May 2008: YA re-launches

Yoga Abode has re-launched with a fresh design, expanded editorial and the UK's first shop dedicated to ecologically sound yoga products.

The site will also host the UK's only online community for yoga fans, allowing people all over the world to create their own personal profile page, upload yoga images and make friends with other yogis.

Yoga Abode's core editorial section plugs a gap in the UK for fresh, informative writing on all aspects of the fast-growing yoga industry. It includes latest yoga news, a wellbeing section and a dedicated yoga travel section, including a new monthly column from Body & Soul Escapes author Caroline Sygler Jones.

Yoga-Abode will also host a shop stocking environmentally conscious yoga products, brought together for the first time in the UK under one virtual roof. Products include non-PVC, biodegradable yoga mats, bamboo blocks and organic cotton yoga bags.

Lucia Cockcroft, Yoga-Abode's editor, comments: 'There is a real need for lively, topical articles commentary on the UK yoga market. We hope readers will enjoy Yoga-Abode's mix of features, news and blogs, presented in a clear, fresh design.

'Our new eco-friendly products shop brings a hand-picked selection of premium mats and props together, taking the leg-work out of sourcing yoga accessories that don't cost the earth. We hope that yoga fans can also have fun and make friends using our new social networking area.'

Yoga's growing popularity in the UK has defied some predictions that it has peaked, with new studios opening almost monthly. A March 2008 survey by Yoga Journal found that the US market for yoga classes, holidays, products and clothing has almost doubled since 2004, with 16 million Americans practising regularly.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Geri Halliwell, Madonna and Sting are among the celebrities who have helped to make yoga fashionable. Meanwhile, British tennis player Andrew Murray has credited Bikram yoga as giving him the focus and flexibility to compete on the international sports stage.

Yoga and meditation are increasingly recognised as powerful buffers against stress. Three-quarters of women in the UK turn to yoga, meditation and holistic therapies to ease stress, according to research by Virgin Money.

Notes for editors
Yoga-Abode.com is the UK's only online yoga magazine and news source for the yoga community, offering news, features and objective viewpoint on one of the country's most popular pastimes. The regularly updated news, articles and blogs are written by professional writers who have a passion for yoga.

The site's online shop offers the latest environmentally friendly yoga products, while the community area allows yoga enthusiasts to make friends with like-minded people all over the world.

For quotes, case studies or articles on yoga, contact editor Lucia Cockcroft at editor@yoga-abode.com or on 07747 675176.