A Valentine’s Yoga Treat

When cupid plucks his arrow this Valentine’s Day, instead of the clichéd dinner and chocolates, why not engage in couple’s yoga? Your local studio may offer a class or you can get a DVD and have fun in the privacy of your home while the two of you link body parts while strengthening your intimate connection and enhancing your spiritual union. Couples yoga taps into issues of trust, support, and playfulness and can be a powerful addition to your relationship. Engaging in a couples yoga retreat may help soften areas of conflict and create new bonds. To find out more about this profound practice and how to get started, click here.

Laugh Your Way to Good Health?

Serious yogis may cringe at the new “laughter yoga” spreading quickly throughout the world, but doctors say that the benefits are really no laughing matter. Dr. Madan Kataria, a physician in India nicknamed “The Laughter Guru,” started the practice when he discovered the physical and emotional benefits of laughter. In this video, Meredith Vieira talks with a U.S. yoga laughter instructor, Alex Eingorn, who is carrying on Dr. Kataria’s tradition. He says that laughter yoga enhances the immune system and has shown benefit as a cardiovascular exercise, citing a University of Stanford study that says “one minute of laughter is equal to six to ten minutes on the treadmill.” Looking for a place to participate in laughter yoga? Find a listing here.

Get in on the Game

If you’re one of the many people who believes that today’s electronic games could use a less violent approach, you’re not alone. Ubisoft is scheduled to release “Quick Yoga Training” to be used with Nintendo’s DS game playing system. How a user will actually be able to follow the poses with this system has yet to be seen, however, Japanese company, Konami, is currently leading the market in the electronic yoga game industry with their game, “Let’s Yoga,” expected to be available in the U.S. sometime this year. DS Fanboy blogs about this phenomenon here.