by Valerie Brooks

Hot Yoga for the Heart

If the very idea of hot yoga (also called Bikram Yoga) makes you sweat, that’s understandable. But if you’re just curious enough to try it, now is the time. If hot yoga studio isn’t enough to entice you out of the cold months ahead, maybe the idea of saving your heart will. A heated yoga class (somewhere between 95 degrees and 103 degrees) will certainly help the muscles move a little easier, but now there’s some evidence that it may help your heart too. Recent studies have shown that physical warmth prompts a more emotional response to the world around you. This means an opening of the heart, which can lead to an increase in kindness in thoughts and actions. This blog discusses this warming effect further. See yogabasics.com.

Using the Burn Machine in Yoga

The Burn Machine, tagged the “asymmetrical barbell system,” is usually associated with hardcore weight trainers. But this beautifully choreographed video shows how the metal rotating contraption is also being used to enhance yoga workouts. The various models are typically used to up the ante on any exercise routine, but using it in yoga can actually help one focus, increase strength, and make movements more precise. Here’s a video of two yogis using the Burn Machine during a lovely yoga routine set to music. See youtube.com.

Yoga Trends in the News

From kids to seniors, this Columbia Tribune newspaper article discusses the most popular happenings in yoga across the board. The selections include anti-gravity, prenatal, criss-cross yoga for kids, and gentle chair yoga for seniors. Remember when yoga was just a one size fits all routine where it was you and a mat? Not anymore. The ancient art has become a lot more specific. It now addresses individual needs, such as yoga for cancer, weight loss, the lower back, and even yoga for you and your dog. Start with this short article and try Googling anything else you can imagine with yoga. You’ll probably find it. Check out columbiatribune.com.