Yoga Pilates Mat Store Blog

Yoga Pilates Store Announces the Creation of a Alternative Fitness Directory. Everything from Yoga Mats to Wellness centers can be found.

Yoga Pilates Store has recently unveiled a new web directory focused on providing the top resources for fit living. Drawing on listings from DMOZ.org and hand picked sites the goal is to provide the top listings in this Niche fitness category.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) April 29, 2005 – Yoga Pilates Store.com has just unveiled a completely free online web directory that focuses on the niche fitness category of Yoga, Pilates and other alternative forms of fitness and well being.

The directory draws from DMOZ.org to provide many of its top quality listings. The listings provide users with helpful information such as Google PageRank ™ to determine the quality of the site prior to visiting. There is also a strict review process for sites submit to the directory to ensure quality listings for our online community.

The new directory will work in conjunction with an existing Yoga blog to further build our community base. Providing more information and resources helps to educate online visitors about all the benefits of Yoga and Pilates as a fitness alternative.
“Many of our customers come to buy Yoga and Pilates mats and equipment but they are also looking for information on healthy living,” said Josh Campos President of Yoga Pilates Store.com. “We felt it was important to provide our online community with resources to further enhance their goal of living a healthy and balanced life.”

About Yoga Pilates Store:
Yoga Pilates Store (http://www.yogapilatesstore.com) is a resource for fitness conscious people who want the highest quality fitness products at a very competitive price. Through the use of blogs and a niche orientated directory Yoga Pilates Store is committed to building an online community and resource center for people who have made the choice to live a healthy and fit life.

Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle
By Robin L. Flanigan

After fashion designer Stella McCartney teamed up in February with Adidas to hawk a line of sportswear accessories, she slapped a $72 price tag – and her name in large letters – on a yoga mat.

Christy Turlington’s collection of yoga clothing and footwear has been going strong since fall 2000, when the model helped Puma create the Nuala brand – with a lotus-print tank top that sells for $45 – as “a symbiosis between the outer and inner being.”

There is no shortage of designer merchandise for yoga enthusiasts who prefer a contemporary approach to ancient philosophies. Same goes for devotees of the more recent Pilates movement.

As far as clothing goes, no purist worth his prana (that’s Sanskrit for energy and also the name of a high-end yoga clothier) practices in any old T-shirt and shorts. Dip into a “downward dog” position in a loose top and get a face full of cotton. Tip into a half-moon in loose shorts and, well, the position turns into a double entendre.

Instead, those who practice either discipline regularly are easily drawn to – and are willing to pay for – high-performance materials (they do the dirty work by wicking away sweat) with attractive designs and flattering cuts.

“You don’t want to be distracted in your practice by being uncomfortable, so in that case clothes do matter,” says Cyndi Weis, owner of Breathe, a Pittsford, N.Y., yoga studio, juice bar and boutique.

“And for the yoga fashionista, of course, we can always take it to another level. The clothes are bright and fun and happy. Why not?”

Breathe carries, among other brands, Nuala, Be Present and Lululemon Athletica, which has developed quite a following for its own stretchy material called Luon.

The dressing rooms at Lululemon’s standalone store in Toronto have been known to have a 15-minute wait.

Weis says newer fabrics including Luon are so adaptable, you can go from a hot yoga class – executed in heated rooms – to the grocery store on a cold winter day without needing to change clothes.

Manufacturers are focusing more on transitional pieces to satisfy a rapidly growing number of yoga buffs who fit regular sessions into their busy schedules. A recent study lumping together yoga and tai chi practitioners found that the number who practice frequently – defined as at least 100 days a year – increased 166 percent from 1998 to 2003, according to SGMA International, a trade association for the sports products industry. The study did not track Pilates figures, though the clothing market targets those exercise fans as well.

Some in the industry think some products go too far, however. “It’s unbelievable, some of the things they have out,” says pilates studio owner Jodi Brennan of Rochester, N.Y., referring to the rubber-studded hand and foot gloves recently introduced by Sun Salutations Inc., of Scottsdale, Ariz. The gloves are designed to prevent slipping and reduce injuries. (The company, accustomed to skeptics, urges potential customers to recall that there was a time when golfers didn’t wear gloves, either.)

In the end, comfort, at least in a public exercise class, is a two-way street.

“Some of the positions in yoga can be kind of embarrassing,” says Brennan, who also teaches yoga. “I’ve seen shorts that are too big, but I’ve also seen the really super-tight ones. That’s kind of gross – especially on a guy.”

Yoga blog

“It"s About Finding the Bliss, without the Dogma.” - Virginia Biddle, OwnerBala Yoga - The new Ashtanga-based yoga studio and boutique finds a home in Los Angeles.
Distribution Source : PRWeb

Date : Saturday - April 23, 2005

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) April 23, 2005 – Bala Yoga Los Angeles” premiere source for the yoga lifestyle with a 4,000 square foot studio and 50 classes weekly located at 145 N. La Brea Avenue. This spacious studio sits in a newly built complex just between Beverly Boulevard and 1st Street with ample rooftop parking.

Bala is a Sanskrit word that means strength. The ancients taught that the practice of yoga leads not only to physical strength, but also spiritual and emotional empowerment. While honoring the 6,000-year-old Yogic tradition, Bala Yoga accentuates the importance of cultivating one"s own individual truth so that it may be fully expressed in life. “My classes encourage one to challenge one’s self-perceived limits and expectations, open the self to new ways of movement, and to have fun. I use music of all types, depending on the mood and inspiration,” says co-owner, Gretchen Wiese.

Bala Yoga offers predominantly strong, Ashtanga-based flow classes, a form of Hatha yoga, which is practiced by celebrities such as Madonna, Sting, and Demi Moore. They also offer special classes such as prenatal, and Bala Happy Hour; an after work wake up and de-stress class.

Puma is set to sponsor events at Bala, such as Live DJ Yoga on the first Friday of each month from 7:30-9:30 featuring well-known DJ"s who are prepared to “rock” the 2-hour class. They will also host special previews of their Mahanuala line, created by Christie Turlington. “We want to create a lifestyle-type atmosphere at the studio; to have fashion shows as well as cocktail parties after an intense yoga workout,” says Biddle.

Besides being the LA base for Turlington"s Mahanuala, Bala Yoga also carries a full assortment of other lines such as Velvet, Rebecca Beeson, 3 Dot, Michael Stars, Mari Dade, Hard Tail, Sanctuary, Om Girl, and Woo for the on-the-mat/off-the-mat yoga lifestyle. The boutique offers jewelry by Sonya Ooten and Gabriela Artigas, as well as a variety of yoga mats, books, CDs, candles and other gift items. For more information, contact Bala Yoga at (323) 939.6424 or visit http://www.balayoga.net

About the Owners
Virginia Biddle practiced Yoga for 15 years under the guidance of Alan Finger, Beryl Bender Birch and Peter Rizzo. Prior to opening a yoga studio, Virginia Biddle worked as an independent producer in the film and television industry for 12 years. After the death of her sister in 1999, Virginia found herself turning more and more to the yogic teachings for clarity and understanding. Thus began the process of reassessing her own life. Virginia was introduced to Gretchen Wiese, who had recently relocated to Los Angeles. Wiese is the former owner of the popular It"s Yoga studio in Miami, and trained under Larry Schultz. The two hit it off immediately. The blend of their unique styles and personalities is what lies at the heart of Bala Yoga.

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Yoga Mats Pilates Mats
Yoga pilates Blog

BOULDER, Colo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–April 21, 2005–Peak Pilates, an innovator of Pilates equipment and training, named Tracey Harvey as its vice president of sales. Harvey’s expertise in bundling education programs with products for health and fitness facilities translates well to the Pilates industry and will help Peak Pilates senior management prepare for the next level of the company’s development.

Harvey will be instrumental in leveraging Peak Pilates’ strategic partnership with the fitness industry’s premium brand, Life Fitness. Peak Pilates is one of the most recognized brands of classical Pilates equipment in health clubs and the leading choice of experienced professionals worldwide.

“Tracey has the talent and management experience we need to guide Peak Pilates through a rapid growth phase,” said CEO Julie Lobdell. “Her experience in helping facilities worldwide generate profits through programs will serve Peak well as we become a fully integrated single-source supplier to the Pilates and fitness industry.”

Harvey has more than two decades of experience in the fitness industry, including work with Nautilus, Schwinn Fitness, Stairmaster, Quinton and Bowflex. She has built fitness education programs from the ground up, focusing on selling strategies and programs that add value to the commercial customer. Her programs have emphasized the importance of well-trained professionals. Most notably, Harvey played a key role in training staff for and outfitting thousands of fitness facilities around the country with SPINNING® bikes. Her work is credited with bringing the SPINNING craze to thousands of cycling and fitness enthusiasts.

Before joining Peak Pilates, Harvey was director of the Fitness Academy at the Nautilus Group. She was national sales manager at Schwinn Cycling & Fitness and a SPINNING fitness instructor at a local health club. Harvey started her career at the Denver Nuggets as promotions coordinator and moved from there to learn all aspects of running a health club by working at a local club for 10 years.

Harvey earned her bachelor’s of science degree in commercial recreation and business from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Hmmm not sure about this. But I found this story so enjoy.

Twenty years ago, Liz Torbert of Washington noticed she was shrinking. Diagnosed with scoliosis in her mid-20s, Torbert experienced no visible effects until after menopause, when her bone density decreased. Then her spine began to collapse. Throughout her adult life she had been 5 feet 5½ inches tall; by 2000, she’d shrunk to 4 feet 11½ inches.

“My ribs were touching my pelvis,” Torbert said. “I was leaning that far over.”

Today - at 75, about six decades after most people get their growth spurts - Torbert has regained two inches, standing 5 feet 1½ inches tall. She credits her new stature to three years of regular Pilates classes.

Pilates, an 80-year-old rehabilitation exercise regimen that has found a huge new audience in the past several years, has cultivated a reputation for being able to create longer, leaner muscles . . . and to increase height.

Yoga to go.

By Linda Stahl
lstahl@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
“
For travelers who want to keep up with their exercise program, here is “Travel Yoga: Stretches for Planes, Trains, Automobiles, and More!” by Darrin Zeer (Chronicle Books, $9.95)…
“

Great Idea for people who travel! I think you can find copies here: www.barnesandnoble.com.

Yog journal will now be in Russian.

SAN FRANCISCO, April 20 /PRNewswire/ – Yoga Journal
(http://www.yogajournal.com), the country’s most widely read yoga magazine, has
recently entered into an agreement with Independent Media Publishing House
(IMPH) (http://www.imedia.ru), the largest magazine publisher in Russia, to publish
Yoga Journal in Russian. It is the first of several foreign language editions
Yoga Journal plans.
The premier issue will be published in May, with a print run of
20,000 copies. The Russian edition will contain 70 percent content from the
U.S. edition of Yoga Journal, 30 percent local content, and will initially be
published four times a year.

Read the Rest of the Story
Oddly Enough - UK Reuters

Yoga goes hip-hop as marketing takes hold

By Larry Fine

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Yoga is going hip-hop part of a rampant commercialization of the ancient exercise in America, where it is being marketed to new inner city audiences at Starbucks-like chains.

Yoga, the 5,000-year-old Indian discipline of exercise, diet and meditation, has exploded into a $3 billion (1.6 billion pound) industry in the United States, with urban entertainment impresario Russell Simmons the newest figure to join in.

Simmons, the founder of Def Jam Records, released a video series on Wednesday titled, “Yoga Live", with instructions set to 72 tracks of original hip-hop music – sounds that might have jarred the yogis of bygone days.

Simmons said he tried to distil the spiritual from the physical in his tapes. “We packaged it intentionally in a way for people to digest the physical practice,” he told Reuters. “It’s not meant to get them worried about religion or spirituality.”

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