Yoga itself is at least 5,000 years old, and yoga exercising — what you know as yoga postures, or asanas — emerged about 600 years ago. Even though yoga has evolved over the centuries as it traveled to new cultures, its principles are universal. Yoga is a practice of mind, body, breath, and spirit. The articles in the Cheat Sheet touch on the physical and mental benefits yoga offers, offer suggestions for how to enhance your yoga practice even when you’re on your own, and remind you why warming up is so important to any exercise routine — even one as “user-friendly” as yoga.
About This Article
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Larry Payne, PhD, is the president of The International Association of Yoga Therapists. He founded Samata International Yoga and Health Center and is the author of Yoga After 50 For Dummies.
Georg Feuerstein, PhD, was internationally respected for his contribution to Yoga research and the history of consciousness.
Sherri Baptiste is an inspirational teacher at the forefront of yoga training in the United States. She was born into a rich heritage and family of pioneering teachers; her parents, Maga a and Walt Baptiste, established yoga on the West Coast in the mid-1950s. Her brother, Baron Baptiste, authored the book Journey into Power: How to Sculpt Your Ideal Body, Free Your True Self, and Transform Your Life With Yoga (Fireside). Sherri has been teaching yoga since her teens and is the founder of Baptiste Power of Yoga, a nationally recognized yoga method, as well as a yoga-with-weights teacher-training program and a yoga teacher certification and advancing studies program recognized by Yoga Alliance. Sherri presents classes and workshops throughout the United States; she s a presenter for Western Athletics Bay Clubs, Gold s Gym, Nautilus, Equinox, IDEA World Fitness, Body Mind Spirit, ECA; and she offers many yoga retreats, including retreats at Kripalu, Omega, Haramara, Green Gulch Zen Center, Rancho La Puerta Spa, and Feathered Pipe Ranch. A radio and television personality, she s featured in video, DVD, and CD Power of Yoga and Power of Meditation programs. You can learn more about Sherri at the following Web sites: www.powerofyoga.com and www.yogawithweights.com.
Doug Swenson, author of Yoga Helps, leads Ashtanga Yoga workshops and classes for Yoga teachers and students around the world.
Stephan Bodian is an internationally known author, psychotherapist, and teacher. He leads regular intensives and retreats and offers spiritual counseling and mentoring to people throughout the world. His bestselling app Mindfulness Meditation (with Mental Workout) has been praised in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.
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