YOGA <<< important stuff, people!

I do not recommend learning yoga from Couples Retreat :)

Never before today have I seen my bikram yoga class so packed. Literally, we were like sweaty little sardines stuffed in that hot tin can of a room. Obviously a lot of people had "get into shape via yoga" as their new year's resolution. I'm anxious to see how many of them actually stick with it.

But stick with it they SHOULD. I really have a couple things in my life that I am completely and utterly passionate about. First is Buddhism and how awesome it is, second is the diva cup and how EVERY woman should use it, finally there's yoga and the amazing benefits it has for every single person in the world.

If you don't take my word for it, check out these two articles I found....

The first is from the Washington Examiner that talks about how Washington D.C. is looking to bring yoga to its trouble juvenile youth as a way to help rehabilitate them:

The District's troubled juvenile justice agency is looking for a yoga teacher, or maybe a tai-chi instructor, to work with some of the city's most dangerous youths. The idea for the new Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services programming comes from interim deputy director Barry Holman. Late last month, Holman e-mailed the agency's staff to see if they have "hidden talents that might be tapped to further our work with the young people in our care." In the e-mail obtained by The Washington Examiner, Holman said his primary interest was in finding among the staff an instructor certified in yoga, tai-chi, or another "mind-body connection discipline."

http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/dc/2011/01/dc-wants-teach-juvenile-delinquents-yoga-tai-chi#ixzz1AE2FLEeZ

Another article I found is about how many yoga classes in Columbus, Ohio are offering free yoga classes to the unemployed.

With national unemployment just below 10 percent, $20 yoga classes don't qualify as necessities for many out-of-work people who've pruned luxuries from their budgets. So in a gesture that's part send-good-vibes-to-the-universe and part community outreach, a handful of yoga studios have decided to cut the unemployed a break.

"We didn't want them to have to choose, 'Should I eat today or go take this class?' We wanted to give them the ability to do both," said Zack Lynn, a computer techie by day who teaches a free yoga class for people out of work in Columbus.

The Integral Yoga Institute in New York started offering free weekly classes last year when some students lost their jobs and couldn't afford to pay $17 per course. Now, a dozen or two jobseekers drop in for free sun salutations and other stretches every week.

"It helps to quiet the mind and helps people realize that this is a temporary situation," said Jo Sgammato, the studio's general manager.

Yogis say breathing exercises can reduce the stress of job interviews and post-stretching tea time is good for networking.

"You're not really thinking about other things," said Quinn Johnson, a 42-year-old former limo driver who started attending Integral Yoga's free classes earlier this year. "You're relaxing. You're stretching."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hTp5DVv4Qisj9CFdbTFX-j1rBE6Q?docId=4d140ccf08a0495f9f55429d89b5afe6

Both of these articles may not necessarily highlight the importance of yoga, but it is putting yoga back in the forefront of people's minds saying that it IS important and extremely beneficial. I personally believe that yoga is the best form of physical exercise (but I'm also extremely biased about it hehe) and that EVERYONE and their mom and grandma need to do it!!