Tag Archives: yoga

Easier with Yoga

 Reprinted from HHS Healthbeat (August 1, 2011)

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A study indicates yoga can ease stress in women getting radiation treatment for breast cancer.

At the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Lorenzo Cohen saw this in women who did yoga or stretching. He says the stretching group reported feeling less tired, but the yoga group got this plus less stress and lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

Dr. Cohen says it’s best to do yoga regularly:

“It’s constantly exposing yourself to the positive benefits and the relaxation that we feel after a mind-body practice that can be quite useful.’’

The study presented at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Is Yoga Hindu?

The question comes up regularly – in classes and in the media. Is yoga a religion? Is yoga Hindu?

Swami Nirmalananda, the founder of Svaroopa® yoga, recently posted a blog entry which may help answer that question.

“… there’s a lot of difference between Hinduism and yoga, which is completely dependent on your purpose:  if you are practicing it (yoga or Hinduism) for the purpose of being prettier, younger, stronger, healthier, happier, wealthier, smarter, etc – it’s religion, or worse – just another way of trying to manipulate your body and your life.  If you are practicing it (yoga or Hinduism) for the purpose of knowing Truth / God / Reality within yourself, it’s yoga.”

“… at the same time there is very little difference between yoga and Hinduism.  They use common terminology (Sanskrit terms), are based in shared texts, are looking at the same realities, and have the same foundational understanding…”

Read Swamiji’s complete commentary on the Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram blog»

Mindfulness: The Basics

Whether you’re new to mindfulness practice or not, this collection of articles from Mindful.org is a great foundation for your daily practice.

Photo © iStockPhoto.com/AtnoYdur

Read the articles »