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"About a month ago, I got an email from corporate (HFMUS, Woman&amp;#039;s Day&amp;#039;s parent company) telling employees about a new in-house yoga program. Once a week, at lunchtime, a fellow employee (and longtime yoga practitioner) would lead classes in a conference room. All you needed was a mat and a willingness to try. At first I was skeptical; I&amp;#039;ve never been interested in anything resembling meditation, and I&amp;#039;m not even remotely flexible. (Touching my toes is out of the question.) I decided to give it a shot, and I&amp;#039;m glad that I did. But I realized that my initial reluctance was probably caused by many common misconceptions about yoga. So I asked Barbara Slavin, our resident yoga expert, to help clear them up. Myth: You have to be flexible to do yoga. Reality: &amp;quot;Flexibility is definitely not a pre-requisite. Even if you can&amp;#039;t touch your toes, you&amp;#039;ll still gain other wonderful benefits. It&amp;#039;s not just about stretching your hamstrings; many other parts of your body and mind benefit from practicing yoga. But with a bit of time and practice, you will notice a vast improvement in your flexibility, alignment, balance, suppleness and overall fitness.&amp;quot; Myth: Yoga isn&amp;#039;t &amp;quot;real&amp;quot; exercise like running or weightlifting. Reality: &amp;quot;Yoga has been scientifically proven to lower blood pressure, relieve and prevent back pain, strengthen the joints, bring elasticity to the spine, stimulate the glands and internal organs and relieve stress and symptoms of depression. A recent study also showed that people who practice yoga tend to gain less weight as they get older because they learn to be mindful and make better food choices. And certain yoga practices (such as Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Power or Flow Yoga) are intense, burning up to 500 calories an hour.&amp;quot;  Myth: Yoga is only for women. Reality: &amp;quot;Many men (including athletes) practice yoga, and have discovered that their performance in other areas has improved because of it. Even the U.S. army teaches yoga\u2013there&amp;#039;s nothing girlie about that!&amp;quot; Myth: Yoga is a religious practice. Reality: &amp;quot;Yoga can be spiritual and enlightening, but it&amp;#039;s not about worshiping any deity or God. It&amp;#039;s a path to self-knowlege; it&amp;#039;s more likely to teach us to seek happiness from within, to be kind and patient to ourselves and those around us, to be compassionate.&amp;quot; Any other yoga newbies out there? What do you like best about it so far? \u2014Barbara Brody, Health Editor "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/health-fitness/a44843/yoga-for-beginners-2577/>