LOS ANGELES YOGA HISTORY

New uses for yoga

Although researchers believe Yoga was first practiced more than 5,000 years ago, its popularity in the United States is on the rise.

You may know about the relaxing benefits of this ancient practice, but what about the health perks? Many Yoga instructors believe the exercise helps people with various illnesses find relief. Studies have shown Yoga can help patients with arthritis and carpal tunnel by improving grip strength and relieving pain. It also lowers stress, something many health experts say is partially behind many health problems including heart disease and stroke.

Young cancer patients at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston can take advantage of a new program offering Yoga. They can work with a nurse practitioner to relieve the stress and strains of arduous cancer treatments.

"I think it works to help them to see and to really experience on a very deep level that they are more than the disease label they have," says Mary Jane Ott, a nurse practitioner and Yoga instructor. Also, by reducing stress hormones, Yoga can help in the healing process.

Susan Rothlein teaches yoga in Winter Park, Fla. She says prenatal yoga is a safe way for pregnant women to stretch and strengthen. She designed the class to help women feel more comfortable during pregnancy and also to prepare them for labor. She says Yoga can also help women find relief from the common aches and discomforts of pregnancy, like constricted breathing, constipation, swelling, back pain, sciatica and insomnia.

There is an increasing number of yoga classes aimed at performers, public speakers, and even writers. Opera singer Kelly Griffen says yoga helps her body relax. A more relaxed and toned body means a better sound when she sings. Instructors offering yoga classes to writers say the meditation done during yoga can open minds to greater creative possibilities.

Read more at the www.news8austin.com

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