VANCOUVER - The Vancouver Canucks did some yoga Monday to help them relax after a disappointing loss in Detroit, but a potentially stressful question still needs to be answered.

Coach Alain Vigneault must decide whether to go back to Roberto Luongo, who allowed all of the goals in an 8-3 loss to the Red Wings. Vigneault was not around to field reporters' questions and add a new chapter to Vancouver's season-long goaltending saga.

Goaltending has been a hot topic since Cory Schneider displaced Luongo as the team's starter in last spring's playoffs, but the team did not trade the latter as expected.

Luongo was not available Monday, either, but teammates were quick to defend him after the shellacking in Motown.

"Goaltending has been excellent," said Daniel Sedin. "That's one game, and everyone can have an off night. That was one for Lu, and he's going to come right back and be good again."

Bounces off defencemen, shooters left wide open, and a poor penalty-killing effort, which enabled Detroit to convert three of five power plays, did not help his cause. The outing contradicted his 23-save effort in a 1-0 win in Nashville two nights earlier.

"(Luongo) and (Schneider) have been our best players this year," said Henrik Sedin. "That's the bottom line."

He said forwards and defencemen can go without scoring and generate little discussion, but everybody talks about the goaltenders even if they have an average performance.

Accordingly, fans and some media types were questioning Sunday and Monday whether Luongo should have been pulled rather than being left in for all eight goals. Luongo saw his goal-against average fall to a highly respectable 2.11 after he led the league. He suffered his first regulation-time loss of the season and sports a 5-1-5 record, including two shutouts, along with three overtime losses and two shootout setbacks.

Schneider has a 2.68 goals-against average with a 5-3-2 mark and one shutout.

Go here to see the original:
Yoga session help Canucks relax, but goaltending question remains to be answered

New York, Feb 27 (ANI): As more men are flocking to yoga classes, it seems they're tired of borrowing their girlfriends' purple, flowered yoga mats.

Thankfully for them, some savvy retailers have heard the complaint and are starting to step up their offerings for male yogis.

YogaJack Inc., a fledgling company based in San Francisco and Boston, last week announced its introductory line of yoga gear just for guys, the New York Daily News reported.

Among the offerings are longer, thicker yoga mats with a "proprietary non-slip surface" for sweaty dudes, and tote bags in guy-friendly basic black.

Founder and president Jahon Jamali, a 32-year-old father of two who once worked in intelligence for the Department of Defense, first got into yoga because hi wife had been pushing him.

"I gotta be honest - yoga is a little intimidating for guys at first. I went out to buy a cheap mat and I couldn't find anything for me. I'm not a New Age guy; I'm a standard average Joe. Guess what, I don't want a floral print mat," he said.

The YogaJack ONE Men's Premium Yoga Mat is longer and cushier than other mats on the market.

YogaJack isn't the only company to get a jump on guy-friendly yoga gear.

High-end athletic shop Lululemon has a dedicated men's yoga section in its stores and on its website, though the women's offerings are still more plentiful.

Yogi favorite Manduka offers its signature mats in longer sizes and a wide range of colors.

Go here to see the original:
More men trying yoga than ever before

(MENAFN - Arab Times) YOGA balances the basic elements of existence to create harmony between body, mind and spirit. In this week's interview, Dareen Akkad, a certified yoga instructor, discusses at depth the intricacies of this ancient wisdom and how it can help bring discipline into your life. She traveled East to the land of its origins and practiced against the pristine backdrop of the legendary Himalayas to earn the certificate that entitles her to pass on this all-encompassing art to the benefit of the society. Read on and find out how a transcendental union with the universe can be achieved, not through a space odyssey, but by simply turning inwards into your own self.

Question: Yoga has become very famous worldwide in the last few decades. There are a lot of yoga teachers springing up everywhere, and often times there are conflicting methods in which they teach. How can you tell a genuine teacher from someone who has just picked up some Asanas from the Internet and pretends to be an expert?

Answer: You will have to find out if the person is certified yoga teacher. I have an Indian Yoga Alliance Certificate. This is a certificate from a worldwide yoga alliance, which is sort of an international yoga regulatory body. If I want to teach in Canada I will have to register with the Canadian chapter of the Alliance using my certificate. This certificate can be transferred anywhere in the world, where the Alliance has a chapter. However, there could be yoga teachers who may not be certified yoga instructors, but they would be certified in some other forms of physical training and qualified to teach yoga. In some cases, the instructor would have practiced yoga long enough to be able to teach yoga. It's actually your discretion whether or not you want to be instructed by a certified instructor.

Q: But is that advisable, because some of the postures you practice could have profound effects. There are postures which a pregnant woman or a person with hypertension is not supposed to practice. In that case, if an instructor is not a professional he could cause harm to his students. Isn't it? A: Yes absolutely. That's why I wouldn't advise you to go to just anybody and learn yoga. You have to be careful in choosing your instructor. But let's also not misunderstand that all teachers without a formal certificate are fakes. However, it's advisable to go to a certified instructor, because then you can be sure. Yoga is for anybody and everybody. From the beginning to the end, you have the same Asanas. If you take the Tree Pose for example, there are ways in which a beginner does it, and you can work yourself up to advanced levels in the same Asana. A certified instructor will be able to guide you in a manner that you can adapt the pose to your body's limitations. If you are not a qualified teacher, then you might do something that could cause injuries.

So, if I have a mixed class of students at different levels, I can teach one Asana to them considering the limitations of each student. It's important to listen to your body. Your body is smarter than you. It gives you signs that it's not happening. Yes, there's going to be some stress when you stretch your muscles, but everybody has a limit, beyond which it can cause damage. If you listen to your body, you will know what that limit is. Stop at that limit, or you could tear a muscle or injure a ligament.

Q: Does yoga actually help in losing weight? I am asking this because obesity is a growing health issue in Kuwait, like in so many other parts of the world. A: Yoga helps you do so many things, beyond just losing weight. It helps your lung capacity, it helps your circulation, it helps regulate your appetite... all the tissues, organs, glands in your body work together harmoniously to achieve the perfect balance.

Q: Before we get deeper into that, can you define yoga for me? A: Yoga in Sanskrit means union. It's a practice that aims at creating a harmonious union or marriage of your body, mind and soul. A lot of physical exercises work on improving your physical state, or regulating your body's fat percentage and such things. But they don't work on your spirit or your mental health. Yoga creates equilibrium, a balance of your physical, mental and spiritual health. So, all three important elements of your existence are addressed. For a person to feel fully healthy, all these elements have to be addressed. A person who is overweight has physical imbalance in his existence. A person who is depressed and stressed has a mental imbalance, and person who feels lost has a spiritual imbalance. If any one of those elements is compromised, then you are less healthy.

Q: How does yoga help to bring the balance of mind? A: Yoga creates balance of mind mainly through meditation. Hindu or Buddhist saints practice meditation for hours or days at a stretch. They believe they can attain enlightenment, which is becoming one with the universe. You lose your ego, and you become aware, and understanding of everything that happens around you. That's the ultimate aim of meditation, but at our common practicing level, meditation helps clear your mind, and be focused and calm. It helps to manage your frustrations and anger better. After meditation, the second thing you do is Pranayama, which is breathing exercises. Pranayama firstly helps in improving the relationship between your lungs and your heart. It improves your lung capacity; it helps clean out toxins from your lungs and body. It also prepares you for the yoga session ahead. Breathing exercises also helps you relax; that's why they ask you to take a deep breath when you are stressed or angry. Deep breathing also helps you achieve better meditation. And then comes the Asanas, which are different postures. There are some very common and well known Asanas in yoga, one's that are very commonly used. But Gurus tell you that there are hundreds and thousands of Asanas. The list never ends. The Asanas represent practically everything. A lot of times, it's the animals and insects. There are Asanas that are named after warriors, gods etc.

Q: Is it true that the Asanas have very specific objectives, like a certain posture reduces blood pressure, and another one helps in secreting a certain hormone and so on? A: Well, at the very fundamental level Asanas strengthen your body posture. An Asana can have very obvious physical benefits such as back strengthening, abdominal strengthening and so on. You will know and feel it as you do the Asana as your muscles tense. You will know that a particular Asana is working on your hamstrings, quadruplets etc. Then there are other biological benefits, which you can't necessarily perceive. You can have an Asana that can have an effect on your thyroid glands because you are compressing and relaxing it from the way you are postured. You are actually giving the gland a good massage, promoting circulation to your thyroid. Similarly, you can do something that extends your liver, and so the blood-flow to that organ improves. A posture that massages your ascending and descending colons can help in stimulating the process of digestion. The more you practice the Asanas and the better you breathe the more flexibility and strength you will gain. Eventually, you will be able to do the Asana to its full extent, and to its maximum benefit.

However, that's not to say that a beginner gets less benefit than an advanced practitioner. Even if you are a beginner, you are putting in as much effort as an expert in achieving an Asana, and both stand to gain equally. So, if someone can't do an Asana to the fullest extent, then that doesn't mean they will not get the full benefit.
As you practice more you will begin to feel more comfortable in the pose, until you can rest in a particular Asana. You can even meditate in that pose for ever and not feel any discomfort or pain. That's why you see Yogis in India who get into a Tree Pose or a Headstand and vow not to come out of it for weeks until the goal is attained. And they are comfortable in that pose. One more important thing to bear in mind is that the meditation you started your yoga session with should continue to the end of the session. You don't lose your focus. If your focus is to touch you toes, then keep that focus. A troubled mind affects your performance.

Continue reading here:
Yoga helps achieve the perfect balance

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8CyYJAs1v4

Yoga Classes - Yoga for Leg Strength. Start toning your legs with online yoga!
Looking for yoga classes that will tone up your thighs? Here #39;s another great yoga video that focuses on building muscle and burning fat in your legs! You #39;ll be sweating in no time! Reflexion Yoga offers beginner yoga, yoga classes, yoga workouts, yoga poses, yoga postures, yoga exercises,...

By: ReflexionYoga

View post:
Yoga Classes - Yoga for Leg Strength. Start toning your legs with online yoga! - Video

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTpPgp1n_nQ

Yoga for a Pinched Neck Nerve
Yoga for a Pinched Neck Nerve To view full HD version, please visit YOGAmazing.com and view YOGAmazing 24/7. http://www.yogamazing.com Submit questions to chaz@yogamazing.com

By: Chaz Rough

Go here to read the rest:
Yoga for a Pinched Neck Nerve - Video

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

World Yoga Day 2013 in Unterfoehring near Munich by SoaYoga
World Yoga Day 2013 (24.02.2013) in Physio Training Unterfoehring - a vinyasa song flow class (choreographed to a song) http://www.worldyogaday.net class created and held by Soa. http://www.soayoga.com location provided by Physio Training Unterfhring near Munich. http://www.physio-training-unterfhring.de Thanks to all participants! For some of them it was the first yoga class they took! ... but as you can see in the video, all of them go full steam ahead! Music makes the difference... 🙂 We contributed 75 Euros and our enthusiasm to the World Yoga Day 2013! Om Shanti Peace.

By: Soa Yoga

The rest is here:
World Yoga Day 2013 in Unterfoehring near Munich by SoaYoga - Video

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bamp4r8sZ5M

Old Town Yoga Mural Creation - Time Lapse Video
http://www.oldtownyoga.com This is a short time lapse video of the creation of the Old Town Yoga Studio mural by artist Chris Bates. Check out his work at http://www.mightyfineart.org

By: oldtownyoga

See the original post here:
Old Town Yoga Mural Creation - Time Lapse Video - Video

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5KqBWzJcZs

Arya Movement Project: Arts Research and Yoga Winter 2013 Pt. 2 Interviews
In this clip Maya Haddad speaks of her experience in the workshops and her partner/dance assistant Mario. Unique to the experience is that each Arya Movement Project participant is paired with a Cuban artist. The Arya Movement Project participant and Cuban artist participate in workshops together. Because of this an organic dialogue is created between two people regarding life,culture, art, etc. Email aryamovementproject@gmail.com for more information regarding performances, research and retreats.

By: Erica Bowen

Link:
Arya Movement Project: Arts Research and Yoga Winter 2013 Pt. 2 Interviews - Video

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fCBdRiXluk

Join Loan on the mat at The Yoga Fusion
The Yoga Fusion welcomes Loan Dorst to our growing staff of exceptional instructors.

By: TheYogaFusion

Here is the original post:
Join Loan on the mat at The Yoga Fusion - Video

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9t_LkQ0Vv4

Yoga for Tired Feet: Tose Pose w/ Om Gal Rebecca Pacheco
Your poor tootsies-- they #39;re often neglected! They need yoga, too. This pose is excellent for reviving tired, achy feet, especially for distance runners and fashionistas fond of wearing high heels. It may look harmless, but this pose is intense. It #39;s a perfect opportunity to use your breathe and meditation to keep your mind focused calm. Try 10 breaths to start.

By: Rebecca Pacheco

View original post here:
Yoga for Tired Feet: Tose Pose w/ Om Gal Rebecca Pacheco - Video