When you think of yoga, what comes to mind? I think of long, lean bodies performing controlled, flexible poses while wearing brightly colored yoga clothes. While a yoga class is a challenging yet relaxing experience for most people, it can be intimidating for overweight or obese people. Just think about it -- how would you feel if the whole class is going into revolved triangle pose and your body just simply doesn't bend that way.

Luckily, the active-at-any-size belief is moving into the yoga world. Yoga classes designed specifically for overweight and obese are popping up all over the country. From the New York-based Buddha Body Yoga classes to Yoga for Round Bodies in Seattle, modified moves are making yoga not only possible but enjoyable and beneficial for the overweight.

Instructors of plus-size classes maintain that the more comfortable atmosphere attracts more participants. But Kelly McGonigal, editor in chief of the International Journal of Yoga Therapy, has a different opinion. McGonigal told the New York Times that she feels instructors should be able to make modifications for weight or any other issue. She would rather see traditional yoga classes be modifiable and attract a broader selection of participants. After all, yoga is about mind/body awareness, overall health and self acceptance. And even though lithe, flexible people come to mind when you think about yoga, most classes are a friendly mix of yoga enthusiasts of all shapes, sizes and abilities.

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It's not just for the Moulin Rouge anymore ... Can-Can, the high-kicking, 19th century dance style, is making its way into fitness centers.

There's nothing slow-paced about the Can-Can. Dancers are constantly in motion -- holding up their frilly skirts, kicking in time, twirling, even doing cartwheels. And while showing a little leg certainly isn't as scandalous as it was in the 19th century, there's just something silly, sexy and daring about dancing the Can-Can.

If you happen to live on the other side of the pond, you can find Can-Can classes at Polestars locations. In North America, you might have to wait a while for this fitness fad to catch hold. In the meantime, try out another fitness dance class or -- if it's the daring part of Can-Can you find appealing -- consider taking a pole dancing class for fitness.

What dance classes have you taken for fitness?
[via Lemondrop]

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Feel a little tired of your same-old, same-old fitness routine? Revolution Health has a list of 10 fitness classes everyone should try at least once.

• Belly Dancing
• Cardio Striptease
• Circus Arts
• Dodgeball
• Fitness Boot Camp
• Nordic Walking
• Self Defense
• Tai Chi
• Urban Rebounding
• Yoqua.

While I don't know if I buy the "everyone should try them" line (goodness knows I'm far too shy for cardio striptease and there's no way you're going to get me on a trapeze), this is certainly a great list of fitness alternatives. When you need to shake up your fitness routine, what fun alternatives do you turn to?

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Feeling stuck about what to buy your sweetie this holiday season? Believe it or not, a fitness gift can be romantic. There's a fine line, however. Guys, if you buy your girlfriend a weight-loss fitness DVD, you are going to have hell to pay. But buy her a romantic weekend away at a ski resort, and you'll get a whole different response.

Fitness can be fun, and it's a great way to spend time together. So think about the different activities you enjoy and find a way you can do them together. Check out the gallery for some ideas.

My exercise of choice is following a fitness DVD in my living room. It's private, convenient, and I know just how long it's going to take. I also know that my instructor is one I'm going to like ... because she never changes. But if you're taking fitness classes at a gym, you may not always know who your instructor is going to be. To help you sort out the fit hits from fit flops, Divine Caroline shares eight traits of a bad aerobics instructor:

• Forgetful Freddy. An occasional lapse in memory is just human but if your instructor is consistently forgetting the routine or what you did last week, odds are his mind is on something else.
• Lopsided Lola. If your trainer doesn't work both sides of your body equally, it's setting you up for possible injury and/or uneven muscle development -- especially if it happens week after week.
• Offbeat Olga. If your class is set to music, the rhythm should help motivate you. If your instructor can't keep a beat, it's a sure way to throw off the whole class.
  

Check out the full article on Divine Caroline for more signs that your fitness leader isn't the best.

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It used to be that group classes at gyms were broken into a few small categories -- men/women, high intensity/low impact and so forth. But gyms have started to offer special classes that are designed to benefit much smaller groups. Most recently, gyms are offering classes designed for people with certain conditions or illnesses.

Osteoporosis, cancer, and cardiovascular conditions are just a few of the health problems gyms are starting to target. Depending on the condition, the classes may aim to improve the symptoms and/or reduce risk factors for recurrence.

If you have a specific condition, talk to one of the trainers at your gym. (Or call a local gym if you don't have a membership.) Even if they don't have condition-specific classes scheduled yet, they may have other gym-goers who are interested. In the meantime, a trainer can design a program that works specifically for your health needs.

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"I'm sorry, Dr. Smith isn't available right now. He's in theater class."

What???

Seriously. Doctors across the country, in growing numbers, are turning to acting classes to help them improve their bedside manners.

It's really not as bad as it sounds. The goal is not to teach doctors to "act" like they care more, but instead to give them some formal training on just how big of an impact body language, attentiveness, eye contact, and verbal cues can have on a person's perception.

Considering 'bedside manner' is such an important part of what makes a good doctor good, I think this is a great idea.

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More and more men are taking up yoga, and as much as we'd all like to think that they all have the best of intentions and truly want to learn the techniques in some cases it's all too painfully clear what they're really after: that little blonde in the stretchy pants. There's even an online comedy sketch on YouTube called "Inappropriate Yoga Guy" about a man who hits on all the girls in his yoga classes with cheesy pickup lines and badly timed compliments.

Have you ever experienced anything like this? Sometimes it's just newbies who are nervous and don't understand the unspoken rules yet, but other times it's a genuinely uncomfortable situation. Where should the line be drawn?

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It may not appeal to everybody, but more and more couples are finding both fitness, fun, and a way to release stress in putting on some boxing gloves and letting loose on each other. Gyms across the country are offering co-ed boxing sessions.

Obviously most of the time the guys hold back a little while the women are really able to let loose, but not always -- It depends on the couple. And don't think just because the husbands and boyfriends aren't hitting their hardest that they aren't getting a workout -- they still get to hone their ducking, dodging, and defense moves!

Would you consider doing something like this with your significant other? Do you think it's healthy or harmful to a relationship?

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Have you always been curious about yoga but can't afford the price of a beginner's class? Or are you shy and too nervous to take your first steps in a studio surrounded by a group of strangers? While yoga is all about doing your personal best and not judging anyone else's practice, it can still be intimidating to try those twisty poses for the first time among a crowd. And for some, classes just aren't an affordable option.

The good news is that it is still possible to get into yoga from the comfort of your own home. There is a huge variety of books, videos and DVDs on the practice that can either be bought or taken out from the library. The Internet is a great resource as well, as there are many sites that break down poses into simple steps, which can help you ensure that you are doing them correctly (one of the drawbacks of learning without an instructor is there is no one to help you keep bad habits from developing). For some other ideas on how to get started at home, take a look here. Namaste.

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I live in a fairly small city where interesting and unique gym classes are hard to find, so I always get a kick out of reading what they're doing other places. In New York the 'Bounce-n-Slide' class sounds particularly fun because it appeals to a person's inner child: you get to jump on a trampoline, slide on a giant mat that mimics ice, and then do some ab and mat work to finish things up (okay, not so much 'inner child' on that last one).

These classes were designed to take some of the boredom and tedious repetition out of what most people think of when they imagine taking a class at the gym, and although the 'Bounce-n-Slide' is my favorite of the bunch, the article also covers a Pilates class that incorporates cardio work and a parent-child class designed for parents to bring their kids with them.

Honestly they all sound awesome! Makes me wish I lived in New York.

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It's exactly what it sounds like: doing yoga while completely naked. And not just in the privacy of your own home, either, but in a class full of other people. The idea of naked yoga is that class goers get to "shed their binding clothing" and "free themselves of judgment and body consciousness."

Call me old-fashioned, or uptight, or whatever, but as beautiful as the human form is, I don't think a class like this is for me. Even if I did manage to get over my (perfectly normal) self-consciousness at being completely in the buff in front of complete strangers, I'm not sure I could adequately concentrate on the meditation at hand with everybody else's naked selves contorting and stretching and sticking up into the air in front of me.

Now, I might consider trying it in my home, alone. That could be spiritual enough, because I don't need a dozen other people in the room doing it with me to feel free and natural. No, not so much.

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So maybe the thought of joining a regular old spinning or Pilates class at the gym just doesn't trip your trigger. Maybe you're looking for something more interesting and different than that? Well then maybe, if you're lucky, one of these unique classes are located near you:

• In the Los Angeles area at the Crunch gym try the Rocket Workout. You'll get to use a new machine that is rapidly catching on in gyms all over called the Orbital 360, and the workout includes everything from strength training to stretching to Pilates.
• In Boston at Healthworks try the class called Burn. You'll alternate between walking and running on and off a treadmill for up to 50 minutes. Feel the burn!
  
• The Miami David Barton Gym has a class called Barton Biking where you'll alternate between biking and arm strengthening moves to burn over 500 calories in an hour.
• Chicago's Equinox is home to Chaos, where you'll get to do intervals of strength training and cardio, but with an element of make-believe mixed in.
• And finally, at the New York Health and Racquet Club in New York City you can opt for the Bin Zhou class where you'll meditate and do tai chi, qi gong, and isometrics.

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More and more retired athletes are getting jobs as teachers and trainers for fitness classes across the country. This is one of those topics that has pretty decent arguments for both sides, in my opinion anyway. Retired athletes have what many fitness instructors don't have -- real and actual experience in a specific field. They've developed tricks and tips from their own ups and downs, and really know inside and out what does and doesn't work for them. But on the other side, most (if not all) retired athletes have no official certification in the health and fitness field, and what they share may or may not be safe and effective. Maybe they've figured out what worked for them, but how are they are helping you figure out what will work for you? Or at helping you avoid injury?

Bottom line is that I think it's great if retired athletes want to share their knowledge and experience with others. As long as they're upfront and honest about qualifications and certifications, etc, people can make their own decisions. After all, this is America, and if some fitness icon wants to say "Hey, here's how I got where I am today" then good for them. Just make sure you do your homework, know what you're getting into, and take care of yourself.

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Fitness boot camps are popping up everywhere, one even started recently over the lunch hour where I work. But before you let visions of impossible obstacle courses, camouflage uniforms, and a screaming sergeant turn you off to the idea, you might want to find out what they're really about.

A boot camp is really just a fitness class that takes place outside and is programmed to last a period of weeks. A sort of jumpstart to healthy living and a good workout plan. There are all kinds of variations, but most boot camps are geared towards women, last for 1 hour/5 days a week for around 8 weeks, and take place outdoors during warmer weather. And although you should consult with your doctor before enrolling, you don't have to worry about being in awesome shape when you first get started (hopefully that's the end result!). Plus, since the boot camp will have a qualified instructor you're actually getting the benefits of a personal trainer for a much cheaper price, usually only $15 to $18 per class.

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