YOGA
Yoga traces it's beginning to around 1500 B.C. in India. In the last few years, however, yoga has become a world-wide phenomenon. An April 2001, TIME magazine study found that approximately 15 million Americans included some form of yoga in their workouts. Most people don't differentiate between styles; however, there are several different types of yoga that can be practiced.

Hatha yoga is the most frequently practiced or the most popular, as it is the one dealing with the physical element and healing. Today, a typical yoga session will begin with meditation as a way to focus on the workout. The next phase is the workout, which is comprised of poses. Each pose works on flexibility, strength, balance, or a combination of these. The final phase is that of relaxation poses.
Most people have their own ideas about yoga and its benefits. However, the American Medical Association (AMA) and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society have recently conducted or endorsed studies linking yoga to the help and / or healing of several conditions.

There are several reasons people integrate yoga into their workout routines. Yoga can be used for relaxation, to reduce anxiety, meditation and for fitness and flexibility. Each yoga pose focuses on specific benefits. For example, plank pose (the pose most resembling the start of a push up), strengthens the arms, wrists, spine and abdomen. Therefore, once you have a series of poses, you are able to work your entire body.

According to Amy Sorensen, a certified yoga instructor and a member of the Riverside First Ward, Blackfoot, Idaho Northwest Stake, there are definite benefits to yoga. It shapes, tones and firms muscle and raises the heart rate. "I get sweatier doing yoga then the stepper at the gym. The weight of your body acts as resistance and helps to tone the muscles," Amy said.

A common belief is that yoga has become more popular in direct correspondence to the amount of stress in our modern lives. Yoga teaches correct and calming breathing throughout your routine. One study from the AMA, published in the Boston Medical Journal, showed that diaphragmatic breathing is just as effective as an anti-depressant drug in reducing anxiety.

According to The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook by Martha Davis, Ph.D., Elizabeth Robbins Eshelman, M.S.W., and Matthew McKay, Ph.D., there are two types of breathing. One is centered in the chest and is "associated with anxiety or other emotional distress". It is also associated to being in poor health. Abdominal or diaphragmatic breathing is "the natural breathing of newborn babies and sleeping adults. Inhaled air is drawn deep into the lungs and exhaled as the diaphragm contracts and expands". This is the type of breathing that yoga brings to your awareness.

Yoga is being incorporated into several other exercise classes. Football, kickboxing, ballet and other dance classes use yoga as a way to help their participants gain flexibility and improve breathing. The good news is that you don't have to already be in top shape to start. Anyone, regardless of physical limitations or weight, can do yoga. It's important to take a class to get started and to learn the proper ways of doing poses and breathing. Once you have the basics learned, you will feel more comfortable in practicing alone, if you choose. (See the sidebar for several links in getting started at home).

However, while yoga can be practiced while pregnant, it's necessary to know of the limitations and modifications to incorporate. The most important thing to remember is not to push yourself. Yoga is meant to be comfortable, not straining. Once you begin to push past your physical limitations, the risk of injury is higher.

PILATES
Pilates is a very fashionable method of achieving physical fitness. It has become increasingly popular in the last ten years; but it is not a new practice. It was created in the early 1900's and has many applications, such as increasing over all health and strength, physical and mental stimulation and toning the body. It has many followers including those who have adapted the basic practices to fit the different body types and lifestyles of the 21st century.

Where Did Pilates Come From?
Joseph Hubertus Pilates, born 1880 in Germany, suffered from asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever as a child. Disappointed with his condition he decided to devote his life to physical perfection. He was successful at skiing, diving and weight lifting and was ready to pose for anatomical charts by the age of fourteen.

The six basic principles of Pilates are:
CONCENTRATION
CONTROL
CENTERING
FLOW OF MOVEMENT
PRECISION
BREATHING

Pilates is designed holistically so that over all conditioning is achieved. Some methods of Pilates practice include mats, reformers (a kind of mechanical "spotter"), or exercise balls. There are a profuse number of classes, videotapes and instruction books for those interested in this discipline. (Information on the origination of Pilates obtained from brickbodies.com; reposted with permission)