The practice of yoga has been traced back to the 3rd millennium BC, and it has only grown in popularity. These days, you can see yoga in the park, streaming online or even at public demonstrations protesting the financial sector. Yoga may just be India’s most influential export, but as the world turns, people are coming up with new, innovative ways to experience and benefit from yoga.

Many yoga practitioners lead a busy life and it can be hard to fit a good routine in between meetings, book signings and other obligations. Similarly, there are many ways to do and benefit from yoga, like group yoga, yoga for a cause and distance yoga.

A good yoga routine generally takes about 30-40 minutes. This gives you enough time to hold, bend and stretch your body to the degree that will actually benefit the body, rather than running through the poses for the sake of brevity. For those who spend their life at work, lunchtime yoga has come to fill the void. You’ll need about an hour total so you can eat a quick meal, and then begin a quick, 30-minute routine.

Yoga studios in Manhattan are filled with light chatter and perhaps a few smiles; but the ties that bind them together have also brought them to the same studio. Doing Yoga with people who have survived serious disease creates a supportive, health-centric atmosphere and provides an outlet. The Manhattan studio I described earlier is comprised of a group of women who suffer from or have survived breast cancer. (http://www.dnainfo.com/20111018/murray-hill-gramercy/union-square-yoga-class-gives-hope-breast-cancer-survivors)

The Indian scientific regimen of yoga is not just lauded by athletic-fitness types. The Times of India has reported on a catholic initiative to popularize yoga by installing various artworks in a 6,000 square foot building next to their historical cathedral. The artwork includes embossed reliefs and paintings of figures like Jesus in yogic postures. It is yet another example of widespread effort to present yoga to the masses not just a beneficial exercise regimen, but a spiritual accouterment.

Like marathons, yoga can be used as a way to raise funds and awareness for important causes. The Rhode Island Namaste Yoga Ball brings together yoga students, instructors and enthusiasts to schmooze, mingle and practice yoga – the ball kicks off with a two-hour yoga practice and music meditation. The event benefits the Rhode Island Women’s Shelter, and brings to light many issues important to the Rhode Island community. Yoga is generally seen as a naturalist exercise and lends itself to benefits like these.

Perhaps the most “Star Trek” of the ways to engage with yoga is telecommunication. It isn’t unheard of to teach language classes to students over video chat or voice communication technology, but some studios have begun distance yoga programs. Students who are away from their city of residence on business or vacation for extended periods of time can tune into a conference call and participate remotely. There are webcam systems to put into practice, but advanced yogis who are familiar with the poses can simply listen in and participate.

It’s clear that the sky is the limit when it comes to keeping up with yoga outside of your normal routine. Yoga for benefit, yoga to raise awareness and aid a cause often deepens the experience of yoga and can leave one feeling more refreshed than they already would be.

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