Social media platform is renowned for being one of the most inspirational platforms to exist. Whether you’re into food, working out, running or traveling, there’s a complete range of accounts to follow. These accounts then fill your feed with inspiration-filled imagery to help get you to where you want to be. But what about yoga?

Yoga is one of the most popular Instagram topics ever to hit the site, and a related hashtag is often seen trending on the site. If you’re looking for inspirational pages to follow to help motivate your yoga enthusiasm, here are five pages you must follow!

Kerri Verna – @beachyogagirl

Mother of two boys, Verna is a yoga instructor who lives in West Palm Beach. She currently holds five unique fitness certifications and is regularly seen practising her favourite poses on the nearby beach. Her account is full of inspirational photos from beautiful beachfront scenes to happy quotes that will help get you through the day.

Caitlyn Turner – @gypsetgoddess

A combination of ‘Gypsy Jetsetter,’ Turner’s tag says it all. You’ll regularly see posts from around the world, sometimes in the most peculiar of places. Her posts are full of energy, excitement, and inspiration, perfect for people who want to get up and get moving. Some of the highlights from her account include headstands in airports and meditating on top of elephants!

Brian Miller – @brianmilleryoga

Miller used to practice boxing. He did so for 15 years before dedicating his life to practising yoga. He owns his studio in his hometown of Montreal and also runs a series of online courses. Since his transformation from a boxer to a yogi, you can follow Brian as he hones his techniques. On his page, you’ll find regular updates on his classes and his progress. You’ll also find a series of wisdom filled words and sentences to boost you up, allowing you to achieve your goals.

Patrick Beach – @patrickbeach

It all started a couple of years ago. Beach’s dad made a bet with Patrick that he couldn’t learn how to do a handstand. It’s safe to say he won the bet and it also inspired a life-changing passion where Patrick now teaches the vertical positions. You’ll find traditional Instagram posts including cat pictures and beard jokes alongside heartfelt inspiration that can help you achieve your dreams.

Taylor Harkness – @tjhark

One of the most flexible individuals I’ve ever seen, Harkness boasts outstanding levels of physical strength. He’s a yoga instructor by trade who has helped dozens of students both in and outside his studio. He’s renowned for his upbeat and positive personality which motivates and inspires those around him, including his followers. This account is ideal for guys who want to practice yoga but believe flexibility may hold them back. Harkness is proof that it can be achieved!

Do you follow any amazing Instagram accounts that could help motivate others? Maybe you’ve got an account yourself that you’d like to share with us! Let us know by leaving a comment in the comment section below!

Especially if you’re living in the United States, you may have heard of a little yoga retreat known as Yogaworks. A yoga retreat built for all, even celebrities, this comprehensive yoga retreat is fully-featured and gives you everything you need to take a break from everyday life and to gain a higher level of awareness.

Yogaworks has been designed to be suitable for yogis of all skill levels, placing them into beautiful environments around the world to become one with themselves. This also helps them to forget about the stresses and worries of day to day life. In the retreats, you can opt in to join a studio class, a Pilates class, private yoga sessions or just have a day of exploring the pristine grounds and landscapes.

If you’re thinking of teaching yoga as a living, the retreat also provides world-acclaimed classes, anything from 200-300 hour courses as well as continuous training after you have graduated. There are also multiple locations to choose from all over the United States. These locations include;

• Baltimore
• Boston
• Los Angeles
• New York
• Northern California
• Orange County
• Washington DC

Each yoga studio has its unique style and personality, perfect for relaxing, unwinding and taking a well-deserved break from day to day life. You can attend the retreat as a one-off visit or even join up on a monthly membership scheme. Price will vary depending on the location of your retreat, but a monthly subscription will set you back around $115. As a student, you can also receive a discount for your first week to be free.

In the city studios, the rooms are designed to be like a home away from home, a place of refuge in a city that’s so chaotic. The studios are comfortable, bright and ideal for taking a well-needed breather.

Yoga Retreats

Now, looking at the retreats which can take you to some of the most beautiful countries in the world. Yogaworks provides you access to two retreats, one in Costa Rica and one in Bali. Both are as beautiful as each other and boast a variety of activities during your week off that gives you everything you need to find peace.

During these retreats, you’ll have access to a variety of classes as well as scheduled excursions that will take you around the local area including beaches, hiking opportunities and even rainforests!

These courses sell out every year, and double occupancy slot will set you back about $1,200 for the week, but this price is for two people. There are also single, triple and quadruple slots available so get your places fast!

Let us know what you think! Have you ever been a yoga retreat that you fell in love with you? Or are you tempted by one of these amazing escapes from the modern world? Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment below!

A recent study has been released stating that back pain can be effectively treated using traditional meditative practices such as yoga. This kind of pain is typically experienced by middle-aged individuals and older and is a great alternative to harmful painkillers.

Despite the medicine that your doctor has prescribed you, this research could revolutionise the lives of many. The research was led by researchers based at the Boston Medical Center and included yoga teachers, physiotherapists and doctors. The research even suggests that a yoga class can be equally as effective as physical therapy.

During the class examined, the trained instructors led the class through a series of gentle poses. These poses included child’s pose, cat-cow and the triangle pose. These are all simple relaxation techniques and poses. The more difficult poses were left out. This is important as strenuous poses could do more harm than good. The idea is to slowly build up the difficult to compliment the strength of your back.

There has even been a release of a complimentary guidebook, teaching and educating you about the poses that were performed in the class. It’s written in the form of a training manual and can be found here.

The results of this study were released Monday here. The researchers made sure that all the results were set out in accordance with the American College of Physicians and their guidelines on treating back pain. It’s suggested that individuals who experience back pain should avoid painkillers as much as possible. Instead, you can replace these with practices such as Tai Chi, massages and yoga.

It’s worth noting that these practices should only be practised replacing painkillers if you are experiencing back pain from day to day activities. If you’re experiencing back pain due to an accident or physical injury, always consult your doctor.

The Study

The research took place among a group of 320 very diverse people from all walks of life. For the most part, these individuals were from Boston’s lower-income areas. Each one complained to be experiencing back pain of some degree. The study was conducted over the course of a year.

These 320 participants were then split into three groups. The first group was directed to attend a weekly yoga class for the following 12 weeks. The second group was told to attend around 15 physical therapy sessions. The final group was given books and newsletters to educate them. The final 40 weeks of the year, the group practising yoga was told to do at a class every week or practise at home. The PT group was told to do the same but in the form of PT.

The Results

Using a 23-point questionnaire, the researchers monitored and accessed the participants, recording the back pain that they felt throughout the course of the treatment. Surprisingly, the PT and yoga group reported the same levels of improvement over the same period.

As the study commenced, around 70% of the individuals involved were administering back pain medication. After the first three months had passed, around 50% of the individuals in the yoga and PT classes had dropped taking back pain medication. However, the educational group remained the same.

In conclusion, it’s obvious to see that yoga and physical training are equally effective in treating back pain. You don’t even have to attend a class, you can simply practice in the comfort of your own home. As with anything, always consult your doctor before coming off medication completely, especially if you are unsure of the condition of your back. However, if you begin to feel better and experience improvements, by all means, talk to your doctor about how good you’re feeling.

Have you practised yoga to help with back pain or any kind of pain or condition around the body? Let us know your experiences in the comment section below!

Smart watches, smartphones, tablets and laptops. We live in the modern era and there is so much technology around us, we’ve all become quite used to it. It’s almost as though they are releasing something new every day. No matter what the problem, issue or niche, there’s a technology there to helps someone out. Now, the same can be said for Yoga.

Enter Wearable X.

This technology company has come with a new solution for yoga beginners and experts alike. Named the Nadi X Leggings, these ‘smart’ leggings can gently pulse and vibrate whilst being worn. Connect the leggings to the app and they’ll be able to monitor your body shape whilst you are practising yoga. The leggings will then vibrate and pulse on certain parts of the body. This is the leggings telling you that your pose needs to be corrected in some way.

This can help you massively to increase your pose, stance, posture and even your wellbeing if you’re practising a pose in such a way that it could be damaging to your health.

How Does It Work?

The Nadi X leggings work thanks to five sensors that are located in key locations around the fabric. Connect the leggings to your smart device via Bluetooth and the leggings will be able to determine which yoga position you are in. The app will then display which pose you are in on the screen and will then proceed to gently vibrate, proving feedback to areas of your body that need to move to improve the effectiveness of the pose.

There are multiple vibrations that will tell you how you need to move. Wearable X has worked tirelessly with over 50 yogis to develop this ground-breaking software that could effectively help and improve yoga practices for people around the world. The brand’s co-founder, Billie Whitehouse, told Deezen that they believe that touch is a universal language. This language is natural to all beings on Earth and that it was the perfect way to implement the draw of attention in a practise or exercise such as Yoga.

From the success of the Nadi X, Wearable X plans to use this technology to implement it into other clothes. This will be able to improve and train individuals in a wide variety of sports and activities.

The Nadi X leggings are available on the Wearable X website with prices starting from $299.

What do you think? Do you think technology should be infused into a traditional practice such as yoga in this way? Or do you think it will distract from the mental attributes of yoga such as awareness and mindfulness? Let us know in the comments below!

With the practice of yoga rapidly gaining in popularity year on year, an AYUSH minister from New Delhi has exclaimed that the government have put forward plans to create 10,000 job vacancies. Specifically, for certified yoga teachers, this move hopes to fill the gap since statistics show that yoga has gained a 30% increase in popularity in New Delhi over the last two years.

As more studies are released that show the many positive benefits of yoga, even private companies are beginning to hire professional teachers into their offices. This is so their employees can practise in the professionally led sessions, enabling them to become more efficient and productive.

Since both of these factors show that yoga is on the rise, the government has stated that it wants to create over 10,000 yoga related vacancies over the next few years. Already, in the Haryana state, the government has already created over 1,000 vacancies. The process was put into place due to the complete lack of certified yoga teachers. It wasn’t until 2015 that they were even a certification for yoga teachers to earn. Since its creation, all certifications are managed and monitored by the Quality Control of India (QCI). This helps to ensure and maintain a high quality of teachings.

Furthermore, the QCI has adopted a scheme in which yoga professionals can complete a voluntary certification. To complete this, the trainers must follow the principles and requirements detailed in the international standards.

Currently, the Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy (CCRYN) is deeply involved in research. This research sets out to actively test the efficiency of yoga practices, recording the benefits of mental health and effects on diseases. Once more and more research is released, it will help to show to need of these job vacancies and will show why yoga is so important.

Related News

In related news, over 51,000 people gathered in the city of Lucknow to celebrate International Yoga Day last Wednesday. This shows a clear interest in the practice of yoga. This will be extremely beneficial for younger people. Many of this age range don’t have jobs but would happily take a yoga career. This helps to deal with unemployment levels and fill the spaces.

Do you think it’s a good idea getting the government involved in yoga and certifications? Or do you think it’s beat that yoga professionals remain in the private sector? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.