Bum in the air, palms flat, I stretch my hamstrings while holding a downward dog pose.

Wobbling a little, I maintain my balance as I lower myself on to all fours and lean back into childs pose only to promptly slip off my board and splash into the sea.

When I first heard of yoga paddleboarding I thought it sounded serene. What could be better than doing a sun salutation under the sky, surrounded only by lapping waves?

But balancing on a board isnt as easy as it looks.

Wanting to jazz up my yoga practice, Id come for a 90-minute yoga paddleboarding class at Watercooled, a watersports centre near Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

Dubai spa treatments that won't break the bank

I start by finding my balance on all fours, then grab my paddle and slowly straighten up. Without locking my knees, I stand hip width apart and paddle through turquoise waters till Im three metres deep. I dont see any fish, but signs warn of manta rays and sea urchins.

The class takes part in a harbour, so the water is calm and the bottom is sandy. But even though Dubai enjoys year-round sunshine, Im here in winter, so the water is still cool.

My instructor clips all five students boards to the same rope, so when the yoga begins theres no chance of drifting off unless you fall asleep in dead mans pose, that is.

We run through a series of basic moves, including the plank and cobra, so I stretch on my front and look to the sky. For obvious reasons symmetrical poses are best, explains the instructor, to maintain an even weight across the board. So one-handed hand stands are out, but I manage a warrior pose, stretching my right arm forward and my left leg back, before carefully swapping over.

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Jazz up your yoga on a paddleboard

Sangha Studios, 917 Front St.,

Sarah Leversee uses the silk for support during Aerial Yoga at Sangha Studios in Louisville. ( Mark Leffingwell )

Instructor: Raven Roth, of Denver, co-owner of the new Sangha Studios in Louisville. Roth first tried yoga near 20 years ago to help with pain from a back injury from a car accident, and she has been practicing ever since. She was certified to teach vinyasa yoga in 2008. In September, she became the first in the state, and currently the only, to be certified as an Unnata Aerial Yoga instructor, she says.

What is the workout? A new type of yoga that uses a fabric circus hammock hanging from the ceiling to help students deepen their yoga positions -- or even achieve more advanced postures in a quicker time frame.

Unnata is Sanskrit for "elevated." It is designed to enhance, not replace, traditional yoga.

One misconception that people have is that you're 20 feet up in the air; however, you can touch the floor with your legs or arms at all times. The hammocks are only slightly elevated off the ground.

What's different: The Unnata approach began in 2006. Unlike other aerial approaches to yoga, where the hammock is the focus and the yoga is in the background, this style emphasizes yoga first, with the hammock as a prop to enhance that.

"You're working without gravity," Roth says.

What does it cost? A one-time drop-in is $16. Tip: You can currently find a Groupon for a month of unlimited yoga for $49 or 10 classes for $39:

groupon.com/deals/sangha-studios.

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Workout of the week: Unnata Aerial Yoga

Fran Miller was in her 50s when she became a yoga teacher.

That was four decades ago.

Miller, who turns 91 this week, is still at it teaching three classes a week in the San Fernando Valley for the city's Department of Recreation and Parks.

She is so lithe and energetic that her students say they hardly notice her age. "I didn't even know she was that old," said Maureen Hanrahan. For much of the 10 years she's been taking Miller's classes, Hanrahan thought the instructor was in her 70s, she said.

Miller moved from her native New York to the Los Angeles area in 1941 and eventually settled in Valley Village. Her husband passed away when she was 40, and the onetime secretary was left to raise her daughters: Robin Cosio, 64, and Wendy Nordstrom, 60.

She first tried yoga after spotting a newspaper ad for a class taught by a rabbi at the Van Nuys YMCA.

Yoga had always fascinated Miller. But it seemed "so far out," she said.

A rabbi teacher was a different story, however. "How could I pass this up?" Miller recalled thinking. She is Jewish, and the class was close by, she said. She enrolled "and took to it like a duck to water."

The rabbi asked Miller to be one of his demonstrators in exchange for free classes. She agreed, and soon he asked her to fill in teaching his classes when he was away.

The first time the anxious Miller arrived to teach, she was armed with a list of notes. She didn't need them. She kept teaching, and when the rabbi announced he was retiring, he gave his position to Miller. Offers to lead private sessions followed, including a full-time summer job at the Highland Springs Resort in Cherry Valley, Calif.

Excerpt from:
For longtime yoga instructor, 90, only her age isn't a stretch

The action was filed by The National Center for Law & Policy, an Escondido, Calif.-based nonprofit legal defense organization focusing on protection and promotion of religious freedom, the sanctity of life, traditional marriage, parental rights and other civil liberties.

NCLP attorney Dean R. Broyles filed the lawsuit on behalf of plaintiffs Stephen and Jennifer Sedlock, parents whose children attend schools in the district.

EUSDs Ashtanga yoga program represents a serious breach of the public trust, Broyles said in a press release.

The program is extremely divisive and has unfortunately led to the harassment, discrimination, bullying and segregation of children who, for good reasons, opt out of the program, he added.

The complaint alleges that the school district used state resources to endorse Ashtanga yoga thereby unlawfully promoting religious beliefs, and failed to suspend the Ashtanga yoga program.

The lawsuit points out that in September 2012, EUSD gave parents the option to opt out of the program, which provides 60 minutes of weekly yoga instruction. Students who dropped the class were placed in non physical education classes or independent study.

Ashtanga is a yoga technique developed by K. Pattabhi Jois. It employs yoga breathing techniques to alleviate stress and increase body circulation.

Some parents in the district strongly opposed yoga inclusion in EUSDs health and wellness program. EUSD received a $533,720 grant from the KP Jois Foundation to fund the programs for students K-6 for the 2012-2013 school year (I-W, Jan. 11, 2013).

According to the NCLP press release, the lawsuit doesnt seek monetary damages, but wants EUSD to suspend the Ashtanga yoga program and restore traditional physical education to the district.

EUSD superintendent Timothy Baird told India-West in a phone interview Feb. 22 that he is disappointed by the lawsuit and that EUSD stands behind the program and will continue to offer it to students because of its health benefits and support from parents, students and teachers.

See original here:
Parents Sue to Remove Yoga from Calif. School District

Click photo to enlarge

Army veterans Andy Williams, left, and Chris Rivera, right, take part in a yoga class at Los Positas College on Thursday, March 7, 2013 in Livermore, Calif. The Warrior One yoga program was designed specifically for military veterans, student veterans, and their families. Students learn and practice yoga postures, and ways to modify them for healing injuries, anxiety and PTSD. (Aric Crabb/Staff)

LIVERMORE -- Pleasanton resident Andy Williams put his body through the ringer during his 12-year Army career, including a stint in Iraq in the first Gulf War.

In 1993, he was hit by a drunken driver, causing injuries to his neck and back. However, he continued jumping out of planes as a paratrooper and Airborne Division sergeant. The work took its toll.

"I'm constantly in pain," Williams said. "Everyday activities are very difficult for me, but I get through it."

Seeking relief for her husband's injuries, Andy's wife, Denise, discovered WarriorsOne Yoga, a new yoga class exclusively for veterans and their spouses at Las Positas College. The three-month class began Feb. 21 and is held every Thursday in the college's Athletic Center. Offered through the schools' Community Education program, it's free for veterans enrolled at Las Positas, the $10 charge reimbursed by the Veterans First program. Nonstudent veterans and their spouses can sign up for $30.

After just two sessions, Williams said he's already benefiting from the stretching exercises. Also diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, Williams says the relaxation he gets in the yoga room is a welcome relief from his symptoms.

"I don't like large groups. I don't like loud noises," he said. "So being in there with the calming music -- it just seems peaceful."

Taking Williams and a handful of veterans through the breathing exercises and poses is instructor Suzanna

"It's a motivated group," Spring said. "They're used to working hard. If anything I have to tell them to not work so hard."

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WarriorsOne yoga course at Las Positas College helps veterans heal

Ranchi University has introduced its journalism students to a basic course in Sahaj Yoga to help the to-be professionals breathe easy and not gasp later at work.

Taking a cue from what is a common practice among bar outfits of Supreme Court and Delhi High Court as well as telecom firms, the varsity's department of journalism and mass communication conducted a lesson for students to strike a balance between body and mind through meditation on Saturday.

Director of the department Sushil Ankan said that growing stress and inability to handle the same adversely affected one's performance.

As a result, people who were trained in executing special tasks, too, fail to perform and at times get frustrated.

The journalism students would soon enter a professional arena that is known for high degrees of stress, he added.

"When we are teaching them the subjects, practically exposing them to print and electronic journalism, it is our moral responsibility to help them handle stress, too."

Sahaj Yoga is a process of inner awakening that helps in stress management and improves intelligence quotient (IQ), emotional quotient (EQ) and spiritual quotient (SQ).

The meditation style enhances an individual's physical and psychological well-being and improves balance, equanimity and self-control.

Brij Mishra, a software engineer, explained the process of Sahaj Yoga to around 100 students. He said there are seven chakras (energy centres) in the human body. The chakras are responsible for our physical, emotional and mental well-being.

"Once we attain self-realisation, we feel the centres in the subtle system within us. As the kundalini (corporeal energy) rises and passes through the centres (in the spinal cord) and pierces the fontanel bone area on top of the head, it nourishes and revitalises the centres (chakras) so that the person feels relaxed, calm and full of life," he said.

The rest is here:
Yoga tips for to-be scribes