Can downward dog transform murderers into model citizens?,That's the philosophy behind a program in India's state of Madhya Pradesh where prisons offer special yoga classes to the incarcerated. Instead of breaking rocks, they learn yoga positions, like the downward dog which is when a person gets on all fours and forms an inverted V by pushing their buttocks high into the air. For every one-to-three month program of yoga lessons completed, the prisoners receive a prison reduction of 15 days. Murderers and thieves learn to meditate and breathe from some of the world's best yoga instructors like Swami Ramdev. "So many of the prisoners have total life transformations and now they are very responsible citizens of the country and they become yoga teachers as well," said Ramdev through an interpreter. "They become the course of inspiration and respected citizens of their community."

David Oliphant teaches a naked yoga class for men at The Arts Factory. The nude yoga movement is catching on nationally and Oliphant plans to eventually offer more classes. Over the past couple of years, yoga instructor David Oliphant learned two valuable lessons: 1. Taking his clothes off could provide a sense of empowerment and freedom, in the right situations, of course.2. Innocent activities and facts can be tainted when you add the word "naked" to them, especially in Las Vegas. A yoga teacher for the past five years, Oliphant started offering men's naked yoga classes in a downtown studio in October. He offers classes through his Web site, yogawithdavid.com. Doing the Downward Facing Dog and other hatha poses sans clothing is a relatively new way to practice yoga, but it has a national following. The Web site nakedyoga.net lists several cities where classes can be found, including San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles.It is exactly what it sounds like; a group of men get together, take their clothes off and practice yoga. Men, and women, have shown interest in Oliphant's classes and his rosters have increased from a handful to a couple of dozen students.

If you're pregnant and want to exercise, yoga could be for you. Besides helping a mother-to-be learn to relax and breathe better, yoga can also help women adjust to the physical demands of pregnancy, labor, birth and motherhood in general.f you're pregnant and want to exercise, yoga could be for you. Besides helping a mother-to-be learn to relax and breathe better, yoga can also help women adjust to the physical demands of pregnancy, labor, birth and motherhood in general. Overall, yoga works to calm both the mind and body by providing the physical and emotional stress relief the body needs throughout the entire pregnancy.But before starting to exercise consult a physician and get a good yoga instructor who will help customize your yoga and remember, if you feel any discomfort, stop what your doing. To better help you, here are some yoga poses you should avoid. Don't do back-bends, balancing or camel poses, handstands, headstands and upward bow stands. Here's something else you could keep in mind, taking a prenatal yoga class is also a great way to meet other moms-to-be and embark on this journey together.

That's my review, and I'm sticking with it. The play opening next week at the Geffen Playhouse, ''The Female of the Species,'' is a Cowardian drawing-room comedy with a touch of Feydeau, updated and relocated to an upstate New York country house, and centered on Margot Mason, a celebrity feminist intellectual author played pitch-perfectly by Annette Bening. Margot has a touch of feminist pioneer Germaine Greer -- not surprising, because, like Greer, the playwright, Joanna Murray-Smith, is Australian. Bening makes Margot her own, not only as she stalks the stage but when she's shackled to her desk -- not merely figuratively, as all writers are, but quite literally. Sounds kinkier than it is. I saw a preview with some women friends who enjoyed it hugely, which made me wonder whether it was the stage equivalent of a chick flick, but I kept glancing around the theater. The men were laughing too, maybe more than the women.

Lack of foot strength and flexibility can contribute to fallen arches, ankle, knee, hip and back problems, pain and injury.Our feet are the most used and abused part of our body. Our feet are our foundation; they are built for energy propulsion and shock absorption of the entire body, yet we give them so little attention. As you get back to our fitness programs, take care of your feet so you can achieve your goals. Training the feet means strengthening and creating mobility of the toes, arch and ankle through exercises such as spreading the toes, flexing and pointing the foot, toe curls and picking up objects with your feet.

Watch small children and notice how their toes are constantly moving. Without training, we lose mobility and strength in our feet. The foot loses its ability to function appropriately. Train your feet by using tools such as marbles, sticks and tennis balls to build strength and flexibility. Training your feet and lower leg muscles is important when building strength for any standing exercise.