DANCERS DISCOVER YOGA BENEFITS.

TEN YEARS AGO, I arrived at a morning rehearsal for Merian Soto and just couldn't get myself warmed up. Merian suggested I try the yoga pose "Downward Facing Dog" (hands and feet planted into the floor, with hips lifted up to form a triangular shape). She stepped on my hands, grabbed my hipbones, and lifted them back and up to lengthen my spine. I took several deep breaths and became an instant yoga devotee. I could feel the ability of the breath and the soft, juicy, yet active quality of the posture to create a deep internal heat and give me the rebalancing that I badly needed after too many one-sided dance moves.

Dancers have discovered that the healing potential of yoga is not limited to realigning the skeleton and muscles. The rebalancing extends into the mind. bringing a centered quality to performance. The breath becomes even and strong, giving efficiency of movement. The added flexibility keeps the body from seizing up in fear when injury threatens. The opening of the mind to new possibilities keeps us creative.

Dancers at every stage of their careers are taking yoga classes. Two dancers who recently gave birth, Sarah Perron (no relation to editor Wendy Perron) and Laura Staton, have developed Baby Om, a yoga technique that allows new mothers to hone and reshape their bodies while stimulating their newborns' kinetic potential (www.babyom.com, of course). Older dancers like Gus Solomons jr are tapping the power of yoga to increase longevity. At 59, Solomons discovered yoga at the end of a tour that left his back in such a state of trauma that he could not even bend over. Although the practice "hurt initially," he began to feel a slow opening up of the sacrum and realigning of his admittedly twisted spine. He says, "I obsessively recommend yoga to everyone!"

Like dance, yoga comes in different styles. Here are some of the styles that dancers are exploring:

ASHTANGA (www.ashtanga.com)--A specific sequence of postures connected through movement coordinated with breath. The primary series is called "yoga therapy" and is designed to detoxify and realign the body.

IYENGAR (http://comnet.org/iynaus)--Great attention to detail on alignment is given, using props to modify poses for those with more limited range of movement. Postures are fewer and held longer.

JIVAMUKTI (www.jivamukti.com)--A vigorous yoga practice that relates the spiritual teachings of yoga to the physical.

KUNDALINI (www.kundaliniyoga.org)--A practice that incorporates intense breathing (called "breath of fire") with yoga poses.

SIVANANDA (www.sivananda.org)--A classical yoga that is more gentle and includes other aspects, such as chanting.

Lori Brungard teaches Ashtanga and Jivamukti yoga in New York City. She has danced with the Pittsburgh Dance Alloy, Merian Soto, Victoria Marks and Wendy Perron.