Conti said. "It turned out to be nerve damage."

After reading "The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards," Conti wrote to its author, William Broad.

"That letter became a turning point," Broad said. "I slapped myself on the forehead. I can remember doing this and thinking, Wow. Most of the letters I'm getting about serious injuries have been from guys.'"

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Yoga for men: Pain or pain relief?

HONOLULU, July 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --The Little Yoga Cushion is good news for all who are interested in yoga, but desire extra support and protection from hard surfaces. This anatomically shaped cushion also helps experienced yogis to hold their poses longer. It is the perfect accessory for home use.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130723/AQ52034)

The beauty of yoga is that it can relieve stress and anxiety. It is all about the body, circulation and positioning. But just as a mat allows practitioners to be more stable in their routine, the right cushion reduces pain, adds to the comfort and increases endurance.

The Little Yoga Cushion is far from being just a pillow or a bolster. It's an ergonomically shaped, high quality device manufactured in the United States of America using state of the art injection molded polyurethane foam that provides maximum comfort, even on hardwood floors.

Its patented design will support hundreds of pounds and it allows dozens of yoga poses to be performed comfortably by those who might not otherwise be able to take part. Users of the Little Yoga Cushion will be better supported during their poses and will be able to hold those poses longer for improved results.

When it's not in use, the Little Yoga Cushion lives up to its name and can be stored unobtrusively. A storage/travel bag designed for the Little Yoga Cushion is also available.

"Yoga is excellent exercise and keeps the body limber and flexible. As the popularity of yoga explodes, many are discovering its positive effect on their lives," says Richard Moody, inventor of the Little Yoga Cushion. Older people, heavier people and those recovering from injuries, may have trouble with some of the poses, can benefit as well. The Little Yoga Cushion helps them to participate and puts them on the track to start living a healthy lifestyle".

Novice or expert, the Little Yoga Cushion has benefits for every level, shape and ambition.

For more information visit: http://www.LittleYogaCushion.com

About R. Moody International Inc. and Richard Moody

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The Little Yoga Cushion Takes Routines to the Next Level