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23
Aug 11

Chicago yoga classes may address mid-life weight gain

Why is it so easy to gain weight in middle age? A recent article in the Chicago Tribune addressed the ease with which Americans can pack on the mid-life pounds. (And fortunately for those who want to shed some of this weight, Chicago yoga classes may help.)

The newspaper pointed to a study conducted by scientists at Ohio State University, who found that beyond the age of 30, a statistical association begins to form between a person's body mass index and certain changes to their marital status.

Specifically, the team found that middle-aged women are likely to gain some weight following marriage, but not after a divorce. Men, on the other hand, tend to gain a few pounds after a marital separation, but not after tying the knot.

What is at work behind this phenomenon?

"Married women often have a larger role around the house than men do, and they may have less time to exercise and stay fit than similar unmarried women. On the other hand, studies show that married men get a health benefit from marriage, and they lose that benefit once they get divorced, which may lead to their weight gain," co-author Zhenchao Qian concluded.

While it may sound like a bit of a reach, beginners Chicago yoga classes may have a lot to offer for people looking to drop a few inches from their waist.

Don't believe it? Consider a Huffington Post article written by Dr. Khandee Ahnaimugan, who theorized that it may actually be easier for people in their 40s and 50s to lose weight. The key, he said, is the will to get healthy.

Sure, it's easy to unintentionally gain weight in middle age, which is one reason why one-third of Americans are overweight and another one-third are obese, the National Institutes of Health reports.

However, attitude makes all the difference, Ahnaimugan argued. Taking the first step toward a slimmer, healthier physique may be as simple as enrolling in Chicago yoga classes.

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15
Aug 11

Competitors skip beginner’s Chicago yoga, contort themselves for top prize

For those who have never tried a holistic health regimen before, beginner's Chicago yoga classes offer an excellent opportunity for newbies to gradually learn the soothing art. People who have been at it for years, on the other hand, occasionally find themselves transcending Chicago yoga classes and doing yoga poses for the pure, competitive fun of it.

The 2011 Illinois Yoga Asana Championships are ample proof of that. Held at North Central College on the 13th of this month, the contest decided who in the Chicagoland area will go on to this year's USA Yoga National Championship, the Naperville Sun reported.

The newspaper, which is a subsidiary publication of the Chicago Sun-Times, noted that this year's competition was especially stiff – or rather, flexible.

Nearly 50 men, women and children took part in the Championships. As part of the competition, each participant was required to perform seven yoga poses in just three minutes, the news source said. These positions must exemplify skill, strength, limberness, expressiveness, balance, equipoise and a certain je ne sais quoi that the judges refer to as the "heart of the yogi."

The event's coordinator, Nikki Tam, said that she hopes yoga is a part of the Olympic Games someday.

"The Olympics have everything to do with yoga. That one single moment – it’s body, mind and soul," she told the newspaper.

Unlike competitive sports, yoga primarily focuses on one's ability to compete against oneself – that is, the art of slow, subtle self-improvement, which over time results in unmistakable mental and physical benefits.

Who can compete in the yearly Yoga National Championships? USA Yoga's official website says entry is unlimited.

"These competitions are open to competitors from any yoga school or style and all are encouraged to participate. To borrow an ancient phrase, 'the paths are many, the sport is one'," the organization explains.

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17
May 11

Fed-up financial worker founds yoga center

A number of studies have shown that practicing yoga or meditation at work can significantly decrease one's stress levels, particularly when a job creates large amounts of tension to begin with. However, one Northeastern University graduate has taken this principle of personal development one step further by actually quitting her exasperating job and opening a yoga studio.

Kelly Merydith told the Chicago Tribune that she was miserable in a finance- and marketing-based job one year ago, when suddenly it hit her. She realized what she had to do.

"I woke up one morning and knew I wanted to open a yoga studio," she told the newspaper. "I didn't want to find a job in finance."

Merydith noted that what gave her the idea was her daily yoga sessions, which she had been taking in order to handle the truckload of stress dumped on her by a strenuous internship.

One day, she simply had a eureka moment. Rather than merely take yoga, she understood that she could teach it, learn from it and make a living with it all at the same time, the news source reported.

Regardless of one's familiarity with yoga, taking a class or participating in a community activity may help people unburden themselves of the oppression of modern office work.

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9
May 11

Yoga classes head outdoors in Chicago-area zoo

Taking yoga classes in the great outdoors can enhance the relaxation and sense of calm that certain yoga techniques bring about. But what are individuals supposed to do when they live in the city? One answer, according to Redeye Chicago, is go to the zoo.

The Lincoln Park Zoo is offering outdoor yoga instruction for its second straight year, and the news source said that Chicagoans are flocking to the facility's Nature Boardwalk to take single or seasonal classes on deep breathing, stretching and meditation.

Besides its traditional adult-only holistic pursuits, the zoo is also hosting "parent-toddler yoga," in which moms and dads can participate in meditation, group activities and story sessions with their young children.

All this outdoor activity may amplify an individual's connection to nature. Research published in the journal Leisure Studies determined that people who engage in "appreciative" pursuits, like yoga or tai chi, while outdoors are more likely to want to care for the environment than those who try "mechanized" or "consumptive" activities like hunting, fishing or snowmobiling.

So, besides giving children and adults an unbroken stretch of relaxation, meditating outside can reconnect a person to the world around them.

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29
Apr 11

Choosing sunshine on a cloudy day…

According to meteorologist Tom Skilling of WGN in Chicago, we are on pace to have the cloudiest April in 118 years.  With that comes a couple of things- rain, cooler temperatures, and for many people, an increased sense of fatigue and depression.

Of course, everyone can react differently to the weather.  Some people seem to love nothing more than a rainy day.  I myself enjoy thunderstorms, especially on a hot summer night.  But extended grey cloud cover and rainy weather seems to get many people down.

This brings up the question, ’just how much depends on the weather?’  Or more generally, are we predominately influenced by outside factors—environmental and social—or can we choose our own feelings and outlooks?  And how can we better create our state of mind the way we want?

Dahn Yoga classes incorporate exercises like stretching, breathing, core strengthening, and energy meditation to develop more ‘energy’ connection.  Energy is the thing that connects the physical body with the non-physical mind.  In fact, ’Dahn’ can literally be translated to mean ‘Energy,’ so the whole Dahn Yoga practice is in a sense designed to strengthen the energy, or mind-body, connection.

By strengthening this energy connection it becomes easier to connect our thoughts and intentions with a corresponding feeling.  For example, let’s say I have had conflicts with coworkers in the past.  I know that getting upset does not help the situation, it only makes things worse and it actually puts me in danger of getting fired!  Intellectually, I know I should try to remain calm and in control, but my ability to do this in a moment of conflict depends on whether I can watch my feelings and choose the one that I want, even when the external situation would otherwise make me upset.  It is this watching power, or awareness, that is developed through the Dahn Yoga energy practice.

So if you’re looking for more power to choose a positive frame of mind, try a class at the Dahn Yoga Center.  Because in life, as we know all too well in Chicago, we may be waiting a long time before we finally get that sunny day!

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3
Mar 11

Chicago-area yoga studio helps trauma victims recuperate

Empowerment for personal change is one of the many benefits that orbit the time-tested yoga practice – whether it be in typical classes or Dahn Yoga – brain wave vibration exercises. A recent example of meditation helping heal the brain appears in the Chicago Beacon-News, which ran a story on a yoga studio that helps trauma victims heal.

The yoga center, run by instructors Pam O'Brien and Isie Brindley, lies just west of the Chicago metro area. They have created a new program, called Pathways to Empowerment, for people with post-traumatic stress disorder, the news source reports.

The basic program involves little in the way of rigorous or tiring exercise. It focuses almost exclusively on peaceful self-examination.

"The intention is different [than traditional yoga]," Brindley told the newspaper. "With this, you never force and you never push. You’re just inviting the student to explore."

Dahn Yoga brain wave vibration exercises are quite similar, in that they magnify the mind's energy inward, without taxing the body unnecessarily. Practitioners who have been through physical or mental anguish often find comfort in the personal change that contemplative relaxation brings.

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2
Mar 11

Yoga festival celebrates thousands of years of history

While there are many forms of the discipline known as yoga, the roots of the practice date back at least five millennia, to the Asian continent and sub-continent. Yogic practices came from places as diverse as India, China and Korea, each variety with its own philosophy. Today, practitioners of arts like Dahn Yoga look to Rishikesh, India, where the International Yoga Festival is held annually.

The gathering, which takes place near the Himalayas, pays homage to the lengthy history of yoga, which according to ABC News extends back 5,000 years or more. The meeting itself involves approximately 400 participants from 30 countries. They are there to unite the body and mind.

"Yoga is not merely for our bodies, but rather Yoga is for our bodies, minds, hearts and souls," the festival's official website states.

Dahn Yoga pursues just such a unity. This ancient meditative practice combines the physical methods of stretching, deep breathing and posing with the mental work of meridian channeling, energy gathering and brain wave vibration. Done properly, yoga can consolidate one's being into a single, harmonious totality.

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