Yoga

Yoga means union ? and what better way to unify then by practicing yoga under sunset skies on Laguna's Main Beach with 20 of your fellow coastal Orange County neighbors? Thanks to one local community-oriented athletic store, you can take part all summer long. Every other Sunday at 7 p.m. on a patch of grass near Main Beach, Newport Beach's Lululemon Athletica is hosting sunset yoga lessons on the beach. "One of the things we hold in high regard is community relations," said James Freeman, of Lululemon.

Relax — close your eyelids and rid your mind of all your worries, fears and insecurities; letting your breathing ebb and flow like the pull of the tide. Next, slowly exhale, feeling all of the nagging concerns of the workweek leaving your body. Inflate your lungs with a sense of self-assurance and tranquillity, letting your muscles succumb to a complete state of relaxation. Now, open your eyes, spread your legs, and make sure you twist your hip on the follow through — otherwise, your ball is heading straight for that sand trap.

Over the past year, students at Davis Elementary School have found a novel way of escaping the pressures of study: playing possum. Every four weeks on the Costa Mesa school's playground, students have gathered on Wednesday afternoons for Stacy Ahlgren-Wise's yoga class, laying out towels on the grass. During the half-hour session, Ahlgren-Wise leads the children through a series of ancient postures, including the salutations of the sun and moon, the mountain stance and the tree pose.

Yoga has become so popular it seems they’re running out of places to hold classes. First it was the studio, then the park and now the beach. Two Newport Beach fitness experts are taking it a step further. In April, Jaime Donnelly and Noelle Kozak, co-owners of SUP Company Fitness, will launch yoga and circuit training on the water, atop stand-up paddle boards. SUP Fitness offers four classes through the Newport Beach city’s recreation department. It combines exercise routines with stand-up paddling or SUP, an old sport that is quickly gaining new paddlers.

Ready, set, shop! Local volunteers and philanthropists are hoping for a dazzling turnout at this year's Christmas Co. extravaganza, themed "A Home-Cooked Holiday. " It's the Newport Beach-based Junior League of Orange County, California Inc.'s largest annual fundraiser, Event Publicity Chairwoman Daphne Hart said. More than 100 local and national exhibitors will be on hand, offering everything from handmade jewelry to cutting-edge knives to pet couture. There's much more to the event than just shopping, although there will be shopping aplenty; a tea room will be set up for refined refreshments, and a series of special events will boast swoon-worthy appearances and goodie bags.

Deirdre Newman As relaxing music flowed through the classroom, Daniel Theron, 9, stretched out his body like a cobra. Theron wasn't playing charades but was engaged in an ancient practice that has brought serenity to its students for centuries: yoga.Teacher Jen Blizzard has been teaching yoga techniques to her hearing-impaired students at Kaiser Elementary School since the fall. She said the experience imbues her third- and fourth-graders with a sense of calmness during times that can be chaotic and stressful.

NEWPORT BEACH - It's a new year in more ways than one for Laura Wilkening, who is celebrating her 100th birthday Sunday. The Chicago-born centenarian will celebrate with 40 long-time friends and family at her daughter-in-law's house in Newport Beach. But Wilkening has no need for New Year's or birthday resolutions. "I make a resolution every day," said Wilkening, who lives on the Balboa Peninsula. "I'm a determined person. If I'm going to do something, I do it - and that's it. " Maybe that explains how the talkative, upbeat grandmother of five has lived to see so many birthdays.

TUESDAY Parkinson'sFitness Class A free class, "Parkinson'sIn Balance," is at noon Tuesdays at the Central Orange Coast YMCA, 2300 University Drive, Newport Beach. Call (949) 642-9990, or go to http://www.parkinsonsinbalance.com , for more information. 'Pen on Fire' Tuesday night's "Pen on Fire" writers salon, hosted by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, will feature authors Claire Bidwell Smith, James Brown and Dinah Lenny in conversation about memoir writing. The salon will take place at 7 p.m. at Scape Gallery, 2859 E. Coast Hwy., Corona del Mar. Tuesday Trivia Night Live team trivia at Skosh Monahan's, 2000 Newport Blvd., begins at 7:30 every Tuesday night, with prizes for contestants.

Newport Beach resident Anne McKnight has taught yoga since well before the discipline became as much a part of the southern California landscape as the seaside and hamburger stands. She studied yoga under the world-famous Indra Devi and now teaches at the Lido Island Clubhouse. McKnight, 78, hails from the Chicago area and has always considered creativity a core part of her life. She has worked in the modeling, radio and television industries and enjoys painting and taking classes at the Oasis Senior Center in Corona del Mar. The yoga teacher is also a devotee of astrology -- she met well-known astrologer Jeanne Dixon -- and has led discussions on the practice aboard cruise ships.

GREER WILDER Lululemon athletica, a yoga-inspired athletic clothing retailer, just opened at Fashion Island. It's across from Bloomingdale's. The Vancouver-based company specializes in comfortable and athletic lifestyle clothing. Choose from pants and tops, as well as casual wear and accessories. The designs feature technically advanced fabrics designed to fit all body types. Lulemon create designs specific for the needs of yoga instructors and athletes.

FRIDAY Launching the Whale At 10:30 a.m., U.S. Marines will assist 26 developmentally disabled children from the Speech and Language Development Center launch a 20-foot whale into the bay from Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort, 1131 Back Bay Drive, Newport Beach. Food for Thought Film Series Orange County Great Park presents an outdoor screening of "Urban Roots," the final film in its Food for Thought series. The film will be shown on an outdoor screen near the Farm and Food Lab, where gourmet food trucks will be stationed.

We like to think of ourselves as active, but we found a new challenge in Bikram yoga. We've always wanted to do Bikram, which consists of 26 postures performed in a room heated to 105 degrees, with 40% humidity. So, when we saw the Groupon deal for 25 sessions in Costa Mesa for just $25, we were sold. We thought we were tough enough right up until we stepped into Bikram's Yoga College of India at The Camp. Let's just say we're dripping with results, but we've dried off enough to share the experience with readers.

Are you determined to keep your New Year's resolutions and get in shape in 2012? Give yoga a try! Practicing this ancient art will increase your body strength and flexibility, relax your mind, and energize your spirit. The Newport Beach Library has an impressive collection of yoga guides for people of different ages, sizes and fitness levels. Get inspired to say "Om" with these and other books on all things yoga. "Yoga: Awakening the Inner Body" by Donald Moyer: Professional yoga teacher Donald Moyer has advocated the Iyengar method of yoga for the past 40 years.

NEWPORT BEACH - It's a new year in more ways than one for Laura Wilkening, who is celebrating her 100th birthday Sunday. The Chicago-born centenarian will celebrate with 40 long-time friends and family at her daughter-in-law's house in Newport Beach. But Wilkening has no need for New Year's or birthday resolutions. "I make a resolution every day," said Wilkening, who lives on the Balboa Peninsula. "I'm a determined person. If I'm going to do something, I do it - and that's it. " Maybe that explains how the talkative, upbeat grandmother of five has lived to see so many birthdays.

Ready, set, shop! Local volunteers and philanthropists are hoping for a dazzling turnout at this year's Christmas Co. extravaganza, themed "A Home-Cooked Holiday. " It's the Newport Beach-based Junior League of Orange County, California Inc.'s largest annual fundraiser, Event Publicity Chairwoman Daphne Hart said. More than 100 local and national exhibitors will be on hand, offering everything from handmade jewelry to cutting-edge knives to pet couture. There's much more to the event than just shopping, although there will be shopping aplenty; a tea room will be set up for refined refreshments, and a series of special events will boast swoon-worthy appearances and goodie bags.