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+Exercise | May 18, 2012

Five Unconventional Fitness Classes to Try Now

By Alexandra Sifferlin

Tired of your mindless treadmill routine and all that running leading nowhere? Consider mixing up your fitness plan, with more and more gyms offering unique classes for workouts that are effective — and fun.

+Relationships | February 29, 2012

Does Yoga Really Drive People Wild with Desire?

By Maia Szalavitz
Susanne Friedrich / Getty Images

Studies suggesting that the practice of yoga arouses the libido have been cited to explain why so many gurus are embroiled in sex scandals. But is that really what’s going on?

+Photos Depression | November 4, 2011

8 Ways to Beat the Winter Blues

By Maia Szalavitz

As the days get shorter and winter closes in, many people feel like hibernating. We start sleeping more, eating more and avoiding social contact. The effects can be particularly oppressive for people with depression, many of whom feel escalating dread as the end of daylight saving time approaches. Here are eight ways to keep the black dog [...]

+Pain | October 25, 2011

Yoga and Stretching Can Help Relieve Bad Backs

By Sora Song
Nuno Silva / Getty Images

Chanting “om” might help ease your aching back, but only if it comes at the end of yoga practice. A new study finds that the physical act of doing yoga — but not its meditative aspect — may help reduce symptoms of chronic back pain.

+Exercise | September 26, 2011

How Understanding Drug Addiction Can Motivate You to Exercise

By Maia Szalavitz
Zia Soleil / Iconica / Getty Images

Much has been made of the “runner’s high,” the euphoria attributed to pleasure-inducing neurotransmitters like dopamine and endorphins (the brain’s endogenous opiates) being released in the brain during exercise. But the question is, if exercise causes the same brain changes as do other rewarding activities like, say, taking drugs, why, then, don’t exercisers crave their [...]

Family Matters
+Fertility | May 17, 2011

Mind-Body Programs Boost Pregnancy Rates for IVF Patients

By Bonnie Rochman
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Infertility treatment is stressful: everyone else seems to be getting pregnant; why can’t you? So what if there were an evidence-based method that could dramatically increase the success of in-vitro fertilization, or IVF?

+Exercise | April 5, 2011

Can Yoga Treat a Common Heart Rhythm Disorder?

By Meredith Melnick
Dkal Inc. via Getty Images

In the first study of its kind, cardiology researchers from the University of Kansas Hospital found that a regular yoga practice can reduce episodes of irregular heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation.

+Quotes | February 7, 2011

“It’s a very effective relaxation technique, and a great way to get women in the door to get support. It’s a way to get them to like their bodies again.”

—ALICE DOMAR, health psychologist at the Harvard-affiliated center Boston IVF, on the potential benefits of stress-reducing yoga for women who are undergoing treatment for infertility [via The New York Times]

+Parenting | January 19, 2011

Behind the Viral Video: What’s the Deal with ‘Baby Yoga’?

By Meredith Melnick
Courtesy of DadWagon

No, it’s not a joke from Stuff White People Like. Baby yoga is a real phenomenon, and it isn’t the drop-your-kids-off-while-you-do-real-yoga stuff of yuppie parenting. Instead, the practice of flipping and swinging newborns around by their limbs has gained traction in Russia and elsewhere. The goal? Creating more physically courageous and adept children.

+Exercise | September 14, 2010

If You Can Balance On One Leg, You Might Live Longer

By Meredith Melnick
REUTERS/Jorge Silva (VENEZUELA ENTERTAINMENT SOCIETY)

We’ve all known that physical fitness and dexterity are related, and that fitness and longevity are related. But who knew that dexterity and long life had a correlation all their own?