Yoga, Health, and Wellness Articles + Recipes

It’s estimated that about 9% of the American population practices yoga. Most of them are women, but the practices is slowly gaining popularity with the male species among us as the yogic path becomes more and more necessary to live a full and balanced life in these stressful modern day times. But shouldn’t everyone be practicing yoga? Here are 5 compelling reasons why the 9% should become 100%!

Now that the information superhighway is such a ubiquitous part of our lives, repercussions must be reckoned with. In this time of smartphones and big data, the ancient yogic practice of questioning our identifications needs to include the technologies that have become appendages to our minds and bodies.

In the latter part of December, I found myself completely underwhelmed in yoga class as another teacher themed on the trials and tribulations of holiday stress. I'm talking about the self-induced stress from busyness, not true emotional strife due to current or past, uncontrollable circumstances magnified around this time of year. We bowed our heads in child’s pose commiserating over our burdened schedules, practiced twisting postures to detox from the holiday parties the weekend prior, and were asked to put our “to-do” Christmas lists aside for the hour.

Recent events and the turn of season have landed on many like a celestial wet blanket, casting a hue of funk and resignation. Even just a quick glance at any news feed bombards us with what seems to be insurmountable suffering, injustice, and ignorance. Governments and institutions appear at a loss to stem the tide. As individuals, we have no choice but to either give in to hopelessness or garner our intrinsic resources.