Wall Street Journal

Yoga Bears: It's no Stretch to Say Traders are taking Deep Breaths-Financiers Bend Over Backwards to Ease Stress of Turbulent Markets

By Cassel Bryan-Low
July 25th, 2008

Luciano Cortese, a broad-shouldered 48-year-old hedge-fund manager, says he used to bang his desk, throw things or yell at someone when his job became particularly stressful. But since starting yoga in January, he has been taking the stock market's jolts in stride, he says. "I just say to myself tomorrow is another day."

One morning recently, a barefoot Mr. Cortese gingerly moved through a series of forward bends, backward arches and twists on his yoga mat laid out in the television room of his Long Island, N.Y., home. His personal instructor, Kirtan Smith, encouraged Mr. Cortese to focus on his breathing and helped maneuver him deeper into the postures. Small beads
of sweat glistened on the fund manager's forehead. At the end of the hour-and-a-half-long session, Mr. Cortese lay on his back for a few minutes of relaxation, or savasana. He dozed off, snoring lightly. When he awoke, he bounded upstairs to check the market on his computer.