Growth and accessibility are the trends in Yoga now. Nowhere was that more evident than on a recent day in June − the kick-off for Virginia Yoga The Week − when over 2500 people participated in the third annual Love Your Body Day at Reston Town Center. The day began with a Flow Yoga class and ended with a closing celebration concert by Wade Morrisette, a kirtan and indie pop-rock musician and yoga therapist.

Free classes − full to capacity − went on all day. The wide diversity of classes included everything from Beginners Yoga to Rocket Yoga to Synergy Yoga for the family to a special therapeutic class of Yoga for the Lower Back. The Reston kick-off was followed by a week of more than 100 free and discounted yoga classes and events held in studios and wellness centers through out the area.

Studios as wellness centers − one stop shopping for mind and body − are fast becoming mainstream, as yoga becomes the gateway to a program of optimal health and wellness. Therapeutic body work, acupuncture, health consultations and holistic classes are just a few of the offerings you can find that will enrich your journey to becoming healthier, which makes sense given that the practice of yoga makes people feel better. And when you feel better, you are motivated to take better care of yourself fueling a cycle of positive change and transformation. With the notion of yoga as part of an overall program of health and wellness, therapeutic yoga − the specific applications of ancient yoga teachings to western allopathic medicine − and the practice of meditation for reducing stress and anxiety are gaining in popularity. Virginia Hospital Center, INOVA Fairfax Hospital and health care professionals in private practice are integrating therapeutic yoga into programs offered in the community. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health continues to fund research on yoga as an intervention for various diseases and conditions, with teachers in the area bringing training in therapeutic yoga to studios and community settings.

Area studios are also promoting Hot Vinyasa, Hot Yoga, Power Yoga in multiple iterations and the ‘new to the area’ Rocket Yoga − a fast paced yoga flow based in the Ashtanga style of yoga and named Rocket Yoga because, as Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead says, “it gets you there faster.” WelcomeOmDC.com indicates a teacher training will be coming to the area in November, which means that there will be more Rocket Yoga teachers to fill the schedules in local studios!

After the burn there is Yin Yang Yoga, a practice that incorporates stationary poses held for long periods of time with very active vigorous strength building poses. For people that have always enjoyed a hot, sweaty vigorous Yang practice, the deeply held Yin poses bring calm and introduce the notion that balance is a good thing. Some would argue that neither is better than the other, and an ideal practice has a balance of Yin and Yang.

For more information about what is going on at your local studio, go to www.YogaFinder.com and www.PranaJournal.com.

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MARY PARTLOW LAUTTAMUS, MSW is the founder of Mindful Flow Yoga and Therapeutic yoga. She is an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (e-RYT), Professional Yoga Therapist and Transformational Life Coach based in McLean, VA. Contact Mary at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit mindfulflowyoga.com





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