July 25, 2013, 4 a.m.

Jess Brunt, 14, and Jordan Rooke, 15, will compete at the national aerobics championships in Melbourne this weekend.

WARRNAMBOOL athlete Jess Brunt has her sights set on the world stage.

Jess, 14, will team up with Jordan Rooke at the FISAF national championships in the international stream junior mixed pairs section.

The aerobics and hip-hop competition starts in Melbourne tomorrow and runs until Sunday.

Jess and Jordan form part of the 44-member strong EKB Fitness and Aerobics squad, which includes four teams and two soloists in the international stream.

Those who finish in the top three of their international streams will be invited to compete at the world championships in Serbia in October.

It is a big trip but it would be worth it. Travelling overseas would help me and Jordan become better dancers, Jess said.

Jess and Jordan finished third at nationals last year but injury prevented them from travelling to the Netherlands for the world titles. Jess said she was confident they could push for a podium finish at the nationals this weekend.

I am excited and nervous at the same time, she said.

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Jess takes on aerobics national titles with the world in her sights

Nearly 40 Mountain Area women participate in the water aerobics class being offered by Swim America at Yosemite High School.

BRIAN WILKINSON/SIERRA STAR editor@sierrastar

Beating the heat and staying fit is a great combination being enjoyed by nearly 40 participants, primarily seniors, in SwimAmerica's Aqua Aerobics class held 9-10 a.m. Monday through Friday at Yosemite High School.

The class is led by second-year instructor Peggy Decker, director of the Oakhurst Boys & Girls Club.

"The ladies, and a few gentlemen, crave this class and love it," Decker said. "It's as much a coffee clutch and social event to them as it is a workout."

Decker has plenty of experience as a water aerobics instructor. Before moving to Oakhurst, she taught aqua aerobics as well as senior aqua aerobics, and special needs aquatic classes at the Santa Rosa YMCA for seven years.

"In this aqua aerobics class we do strength building, swimming moves, stretching, cardio, a little yoga and we even throw in a little can-can," Decker said. "It's an amazing exercise program for anyone with joint or muscle problems, as it's very low impact, yet you have the resistance of the water to help tone up the body.

Decker encourages all class participants, who range in age from eight to 90, to go at their own pace.

"My students don't need to do exactly what I do just what they can do comfortably," Decker said. "We use Styrofoam pool noodles and float belts, and some of the students bring other aquatic aerobics equipment and weights with them for added extra workout. I always promise to tone everyone up by the end of summer and have an awesome tan to go with it."

Arnell Pippin attended the class last year and was quick to sign-up this year. She exercises five days a week in the winter at the Fitness Zone, but cuts that back to a couple days a week when the Aqua Aerobics class starts.

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Aqua Aerobics

Hot Method Yoga, 340 Lashley St., Longmont, 303-678-9642, hotmethodyoga.com

Instructor: Kevin Lincicome, of Boulder, started doing Bikram yoga in 2000 and was certified as a teacher in 2003. He attended Tony Sanchez's teacher training last April.

He opened a studio in Westminster in 1995 and in Longmont four years ago, under the name Bikram's Yoga College of India. About a month ago, they changed the name to Hot Method Yoga and changed the direction a little, too, by breaking away a bit from the Bikram name and exclusive Bikram style of yoga.

The Master Core Series is a new class, as of May.

What is the workout? The Master Core Series is a hot yoga class developed by well-known yoga teacher Tony Sanchez, of the Ghosh lineage. The class includes about 40 different postures in a specific order, chosen from the 84 original Ghosh postures.

What's different: The better-known style of Bikram yoga was created by one of Ghosh's students. This class has a stronger emphasis on maintaining the purity of the original lineage than Bikram.

"Bikram has gotten so averted off of the original," Lincicome says. "He's done a brilliant job of packaging it for everyone, one size fits all."

Unlike Bikram, the teachers in this class do not correct your postures.

"Your stance is your stance, my stance is my stance, and they don't have to be the same," Linicome says. In that, these classes are less rigid and more individual, working you from the inside out.

"Once you get out of the box and you see what a beautiful world of yoga there is out there when you're not constricted -- Bikram is very, very controlling about what you can and can't do, can and can't say, the temperature, everything is controlled by Bikram, and to his detriment," Lincicome says. "Once you break away and get a little bit of freedom, you realize wow, there's really amazing stuff out there, and this is one of those things."

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Workout: Master Core Series at Hot Method Yoga

Its called Stealth Yoga. Its a yoga class designed for prostate cancer survivors.

The exercise helps the men regain their strength and flexibility by sneaking yoga in with resistance training.

Nicole Culos-Reed, PhD, a researcher with the University of Calgary Kinesiology department has studied the impact of yoga on prostate cancer survivors and determined it helps in their recovery.

The yoga helps the men maintain their lean muscle mass. Culos-Reed says from a physiological point of view, when you have muscle wasting you want to sit and you dont want to do things that cause more fatigue. It creates a downward spiral.

The yoga class is held at the Calgary Prostate Centre, and participants say the camaraderie is as important as the exercise.

John White says to actually talk to guys who are in the same boat and may have come up with some ideas and experiences thats absolutely invaluable.

The goal is to expand that program so that it is available through the City of Calgarys Parks and Recreation department at other locations in the city.

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Stealth Yoga

Hot yoga is as a safe as yoga in regular temperatures, according to a new study (July 24, 2013)

12:10 p.m. EDT, July 24, 2013

You may feel like you're going to die during that hot yoga class, but a new study finds the extreme heat is no more strenuous on the body than taking the class in a room with lower temperatures.

Researchers found no difference in the increase in core temperature or heart rate in those who took a 60 minute hot yoga class and those who took a regular yoga class, according to an independent study commissioned by the American Council on Exercise.

The safety of the sport has often been debated because some think the temperatures, which can range from 90 to 105 degrees, can cause dehydration and heat exhaustion or lead to muscle damage.

The study was conducted by the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse's Department of Exercise and Sport Science.

Anytime exercise is conducted in extreme temperaturs, it's important to remain hydrated and to watch for overheating," ACE Chief Science Officer Dr. Cedric Bryant said in a statement. "However this study showed that while higher sweat levels may cause participants to feel like they were working harder, heart rates showed they were actually at comparable levels whether in the regular or hot yoga class."

Bryant said more study needs to be done on classes with the highest temperatures, such as Bikram yoga, which is taught in temperatures of 105 degress or higher.

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Hot yoga is safe, study finds

A P.E.I. yoga instructor is offering classes to help people recover from addictions through yoga and meditation.

Michelle Burns yoga teacher, meditation instructor and life coach has been teaching yoga at the provincial addictions treatment facility at Mt. Herbert since December, and is also creating retreats for people recovering from addictions.

The yoga classes at Mt. Herbert are covered by the province.

"I just think we need as many tools, techniques and processes available to people as we can possibly get so that there is a variety of different options available," said Burns.

She said people who've taken the yoga classes have seen less need for sleep and anxiety medication, feel less stress and more confident in their lives.

As part of her private practice Burns plans to offer more yoga classes specific to addictions in the fall. Those classes would be outside the treatment facility. She plans to look for funding and sponsors to make the classes accessible for those who need it.

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P.E.I. addictions centre offers yoga class

TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) -

Stress relief, pain relief, a better night's rest all good reasons to give yoga a try, unless, maybe, 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.

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

See a comprehensive list of yoga poses here

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," Conti said. "It turned out to be nerve damage."

After reading "The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards," Conti wrote to its author, William Broad.

"That letter became a turning point," Broad said. "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.'"

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Yoga for men: Pain or pain relief?