Latest news with #yoga
BBC News
2 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Harrogate yoga teacher helps young offenders find inner calm
A Yorkshire yoga instructor has received a community champion award for her voluntary efforts bringing healing and hope to young Nicholson, from Harrogate, hosts yoga sessions in prison for boys aged 15–18 who face a range of challenges, including behavioural issues and trauma. "You have to break down quite a few barriers," Ms Nicholson told BBC Radio York, but added she was gratified by the positive response, with many of the boys telling her they "found yoga peaceful, and it made them feel calm"."Emma's story is a testament to the potential of compassionate intervention," said Diana O'Reilly, chair of the British Wheel of Yoga, which put her forward for the accolade. "Teenage boys doing yoga anyway is quite unusual, but in this particular context it is perhaps even more difficult to imagine," said Ms Nicholson."A really common comment is that they [the boys] never thought they'd do yoga."Ms Nicholson was trained to teach in prisons by the Prison Phoenix Trust, which supports the spiritual and mental well-being of prisoners through the practices of meditation and yoga. Recalling a typical day, she described navigating the wings of a prison to seek out inmates available for yoga, then laying out mats for the group. She said her classes begin with an invitation to the boys to take part in whatever parts they enjoy, but with permission to stop or sit out any part they are uncomfortable with."To actually get young people on the mat you have to break down quite a few barriers and reassure them that this is actually a practice that they can engage in," she explained. According to the Prison Phoenix Trust, yoga classes improve the emotional self-regulation of young has found breathing techniques and mindful movement during yoga can reduce stress and anxiety, and move young offenders away from being hyper-vigilant in stretching may also help to address any negative body-image issues associated with past compiled by the Trust reported 82% of participants of yoga courses held in two prisons, in 2023, saw improvements in their mental found "low" mental well-being, relative to the general population, decreased from 73% to 5% among participants; "high" mental well-being increased from 0% to 27% among yoga attendees; and those experiencing "moderate" mental well-being increased from 27% to 68%. Former prisoner Sue, who lives in West Yorkshire, found prison yoga sessions gave her the mental strength to cope with her received a four-year sentence in HMP Styal, in Cheshire, after being caught dealing heroin to fund her own drug 30-years sober, Sue maintains prison time was, in fact, a blessing, marking a clean break from the chaos of her former life. She recalls how taking a blanket into the showers and sitting there in silence, focusing on her breath, helped her deal with difficult thoughts. She currently works with the Prison Phoenix Trust to train yoga teachers like Ms Nicholson."The simplicity of following your breath, of holding a yoga pose, enables total acceptance of yourself," said Sue. Ms Nicholson was presented with the community champion award at the British Wheel of Yoga's (BWY) Heart of Yoga Awards earlier this month."Emma's story is a testament to the potential of compassionate intervention - proving that with the right support, young people can find paths to self-understanding and positive change," said BWY's O'Reilly. Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Free yoga sessions for people in north Devon
A community group in north Devon is hoping to get people active and improve their mental well-being with free yoga Community Yoga Project started running the sessions earlier this year and now has 250 Shackleton founded the group because she wanted to remove financial and societal barriers to people being able to do, what she considers to be, a very important practice for one's mental said it is for everyone: "We have people come along with babies in prams, people who have toddlers clambering over them, through to older people in wheelchairs and with walkers, it's really special." The group relies on donations and funding as they pay their yoga teachers but want to keep the yoga free, particularly in relation to the cost-of-living Shackleton said: "People might not have the disposable income to pay 10 or 12, or even seven pounds on a class, that is why we run these sessions."For the team of yoga teachers, it is also about breaking Hill, one of the instructors, said it was not about competing for who can be the most bendy, she likes to make it about community."It's a shared experience which helps fight loneliness", she added. Ms Shackleton also wants to make yoga more accessible in terms of said: "Everybody talks about how nothing comes to north Devon, and if it does it's just the main towns."It would be great to take [Free Yoga] into other places, Torrington, Holsworthy, any where that wants us."
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Dakota Johnson flashes her bra and abs in LA after glitzy Cannes debut
Dakota Johnson put on a perky display as she enjoyed a yoga class in Malibu this week. The 35-year-old actress — whose new film Materialists comes out in June — was outfitted in a black shrug that flashed her matching black sports bra. The nepo baby, whose mother is Melanie Griffith, added high-waisted black leggings and flip-flops with black straps and red soles. She covered her eyes with a pair of oversized oval-shaped sunglasses while balancing her phone, a water bottle, and a coffee in her hands. It comes after last week she made a glamorous first-time appearance at the 78th Annual Cannes Film Festival. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Dakota Johnson put on a perky display as she enjoyed a yoga class in Malibu this week The 35-year-old actress was outfitted in a black shrug that flashed her matching black sports bra She covered her eyes with a pair of oversized oval-shaped sunglasses while balancing her phone, a water bottle, and a coffee in her hands Johnson appeared to go makeup-free underneath her eyewear while out in Los Angeles. She put her flat abs on display in the chic gym look, and her waist-length brunette hair flowed freely as she rocked her signature face-framing bangs. On May 18 the silver screen siren attended the 2025 Kering Women In Motion Awards and Cannes Film Festival Presidential Dinner. For the occasion, which was attended by Halle Berry and where Nicole Kidman was honored, Dakota slipped into a sheer Gucci dress. The actress accented the sexy look with coordinating chandelier earrings and wore her dark locks in an updo. For her Cannes debut, the Madame Web star promoted her forthcoming project Splitsville. She produced the Michael Angelo Covin-directed film through her production company TeaTime Pictures. The movie follows a couple entangled in their friends' open marriage and also stars Adria Arjona, Nicholas Braun, and O-T Fagbenle. Her Malibu outing comes after last week she made a glamorous appearance at the 78th Annual Cannes Film Festival; seen on May 18 For the Cannes premiere of her latest film Materialists, Johnson wowed in a pink fringe Gucci gown; seen on May 19 Distributed by Neon, Splitsville hits theaters in late summer on August 22. 'So much of why I wanted to start a production company and make my own movies is because I want more from this industry,' Johnson explained to Variety of founding TeaTime Pictures in 2019. She added, 'I felt so thirsty for more conversation and more creativity and more collaboration. I found myself as an actor, a few times, showing up to the premiere of a movie to see it the first time and saying, "Woah. That is not what I thought we were making."' Ahead of Splitsville, Dakota will star in Materialists, out June 13, alongside Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans. According to Deadline, Materialists follows a matchmaker who balances her relationship with a wealthy man with her lingering feelings for her waiter-actor ex-boyfriend. The cast also includes Marin Ireland, Zoe Winters and Dasha Nekrasova.
The Independent
26-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Members of Latter-day Saints turn to yoga for its physical and spiritual benefits
Wendy Cullum lay flat on her back completely relaxed in 'shavasana' or 'corpse pose,' a common closing position in a yoga class. She and several other members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were finishing up a 90-minute session in the sanctuary of the only Hindu temple in Spanish Fork, Utah, a bucolic community about 55 miles (88 kilometers) south of Salt Lake City. This small Thursday evening yoga class at Shri Shri Radha Krishna Temple in the heart of Mormon country is an example of the embrace of yoga and meditation among members of the faith, widely known as the Mormon church. Yoga in Sanskrit means 'union with the divine." For Cullum, her practice helps deepen her connection to her Mormon faith and God, though yoga originated as an ancient spiritual practice in India rooted in Hindu philosophy. 'When I close my eyes and focus on him during shavasana, it helps me leave all my worries behind and trust in God more,' said Cullum, who has been practicing for five years. She's not alone. Many Latter-day Saints who do yoga and other contemplative practices — mindfulness, breath work, meditation and more — say they are able to seamlessly integrate their faith into the process. This is not a new phenomenon either. A 2012 survey by the Pew Research Center found 27% of members of the church believe in yoga not just as exercise, but as a spiritual practice, compared with 23% of the general public who share this belief. Reconciling a spiritual identity crisis Philip McLemore, a former U.S. Air Force and hospice chaplain, taught other members of his faith how to meditate for more than a decade. His yoga practice started earlier than that following a spinal injury. Yoga not only helped him heal physically, he said, but it also made him more compassionate. Unable to achieve this positive change with his faith alone, McLemore questioned his spiritual identity. 'I had to ask: Who am I?' McLemore said. 'Am I a Mormon guy, a Christian? Or am I this yogi guy?' He found his answer in Matthew 11:28-30: 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.' McLemore emphasized the word 'yoke,' which shares the same Indo-European root word — yeug or yuj — as 'yoga.' It means to join or unite. He determined that Christ's teachings are consistent with the classic yogas in the Bhagvad Gita, the main Hindu sacred text, which speaks to the eternal nature of the soul. McLemore's struggle ended there and his two worlds merged. His practice now takes place in front of a small shrine in his study, with a figurine of Christ in a meditative pose flanked by those of Hindu gods Krishna bearing a flute and Shiva performing his cosmic dance. The body-mind connection Like McLemore, LeAnne Tolley's yoga practice began with an injury that left her unable to do her typical gym workouts. Tolley, a Latter-day Saint and a yoga teacher, uses yoga therapy to help her clients with eating disorders and other behavioral issues. Tolley said when she started practicing yoga, she met with resistance from some Christians outside her faith, even though she saw no conflict. She said yoga changed her life by helping her overcome 'exercise addiction' and understand that the mind and body are connected. 'Most Western spirituality sometimes places excessive focus on the spirit and leads people to believe that the body doesn't matter,' she said. 'My faith teaches that God has a physical body — an exalted, celestial, perfected body. What it means to become like God is to get to a point where my body is just as important as my spirit, that they are all perfectly aligned.' It's dismaying, she says, for her to hear some people tell her she cannot do yoga and be a Latter-day Saint. 'What I've learned from yoga only fortifies, enhances and deepens my personal faith,' she said. 'The pieces in yoga that don't fit in with my faith practice, I just leave them out. I just take those pieces that help me and make sense for me.' While many Latter-day Saints have adopted yoga for health and fitness, the church took the intentional step of recommending yoga as a way for its missionaries to stay physically fit, said Matthew Bowman, chair of Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University. He said some church members, particularly women, have talked about how yoga helped them get in touch with their own divine identity and their identity as women. It has also helped some unpack a contradiction within the church's theology, where there is sometimes shaming around the body while also insisting that bodies are divine, Bowman said. Spiritual practice in lieu of religion For Naomi Watkins, who says she left the Latter-day Saints after experiencing a disconnect between her body and mind about eight years ago, yoga offered a spiritual lifeline. 'Being a woman in Mormonism, I felt very cut off from my body because of the garments I had to wear and having seen how women were treated differently,' she said, adding that breathing exercises, or breath work, in yoga helped her make that vital body-mind connection and quiet the constant inner chatter. Above all, Watkins said, yoga gave her the freedom to take cues from her body and move in ways that felt right and good. Now, yoga is her spiritual practice. 'It's about reclaiming my own inner voice, my wisdom,' Watkins said. 'Our cells carry generations of practices and stories and knowledge. Yoga has helped me tap into those things for myself in a way my faith did not. I know how my body talks to me now. My body often knows things before my brain does.' Synthesizing yogic practices with Mormonism For some like Thomas McConkie, delving deeper into 'yogic meditative paths' led him back to his Mormon roots. He had left the faith at 13 and stayed away for two decades. 'I realized there were resonances in the depths of that practice that were calling me back home to my native tradition, to my ancestry,' he said. As he re-embraced the faith of his childhood, McConkie said he began to see a path unfold before him forged by contemplatives, such as the early Christian hermits who traversed the Egyptian desert in the 4th and 5th centuries. Eight years ago, McConkie founded Lower Lights in Salt Lake City, a community of meditators, many of whom, like him, synthesize their contemplative faith with their Mormon faith. 'In Latter-day Saint theology, all matter is spirit and all creation is actually composed of divine light," McConkie said. "Yogic and meditative practices help us bring forth that light and live our lives in a way that glorifies the divine.' ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Latter-day Saints turn to yoga for physical and spiritual benefits
Many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints embrace yoga and other contemplative practices. Some do it purely for the health benefits, however others say yoga also deepens their spirituality and strengthens their connection with God.
