(WFLX) - Stress relief, pain relief, a better night's rest: All good reasons to give yoga a try, right?

Maybe not if 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.

It comes at a time when more men are taking yoga classes. "Many of them are athletes, marathoners, tri-athletes, and they're really enjoying the health benefit that they're getting from the practice," said Rachel Moncayo, a fitness center owner.

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

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. It turned out to be nerve damage," said Conti, a former yoga practitioner.

After reading The Science of Yoga: The Risks And the Rewards, Conti wrote to its author William Broad. "That letter became a turning point. 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.'"

Broad started to investigate federal data on emergency room visits for yoga-related injuries. Although men only made up 16 percent of his study, they accounted for 20 percent of the strains, 24 percent of the dislocations, 30 percent of the fractures and a whopping 71 percent of nerve damage injuries linked to yoga. By contrast, women only accounted for the vast majority of fainting episodes.

Sports specialist Dr. Tanya Hagan says in general, there could be a few reasons for this. "Men, with their increased muscle mass and decreased flexibility, are pushing those joints beyond their appropriate physiologic limits."

So should men stop doing yoga or stretch differently?

More here:
Yoga causing problems for men

Reflection Laguna Beach, Calif.

Class began at dusk in a dimly lit studio facing Pacific Coast Highway as the yoga teacher appeared, adjusting the shawl draped around his shoulders, and took his seat on a quilted meditation pillow.

Because the sun was setting behind him, the teacher appeared in silhouette. I could only hear his voice as he guided us through the 90-minute Kundalini yoga class -- a series of meditations, chanting, vigorous breathing exercises and asanas (or postures).

"I want you to know that this is a safe place," the teacher, Cole "Raahi" Jacobs, told us midway through class. "You can feel whatever you need to feel. You are safe here."

I did. I was.

At the beginning of the year, I embarked on a two-month sabbatical to recover from a rough 2012. I needed to recharge and resolved to rest, spend time with the people I love most, and find some kind of physical practice that would be restorative.

Working out is not something that comes naturally to me -- in fact, I hate it -- but I have practiced yoga sporadically since college and thought yoga might be my wheelhouse.

I had not-so-great experiences in the crowded commercial studios where the main goal of the ancient Indian practice seemed to be attaining the perfect "yoga butt" rather than anything approximating enlightenment.

So I prayed, asking God to send me a teacher and a place to practice that would be right for me.

I had heard a new yoga studio had opened in town called Ritual Yoga Arts, where a more traditional style of yoga is taught and practiced with an eye toward spiritual, holistic health rather than tight buns.

Read more from the original source:
California yoga prodigy finds joy in service

VENICE, Calif., May 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Seek Retreat has launched Seekretreat.com, a unique online destination & community offering a curated guide & booking service to some of the best yoga retreats and instructors worldwide.

Seekretreat.com is a highly designed online destination that captures the best retreats, wellness destinations and instructors and showcases them all in a stylish and easy-to-use online guide and booking service. The site simplifies the logistics of marketing and selling yoga retreats by helping producers, studios and instructors showcase their offerings through an interactive yoga retreat guide while at the same time offers users an easy-to-use booking service. Visitors receive insider-access, exclusive deals and inspiring editorial content and can also share their trips and bookings through their social media networks.

"With Seekretreat.com we are committed to bringing ease and some style to the world of online retreat booking, providing the ultimate community for retreat destinations, teachers and yoga lovers, " says Alex McAfee, CEO, Seekretreat.com.

"Seekretreat.com helps retreat instructors, producers and destinations develop their business, offering them a stunning showcase for their retreat offerings while at the same time providing an easy and fun experience for seekers to discover new teachers and to ultimately find the perfect retreat".

Maya Fiennes, Larah Davis, Ashley Turner and Elena Brower are just a few of the big name instructors you'll find on seekreatreat.com an exquisitely curated guide and booking service where visitors become travelers in this exciting new international yoga community.

"Global, beautiful and carefully curated, Seek Retreat is the perfect place to find your ideal retreat," says Elena Brower, Founder of Virayoga and author of Art of Attention.

Seek Retreat is the brain-child of Alex McAfee and John Mullin and was founded to create stylish solutions and products for the wellness industry. Seek Retreat's future offerings will include curated retreats and adventure travel, books, music and a TV show as well as wellness products and experiences. The site will soon offer e-commerce, a membership & rewards program and user generated reviews.

CONTACT:Audra Stanley 1 843 318 1157 media@seekretreat.com

Go here to read the rest:
Yoga's Hottest Celebrities Come Together To Seek Retreat

Have you ever tried yoga? It's not just for the thin, fit and athletically-built. Just about anyone who can breathe can practice yoga to some extent and reap its many benefits. We'll prove it. In this series, U.S. News talks with people who are changing the face of yoga.

Sarah Schaffer is a senior at Free State High School in Lawrence, Kan. When she's not playing the cymbals and triangle in the concert band, she's sprinting and shot-putting on the school's green and silver Firebirds track team. Sarah is a fan of country music - especially songs by Blake Shelton - and she also has Down syndrome.

Sarah is one of more than 400,000 people in the United States living with Down syndrome, according to the National Down Syndrome Society. Individuals with the condition have an extra full or partial copy of chromosome 21, which alters development and can result in mild to moderate cognitive delays. While every person with Down syndrome has unique traits and degrees of abilities, a few of the condition's common physical characteristics include smaller stature, slightly upward-slanting eyes and low muscle tone, according to NDSS.

This low muscle tone is part of what prompted Sarah's mom, Rose, a nurse with a degree in exercise science, to introduce her daughter to yoga. Rose felt yoga would help develop core strength, which would in turn boost Sarah's coordination and ability to breathe deeply - a practice that would circulate more oxygen to her brain, Rose says. She soon discovered that yoga before bedtime also helped Sarah relax and sleep better.

Now, Sarah practices yoga regularly - even the "sculpting" variety with hand weights. She practices at after-school classes and at home with DVDs. (Her favorite DVDs are those hosted by fitness instructor Denise Austin because they're fun, calm and relaxing, her mother says.) Sarah tells U.S. News more about her yoga practice. Her responses have been edited.

What's your favorite part about yoga?

I like the music in the background, and I like the stretching because it's fun, and it feels relaxing. The stretching helps with my running because I'm more stretched out.

Do you have a favorite stretch?

I like the bridge, and I like doing child's pose at the end.

What's been your biggest challenge with yoga?

More:
Yoga With Down Syndrome: Sarah Shaffer's Story