The Valley is full of hidden gems, and Yoga Deva is one yogis will want to discover.

The studios unassuming exterior blends with the rest of its Gilbert complex, yet opens to a breathtaking soul sanctuary with soaring ceilings, cool silver walls and room to breathe deep.

The distractions of the exterior world fall away in the softly lit space, designed with organic elements of warm walnut paneling, a faint hint of lavender, and a luminous, deep blue wall that draws you toward the light. The spacious studio is flooded with diffused daylight, and the massive inverted ceiling vaults float like clouds above. Translucent white panels cocoon you from the outside world, and shadows play just beyond. A natural flow is experienced as visitors journey through this unique space, built with the intent to heal through beauty.

Classes include Flow, Synergy, Yin/Yang, and Power variations lead by instructors with a genuine passion for the practice.

Yoga Deva is at 2680 S. Val Vista Drive, No. 143, in Gilbert. Reach it at (480) 722-9000 or YogaDeva.net.

Follow Lily at LocalLily.com, a blog published by Beth Hickey and Brandi Walsh, where youll find the best local restaurants, shopping, events and things to do.

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Yoga Deva a soul sanctuary in Gilbert

When I was living in Arizona a few years ago, I lived within walking distance of a yoga school. For a few months, I attended class a couple times a week and loved it. Since then, I've wanted to get back into yoga, but cost and scheduling prohibited it.

The solution comes in the form of Pocket Yoga, which gives you a good, basic yoga workout on an iOS device. While you can use it on the iPhone, it's best suited to the iPad. You also can use the AirPlay support to transmit it to an Apple TV.

Pocket Yoga has three practices that can be done for 30 minutes, 45 minutes or an hour. There's an extensive library of poses to check out if you're not familiar with them, and two sun salutation routines. The poses are represented by a cartoon avatar with a voiceover narrating the workout. Whoever did Pocket Yoga's narration did a fantastic job, for it and the accompanying music are easy to listen to during the workout. If you don't care for the default soundtrack, you can customize it using tracks from your music library.

One of the things that Pocket Yoga lacks is the ability to do shorter exercises. I'd love to see a 15-minute version of the main exercises. I'd also like to see the example poses be animated to help beginners along. It won't take the place of a good yoga class, but it's a great supplement if you want to workout on your own.

Pocket Yoga is on sale for $1.99. If you're a pro and want to build your own practices, Pocket Yoga - Practice Builder is $4.99. Or this week, head to Starbucks and pick up a promo card to download Pocket Yoga - Practice Builder for free as part of its "Pick of the Week" program.

Developer Sergio Tacconi said that Starbucks picking Pocket Yoga - Practice Builder happened to be a coincidence. "The original app was created mostly at Starbucks," he said, "since I didn't have an office for the first year I was starting this venture."

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Daily iPad App: Pocket Yoga channels your inner yogi

Yoga classes will be offered in Kilgore, Longview

Kilgore College will once again offer yoga as a kinesiology elective this fall.

Beginning yoga courses will be offered both in Kilgore and Longview, and the courses will count toward physical education requirements to graduate with an associates degree.

Kilgore yoga classes will be offered in Parks Fitness Center, and Longview classes will be offered at Good Shepherd Medical Centers Institute for Healthy Living on Hawkins Parkway.

Cecile Craft, KCs yoga instructor, said she is excited that the college has made yoga a part of its kinesiology curriculum.

Yoga is a true healing art, Craft said. It increases lung capacity, lengthens muscles and improves balance and coordination.

Kilgore yoga classes will be offered this fall from 9 to 10 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Longview yoga classes will be offered this fall from 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Also, at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, a non-credit yoga class will be held at Parks Fitness Center called Yoga Stretch.

For more information, contact Craft at 903-315-8805 or e-mail her:ccraft@gsmc.org.

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Yoga classes will be offered in Kilgore, Longview

The 2012 season of Yoga at the Rivers Edge, sponsored by the North and South Rivers Watershed Association, began in June. This program is now in its 16th year.

Weekly classes, taught by certified yoga teachers Kezia Bacon, Claire Manganello, Jerry Mulhall, Mary Norton, Page Railsback, Kate Stone and Mary Whidden, will be held on Saturday mornings from 8:30 to 10 a.m., at various sites along the North and South Rivers. Each class will feature meditation, gentle stretching, breathing technique, hatha yoga postures, and guided relaxation. All classes are outdoors. The sites are not wheelchair accessible.

Classes on Sept. 15, will be held at Couch Beach on the North River, behind Couch Cemetery in North Marshfield.

The Sept. 1 and Sept. 8, classes will be held in the Rexhame Dunes, at Rexhame Beach in Marshfield.

The Aug. 18 and 25, classes will be held at the Indian Head River Conservation Area in Pembroke.

All proceeds benefit NSRWA. There is a suggested donation of $10 per class for NSRWA members, and $15 for the general public.

There is no need to sign up in advance. Bring a yoga mat, blanket or large towel with you. Classes are canceled on rainy days. For more information, including directions to class sites, contact Kezia Bacon at 781-837-7093, email yogariversedge@verizon.net or visit http://www.nsrwa.org or http://www.hellokezia.com.

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Yoga at the River’s Edge heads to Rexhame

By Kate Lundquist on 08/20/2012 05:00 AM

Some of the people in my class are just starting to learn how to live sober, and I see them take a huge, deep, full breath. I can see them at peace, even if just for that moment. There is a glimmer of respite, Del Priore says. When you are drinking or doing drugs it is because you are trying to escape a thought or feeling. Yoga works to control those thoughts by using the breath.

Del Priore also teaches at the Swannanoa Juvenile Detention Center. Suffering from past trauma, addictions and life choices that led to time behind bars, Del Priore says these 12-16-year-olds rarely have moments when someone believes in them.

I have them hold plank pose for a long time to watch the stress rise in the body, Del Priore says. It takes impulse control not to get out of the pose, and they learn that intolerable feelings, like the muscles working intensely in plank, will pass eventually.

And what happens when life is not strenuous or intolerable for a few minutes (like the final resting pose, Savasana)?

They love it! It is 10 minutes when no one is yelling at them or telling them what to do. Most of them fall asleep, she says.

Blending the Western therapeutic model for rehabilitation with yogic philosophy, Del Priore helps her students rediscover the peace that already exists within themselves, beginning with 10 minutes of Savasana, and followed by an hour-long yoga class. However, she also tries to help her students off the mat, telling them that suffering and hardships are a part of life, she says, and mental health is not something to be shoved away.

As Sufi poet Kahlil Gibran says, Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; characters are seared with scars.

Del Priore is currently seeking funding and grants to establish her yoga for substance abuse classes at recovery centers. She can be reached at liadelpriore@gmail.com. She also teaches Friday, 9 a.m.-10 a.m. at Asheville Yoga Donation Studio.

Kate Lundquist is a freelance writer and yoga teacher living in Asheville. Her website is http://www.lightonbalance.blogspot.com, and she teaches Saturdays, 2:15 p.m.-3:45 p.m., at Asheville Yoga Center.

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Yoga as healing

(Relaxnews) - Yoga may help women cope with depression during pregnancy, as well as boost maternal bonding, according a new study from the University of Michigan in the US.

One in five pregnant women experience major depression, the researchers noted. "We hear about pregnant women trying yoga to reduce stress but there's no data on how effective this method is," said lead author Maria Muzik, assistant professor of psychiatry, in an August 8 university press release.

"Our work provides promising first evidence that mindfulness yoga may be an effective alternative to pharmaceutical treatment for pregnant women showing signs of depression," she added. "This promotes both mother and baby well-being."

While antidepressants have proven to effectively treat mood disorders, many pregnant women are reluctant to take these drugs out of concern for their infant's safety, said Muzik.

"Unfortunately, few women suffering from perinatal health disorders receive treatment, exposing them and their child to the negative impact of psychiatric illness during one of the most vulnerable times," she noted. "That's why developing feasible alternatives for treatment is critical."

Evidence suggests that pregant women should opt for non-traditional treatments, such as herbal medicine, relaxation techniques and mind-body work, including mindfulness yoga, which combines meditative focus with physical poses, the researchers report.

For the study, women who were 12 to 26 weeks pregnant and showed signs of depression participated in 90-minute mindfulness prenatal yoga.

The findings were published in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice. Copyright (AFP RELAXNEWS), 2012.

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Prenatal yoga may ease depression, boost bonding

They might have called it Occupy New Delhi.

In an Indian incarnation of the burgeoning social protest movement, one of its most celebrated yogis Baba Ramdev this week led thousands of disciples through the streets of the capital, protesting against what he claimed was endemic political corruption.

The focus of his attack is black money the estimated trillions of rupees said to be parked illegally in Swiss and other foreign bank accounts.

Much of it is controlled by the countrys elites, maintains Mr. Ramdev, the bare-chested, richly maned, 41-year-old head of a multimillion-dollar international yoga empire.

The gurus campaign, however, is only the latest manifestation of a growing cultural phenomenon the politicization of yoga.

At first glance, that might seem oxymoronic.

Traditional yoga is about a seeking state of tranquil separation from the world.

The essence of the teachings is to act without motive for gain not to seek the fruit of any action, says Divya Prabha, founder and director of Halifaxs Shining Bay Yoga Studio. And if you are motiveless, there can be no agenda.

More practically, most of the millions of students who have lately discovered the joy of yoga are too busy perfecting asanas in hip leisurewear at hot-yoga studios to join campaigns for reform.

Blessed with an aura of credibility by celebrities Sting, Lady Gaga, Shaquille ONeal, Jennifer Aniston more than 20 million Americans are now flocking to yoga classes. In the United States alone, its a $7-billion-a-year industry, with more than 25,000 studios and all manner of merch.

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How yoga is turning into a protest movement

By Allison Martell

(Reuters) - Lululemon, the hip Canadian chain that made yoga apparel fashionable, has taken its fight for market share to the courts with a patent lawsuit, as new brands of active wear seek to undercut its premium prices.

The lawsuit filed by Lululemon Athletica Inc (LLL.TO), which cultivates a mellow yoga vibe in its stores, comes as investors indicate growing unease over the company's future. Whether the lawsuit, filed in a U.S. court, will shore up the company's position remains to be seen.

Patent lawsuits are uncommon in apparel and can be difficult to win. The suit could deter imitators, and thus help the Vancouver-based company cement its growth. It also highlights how tough the competition is.

"This is a low barrier-to-entry industry. Lululemon, their success, has drawn new competitors throughout the mall," said independent retail analyst Brian Sozzi. "The valuation is so high. It's tough to warm up to a stock when you see so many new competitors."

In the suit filed in federal court in Delaware on August 13, Lululemon accused PVH Corp's (PVH.N) Calvin Klein brand and manufacturer G-III Apparel Group Ltd (GIII.O) of infringing three patents on the design of its yoga pants. Design patents protect the appearance of goods, in contrast to more common utility patents, which focus on how things work.

"What Lululemon is doing here is staking its turf," said Jeremy de Beer, an intellectual property expert and law professor at the University of Ottawa.

Founded in 1998, Lululemon took Canada and then the United States by storm with costly, colorful, fashionable workout gear targeted at professional young women. Its shares are up seven-fold since its 2007 initial public offering, and now trade at 46 times earnings.

De Beer compared Lululemon's suit to tech sector patent wars, such as the high-profile trial between Apple Inc (AAPL) and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd <005930.KS>, now drawing to a close.

"The business strategy is to deter other people from even trying to copy designs, because it's going to cause them legal problems," he said.

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Analysis: Lululemon patent claim highlights cutthroat yoga world

SQUAW VALLEY, Calif. On a crisp summer night, beneath a bright half-moon that illuminates the cliffs of Squaw Valley's dramatic Tram Face, MC Yogi, a yoga teacher and DJ from San Francisco, exhorts a crowd of several thousand: "Take a deep breath and let it all out." Then, "Say namaste!" The crowd, which had been doing both all day long, does them again. But this time they also raise a collective glass and call out with enthusiasm not usually displayed by a bunch of lithe-bodied Lululemon-clad yoginis.

Welcome to the Wanderlust Festival.

This four-day yoga retreat by day, dance party by night is the sort of event that could only happen if a pair of indie rock producers shared office space with an internationally renowned yoga teacher. Which is exactly how Wanderlust, which comes to Santa Monica in abbreviated form in September, was born.

"We realized that there is a crowd that likes to dance and drink, but they are also serious about their yoga," says co-founder Jeff Krasno, who conceived of the festival with his yoga-instructor wife, Schuyler Grant, and college band mate and business partner, Sean Hoess.

That first event, held at Lake Tahoe, featured mostly traditional yoga classes and lectures during the day and music at night. Four years later, Wanderlust is taking on a life of its own, say the founders. "Each year more artists show up they create temporary art installations around the grounds and we've added some alternative yoga offerings." Classes like slack-line yoga and hoops yoga (a combination of yoga, hula hooping and dancing) are packed.

This year's Tahoe Wanderlust featured hundreds of yoga classes, lectures, meditation hikes and music workshops. Many of the instructors are stars of the Western yoga world Shiva Rae, Seane Corn, Baron Baptiste and Jonny Kest who pack as many as 600 people onto mats under huge tents. (Most classes have many fewer participants.)

Today there are multi-day festivals in Lake Tahoe, Vermont, Colorado and British Columbia. This year, the four-day Tahoe event saw about 15,600 people in the ski resort's village, which is usually very quiet during the summer.

One-day free versions of Wanderlust called Yoga in the City are held in several cities across the country; the Santa Monica event is Sept. 9 on the Santa Monica Pier. It will feature an afternoon of classes taught by local instructors, including Katie Brauer, Derek Beres, Brock and Kirsta Cahill and Ally Hamilton and Kumudini. The organizers planned the event in partnership with YogaAid and hope to raise $1 million through donations and sponsorships for charities.

"I like the part of the Wanderlust message that you can practice yoga and still enjoy life," says Sara Ivanhoe, a first-time Wanderlust instructor who does most of her teaching at YogaWorks' Santa Monica locations. (She has another commitment and won't be at the Sept. 9 event.) "In our culture we have lost sight of the fact that the practice of yoga is meant to serve us and make us feel better, spiritually and physically," she says. "Yoga shouldn't be punishment; it shouldn't be about whether you are doing it 'correctly.'"

health@latimes.com

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At Wanderlust, yoga flows into party

Bad back sufferers taking part in the yoga programme had far fewer days off work than those in the control group

By Claire Bates

PUBLISHED: 07:33 EST, 17 August 2012 | UPDATED: 07:33 EST, 17 August 2012

Most people will experience back pain during their lives, but for some it can become a chronic debilitating condition.

In 2011, just over 35million sick days were taken for musculoskeletal problems - the majority for back and neck problems.

Now a team from the University of York have found that specialist yoga classes could slash the number of days taken off work for the agonising condition.

Good practice: Alison Trewhela (right) partly designed the yoga classes that focus on strengthening the back

What is more, they say that if the cost could be kept below 300 per patient it would save the NHS money. Back pain is estimated to cost the NHS 1.37 billion and the health care sector 2.10 billion a year.

The team evaluated a 12-week group yoga intervention programme compared to conventional GP care alone.

The results, published in the journal Spine, revealed that those taking part in the yoga programme had far fewer days off work than those in the control group.

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Prescribing yoga on the NHS could slash annual £1.37billion back pain bill, say experts