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Chicago Yoga — No comments
01
Dec 11

Chicago yoga classes are a big hit among the city’s youth

Meditating, posing and deep breathing appear to be catching on among teens, tweens and even toddlers in Chiacgo.

Meditating, posing and deep breathing appear to be catching on among teens, tweens and even toddlers in Chiacgo.

Which sports do kids love most? You might be inclined to point to football, tennis or basketball, but according to a recent article in the Chicago Daily Herald, youth in the Windy City are increasingly turning to holistic exercise to get their ya-yas out. No wonder beginner's Chicago yoga is so popular!

The newspaper noted that meditating, posing and deep breathing appear to be catching on among teens, tweens and even toddlers in Chiacgo.

What is behind this apparent trend? Local studio owner Pam O'Brien told the news source that she believes the mind-body regimen's soothing health effects draw kids to Chicago yoga classes.

"Yoga should be about showing them the proper way to move and balance, about learning how to have proper body mechanics and alignment," she said, quoted by the news source. O'Brien added that yoga is also just plain fun, and kids can't help liking something so entertaining.

Neither can adults, apparently. A survey conducted by the Yoga Journal found that an estimated 15.8 million American adults have tried yoga. Another 18.3 million admitted being interested in the ancient self-healing art.

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Ki Energy — No comments
30
Nov 11

Take Dahn Yoga to learn how to use your ki energy

Each of us has ki energy flowing through our bodies. While it cannot be seen or heard, this force pervades all living things and contributes to health and well-being.

Each of us has ki energy flowing through our bodies. While it cannot be seen or heard, this force pervades all living things and contributes to health and well-being.

Each of us has ki energy flowing through our bodies. While it cannot be seen or heard, this force pervades all living things and contributes to health and well-being. If you'd like to learn how to use ki energy, consider signing up for a few Chicago yoga classes. Your instructors can put you on the path to mind-body reconnection.

Because we lead such hectic modern lives, it is only natural that our minds become increasingly removed from the bodies that house them. While the effects of this disconnection are not apparent at first, over time it is easy to see what stress and flurry can do to one's ki energy.

You may feel pressurized, tense, anxious or sluggish. You might find that at the end of a rushed afternoon, you can hardly remember a single thing you did all day. Perhaps you're riled up or itching to do something, though you don't know what it is.

These are signs that your ki energy has fallen out of balance. Fortunately, the forces in your body can always be redistributed through careful meditation and gentle yoga exercises.

By engaging in Dahn Yoga, you can begin to regain your ki's equilibrium surprisingly quickly. Before you know it, you'll be breathing, stretching and posing your way to sharper mental clarity.

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Prenatal Yoga — No comments
28
Nov 11

Prenatal yoga does a body good

Many experts recommend trying prenatal yoga during the third trimester.

Many experts recommend trying prenatal yoga during the third trimester.

If you're expecting a baby, chances are good that you've experienced some back pain. In the second and third trimester, backaches can be quite severe, which is one reason why prenatal yoga can feel so soothing.

Back pain is one of the most common complaints from mothers-to-be. The American Pregnancy Association (APA) estimates that between 50 and 70 percent of expectant mothers experience backaches at some point.

It's not all that surprising. After all, as a baby grows larger, a pregnant mother's center of gravity begins to shift. It becomes harder to sleep in a comfortable position, and standing can be quite painful, since it is common to arch the back to compensate for the baby weight up front.

Many experts recommend trying prenatal yoga during the third trimester. Even in the second trimester, prenatal stretches and poses may be in order, since your posture, ligaments and hormones will all be changing.

The Yoga Journal recommends trying poses that strengthen the legs, improve flexibility in the hips and stretch the lower back muscles.

Such techniques can reduce backaches even when done for just a few minutes each day. No wonder yoga is one of the APA's top recommend exercises for expectant mothers!

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Personal Development — No comments
18
Nov 11

Yoga shapes some inmates’ personal development goals

Yoga can help even problem inmates become more compassionate, self-aware and hopeful.

Yoga can help even problem inmates become more compassionate, self-aware and hopeful.

It can be hard enough to develop a yoga-based personal development plan when your day-to-day life is crowded with work assignments, traffic jams, screaming kids and dirty dishes. But what if you were even more stuck? What if you were serving a sentence in prison?

Evidently, yoga and meditation are quite effective at calming down inmate populations and facilitating the creation of their personal development goals. According to Reuters, a nonprofit group in Mexico City is leading juvenile offenders in yoga classes a few days each week.

This population of teens, which by its very nature can be quite explosive, has lately been calmer, quieter and more optimistic, sources told the news organization. Reuters noted that the program reaches six detention centers in the city.

This is not the first time a yoga program has made headlines for reaching out to troubled youth. In April, the news source described the positive results of a yoga regimen being carried out among female prisoners in Pakistan.

Studies in journals like the Contemporary Justice Review and the Californian Journal of Health Promotion have indicated that yoga can help even problem inmates become more compassionate, self-aware and hopeful.

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Ki Energy — No comments
09
Nov 11

Ki energy healing can be used for body and mind

No wonder Dahn Yoga enthusiasts swear by their ki energy techniques!

No wonder Dahn Yoga enthusiasts swear by their ki energy techniques!

Though it might sound a little far-fetched at first, many healthcare professionals are encouraging their patients to look into complementary and alternative therapies (CATs) like ki energy healing. Such techniques are quite popular, in no small part because they appear to offer relief and relaxation.

The rise of physician-recommended yoga- and ki-based CATs has been meteoric. A survey published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine estimated that about 3 percent of Americans have used a mind-body therapy at the suggestion of a primary care physician.

Based on the current U.S. population, that figure is the equivalent of roughly 6.3 million adults!

Can ki energy techniques really improve well-being? Several research teams seem to think so. A group of Korean scientists from Wonkwang University, for instance, found that just one hour of ki energy training helped a group of volunteers reduce their anxiety and lower their blood levels of cortisol.

Likewise, a study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine announced that fibromyalgia patients who used qigong to harness their ki reported improvements in their pain levels and ranges of motion.

No wonder Dahn Yoga enthusiasts swear by their ki energy techniques!

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Prenatal Yoga — No comments
04
Nov 11

Prenatal yoga poses can ease stress, discomfort caused by pregnancy

For women who want to dial these symptoms down, there are always prenatal yoga classes.

For women who want to dial these symptoms down, there are always prenatal yoga classes.

Mothers-to-be often complain about what pregnancy does to their bodies. It can lead to backaches, sore joints, swollen ankles, exhaustion and irritability. For women who want to dial these symptoms down, there are always prenatal yoga classes.

Yoga instructor Nicole Churchill told the Algonquin Patch that doing prenatal yoga poses helped her get through a difficult pregnancy. Now, she teaches expectant mothers how to stretch and breathe some of their aches away.

Prenatal yoga can also prepare pregnant moms for delivery, and that's exactly why Churchill loves to teach it.

"For prenatal women, not only is it preparing the woman for labor, physically and mentally, but it also offers a sense of community," she told the news source. "It’s a whole bunch of women who are pregnant in one place, and I encourage them to build friendships."

Numerous studies have shown that yoga can have mental and physical benefits for moms-to-be.

For example, a report published in the Archives of Women's Mental Health found that prenatal yoga helped participants reduce their stress and anxiety levels. Another study, this one appearing in the journal Midwifery, noted that women who did yoga reported feeling less discomfort and experiencing improved self-efficacy during childbirth.

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Chicago Yoga — No comments
28
Oct 11

Octogenarian teaches beginners Chicago yoga

chicago yoga classes

Mary Louise Stefanic teaches two yoga classes per week at Loyola University, Chicago. She is 80 years old.

Chicago yoga classes tend to be filled with diversity, and not only because the Windy City is a transportation hub and a major industrial center. For whatever reason, yoga seems to attract people of all backgrounds, body types and ages.

Recently, the Oak Park-River Forest Patch reported on a beginners' Chicago yoga instructor who is setting the bar for experience, maturity and seniority.

Mary Louise Stefanic teaches two yoga classes per week at Loyola University, Chicago. Many of her students are pushing 65, but she still has them beat. According to the news source, Stefanic is 80 years old.

She explained that she began doing yoga 45 years ago, back when the regimen was not nearly as popular and widely accepted as it is today.

Now, of course, yoga classes abound in Illinois. The Chicago Tribune recently reported that hundreds of instructors live and work in the city, offering everything from gentle stretching to the most rigorous forms of the discipline.

Stefanic explained that she prefers the low-impact, calming variety.

"I think it's changed the face of America," she told the news source, adding that at her age, the system helps her maintain good posture and range of motion.

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Chicago Yoga — No comments
24
Oct 11

Chicago yoga classes get heart disease patients moving

Recently, a study found that ki energy techniques may help people with heart conditions stay active.

Recently, a study found that ki energy techniques may help people with heart conditions stay active.

Having a cardiovascular condition is no joke, since heart disease is the leading cause of death among American men and women alike, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Recently, a study found that ki energy techniques may help people with heart conditions stay active.

Published as a dissertation, the investigation determined that participants with cardiovascular health problems tended to be more physically active when offered yoga for health problems.

In fact, increased levels of low-impact exercise may even improve the flexibility of the carotid artery, said author Courtney Duren. She noted that physical activity appeared to decrease arterial stiffness among participants who used yoga-based therapy or other, similar exercise regimens.

Duren's isn't the only study to conclude that mind-body practices, like those offered in Chicago yoga classes, can help people with heart disease stay active.

A report appearing in the journal Clinical Cardiology found that patients with coronary artery disease who performed yoga experienced a 70 percent improvement in arterial flexibility, compared to those who did not use the holistic regimen.

The authors described significant improvements in patients' blood pressure, body mass index and heart rate, which researchers attributed to yoga's soothing exercises.

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Ki Energy — No comments
17
Oct 11

Ki energy techniques help Illinois college football players prep for big game

If you see a member of the U of I-UC football team in your Chicago yoga classes, don't be too surprised.

If you see a member of the U of I-UC football team in your Chicago yoga classes, don't be too surprised.

Running drills isn't the only way that college football teams prepare for games these days. For example, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's Fighting Illini have incorporated ki energy techniques into their summer training regimen with excellent results.

If you see a member of the NCAA Division I team in your Chicago yoga classes, don't be too surprised. After all, the Chicago Tribune reported that the squad's offensive linemen used the holistic health system prior to their win over Arizona State University (ASU), formerly ranked number 22 in the nation.

The news source stated that the Fighting Illini had lost 10 straight games to top-25 schools prior to this match against the Sun Devils. It added that the team adopted yoga as a way to hone their physical skill while keeping them from getting psyched out by their opponents.

"Jumping around, trash talking, they're an emotional group," Graham Pocic, a center for the Illini, said of the Devils. "They like to do extra activities after the whistle. We can't let their emotion affect us on the field."

The Illini went on to edge out ASU 17-14.

This is not the first time the Illinois-based team has used yoga to great effect. Two years ago, their official university website featured a story on the team's adoption of yoga and meditation during the off season.

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Prenatal Yoga — No comments
11
Oct 11

Prenatal yoga in the third trimester may be safer than marathon running

One Windy City mom seems to have missed the memo about sticking to prenatal yoga classes.

One Windy City mom seems to have missed the memo about sticking to prenatal yoga classes.

While it may sound like a foregone conclusion, prenatal yoga in the third trimester of pregnancy is quite a bit safer and more low-impact than jogging, especially when compared to marathon running. However, one Windy City mom seems to have missed the memo about sticking to prenatal yoga classes.

According to WGN-TV Chicago, city resident Amber Miller gave birth to a seven-pound, 13-ounce baby girl on Sunday, October 9. However, hers was not your run-of-the-mill labor. Miller, who was 38 weeks pregnant, gave birth after running the entire Chicago Marathon.

She told the news source that her physician gave her permission to participate in the race as long as she walked the latter half. After her discharge from Winfield's Central DuPage Hospital, the proud mother admitted that she did get plenty of stares from the crowd.

And why run the marathon at all?

"We signed up for the race in February, and then two days later I found out I was pregnant," she told the news source. "It comes to the night before, I'm still pregnant – and I paid for it, so I'm gonna run it."

Chicago residents who want to stay fit during pregnancy may consider sticking to yoga classes, which come in all sorts of variations, from hot to high-intensity to hula-hoop-enhanced, according to the city's newspaper, The Tribune.

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