By Aarthi Sivaraman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Los Angeles prosecutors charged "hot yoga" guru Bikram Choudhury with operating a yoga studio without a permit and other violations that could land the controversial instructor in jail.

Choudhury, his landlord American Sunroof Corp. and company president Christian Prechter were each charged on Thursday with 10 criminal counts including operating without a certificate, overcrowding the yoga studio and not maintaining emergency exits. Each faces a maximum sentence of six months in jail for each count, and/or a $1,000 fine.

The yoga master’s attorney, Victor Sherman, called the charges little more than a publicity stunt.

"Who holds a press conference to announce fire code violations? It is just because of his name. If there is a violation we will take care of it," he said.

Choudhury, dubbed "Yoga’s Bad Boy" in industry media, is known to teach yoga in sweltering, 105-degree Fahrenheit (40 Celsius) heat. He believes the practice results in better health.

The yoga instructor, known for his brash style and aggressive business tactics, told CBS News in a past interview that his clientele included Michael Jackson, Madonna, Brooke Shields and even the late president Richard Nixon.

Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo claims Bikram’s Yoga College of India in Los Angeles has never been issued an operating permit. The building and owner also have been cited several times for fire and building code violations.

The studio was locked down in April after city fire officials inspected it and found it overcrowded, violating safety codes and lacking emergency facilities.

A disgruntled Choudhury told the Los Angeles Times on Friday that he had "had it" with Los Angeles and was moving his headquarters to Honolulu. Choudhury, 60, was born in Calcutta, India, and came to the United States in 1971.

In hoping to stop others from teaching his methods with his authorization, the yoga master argued in federal court last year that the sequence of 26 postures, breathing techniques and dialogues he taught was unique and he claimed copyright over it. The lawsuit was dismissed when the parties reached an agreement.

Source: www.today.reuters.com  30-06-2006

Tags: yoga, yogi, Bikram Choudhury, Yoga’s Bad Boy, Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, Bikram’s Yoga College of India

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BY BRYANT STAMFORD
GANNETT NEWS SERVICE

I received a nice letter from a woman who practices what she calls "gentle yoga." The program is a modification of traditional yoga techniques combined with other exercise strategies.

It’s designed as a safe and effective mode of exercise for older folks with less capacity.

I was intrigued by her description. Here is the essence of what she wrote.

In gentle yoga, poses are held from three to six breaths, and students are given instructions early in the exercise on how to exit if they feel any discomfort.

The aim is to not injure any student and not aggravate any previous injury. Students are told not to do any exercise that might be the least bit painful, and, if they feel pain after class, to do less and come out of poses earlier in the next class.

The writer emphasized that she is particularly careful of knees and back, and uses exercises provided by physical therapists to supplement yoga movements. Arthritis self-help and chronic illness self-help gentle exercises also are included.

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Tags: yoga-tai chi

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It is often said that the simplest pose in the cannon of yoga asana is also the most difficult to master. For it does not involve any complicated twists, folds, bends or balances. There is no motion that occupies the attention. No physical root to tether the mind.

Savasana, or corpse pose, is the ultimate expression of yoga stillness. It is the ultimate quiet space.

It is so difficult for many because the act of quieting down both body and mind asks that you surrender. That you give up all of your earthly tasks and wait in the ether for absolutely nothing. You have absolutely no goal other than the achievement of utter release.

There is, quite literally, nothing at all for you to do. No place for you to be. Nothing to sort out. No one seeking your attention. Nothing but the vast void of simple existence.

Sounds divine, doesn’t it?

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That’s because Bikram Choudhury, the self-proclaimed Hollywood "yoga teacher to the stars," incensed his native country by getting a U.S. copyright on his style of yoga four years ago.

In response, India has put 100 historians and scientists to work cataloging 1,500 yoga poses recorded in ancient texts written in Sanskrit, Urdu and Persian. India will use the catalogue to try to block anyone from cornering the market on the 5,000-year-old discipline of stretching, breathing and meditating.

Bikram, who goes by one name like Bono and Beyoncé, says he sought legal protection for his yoga because "it’s the American way."

"You cannot drive the car if you do not have a driver’s license," he explains. "You cannot do brain surgery if you are not a brain surgeon. You cannot even do a massage if you don’t have a license." And, he says, you shouldn’t be able to teach his Bikram Yoga unless you pay him for a license.

India’s counterattack goes way beyond Bikram.

The government wants to thwart anyone who tries to profit from the nation’s so-called "traditional knowledge," from yoga to 150,000 ancient medical remedies. India already has successfully challenged one U.S. patent granted to two Indian-born Americans who used the spice turmeric in a wound-healing product. That patent was revoked by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

"Practically every Indian housewife knows (turmeric) and uses it to heal wounds," says V.K. Gupta of India’s National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources, which is developing the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library.

When completed, perhaps as soon as December, the digital library will be translated into English, French, Spanish, German and Japanese and sent to patent, copyright and trademark offices around the world.

That way, when someone such as Bikram tries to get a copyright on yoga moves or patents on ancient medicinal cures, those offices could say: "No, that’s not original. They’ve been doing it in India for thousands of years."

Typically, patents are given only to those who invent or discover something new. In general, copyrights go on written works; trademarks go on company and product names.

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Supta Baddha Konasana

(Reclined Bound Angle Pose)

In this asana the chest is fully opened due to the actions of the arms and shoulders. Because of the leg position, blood circulation to reproductive organs is increased, making this pose helpful to both men and women. With regular practice, the prostate in men remains healthy, and those suffering from prostate disease or malfunction gain benefit. Practice also brings increased flexibility to hip joints, chest and shoulders.

1. Place a yoga mat or blanket on the floor and lie on it with legs extended straight.

2. Bend your knees and bring the feet close to the buttocks. Keep the feet hip width apart. Grasp the ankles with your hands and bring the heels close in to the buttocks, keeping the soles of your feet on the floor.

3. Press your feet down, lift the buttocks off the floor and bring your hands underneath the buttocks with your fingers interlocked.

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Yoga For Everyone at Yoga.website.hk.cn

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A growing number of medical centers now offer yoga for patients.  They say it can help heal the body.  But some health experts say that’s going too far.

With dark lighting and deep breathing it can look like a typical yoga class, but it’s especially designed for cancer patients or survivors. 

So what’s different about the sessions? They’re definitely smaller, the pace is a little slower, and they’re tailored around patient limitations.

Jackie Herbach teaches yoga at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. She says the exercise programs help lower anxiety and ease side effects. "Lots of the medications seem to, can cause nausea, fatigue, and headache. And yoga is wonderful for relieving fatigue."

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Yoga For Everyone at Yoga.website.hk.cn

Tags: yoga, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, National Council Against Health Fraud

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Here are some guidelines and realistic expectations for parents, who are considering Yoga for their children. For your child, Yoga is much more than a kid’s fitness class. Just like adults — kids need time to learn to deal with life’s daily pressures, too.

Make sure your child starts with easy postures, and be patient with your child’s progress. Some beginner children can often be more flexible than advanced adult Yoga practitioners, but they don’t know their own limitations.

Discover your child’s real passions. When your child wants to go to Yoga class, it is much better than what you want for your child. This is not to say that you should avoid guidance. However, it is not advisable to push a child into a Yoga class, if your child doesn’t enjoy it — no matter how popular Yoga may be. All children are different, and what is good for one of your children, may not agree with another.

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Jnana means the knowledge. This yoga is the yoga for the intelligent and selected people. This yoga is the ultimate goal of all the other varieties of yoga. This yoga teaches you to look at the world as it is without any ignorance and bias. You can achieve this state by practicing rigorous mental discipline and virtue. This yoga is also called Raja Yoga or the king of all the yogas, since it is of the highest variety and rules over all the other varieties. This is the Yoga that Patanjali has described in his Yoga Sutras.

This yoga is made up of eight parts of which five are external and the other three are internal. Two of its parts, viz yama and niyama deal with types of behaviour that the student of yoga should avoid like lying, cheating, stealing etc. and those behaviours that he should cultivate like cleanliness, non-collection etc. Asanas and Pranayama are the next two parts of this yoga. Asanas are the physical movements that help in developing the suppleness of the body and thus cure any diseases. You can control your breath by using pranayama which increases the capacity of the lungs to take in air and thus increases the vitality of the body. The next part Pratyahara denotes the withdrawal of the sense organs from objects of enjoyment. The remaining three parts deal with intense mental concentration.

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Tags: yoga, Jnana Yoga, Asanas, Pranayama, Yogawiz

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There are a lot of different types of yoga today, so if you are starting out and feeling confused, you are normal.

It is best to start with a type of yoga that is appropriate for your own level of fitness, physical and spiritual goals and health condition.

The 8 most common types of yoga are described in this article and briefly explained to help guide you in choosing the best type of yoga that you can start with.

Physical-Focused Types of Yoga

Iyengar Yoga: Iyengar yoga is focused solely on body alignment and executing precise movements. Yoga accessories such as blocks and straps are normally used by beginners who are not as flexible as the experts.

Yoga accessories help assist all sorts of people to be able to do the poses comfortably.

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Tags: yoga, Iyengar Yoga, Ashtanga yoga, Bikram yoga, Bhakti yoga, Mantra yoga, Viniyoga yoga, Raja yoga

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ATLANTA - Women going through treatment for breast cancer felt better when they tried yoga, according to one of the first scientific studies of its kind.

"Our belief is something as simple and brief as a short (yoga) program would be very useful" at combating side effects from cancer treatment, said Lorenzo Cohen, a psychologist who led the pilot study.

Yoga incorporates meditation, relaxation, imagery, controlled breathing, stretching and physical movements. Although the study was small and preliminary, it’s one of the few to try to rigorously measure the benefits of this form of exercise, Cohen said.

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