Your kids are demanding the latest video game, your boss wants that report done yesterday, and your spouse wants to know what's for dinner. Stress is everywhere. If it's getting the best of you, you might want to make like a downward-facing dog or a cobra and try yoga. This series of postures - sometimes named for mammals, fish or reptiles - and controlled breathing exercises have become a popular means of stress reduction.

Though the practice of yoga has been around for thousands of years in India, its popularity in the United States has grown steadily only over the last 100 years or so. Today yoga classes teaching the art of breathing, meditation and posing are offered nearly everywhere from trendy health clubs in big cities to community education classes in small towns.