Stretching and Artery Health and Zappa

Tis the season for holiday cheer and whatnot. But my favorite form of procrastination (from gift shopping and from yoga) is to read the New York Times. Tonight I stumbled across a little article connecting the ability to touch one's toes to flexible arteries. They even found in one study that stretching can help artery elasticity and thus in some way prevent heart attack. But I am far from a doctor, so please do not take my word for it. Read the article to find out what they're really talking and then do yoga for the sheer joy of it, not because it may or may not save your life one day.

And because it's Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanza/Solstice/Festivus, I leave you with my favorite holiday song. One that has nothing to do with yoga. Enjoy.

video: Auld Lang Syne and the City

Ah, it's that time of year. To reflect on the many ups and downs of the year past and to consider goals of the year to come. As we usher in the New Year with great expectations, going full throttle singing Auld Lang Syne off key at the stroke of midnight, we can't help but think about friendships including those made at our yoga studios. When we first envisioned Yoga Sanctuary, we wanted to create a space of fitness and healing as well as one of friendship. So we always feel sentimental when we hear Auld Lang Syne and the song's call to remember long-standing friendships. One version of the song that lingers with us is a haunting rendition by the Scottish duo The Cast. It's featured in the video below from the film Sex and the City. The movie clips of good friends ... the shots of Manhattan (we miss New York!) ... the stirring vocals ... make us weepy but also remind us about the importance of being surrounded by loved ones. We wish that your every dream for 2010 comes true and that you find yourself surrounded by friends, happiness and good times.

Pro Linebacker Ray Lewis Hearts Yoga

How exactly does a 6-foot, 250-pound brash, intimidating football player take to a yoga practice? Passionately. Baltimore Ravens Superstar Ray Lewis, whose main job is aggressively tackling anyone carrying a football, credits yoga with helping him achieve better flexibility after surgeries in 2005 and 2006. ''I would recommend [yoga] to all the linebackers,'' Lewis recently told The Chicago Sun-Times.

It's well-documented these days that athletes often choose to practice yoga in addition to their regular training. But for pro football players, who take such a beating every week during the fall, the benefits of yoga go well beyond getting a good stretch. Yoga can help them with conditioning going into the postseason -- and keep them moving long after their careers are through. So athletes, break out that yoga mat!

12 Days of Christmas (Indian Style)

A pop star from India who specializes in comedic remakes of classic Christmas carols reworked the 12 Days of Christmas, Indian style, in the video below. We don't want to spoil the surprise, but the gift on the 10th day should make you smile.

video: Seane Corn and Making A Difference

This past weekend Yoga Sanctuary was honored to host three workshops led by the amazing Seane Corn. World-renowned, Seane not only provides a physical workout with lots of great instruction, but offers an emotional workout as well. She asks you to put a meaning, an intention to every movement. Seane also 'walks the talk' and is what yoga is all about: authenticity and compassion. She believes powerfully in taking the lessons of yoga into the community and has spent time in India, Cambodia and Africa working with impoverished prostitutes and street children, teaching yoga, providing support and aid, and educating them about HIV/AIDS prevention. We love Seane, big time, because she's the real deal. We hope you'll support her Off the Mat, Into the World program that's making a difference around the globe.

Yoga Rave: Three Cheers for the Mighty Kleenex* Box

The lowly Kleenex box is the unsung hero of yoga. Countless times, I've attempted to follow my yoga teacher's instructions to breathe deeply only to be stopped in my Path to Enlightenment by freakin' allergies! And that little exercise where you plug up one nostril and breathe through the other, just forget it. Many times, I've walked into yoga with a clear nose only to have the stoppage develop halfway through my practice. Many would say that yoga is doing its job by dredging up the toxins, but you need the kleenex to finish the job and clear them out.

But that's when the kleenex saves the day! Not to mention a very attentive yoga instructor, who upon seeing my struggle to breathe delivers the breath-saving tissue unto me!

Sometimes, it's the most insignificant things that make the biggest difference (I just hit my yoga truism quota for the week).

Thank you, little tissue.

* Kleenex is a brand name, which we do not specifically endorse. I just don't like the sound of the word "facial tissue."

video: A Yogic Christmas

We're grateful for many things this holiday season including our friends, family, Yoga Sanctuary staff and students ... and the Castle Hill Yoga studio in Austin, Texas. We've never been to the Castle Hill Yoga studio but we love their spirit ... especially their Christmas spirit. Happy Holidays!