Photo: Teecycle Tim, Flickr

OK. Time to fess up. Have you ever stifled the urge to chuckle while at yoga class? You have to admit that, when you take a sweeping glance around the room, you and your classmates sometimes look less zen and more like twisted pretzels that have gone horribly awry.

Yoga is wonderful for strength and flexibility, not to mention what an awesome stress reliever it is. But it does open itself up to a fair share of jokes. If you're looking for a quick laugh, take a look at Fun Tuna's post Drunk People Yoga Positions. Don't worry, yoga, we only poke fun because we love you. And, hey, maybe a few extra drinks is the answer to finally being able to hold Plow Pose.

If you're looking for more information about yoga -- sober yoga, that is -- check out yoga on AOL Health.

On Martha Stewart's show yesterday, she focused on stress relief techniques, and one really hit home with me -- doga, which, as you might've guessed, is yoga with your dog. A year or so ago, a friend of mine gave me a Doga book, but really, it was just for laughs, not to teach any real skills.

Anyway, on Martha, there was a doga expert showing off some of the moves. The only problem is that the moves had to be done with a very small dog ... and both of mine are around 60 pounds. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be able to raise either of them over my head while in Warrior One and still, you know, breathe.

Still, I love the idea of joining together two of these stress relieving activities -- yoga and cuddling with puppies. And, there are ways to modify doga if you have a larger canine, like me -- check them out here!

Jessica Alba has looked fantastic at every public outing since giving birth to her first child in June, but none of that prepared the world for a calendar Alba posed in wearing swimwear, evening gowns and a whole lot of sex appeal. The calendar is for Campari, an alcoholic apertif. Maybe next time we'll see her posing in a campaign for fruits and veggies, which seems a little more up her ally!

While it's entirely likely that a decent amount of retouching went into the calendar (good grief, I hope so), there's no disputing she's looking hotter than ever, with an hourglass figure to die for. She's relied on a strict diet and exercise, as well as a personal trainer, but admits that she generally sticks to baggier duds these days.

"I'm usually walking around in comfy clothes, with a baby on my arm," the fit-but-curvy Alba says, adding that she enjoyed getting all dressed up. I think everyone else will enjoy it, too -- either for gawking purposes or, in my case, for motivation. I think I need some of the images taped to my gym bag!

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Felicity Huffman is no stranger to fitness. She's a fan of running and has participated in triathlons. But Huffman has a new fitness love -- she's getting addicted to Bikram yoga. The 45-year-old Desperate Housewives' star says "As you get older, you get stiffer. Doing yoga has shown me that flexibility is as important as strength."

Bikram yoga is nicknamed hot yoga and for good reason. When following along with Bikram's series of 26 poses, you'll be doing so in a room set to 105 degrees Fahrenheit (some classes may not set it quite so high). The idea is that your body is more flexible in heat, and the hot atmosphere warms your muscles more quickly. In addition, it's said to reduce the risk of injury, promote sweating, and release toxins from the body.

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Women's Health magazine just sent me a release with some fun tips entailed, and I thought I'd share this one with you. Four fabulous moves useful for those of you guilty of missing morning workouts to sleep in late, and then missing the gym after work due to fatigue. As your online trainer I want to make this clear to you: skipping your workouts on a regular basis is detrimental to your health!

Of course, early morning workouts can be tough. They're also what keeps you full of the energy you need to get through each day with vigor! Check out this gallery, and next time you go to hit the snooze button ... get your fanny up and do the Cat Cow pose instead. (No moo-ing necessary!) These four easy moves will give you the energy to get to the gym and start your day off right!

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So, most of the time, yoga is a fairly serious practice. There's a lot of concentration and meditation involved -- you breath, you focus, you get more in tune with your body -- and it's wonderful.

However, laughter is good for your body, too, and in honor of Mike Meyer's new flick, The Love Guru, I present to you Mr. Meyers' newest character The Guru Pitka. He has a series of yoga poses that are not for the faint of heart and definitely not for those without a wicked sense of humor.

It's kind of what you'd expect if you were to do a private yoga class with the man behind Austin Powers and Shrek -- asanas like Gassy Cobra and Yank My Doodle, It's a Dandy, and the faces to go with them. Are you going to get a great yoga workout from it? No way. But, you're pretty much guaranteed to laugh, and that's worth something, too.

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If you had what you considered to be a pretty perfect body, would you -- or do you -- flaunt it, show it off, maybe even allow it to be photographed for all to see? David Beckham would. And he did, when he posed in his underwear for Emporio Armani billboards in December.

People everywhere cheered upon seeing Beckham's bod. But not mom.

"When the photos came out, she was the first one to call me and say, 'What are you doing?'" say's the 32-year-old. "I had to try and explain it to her and it didn't go down that well."

So would you do it? Would your mom approve?

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I'm sure you've heard plenty of times that push-ups are one of the best exercises you can do (if you didn't already know that, you can read about it here, here, and here). But, according to The Earth Times, push-ups are also "The New Fitness Nirvana."

According to Ted Skup, the new Dalai Lama of fitness (the article's words, not mine), push-ups are fast becoming the workout of choice for those looking to harmonize mind, body, and spirit. He calls his push-up routine "Horizontal Jogging" and wrote his book, Death, Taxes, and Push-ups after officially completing ten million push-ups himself. As a new Dalai and spiritual leader, he has decided to take on the fitness industry by showing people that they can achieve enlightenment (and a hot body) without paying a yogi $2500.

Personally, I think push-ups are a great exercise, but I think yoga has it's place too -- I'm having a hard time understanding how the two forms of exercise compete. I suppose I'll have to watch for the book and find out for myself.

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Every time I go to yoga class, I am sort of amazed at all the different yoga poses and how they suit different yogis. Everyone is flexible in different ways, and each participant of my class seems to have different yoga strengths.

My yoga strength also happens to be my favourite pose: Tree posture. It makes me feel grounded, and it also makes me feel accomplished--for years, I couldn't master it until one day, I realized that it had nothing to do with my yoga pants being slippery and everything to do with the strength in my legs. And though I'm typically very clumsy, I can hold that balance with the grace of ballerina.

So I'm curious about your favourite pose -- What is it, and why?

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Maybe so! I just got done chatting with the host of TLC's Trading Spaces, which by the way...is a lovely thing to do. Paige is saucy, fun and really very sweet. The type of girl you want to live right next to. I was interviewing Paige for a future Celebrity Fitzness Report and she was totally open and honest.

We talked health, fitness and show business. We also talked a bit about nudity. One of my reader's suggestions was to ask Paige if she'd ever pose in the buff. She didn't say no. In fact, under the 'right circumstances' she would do it. She didn't say she would do it to show off her fantastic figure (which she has) though......

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When I first took up yoga, it cost me $120 for a once-a-week class that lasted for four months. That works out to $7.50 a class, which isn't bad but I've definitely found better deals out there. One studio I went to, for instance, offered a $120 12-week pass which allowed me unlimited access to all classes, and considering I went at least 4 times a week, I got my money's worth.

Yoga can be expensive -- but it doesn't have to be. About Yoga recently shared some tips on how to become a yogi without breaking the bank:

• Buy classes in bulk, or look for a studio that offers unlimited classes. Also shop around for the best deal.
  
• Buy your own mat. Unless your studio lends them out for free, renting can be expensive! Same goes for water bottles -- get a re-usable one and fill up at home.
  
• Practice Karma yoga. You might be able to trade charitable work for yoga classes. Another idea: In my area, several studios offer Karma yoga classes on Sunday in which you can practice for free with a food donation.
• Practice at home. Pick up a discounted yoga DVD and do your downward dogs in the privacy of your living room.
  

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Is there anything yoga can't do? It tones, it strengthens, it stretches -- according to this past post by Rigel it may also help you find love (well for those who manage to avoid 'inappropriate yoga guy'). I was musing earlier today during my walk to work about all of the benefits I noticed when I was practicing yoga on a regular basis (I admit that for various reasons most of us who fall off the bandwagon would understand, it has been a while since I've been to a class). I remember feeling more limber, more energetic yet relaxed, and just generally had an enhanced feeling of well-being.

I began to wonder if yoga can also make you look good. I mean beyond the obvious tightening benefits, are there any yoga moves that will improve the shape of your body or perhaps improve the overall look of your face. Every time I used to leave yoga class I noticed that all of the participants, myself included, had a lovely glow about them. Was that just due to the excessive heat, sweating and exertion or could there be more to it?

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When I used to work in an office, I took lunch hour yoga classes. I enjoyed the diversion from my day, but I found that whenever it was time to Savasana, the weight of the day and my early rising would get to me and I'd fall fast asleep. Do you ever have this problem? I started to look forward to my brief daily nap, but one instructor told us that the point of Savasana was not to sleep, so ever since I've been working hard to stay awake.

Should you snooze in yoga class? According to Fitsugar, you should do what comes naturally to you, and if that involves sleep, so be it. But some instructors don't like sleeping students so it might be a good idea to ask before heading into dreamland.

What do you think?

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Most yogis have a pretty good knowledge of the Sankrit words for their favourite poses. That's because most yoga teachers (a least I've found) use both the original and western names of the poses. It's a good lesson for people like myself who don't know Sanskrit or much about the history of yoga -- now that I've been going regularly, I know that Adho Mukha Svanasana means downward dog, Tadasana means mountain post and Utthita Trikonasana means extended triangle pose.

Fitsugar has together a short tutorial on Sanskrit in yoga ... you probably won't need to worry about memorizing the names of poses unless you're becoming a teacher, but it can't hurt, right?

What's your favourite Asana?

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Yoga is intended to help with both physical and mental health so I don't think too many people are surprised to hear that yoga can help improve your mood. Whether you're feeling a little depressed, bored, stressed out, or even insecure before a big date or important event there are poses that will help you combat those emotions and help you get into a more positive frame of mind. And there's real physical evidence to back up the effects -- by holding your body in certain positions you can stimulate glands that release mood altering chemicals. Move #3 here I come!

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