September is National Yoga Month, and across the country yoga studios are opening their doors -- and hopefully, opening minds, too -- with free classes for anyone interested in learning more about yogas health benefits.

Among the many health benefits is better digestion, with certain yogic postures zeroing in on constipation, bloating, gas and other minor ailments.

In an interview with the Everyday Health website, yoga studio owner Lisa Korchma said that the regular practice of yoga, supplemented by a good diet and possibly even meditation, can bring about better digestive health.

Specific yoga poses, or asanas, do the trick, Korchma said.

Forward folding poses, for instance, compress the abdominal cavity so that when you release the bend, fresh blood and oxygen return to your digestive organs.

Poses using seated twisting can target gas and bloating. Many other non-seated twists, she added, relieve discomfort because they wring out the organs and promote bowel movements.

A similar recommendation for forward bends and twists came from Jillian Pransky, a restorative yoga expert interviewed in Yoga Journal magazine.

Pransky added that as a tension-reliever, yoga can aid peristalsis, the wavelike, involuntary movements of the intestinal muscles necessary for digestion and waste elimination.

In addition, yoga gets good marks among support groups for irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel diseases because it can be an excellent stress reliever.

At the HelpforIBS.com website, an entry on yoga praised it for stabilizing digestion and relieving constipation, diarrhea, bloating, gas and pain. It also pointed out that yoga can prevent or minimize menstrual cramps, which often go hand-in-hand with IBS. ___________________________________________________ More From EmpowHER: Go Fish For Heart Health

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Yoga a tool for combating digestive issues

For this yoga class, you're going to need a mat and a glow stick.

Lucky for you, if you stopped going to raves in the '90s, they're passing out glow sticks at the door. Leave your lollipop at home, though. Here, there's an herb bar and a table of healthy, vegetarian munchies. Sugar's not a huge hit here. Neither are drugs, so ditch the Scooby Snacks. Tonight is about creating your own trip.

Forget what you think you know about raves, and forget what you know about yoga. This is a hybrid of the two -- a yoga rave -- that defies the stereotypes of both.

The head-to-toe tattooed so-called "bad boy of yoga," David Sye, headed up the party in Boulder on Saturday, in a dim room filled with 100 candles and live electronic music. About 40 people (mostly teens) came, sporting glow sticks on their necks and wrists while twisting into pretzels and downward dogs, following Sye's out-of-the-box style of yoga: constantly moving, almost wiggling. He calls is an "unapologetically sexy celebration of life" that has been both criticized and praised.

They call it a movement.

And the concept of yoga raves -- yoga-centric parties with live music, some in nightclubs, always sober -- is spreading as a nightlife alternative for people who lead healthy lifestyles and want to "get lifted," according to Yoga Rave USA (yogarave.org), which was not affiliated with the recent Boulder event.

You know that buzz your body feels after you take a really good yoga class?

You know how a great song can trigger your emotions? (Like how every Journey song makes everyone on earth happy, or how the Scorpions used to make me cry and angrily lip-sync in the mirror when I was in seventh grade?)

Put those together (except maybe no bad hair-band music) in a big group with special light effects, and just for good measure, throw free Reiki energy work sessions in the corner. Sip from the mate bar while relaxing on a stack of cushions after you reach your yogic bliss.

Maybe now you can see it? Even though the initial combo of "yoga" and "rave" seems almost contradictory?

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Drop the acid -- seriously, drop it -- this rave features yoga

LAKEWOOD, Ohio, Sept. 17,2012 /PRNewswire/ -- For Marcia Camino, there's more to yoga than going to class to exercise and relax. The owner of PinkLotusYoga (PLY) in Lakewood firmly believes that the practice of yoga ultimately is about fostering a sense of community, not just within the four walls of her Lakewood studio but in the surrounding community at large through outreach and involvement. That is why Camino is sponsoring "Bend for Beck," a fundraiser for a local nonprofit organization, on Saturday, Sept. 29 at her studio. All proceeds benefit the Creative Arts Therapies programs at Beck Center for the Arts, the leader in comprehensive arts education in Northeast Ohio.

When Camino opened her studio at 18103 Detroit Ave. in December 2011, she didn't want to have her own space to just teach students a wide variety of yoga styles; she also wanted a place where people could come to grow, connect and build awareness with each other and the world around them.

"Every yoga studio has a mission to build a community," Camino says. "I wanted to bring that sense of community to extend beyond my students' yoga mats. Practicing yoga isn't about the time you spend in the studio. It is about involvement and mindfulness in every aspect of life."

Camino, a Lakewood resident for the better part of a decade, practices what she preaches. Over the years, she has held a number of special fundraiser events benefitting a number of non-profit organizations, including the Cleveland Foodbank, Edna House and even her Detroit Avenue neighbor, Lakewood Congregational Church and its Youth Homeless Awareness Sleepout. What's more, for the past five years, even before she owned her own studio, Camino has encouraged her students to take alternative transportation to class walking, biking, carpooling, public transit instead of driving. She calls this Pink Goes Green and has offered incentives to those who participate.

Working and living in a city where bicycling plays a major role in daily life, Camino was thrilled when the city of Lakewood last year began an intensive public process to build a strategy to make Lakewood the most bike-friendly community in Ohio through its BikeLakewood master plan, which includes installing bike racks near businesses throughout the city. So thrilled, that she commissioned -- with the city's blessing -- Cleveland 3D metal sculptor David Smith to create truly unique bike racks for installation in front of the PLY studio.

On Saturday, Sept. 29, at noon, Camino, Smith and local officials will dedicate Big Pink Yoga Dude and Yoga Dude Junior, the studio's two new bike racks. Named by the artist, these sculptures are sure to be conversation pieces, thanks to their size and eye-catching color opening the racks for use by all bicyclists in Lakewood.

Smith, a self-proclaimed yoga addict, met Camino seven years ago in a yoga class at the Cleveland Botanical Garden. She was his first yoga teacher, and he was one of her first yoga students. When he initially started practicing yoga, Smith says he suffered from debilitating neck problems. Since then, Smith has pursued a consistent yoga practice, following Camino to her various teaching locations over the years. He credits regular yoga with healing his chronic neck injury.

"I truly believe in that yoga does wonders for the mind, body and spirit. The disappearance of my neck problems are testament alone to that," Smith says.

He adds that as Camino's long-time student and friend, he not only is one of her biggest supporters of her yoga business but also of her community outreach efforts, which is why he designed the "Yoga Dudes" bike racks for her.

"I wanted to support Marcia's good work at her studio and in the community. The bike rack and the fundraiser were logical ways to help," says Smith, who has turned his passion for metalworking into a career over the past 12 years.

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Lakewood's Pink Lotus Yoga Studio Kicks Off PLY Outreach Endeavor with Special Celebration on Sept. 29

GRANDVILLE, MI -- What once began as an ad on Craigslist has transformed into a newly-opened yoga studio near RiverTown Crossings.

Vida Yoga Studio, 4365 Canal Ave., opened last week after owner Jen Wittlinger and her friend, Jami Kok, dreamed up the idea over coffee in January.

Its been a labor of love and Im grateful for all the support of our friends and family, Wittlinger said.

The word Vida means life. Wittlinger hopes her yoga studio will bring just that to everyone who walks through its doors.

I want to take any insecurities out of yoga and just have people try it, she said. To get into yourself.

Vida Yoga offers a variety of classes geared toward experienced yoga enthusiasts, as well as those who have never heard the word, Namaste, a common yoga term meaning true self.

Wittlinger will teach beginners the dos and donts of yoga during the Never Ever yoga class on Thursday evenings.

Well be sitting down and Ill give the basic yoga 101 class think of it as yoga etiquette, she said. Yoga is for everyone its for the athlete and the dreamer. Its a great place to start.

For those more experienced in yoga, there are six various classes, including Vida Sunrise, a morning session where tea and coffee are provided after class, as well as Rock Your Vida, a powerful class that turns on the heat and the music.

Prices range from $14 for a one-time class up to $99 for 10 classes, in addition to monthly and yearly membership discounts.

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Vida Yoga opens in Grandville to entice beginners and devotees

A new yoga studio set to open in Lexington Center later this fall will be the first to benefit from amended zoning regulations allowing group fitness establishments in second-floor locations in Lexingtons Center Business District.

Yolanda Taylor of Lexington and Jillian McDonough of Woburn are planning to open Lexington Power Yoga on Oct. 1 at 1762 Massachusetts Ave.

We have a focus and a drive to cater to the community, and we want the community involved, McDonough said. The difference between our yoga studio and others, that I think people will see immediately, is we want to provide a place that is clean and comfortable for people to go to.

Unexpected partnership

Originally, Taylor and McDonough were each independently looking to open a yoga studio in Lexington Center.

Taylor said she looked at several first-floor locations before she learned about a zoning change that would her to explore second-floor locations, which proved much more affordable.

I had looked at one pretty seriously and it was just hard to justify economically because it was basically double the price on the first floor, she said. Yoga isnt something you are kind of casually walking down the street and say, Oh, I think I might do some yoga in my jeans. So you dont need the first-floor location as much.

After months of searching for the right location, both Taylor and McDonough settled on a spot above Rancatores Ice Cream at the corner of Mass. Ave. and Waltham Street. Rather than bid against each other, they decided to become business partners.

It thankfully so happened that we crossed paths before both of us signed the lease, McDonough said.

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Yoga studio to open in Lexington Center

BATAVIA Aldermen hope a proposed yoga studio will add to the revitalization of downtown Batavia.

The City Councils Community Development Committee on Tuesday recommended approval of a $25,000 downtown improvement grant for Kay Eck of Wheaton, who wants to open a yoga studio in the building at 5 and 7 N. River St. The full City Council is set to vote on the recommendation at its meeting Monday.

Eck wants to renovate a 2,500-square-foot space into a retail area and yoga studio. The project is expected to cost $121,251.

The City Council in 2009 established the downtown improvement grant program, which provides building owners with up to 50 percent of actual improvement costs.

The project also includes a coffee/tea bar. Eck said she eventually wants to open a full cafe. She also will sell yoga clothing and activewear.

Seventh Ward Alderman Dave Brown, chairman of the Community Development Committee, sees the yoga studio as generating interest in the downtown and bringing people to the area.

Hopefully, they will help out other businesses on the street, like The Rhino Room, Brown said of the downtown restaurant. It will bring people to the downtown. Thats why I am in favor of it.

Eck said she wants to tap into the growing interest in yoga. Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke said he thought a yoga studio will be a good fit for the downtown.

I appreciate the applicant for wanting to come into this community and make an investment, Schielke said.

First Ward Alderman Michael OBrien noted Eck is coming in with the proposal before the streetscape improvements on North River Street are complete. The street is set to reopen to pedestrians and cars Oct. 19.

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Yoga studio may head to downtown Batavia

Jennie Pearl calls out instructions to her 17 high school yoga students, "... plank pose, inhale, cobra, exhale, down dog ..."

The students are going through the "sun salutation," a series of yoga poses. In their T-shirts, tights and sweats, students stretched out parallel to the ground, then looked up.

Pearl watches their movements as she calls out poses, occasionally asking them to reach further.

This was the beginning of one of two Flagstaff High School's yoga classes.

Pearl's FHS yoga classes were set to be cut from this school year's class schedule. When Sinagua was still a high school, all three high schools had yoga classes. Last year, Pearl had 120 students in her FHS classes, with a waiting list.

The cuts were for budgetary reasons, said FHS Principal Tony Cullen. In order to keep her classes going, Pearl, with help from the community, started fundraising.

They raised $6,000 -- enough to hold two classes.

"I don't know if this has been done before," Pearl said. "Hopefully, this inspires people: If it doesn't go your way, what can you do?"

GONG MEDITATIONS

Community members told Pearl they wished they had yoga in high school when they were growing up. That was part of the reason fundraising was successful.

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Yoga classes survive at Flagstaff High

Partner yoga an experimental fitness class being offered at 9 p.m. Tuesday nights at State Gym, promotes exploring your mind/body, but now people do not necessarily have to do it by themselves. Now they can explore their mind and body with another person.

Yoga literally translates to "union" or more specifically, the union of physical, mental and spiritual disciplines. When practicing yoga, individuals are working to develop these aspects of themselves; but in partner yoga, these disciplines stretch beyond individual development.

When youre working in yoga, youre trying to build relationships with yourself. ... When you add a partner, youre working to develop a relationship, said Nora Hudson, fitness coordinator for Recreation Services. So you are always gaining insight into all the different levels of the relationship physical, mental and spiritual.

Partner yoga, Hudson said, involves a lot of coordination.

Theres definitely more balance work that needs to happen because you have to negotiate between two people, Hudson said. You have to quickly look outside yourself and be observant of that individual and their needs and physical abilities, and learn how to match that and coordinate it.

Hudson suggested this balance is a symbolic concept of any relationship a balance that gives and takes and understanding how to come together to form one unified posture.

[It] really helps develop a sense of trust within both people, said Paul Beamer, senior in horticulture and yoga instructor. You have to learn to communicate pretty effectively and be willing to trust yourself and the other person. Its a nice shared experience you dont get elsewhere.

Partner yoga requires a higher physical level at the core, making it a great challenge for core and body strength. Having a partner also allows you to reach a posture you couldnt do by yourself, or is dependent upon the second person to facilitate it deeper. This allows for a different experience of your body, Hudson said.

Chad Yuen, graduate student in chemistry and lead instructor of partner yoga, explained that partner yoga is a variety of different traditional yoga poses but taken to the next level.

Examples of these more difficult moves include, flying poses, which is one person as base, one balancing to fly similar to playing airplane as a child, or double downward dog," which is one person doing downward dog, while the other stands on their hands and rests their feet on the back of the downward dog.

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New twist to yoga: partner yoga

By: Mary Elizabeth Robertson | Morganton News Herald Published: September 12, 2012 Updated: September 12, 2012 - 5:28 PM

As a way to stretch, promote recovery month and good health, a day of yoga will be offered on the Old Courthouse Lawn on Saturday.

It started in recognition of recovery month, said Rhonda Lynne Cook, a yoga instructor and independent marketing event coordinator. Yoga teachers in the area are coming together to promote unity and transformative qualities of yoga.

Cook created the event as a way to recognize recovery month and raise money for Burke Substance Abuse Network.

All of the funds raised will go to awareness activities of Burke Substance Abuse Network, she said. We will not turn anyone way.

At Yoga on the Lawn, three yoga classes will be offered beginning at 10 a.m.

Yoga is for everybody at any time in their life, she said.

Morgantons own yoga instructor Peggy Carter, will teach a 45-minute class on the lawn. Following her class, Prema Lynn Felder of Winston-Salem and Asheville Rich Fabio will teach a 45-minute class each.

Following the yoga classes, a drum circle will begin at 1 p.m. The public is invited to bring their percussion instruments and participate.

It will be people sitting in a circle connecting and enjoying the experience together, Cook said. Its wonderful to participate in and watch.

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Yoga on the Lawn set for Saturday

CEBU, Philippines - The effects of physical exercise, specifically the Superbrain yoga, in enhancing memory was already studied and tested by students of the University of the Visayas College of Nursing.

It was in 2010 when selected Level III Nursing students, headed by Ms. Amee Arong, in a study entitled "Physical exercise: A memory enhancer or just a plain body builder," compared groups of people who exercised to groups of people who did not exercise much.

The researchers used the quasi-experimental research design, with control group wherein the students were given an examination without introducing exercise.

On the other hand, the experimental group, had the same set of questionnaire, but was introduced with exercise.

The exam was to take 15 minutes run, thus physical exercise, specifically Superbrain yoga, was applied to the experimental group in three consecutive days including the examination day.

The data and information needed in the study were gathered through questionnaire with the help of clinical instructors led by Mr. Joel Serad.

It was being proven that those individuals exposed to exercise have enhanced memory compared to those unexposed. The group exposed to exercise had a mean score of 12, which lies on the line of effectiveness and accounts for 75 percent of 15. Meanwhile, the group without exercise had a mean score of nine (9) which signifies ineffectiveness.

Why Superbrain yoga?

Arong's group of 12 students mentioned in the rationale of their study that "Superbrain yoga is based on the principles of subtle energy and earlobe pressure points to optimize brain wellness."

Superbrain yoga is designed to energize and recharge the brain as it combines movement and breathing with specific hand placements and leg movement to move the energy within the body system, thus activating, cleaning, and increasing the brain functioning for academic and personal growth.

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Superbrain yoga