Are you bored with your relaxing routine? Do you even have one? There are other options to relaxing than your typical bath, walk, and meditation practice. You can give new meaning to relaxing by giving your atmosphere a change and by changing your Zen mindset.

Turn your daily stress relief walks into a Labyrinth stroll: You can apply a spiritual Zen to your typical walk by experiencing a Labyrinth stroll, which is a walking tour for your soul. It involves walking meditation on a path in a garden, park, spa, church, or wellness center. (more…)

Integral Yoga® was founded in 1966 by the great Sri Swami Satchidanandaji Maharaj (Sri Gurudev), who passed in 2002 at 88. Sri Gurudev also created the worldwide Integral Yoga® Institutes, and Satchidananda Ashram–Yogaville®, a thriving Yoga community. Sri Gurudev was a leader in the peace movement in the 60s and has gently led and guided through the principle of: “Truth is One, Paths are Many.” He is is the author of many books and is a blessed and revered figure in the yoga community. (more…)

Bikram Yoga was started by Bikram Choudhury when he founded the Yoga College of India in Beverly Hills in 1974. Born in 1946 in Calcutta, he and his wife Rajashree were both yoga champions in India before coming to the States and starting the phenomenon that is now Bikram.

What is Bikram Yoga?

Bikram yoga is based on 26 set asanas (poses) done in a precise order and sequencing in a room heated anywhere from 95 degrees up to 105 degrees. Bikram defines its yoga style as one of total wellness and rejuvenation with the heated room aiding in eliminating toxins and creating warm muscles that are more supple and inclined to deeper stretches. Hot Yoga is not Bikram. Bikram is it’s own registered and franchised entity. (See additional information section for more on Hot Yoga vs. Bikram.) (more…)

Anusara is one of the newer styles of Hatha yoga, developed in 1997 by John Friend, but no less steeped in pure yogic tradition. Anusara’s literal translations means to “flow with grace” or “following the heart.” According to Anusara’s website, Anusara is “…a powerful hatha yoga system that unifies a Tantric philosophy of intrinsic Goodness with Universal Principles of Alignment™…” What does that mean exactly? (more…)

Welcome to our new series on finding your best yoga practice. And since we are right at the start of Yoga Month the timing could not be better!  From my introduction, I really want to help debunk and demystify some of the more popular and readily accessible styles of Hatha yoga. And please note, there are tons of yogic experts, practitioners, teachers that might have a different interpretation of these schools of yoga. I will try and give the most researched description peppered with my own personal views.
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If you like Yoga then September is your month! September is Yoga Month, a campaign with a 10 City Yoga Health Festival Tour. This Yoga Tour brings together millions of health and socially conscious individuals who practice yoga at thousands of yoga studios and homes around the world.

Did you know, National Yoga Month in September is one of a select number National Health Observances (NHO) as listed by Healthfinder.gov, a guide to health information? NHO is sponsored by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion within the Department of Health and Human Services. (more…)

As a yoga teacher in New York City, students and potential students, are always asking about the variety of Hatha yoga classes and what differentiates one from the other. In order to help make choosing a yoga class and a practice best suited to your needs, beYOUmag.com has developed an informative series and a companion break-out guide to easily understand this ancient yet highly approachable art. In this series we will take a look each week at the most recognized forms of Hatha Yoga. (more…)

We are so busy being stressed and cooped up in ourselves and our lives, that we sometimes forget the importance of simply breathing, and not just out of our mouths but using the root of our bodies. If you feel tense, unable to relax you might need to open the root chakra inside you. If you are obsessed with claiming your space, or feel stiff, anxious and nervous opening your root will help.

The body system is based on 7 centers called chakras of energy (see image), going vertically through the body, and these consists of sensory, breathing, circulation, digestion, reproduction and secretion and the brain. (more…)

We’ve all had those days - you oversleep, your day is full of meetings so you aren’t as productive as you know you should have been, you work late, you don’t have time to go to the gym, when you get home there is nothing in the fridge to cook and the kids are screaming. You know - THOSE days. Amongst the hustle and bustle of today’s fast paced society, downtime is a luxury - a luxury that when absent from daily life leads to conditions such as stress, anxiety and depression. (more…)

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Add these 11 items to your grocery list, you’ll be happy you did! The 11 Best Foods You Aren’t Eating.

Real world exercises will get you strong and big. Get Big, but Get Strong First. (more…)