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Chair Yoga is a gentle form of Yoga. With so many types of Yoga available, here is one that most of us can practice. Inversions and complicated maneuvers are not necessary in a Chair Yoga class.

All it takes is the motivation to get started. Most Chair Yoga classes dont use a Yoga mat, but the main prop used is a chair. This helps with balancing poses, and most common Yoga postures can be modified for the chair.

We have one particular Chair Yoga class, in Pawtucket, RI, that uses both chairs and Yoga mats. Within this type of Yoga class, you can cover standing, seated, supine, and prone postures. Most of our classes use the chair only, due to the difficulty of getting up, or down, on the floor.

Chair Yoga sessions are most commonly seen in senior centers, assisted living complexes, nursing homes, adult day care centers, and physical rehabilitation units. Clients can learn any number of Yoga postures, breathing techniques, meditation, and stage-by-stage relaxation, with the aid of a chair.

Standing postures, such as Triangle and Warrior variations, can be practiced seated, or standing, with the aid of a chair. You can practice Sun Salutations or Vinyasa, (flowing postures), from seated or standing positions.

Contrary to popular opinion, Chair Yoga is not for seniors only. Most of us take our good health for granted. The physically handicapped have no age boundaries, and they are very enthusiastic students.

Due to trauma, or a debilitating disease, at any time, any one of us could become physically handicapped. Most of us drive cars every day, and there is always a risk of an auto accident.

Some younger family members of seniors, and the physically handicapped, get involved in classes and private sessions. When family members participate in a class, or private session, it is always a good quality time for everyone.

Chair Yoga teachers must continually educate themselves, be knowledgeable of body mechanics, use of props, and a variety of ailments. This field requires teachers with compassion and the patience to help those who are doing their personal best.

It is also a field with growth opportunities; as the population is aging, there are not enough Chair Yoga teachers to go around. Some estimates indicate there are 1.5 million, or more, Yoga practitioners, over the age of 55, within the United States. Therefore, the demand far outweighs the supply of Yoga teachers for this particular field.

Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. He is a master instructor of martial arts, with multiple Black Belts, four martial arts teaching credentials, and was recently inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness to children, adults, and seniors in the greater Providence area. Recently he wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students, who may be considering a new career as a Yoga teacher. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

In the latest issue of the Official XBox Magazine (Oct. 2007), theyve written up a significant report on the hardware failures that have stymied XBox fans everywhere ever since the release of the XBox 360 in 2005. The worst hardware failure is indicated by three red rings of light surrounding the power button and so it is has come to be known as the Red Ring of Death among XBox 360 owners.

Due to the overwhelming number of owners who have had to return their XBox 360s to Microsoft for repair or replacement, wait times for getting the Xbox back can frequently extend into months. The magazine reports on some fans who have waited two months to get their console back only to find another hardware failure crop up after another couple of weeks of serious video game play. As a result of all the issues, Microsoft finally released a statement about the three red lights and its related hardware failure in June, promising to fix all XBox 360s that die as a result of the failure for free and extending their warranty out to three years.

Of course, with so many XBox 360 problems, you just might wonder why on earth anyone would buy a 360 in the first place instead of switching to another console. The questions fair enough, but the answer is obvious. Its the games! There are so many great games that are exclusive to the XBox 360, starting with the latest and long anticipated release of Halo 3. If you want to play Halo 3, you need an XBox 360. If you want to play another excellent game, Bioshock, on a console, the XBox 360 is the one you need. Sure, you can play Bioshock on the PC -- after you upgrade it massively or buy a brand new computer. But that strikes me as nuttier than just dealing with the Microsoft hardware issues because Bioshock plays best on the console anyway.

There are some solutions to the XBox 360 problems besides waiting around for Microsoft to send a repaired console back to you. One solution is to take it to a private computer repair shop, one who specializes in repairing videogame consoles. Youll need to pay for having them fix it, but the turn-around time is likely to be a few days instead of weeks or months. If youre handy, however, the best solution is to simply crack open the box yourself and do the repairs that are needed. You will void your warranty if you do this, but if you follow instructions and arent a total klutz, then there is no reason you cant have your XBox 360 working again in an hour or two.