Benefits of Yoga For the Stressy CEO
By
Conrad RawYoga is one method of attaining the mental silence necessary for sanity. In the demanding world of business, too often the CEO of a company finds himself pulled apart by the needs of his company and others around him. While the use of the term is he, it is meant to include both men and women, as women break through the glass ceiling of corporate America more frequently today than ever. The CEO is more than just the head of a company. They are spouses, parents, lovers and most of all people that can fall prey to anxiety and bad health if they don't take the precaution of clearing the garbage and stress from their mind.
Yoga provides one outlet that doesn't just clear the stress away but also adds clarity to thought. The breathing techniques and meditative process of Yoga gives a technique to calm the stressed executive rapidly and leave a clean mental slate so new concepts, ideas and creative problem solving can take place.
A simple exercise that is the key to Yoga practice is belly breathing. Belly breathing can take place anywhere, but best accomplished in privacy. If you find yourself in a tight tense situation, close the door to the office for five minutes and request all interruptions be ceased during that time. Begin by sitting straight in a chair with the arms relaxed on the lap and feet flat on the floor. Slouching is not an option, so use your best posture. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Inhale deeply to a slow count of ten. Allow your stomach to expand so you can fill your lungs more thoroughly. Hold the breath for a count of ten and then slowly exhale to the ten count and use the stomach muscles to push out the last of the air in your lungs. Again, hold it and then refill the lungs with air in the same manner as before. Do the breathing exercise for the next five minutes and focus on nothing but your breath. You'll begin to find the stress fall from your body and your head clear.
While this exercise is effective in emergency situations, those that you believe will force your head to explode, it is also more useful when practiced on a daily basis in conjunction with other Yoga exercises. It helps the mind and the body to cleanse itself of the damaging effects of stress.
Yoga has other benefits besides just the elimination of stress, as if that isn't enough. Yoga can bring extra clarity to the frequent user. Often those that use the calming yoga practices find that they have not just increased clarity but also improved intuition and more creativity. Scientific studies show that stress reduces these factors and the additional oxygen from deep breathing and increased blood flow opens areas of the brain that were closed or overwhelmed or overshadowed by the mental noise of daily living. Once the brain quiets the mind can listen to the messages these areas provide.
Conrad Raw is an expert in practical techniques for personal and spiritual development. He is the author of "Forbidden Secrets Of Personal And Energetic Development." He travels the world to learn and teach and is the founder of
Greater Human Potential, a website devoted to bringing you easy to learn techniques to increase your human potential. Visit his website for a free newsletter filled with tons of great tips and advice on
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How to Choose a Great Yoga Mat the Easy Way
By
Julia DenhamWant to find the best yoga mat for you? Yoga mats come in many shapes and sizes. Let's discover how to find your perfect mat.
Do You Prefer a Natural or Man-Made Mat?
Yoga mats come in two primary materials: man-made, and natural fiber.
There are many different types of man-made fibers used in yoga mats. As a rule of thumb, and as you might suspect, the better the quality and thickness of the man-made fiber mat, the more expensive it is.
Natural fiber mats come in many forms: jute, cork and cotton fibers are common. Some Kundalini yoga devotees prefer a mat made of sheepskin.
Benefits of Man-Made Fiber in Yoga Mats
The cheapest man-made types of mat (plastic) are not a good choice. You'll be spending a lot of time touching the mat, and breathing the fumes that are released from some of these plastic mats. The fumes can be harmful to your health; some may even contain cancer-causing agents. So steer clear of these thin, inexpensive mats.
However, the quality man-made mats are an excellent choice. A mat made of quality man-made fiber has these benefits: it will last you for years, you can clean it easily, and you can store it without the fiber deteriorating.
Some "sticky" man-made fiber mats are excellent for beginning yoga students, because they ensure that you stay in a pose without sliding and hurting yourself.
Benefits of Natural Fibers in Yoga Mats
While cotton and rubber yoga mats last for years, some natural fiber mats made of materials like jute or cork tend to deteriorate over time. This may not worry you; you can always replace the mat.
Here are the benefits if natural fiber yoga mats: they're environmentally friendly, and since no chemicals are released from them, allow you to practice your yoga with confidence. Cotton yoga mats are less expensive too, so if price is a concern, your cotton yoga mat is good value.
Which yoga mat will you choose? If you're taking yoga classes, ask your teacher which kinds of mats she recommends for you, or visit a store and sniff -- avoid any yoga mat which releases fumes.
Discover yourself with
yoga, a gentle form of stretching. Yoga strengthens both your body and mind, and is suitable for anyone, from children to seniors. Visit Easy Fab Yoga Blog at
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Why Choose a Private Yoga Class?
By
Texas WTraditionally, yoga was shared between one teacher and one student.
Private yoga classes take into consideration your personal heath & fitness level, injuries and personal intentions. Your instructor can help you make physical adjustments and assist you with stretching more than they would ever be able to in a group class.
Your instructor can teach you how subtle adjustments in your alignment can help you create a strong foundation, ultimately leading you to a better understanding of yoga. You will, as a result, develop a stronger and definitely safer yoga practice. Every individual is unique and we all have different levels of awareness.
Reasons to take private yoga lessons:
·New to yoga
New Students often feel overwhelmed when they go to a group class and can benefit immensely from receiving an instructor's complete attention. Receiving hands on adjustments ensure that you develop a safe yoga practice. You will develop a true understanding of the yoga poses and breathing techniques rather than getting lost when the speed of a group class is too much for you.
·Decrease Your Risk of Injury
In a private Yoga class, your instructor safely guides you through the series of asanas. I have very often seen people become competitive or overly ambitious and attempt to do the full version of a pose before they actually ready to. This greatly increases your risk of injury. In a private yoga class, your instructor always keeps tabs on what is appropriate for you and makes adjustments accordingly.
·Busy schedules
Private yoga classes conveniently fit your schedule. Many people are just too busy to get in the car, brave traffic (always an issue here in The City of Angels...), find parking and practice yoga for an hour (or more) at the studio, then get back in the car and back into traffic... that leaves you anything but relaxed. Your Instructor can come to your home at a time that is convenient for you and design a class specifically for you.
·Your needs come first
Private yoga classes are customized fit your specific needs, focusing on therapeutic benefits for injuries, restorative benefits for stress or emotional situations. Helping you work on specific goals like inversions or arm balances.
·Developing Your home practice
A private instructor can customize a series of asanas (poses) for you to practice on your own. For example, an energizing sequence to get you going in the morning and a relaxing, stress relieving sequence to do in the evening.
*If you feel distracted or competitive in a group yoga class, then a private class might be the perfect solution to assist you in approaching your practice with a deeper intent, understanding and focus.
Texas, Certified Personal Trainer & Yoga Instructor at The Fitness Underground- Los Angeles
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Yoga For Stress Relief - Achieve Your Goals Faster
By
Julia DenhamWant to achieve your goals fast? Yoga can help. It's not just an exercise program: it's a way of creating the life you want.
You can choose any goals you wish. Perhaps you want to lose weight, or create more abundance in your life. Perhaps your relationships aren't as happy as you wish they were... whatever you want to achieve, will help you to achieve them.
Why? Because yoga relieves stress, and when you're relaxed, you can see many more opportunities and possibilities. Yoga also gives you energy.
Here are three ways in which you can achieve your goals faster with yoga.
1. Yoga Helps You to Focus on What's Really Important to You
You know what's important to you: it's your loved ones. It's also building the life you want. When you complete a yoga session, whether it's taken you five minutes or an hour, you're refreshed. The kinks are ironed out of your body and mind. Solutions to challenges will be evident to you.
2. Take the Focus You Achieve in Yoga Into Everyday Life
Yoga helps you to focus. This is a learned skill. You'll find that the longer you practice yoga, the more the relaxed concentration skills you learn on the mat spill over into everyday life.
This means that you're more productive at work. At home, you enjoy your family more.
Irritation vanishes from your life. You sleep better too, and when you wake in the morning you're truly refreshed and raring to go.
3. Use Yoga Meditation to See Yourself Achieving Your Goals
Visualization is part of yoga meditation. You'll find that visualization is handy when it comes to achieving any goal you set. You can see yourself as the person you want to be, and the steps to becoming that person will become plain to you.
Yoga is a wonderful way to relieve stress, but it can also help you to achieve your goals. Set some goals today.
Discover yourself with
yoga, a gentle form of stretching. Yoga strengthens both your body and mind, and is suitable for anyone, from children to seniors. Visit Easy Fab Yoga Blog at
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Meditation For Beginners - Staying Well Mentally With Yoga
By
Felix NutterYoga is one of the most complete disciplines there is for both physical and mental health and is a good starting point with meditation for beginners.
With a history stretching back for centuries, yoga combines mental and physical well-being with its wide-ranging practices involving exercises for the body, improvements in digestion and the elimination of waste and toxic substances, deep breathing and meditation.
One of the key things that yoga practice does for you is to increase the oxygen content in your blood stream. The yoga breathing techniques with deep, controlled inhalation and respiration bring fresh, oxygen-containing air into your lungs where the exchange occurs and the oxygen passes into your system, a nutrient for all of your vital organs, including your brain.
Yoga puts such importance on breathing that it even specifies breathing exercises specifically for the left and the right nostrils. By breathing in through the left nostril for example, you direct oxygen-enriched blood to the opposite side of your brain, that is to say the right side, where you typically do your creative and intuitive thinking. If you want to develop your logical thought processes, then yoga suggests that you breathe through your right nostril to get your left half of the brain into action.
Incidentally, either exercise will also develop the cross-brain communication as well as you work towards overall brain fitness.
Yoga for thinking as well as doing
Yoga also extends into the realms of philosophy with its concepts such as mindfulness, a technique designed to develop calmness and relaxation. This technique is built on the notion of putting mentally interfering concerns and stresses at a distance to prevent the polluting effect that these things can have on mental well-being. Mindfulness also positively enhances other faculties such as the ability to focus constructively, to take better decisions more quickly and to do this in a relaxed mental state. If you think back to the last time that you had to take a decision under pressure, you'll see what a valuable tool this can be.
These benefits extend into more energy and a more positive outlook. Yoga practitioners often speak of mental stability and performance that they never knew before starting yoga, with the reduction in the number of mood swings that often reduce a person's capability to function effectively.
When you consider that the number of mood changes per day can attain 200 on a regular basis, you can see that this can represent a wasteful and unnecessary distraction. This positive spiral of mood stabilization, positive thoughts and focus then brings yet more advantages, such as the easier memorization of information.
No artificial additives
In common with a number of other activities shown to enhance mental health, brain fitness well-being and self-esteem improvement, it is the better quality blood arriving in the different areas of the brain that results from the practice of yoga and that stimulates. Yoga truly is a great starting point with meditation for beginners.
Felix NutterCoach Life Training Uk
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Yoga For Women - The Best Exercises
By
Harrison CollinsThe "WARRIOR POSE III": Start in the Mountain Pose with the heels slightly apart, big toes touching, straight legs, chest lifted, and the pelvis in a neutral position. Placing hands on hips, step back with his right foot, so that only the right toes touching the ground, all of your weight on your left foot.
Keep your right leg extended in a straight line as you begin to lean from the hip. Balance the length of the body, from the right heel to your fingertips, on the left leg until your torso parallel to the ground. Keep your weight evenly distributed through the inner and outer heel by hips level. Start with 5 breathing cycles and progress to 15.
Lift your torso and return to the mountain pose, repeat on the other side.
The "PLANK POSE", and "SIDE-PLANK POSE":
Start on your hands and knees, hands directly under shoulders, knees under your hips. Move your feet back until the legs are straight and you are balancing on your toes, feet together. Keep the shoulders back and pulled down, arms straight. This is called the "PLANK POSE".
Press the ankles together, go to the outside of the left foot, hold stacked feet, legs to the right.
Lift the right direction then ceiling on them. Let your abs to support your body without clamping and crunching. Then the bottom right hand to the ground, rolling to the right and the return to the PLANK POSE. Please do not forget to repeat on the other side. Hold each breath for 5 cycles.
Harrison Collins is a SEO expert, leading in the field of web content writing, writing wide range of articles on different topics like finance, business, dating, health and many more. Please go on
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Yoga For Stress Relief
By
Texas WStress... It's a fact of life; there's really no getting around it. How you manage the stress though can mean the difference.
The body's natural relaxation response is a powerful antidote to stress. Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, and yoga can help you activate this relaxation response.
When practiced regularly, these activities lead to a reduction in your everyday stress level and boost your feelings of peace and calm. They also help by teaching you how to stay calm and collected when life throws you a curveball.
The stress response floods your body with chemicals that prepare you for "fight or flight." But, while this response is helpful in emergencies when you must be alert, chronic stress wears you down. Under sustained or severe stress, even the most well-adjusted person loses the ability to adapt. When stress overwhelms our coping resources, our bodies and minds suffer. Science is constantly learning about the impact that stress has on your overall health. Recent research suggests that anywhere from 60 to 90 percent of illness is stress-related. The physical wear and tear of stress includes damage to the cardiovascular system and immune system suppression.
Stress can cause a miriad of health problems, compromising your ability to fight off disease and infection, throws your digestive system off balance, makes it difficult to conceive a baby, and can even stunt growth in children.
To counter-balance the stress response, we need to learn to activate our bodies relaxation response brings your system back into balance, deepening your breathing, reducing stress hormones, slowing down your heart rate, lowering your blood pressure, and relaxing your muscles.
Yoga is an excellent stress relief technique. It involves a series of both moving and stationary poses, combined with deep breathing. The physical and mental benefits of yoga provide a natural counter-balance to stress, and strengthens the relaxation response in your daily life.
Since injuries can happen when yoga is practiced incorrectly, it's best to learn by attending group classes or hiring a private teacher. Once you learn the basics, you can practice alone or with others, tailoring your practice as you see fit.
Tips for starting a yoga practice:
*Consider your fitness level and any medical issues before joining a yoga class. There are many yoga classes for different needs, Hatha Yoga, Vinyasa or "Power" Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, "Hot" or Bikram Yoga, (practiced in a heated environment, might be too much if you are just starting out.) Research the different styles and find one that feels like a good fit. *For stress relief, I'd recommend Hatha Yoga; especially if you're just starting out.
*Look for a low-pressure environment where you can learn at your own pace. Don't extend yourself beyond what feels comfortable, and always back off of a pose at the first sign of pain. Listen to your body. A good teacher can show you alternate poses for ones that are too challenging for your fitness level.
*Remember, Yoga is not about turning yourself into a pretzel...it's about finding your own edge and honoring where you are in this moment. Also, try a few different classes, every teacher has their own style; if you get turned off by one, try another.
For more information, please visit:
http://thefitnessunderground.com/Texas, Certified Personal Trainer & Yoga Instructor at The Fitness Underground- Los Angeles
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Real Men and Yoga
By
Susan LaschIf you have been to a yoga class recently, you may have wondered: Where are all the men? It is a surprise to see one or two men in a yoga class. The way the advertising industry has portrayed yoga, it is a wonder there is even one man in a class. Yoga is marketed towards women to sell everything from mattresses to yogurt to candles. It is always a woman seen rushing off to class in a chic outfit with matching accessories. The celebrities touting the greatness of yoga are usually women: Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow. When Madison Avenue uses a picture of someone (a woman), the posture is always a ballet like super flexible out of reach for most mortals yoga posture. It is easy to understand a man's reluctance, or anyone's reluctance, to sign up for a class. But if you look behind all the salesmanship, the true picture of yoga emerges.
Yoga is a physical and mental discipline that improves flexibility and balance, increases strength, as well as calming and focusing the mind. In fact, the postures, breathing, and philosophy of yoga were designed by men, for men. In the 5,000 year history of yoga, it is only in the last 50 years that women began to study and attend yoga classes. In the last few years, as the news of the unsurpassed physical and mental benefits of yoga spreads, more men are reclaiming their space on the mat, and enjoying a yoga practice. These men have discovered: real men do yoga.
Two of these real men shared their reasons for beginning yoga, why they like it, and what advice they give to other men about yoga. Pete is in his early sixties and has just retired. He has been taking yoga classes for about a year now. Pete faithfully attends class once a week and has steadily progressed into an advanced class. Bob is in his early forties, and is the head of the health education department for a school district. He also coaches a hockey team and is active in many sports. He has been coming to mixed level yoga classes once a week now for almost 6 months.
Why did you decide to try a yoga class?
Pete: I decided to take yoga classes as a means of improving my Tai Chi. My first experience with yoga was a result of my Tai Chi classes. My teacher and I would first practice the form, then do sparing, using the Tai Chi postures for offensive or defensive moves. Typically, after beating each other up for an hour or more, we would do restorative yoga postures so we would have enough energy to drive home. We would also do a series of yoga positions for core strengthening, stretching and balance. When my Tai Chi teacher moved further into the city, and it became impractical for me to get to his classes, I decided to take my wife's suggestion (She has practiced yoga for 5 years and credits it with keeping the symptoms of her fibromyalgia at bay.) and take yoga classes.
Bob: I decided to do yoga because my chiropractor/physical therapist recommended it to me. I was probably going to see him 8x a year mostly for my neck. I played 4 sports in high school and 2 sports in college and still remain active in sports today. However, stretching was something I never took serious enough. My lack of flexibility can probably be attributed to this, and causes most of my aches and pains.
Do you feel yoga is helping you? In what way?
Pete: Yoga has helped me with my core strength, my flexibility and my balance. It has also helped in my breathing, and with my ability to look inward and be more meditative. In addition, since I am the only male in an advanced class of all females, it has also taught me humility.
Bob: Absolutely, I notice the difference every week. I really noticed when I missed 2 weeks how awful my body felt. This was the reason why I joined up again. Would you recommend yoga classes to other men, your friends?
Pete: Yes I would, and yes I do.
Bob: I tell my friends all the time that I do yoga and I swear by it. Of course - you get that look when you tell a guy that you do yoga - it's that stereotype that it's a woman thing. I think most men don't know what yoga is all about. It helps me relax, improves flexibility (still have a long way to go), and if I wanted to focus on strength, it would help with that as well. I am always willing to try anything new. My chiropractor kept telling me you should try yoga - Finally after a year of him telling me this, I decided to give it a try. I haven't seen him since May.
What would you tell men specifically about yoga? Why they should take it, what it is like, etc...
Pete: I would first tell men that yoga is not just for women. I would also tell them that doing yoga will certainly make them better at any endeavor (sport or life activity) where they need core strength, flexibility or balance. If they doubted that yoga is for them I would say, wouldn't it be great to be able to reach into the dishwasher first thing in the morning without putting your hand on your knee for support.
Bob: It can help you relax if you have a long day at work. It definitely helps you improve your flexibility and core strength. You get what you want out of yoga - everyone in class is at a different level and has different reasons for taking the class. If young athletes realized how much they could improve their performance by increasing their flexibility and core strength, you would see more males taking yoga. Yoga and core strength training are closely related, and the emphasis in training athletes today is on the core. So, athletes are doing yoga moves in core building exercises, but not realizing its yoga.
Why do you think men seem a little reluctant to try yoga?
Pete: Most men think that yoga is just for women. I think this is in part because men do not realize the physical strength needed to do many of the asanas (the poses). In addition, more women do take yoga than men so it takes a pretty secure man to go into a yoga class that might be all females. Yoga is also very much about getting in touch with yourself, something that men are missing the gene for.
Bob: Guys won't buy into yoga until professional athletes and/or trainers start singing its praises. When an athlete like Tim Thomas (goalie for the Boston Bruins) comes out and credits yoga for his success, it opens people's eyes.
Pete: I think men would take a yoga class if it were presented as a sports yoga class, "improve your golf swing in five easy positions".
Ignore the hype, and listen to advice from two men who have improved their lives with a regular practice. Improve your golf, tennis, soccer, hockey or football game. Improve your physical and mental health. Give yoga a try. Take a class and discover for yourself why growing numbers of real men do yoga.
Susan Lasch owns and operates East Aurora Yoga in the village of East Aurora, NY. A certified yoga teacher through the Sivananda Organization, she is also a registered yoga teacher(RYT) through the Yoga Alliance. Visit
http://www.eayoga.com/ for more information about yoga and classes offered.
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Can Yoga Help in Fat Loss?
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Anita ClarksonYoga is indeed an amazing tool for fat loss as well as general well being. The use of yoga for balancing the mind and body are pretty well known to be recounted here. Before going into the details of how yoga can help in losing fat let us first be clear about the need for fat loss, because without proper motivation you may not be able to stick to a fat loss or weight loss program, whether it is yoga exercises or some other fat loss program.
Management of weight by the reduction of excess body fat has a vital role to play in our ability to maintain good health and fight disease. Researchers have repeatedly found a strong link between excess body fat and major physical problems like diabetes, cancer and heart disease. A majority of the American population is overweight and it has been reported by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey that every year three out of every four Americans die either from cancer or heart disease.
Yoga uses a number of different body postures that stimulate various organs in the body including the thyroid gland that regulates metabolism. A properly functioning thyroid gland helps the processes that convert food into energy. When food is converted into energy efficiently there is less accumulation of body fat. The yoga postures also improve and balance blood circulation in the body which makes the person healthier and more energetic. This helps to reduce calorie intake and start providing the necessary energy by burning the fat cells.
In addition to developing a physical and mental state of well being the yoga techniques can also aid in the loss of excess body fat. Yoga exercises help in improving your metabolism. More calories are burned when the metabolism in the body increases. This extra burning of calories aids fat loss. As yoga achieves fat loss through the balancing of the body processes the speed of fat loss can be a bit slow.
For long term benefits you must approach the whole yoga fat loss process gradually. You may be disappointed if you are expecting immediate and spectacular results. However, by combining the practice of yoga with another program designed to burn calories exclusively you can get excellent results. By doing this you will also ensure that any side effects of rapid weight loss are minimized. An added benefit of yoga is that it will also strengthen your immune system. In addition to fat loss your ability to focus and concentrate will improve and so also will your ability to handle life's stresses.
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3 Simple Yoga Exercises For Ripped Abs
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Anmol MehtaCore abdominal training and power is perhaps the most important aspect of physical fitness, and yoga is an excellent science to help target and develop this region. According to yoga, the abdominal area is governed by the Solar Plexus Chakra, called the Manipura Chakra in Sanskrit, and this chakra is responsible for not just providing the body with the physical energy it needs, but is also responsible for your willpower and strength of character.
Yoga abdominal exercises work on many dimensions of your being. They not just tone and strengthen the stomach muscles, but they also open and balance the Manipura Chakra mentioned above. Thus, not only is your core strength and power improved, but, also your willpower and strength of character developed. In this article I will give three excellent yoga exercises for developing this all important center.
1. Single Yoga Leg Lifts:
Lie on your back with your hands underneath your buttocks palms facing down. The hand position is to support your lower back. If you feel pressure or discomfort in your lower back, go ahead and roll more of your arms underneath you, this will give even more lower back support.
Now lift your left leg up to ninety degrees in a slow, smooth motion keeping it as straight at the knee as possible. Inhale as you lift you lift up, then exhale and bring the leg back down. Next repeat this exercise with the right leg. Continue in this fashion, lifting alternate legs to ninety degrees for one to three minutes.
Take a break in between if you need to. Remember never to overdo anything when it comes to yoga. Slow and steady is the golden rule.
2. Double Yoga Leg Lifts:
Once you complete your single leg lifts take a short break and then try the same exercise but this time lift both legs together is a smooth motion to ninety degrees and then back down. Again try to keep the legs as straight as possible. Keep the hands underneath the buttocks as above to support the lower back.
3. Criss-Cross Legs:
You will find the above two exercise really target the central abs, and this exercise will attack the obliques, which are the stomach muscles that line the side of the abdominal. For this exercise, again remain on your back with the hands underneath your buttocks palms facing down, then raise your legs twelve to eighteen inches above the floor and keeping the toes pointed begin to rapidly criss-cross them.
By criss-cross here, I mean that let the legs cross over each other at the ankles, where fist the right leg crosses over the top of the left, and then the left crosses over the the top of the right. This action will really work the stomach muscles and is excellent training for abdominal strength and toning.
Summary:
So there you have three excellent exercises for toning and strengthening your abdominal muscles and activating the Solar Plexus Chakra. These exercises also provide the added benefit of helping your digestive system and is an excellent set for those who are just starting out their yoga practice.
Anmol Mehta is a modern Yoga & Meditation master. His massive website offers the ultimate
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YOGA - Teachers Train to Teach More Than Technique
By
Lisa HoldrenYoga teachers, whether in a studio, on a DVD, or at the local gym, are guides.
Ideally, they guide us with finesse, awareness, skill and a light touch. Without proper technique we would get hurt. But, technique is only part of a bigger picture.
Here's what technique offers.
1. A framework for using poses to improve your body and mind. This is easy for people who want to do things 'right' and meet the challenge. Hold the shape, work on the edge, get a great workout, and feel better when you leave.
2. It can also serve as a hangar for insecurities and the inability to focus as well as a tool for turning inward so you can listen to yourself. Hangars and tools can be very useful items.
Here's what your practice offers.
1. The opportunity to let go of the insecurities, which will free your mind. We all have insecurities, about our bodies and about our life experiences. If you can't balance on one foot (or the other, seems we're all lopsided to some degree), then keep a hand on the floor or on the wall. Bones, joints, injuries, age. They make a difference.
2. A time and place to focus on yourself. There's no good or bad, right or wrong. Listen to the music or listen to your breath. Allow your attention to roam around inside yourself. Is your upper back tight? Have your shoulders moved towards your ears? Let them go. Does the lower back twinge? Relax it by taking in a deep long breath, let the back feel puffy, and then mentally send the twinge out with the breath.
Here's an intention.
Move at your own pace. If it's slower than the teacher, that's okay. You can flow into the next pose from where you are if you stay present instead of thinking about what happened yesterday or what you're going to do later. Acknowledge whatever you are feeling now. Frustration, irritability, disappointment. It's all okay. So what. This is the perfect time and place to go with the flow and keep moving. Your technique will keep you safe as you frame your own practice.
For more tips, essays, and resources to find peace and energy in an adventurous and eventful life, visit Lisa Holdren's blog at
http://www.peaceandlaughter.blogspot.com/ Lisa retired from episodic television and series development to guide her children toward contentment and successful careers. Now she helps readers in search of tranquility and purpose with humor and intuitiveness.
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Yoga For Pregnancy
By
Jill BorashYoga is a low impact exercise. This is important during pregnancy in order to keep both you and your baby safe. High impact forms of exercise are generally not safe for you or your baby while you are pregnant. Yoga for pregnancy can still give you a great workout without putting you or your baby in harm's way.
Yoga teaches proper breathing techniques. This is good for both your mind and your body. The unique form of breathing that is done during yoga (in some practices called ujjayi breathing) can help calm the mind and the body. In any yoga for pregnancy video you get, there will be a focus on your breath. It can focus on how to calm your breath, how to breathe into different parts of your body and how to breathe away tension and stress. This kind of focused breathing is also great for helping you prepare for childbirth.
Yoga stretches your body. This aspect of yoga for pregnancy is great for helping you get rid of any tension and stress in your body. As your body grows and changes during pregnancy, you will have aches and pains in places that you never have before. The stretching that yoga provides can help you work out these kinks and relieve the tension in those areas that get particularly stressed. Your back, legs and feet are definitely areas that will need some extra stretching during pregnancy.
Yoga incorporates relaxation techniques. At the end of most yoga classes and videos, you will find a relaxation section. When you are doing yoga for pregnancy, this is can be an especially wonderful time to connect to your baby and to let your body fully relax. Focused relaxation is always important but even more important during pregnancy when your body is undergoing so many changes. It also gives you a chance to shut off your mind and just be. When you do this fully, there are no worries or concerns, you are simply in the moment with your baby, which is a magical and wonderful experience.
Yoga for pregnancy is a wonderful way to get low impact exercise, learn proper breathing techniques, stretch your ever-growing body and learn to relax with your baby. The techniques you learn by doing yoga while you are pregnant can even help you during childbirth and as a new mother. Get more information about prenatal yoga and doing yoga while you are pregnant at
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Living Yoga - Respect Thyself
By
Aadil PalkhivalaHow do we develop self-respect?
Self-respect grows by striving to do all that we explore when we live our Yoga: graciously living our dharma with feeling, attentively manifesting the wisdom that waits within, and cheerfully living with integrity in response to the truth of each moment. Even if we don't often succeed, we being to value our life and realize we are worthy of our own respect.
Cultivating self-respect is largely internal work, a process of exploring and transforming our lack of respect. We must look inside ourselves and honestly search for what is unkind and rude. We then must ask: Why do I feel unworthy enough to be unkind, disrespected enough to be rude? How can I transform these feelings rather than merely suppress them? By asking such questions sincerely, and then humbly listening to our own intuition, we will be guided toward transformation.
Though the work of building self-respect is from the inside out, it is also from the outside in. As we find ways to respect other people and things, we simultaneously find more ways of respecting our own selves.
As we learn to respect who we are, others will instinctively respect us. However, the moment we become egoistic, their respect will fade, for they will only see the ego working overtime. Self-respect is naturally imbued with humility.
Respecting one's self, then, is not the same as thinking of oneself first. Respect for self should not be confused with self-serving hedonism and careless self absorption --- "doing whatever I want to do." That is bondage disguised as freedom. Respect is actually the opposite. When I am respectful, I am present and fully aware of what effect I am having on others. With such awareness, we cannot have ego, and vice versa. It is only when we don't know our true selves that the demands or our ego override sensitivity toward others. One who doesn't know himself thinks of himself; one who truly knows himself thinks of everyone. It takes enormous self-respect to humbly and genuinely bow before another.
©Aadil Palkhivala 2008
Aadil Palkhivala, world-renowned yoga master, is the founder of Purna Yoga, the owner of the premier yoga studio in the Pacific Northwest, Yoga Centers, the director of The College of Purna Yoga teacher training program, and the author of Fire of Love- For Students of Life, For Teachers of Yoga.
To buy Aadil's new book Fire of Love-For Students of Life, For Teachers of Yoga, as well as his DVD for yoga teachers Teaching Sarvangasana please click here:
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Two Easy Yoga Exercises to Beat Stress
By
Julia DenhamLooking for ways to beat stress? Yoga makes it easy. Even five minutes spent doing yoga will give you stress relief. In these tough times it's only natural to feel stress. However constant unrelieved stress will lead to health problems. It's vital that you spend some time each day getting rid of the stress hormones in your system and discovering relaxation.
Even if you are new to yoga, a few simple stretches will relieve your stress and improve your mood. This is a great gift you can give to yourself as well as to your loved ones. New to yoga?
The easiest way to learn yoga is to take a class at a yoga studio. However you can also learn basic yoga from an instructional CD or DVD, or even a book. When you're using yoga to relieve stress, it's vital that you don't get hung up on your technique. With yoga it's not important how perfectly you perform an exercise, but that you focus on your body rather than on the thoughts whizzing around in your brain.
Here are two easy yoga exercises which will help you to relieve stress.
1. Downward Facing Dog Pose - Calms Your Mind and Relieves Mild Depression or Agitation
If you own a dog you know where the name of this exercise comes from. Each time your dog gets up from a rest he takes pleasure in this luxurious stretch -- you can do the same thing. Begin this pose on your hands and knees and then lift your knees from the floor. Straighten your knees but don't lock them and lift your tailbone towards the ceiling. Maintain the pose for several breaths, or even longer. You can stay in this pose for up to five minutes if it feels comfortable.
2. Seated Forward Bend: Calms Your Mind and Relieves Mild Depression or Agitation In Seated Forward Bend, you fold your body up like clothes pin.
Sit on the floor with your legs straight. Take a deep breath and bend forward from your hips, reaching out to hold your toes, and then folding your body on to your legs if you can. Don't strain to do the exercise - just stretch as far as is comfortable - and BREATHE.
Maintain the pose for several breaths or even for up to five minutes if you wish. The above two exercises are a great way to relieve stress. You can do them at any time of the day or evening, even in the office. Just close your office door.
Discover yourself with
yoga, a gentle form of stretching. Yoga strengthens both your body and mind, and is suitable for anyone, from children to seniors. Visit Easy Fab Yoga Blog at
http://www.easyfabyoga.com/blog/ for daily yoga information, tips, and inspiration.
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The Benefits of Yoga For Children & How to Make Your Children Love Yoga
By
Felix HariantoToday stress are very commonly, not only to adult but also for children. The task for regulating the rivalries with other children on the broader question it seems to eliminate the many programming calendars. Unfortunately, children are not learned how to deal with the stress, as adults, and not that stress can lead to mood swings, fatigue and illness. Yoga can be a good way to relax the children, the displacement by the release of energy and reduce pollution in general.
Apart from the alleviating stress, yoga has been shown to hyperactive children to acquire more control over themselves and their lives. We all know that children have an innate need to be proactive - ruling from an elementary school in the district, if you do not believe me! Yoga can help children learn by it at the exit from the market and the auto-promotion, they need to these impulses in the right direction. Yoga provides some are for children than others. Children tend to react and the trees warrior category posts. The two to help them provide the children in peace, confidence and a sense of balance.
The secret for the children really in the practice of yoga is to think about what the actual position of the media. For example, if the practice of education of a warrior, to encourage children to believe they are strong, mighty warriors. In the tree represent, we ask them a question on the energy of a tree and that their movements.
Another technique, yoga for children is visualization exercises. These exercises will help the students themselves from the idea of a positive or other things that they enjoy. Encourage your child to focus on breathing in their abdomen, and pull the music to help the perception. If your children are not able, in the first place, invite imagine that they float in space, a little radiation to a secluded beach, his favorite sport, or anywhere they like. Over time it will be easier for them to focus on the exercises and guided visualization.
At the end of each period of relaxation, you can encourage your children to their experiences.
Ask for the environment to describe the display and the emotions they are known. In this way, a contribution to the promotion of relations between you and your children and strengthen the positive experience to see. A word of caution, though - make this exercise works best with the younger. As the children grow into the young people, born May not believe, even at home with their visions, especially if a certain friend. This is a good thing. Do not press the issue and your child feels uncomfortable, enough to encourage him or to the private relaxation exercises.
If your children have difficulties in training their own positive images for display during the exercises, can help, and by your imagination for a story reassuring. The children are very active and have the imagination of their history and experience in their mind. Tell them on a walk near a green lawn or a child, a butterfly, the flag is a beautiful garden. The whole story is good, it's enough to remember that the goal here is a feeling of tranquility and peace.
Children who learn yoga when they are young are easier to relaxed at home, it also improve their studies at school and can affect the health, relationship to maintain. Moreover, these children might be healthy way of life in the course of life. Let your children learn Yoga, it is for their benefits also.
As you could see above,
yoga for children is really helpful to our children now days. So, encourage your children to learn
children yoga.
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Yoga - Three Ways to Let Life's Chaos and Drama Fall Away
By
Lisa HoldrenThere's a lot of drama and conflict in life. Sometimes the drama is exciting and sometimes the conflict challenges us to accomplish something important. Other times, life seems like a big chore, so why bother.
Three energy areas are involved. You can help yourself by gently, kindly addressing each one in a very quiet, softly lit, safe place. What you may find is balance and clarity. It is possible to let go of off those old habits, bad memories, and painful relationships. Sit up straight and tall with your legs crossed comfortably in front of you, Place your hands on your knees with thumbs up and feel a fire in your belly. Then let those old habits and memories and experineces that don't work for you any longer burn up in the flame. Enjoy the freedom of letting them go.
This involves 3 areas of bodily energy to contemplate. I learned this and a whole lot more from Sigrid Matthews at the Black Dog Yoga center in Sherman Oaks, California.
• Muladhara or earth. When it is balanced you are compassionate and caring. This root system, located at the base of the spine, is the survival and healing center. Fear, victimization, and greed are the imbalance. No wonder you backs hurts after a bad day. Use the following affirmations.
1. I have the right to be.
2. I feel stable, secure, and firmly rooted in the present.
3. I stand up for what I believe.
4. I am exactly where I need to be.
• Svadisthana or water. When balanced you are passionate but not a martyr or guilty. Say the following affirmations to yourself.
1. I have a right to feel.
2. I enjoy the way my life unfolds.
3. I am trustworthy, full of grace and confidence.
4. I feel creative and alive.
• Manipura or fire. Think success in business. If you are balanced you feel self-confident and self-esteem, but not controlling or the bully or the slave. You may not even be aware of this problem. The affirmations are.
1. I have the right to act and follow my own path.
2. I claim my own power and accept responsibility for them.
3. I am courageous and confident.
4. I go for my dreams.
The changes can be subtle or immediately profound. If you stay with just this much you will feel a relief. There is a lot more you can do and lot more explanation, but with this start, you can let the conflict and drama fall away as you discover your enthusiasm and delight. Try it and let me know how it works for you.
For more tips, essays, and resources to find peace and energy in an adventurous and eventful life, visit Lisa Holdren's blog at
http://www.peaceandlaughter.blogspot.com/ Lisa retired from episodic television and series development to guide her children toward contentment and successful careers. Now she helps readers in search of tranquility and purpose with humor and intuitiveness.
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How to Overcome Pain, Stress, Etc Using Yoga and Your Cotton Yoga Mat
By
Christopher SchwebiusIn the fast moving world of today, the most common problem faced by one and all is body pain and stress. People spend loads of money to be relieved of these problems. Yoga is the most widely used form of exercise to get rid of them. It is the most economical form of exercise. The only equipment it requires is a good quality yoga mat.
Yoga harmonises the mind with body. It is a complete body-mind workout. It benefits all... Young- old, male- female, rich -poor, fat- thin. It helps in gaining wholesome health and is very valuable and useful. It helps in overcoming stress, increasing and improving flexibility, and in making us physically and mentally strong. It was initially practiced in India but is now becoming popular all around the world. Various exercises of yoga provide benefits to different parts of body. It makes use of the muscles and joints that are not used in regular routine exercises. The most remarkable feature of yoga is that it even works on the internal part of the body like heart, kidneys, pancreas, lungs, liver etc. and that too in a thorough manner. It not only helps in keeping the diseases away but also warns before the likely onset of any disease. Yoga helps in toning muscles and relieving pain. It detoxifies the body by helping in supply of blood to all parts of body.
For yoga to be give you benefit, one needs constant practise and correct technique. Yoga when not done in the right way can cause damage to joints and tissues. Yoga requires stretching and breathing exercises. To be benefited from it and to prevent injury to you, it should be done correctly. It should be done in a peaceful place with comfortable surroundings. Yoga mats provide a comfortable place for regular yoga practise.
Yoga mats of several different types of materials are available in the market. Out of these cotton mats are certainly among the bests. For hundreds of years a cotton yoga mat has been the choice of yogis who practise yoga and meditation. There are many advantages of a cotton mat over the mats of other materials. The cotton yoga mats are extra thick and give a soft feel of cotton .It gives extra cushion and support for the joint and body. It is good for the knees and ankles as it prevents injury during exercise by providing extra padding. It provides excellent surface for workouts, as the surface is a non-slip surface. It is great for all exercises and massages. They are affordable and very inexpensive compared to others. Cotton yoga mats are easy to store and maintain also. They are available in different sizes and colours and shapes.
They are durable and washable. These are portable, lightweight and can be transported with ease from one room to another or can be carried in a vehicle and for you picnics etc. They absorb perspiration, and maintain the posture. They are designed with great skill and are environment friendly.
Everyone requires basic fitness and a feeling of well-being. To achieve that people all around the world are following yoga. Those who have not started doing it should also begin to do so. Your ideal companion for doing it correctly and without the fear of getting injured is a cotton yoga mat.
Christopher Schwebius is an entrepreneur who seeks out sharply defined, specifically focused topics to research. Upon finishing his research he provides relevant, un-biased information to his readers based on his discoveries and/or personal experiences. One of his latest ongoing projects can be viewed at
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Why Breathing Correctly is So Important in Yoga and in Life
By
Jay FrancoMany people don't realize how important breath is to life. Breathing is so natural that it is beneath our conscious notice. Yet how you breathe affects your health. For example, when you are upset or stressed it's common to take rapid, shallow breaths. When you are breathing shallowly and rapidly you don't get enough oxygen into your body. Without the proper amount of oxygen people can feel light-headed, sleepy, or dizzy. The human body doesn't operate properly without enough oxygen, but most people don't get enough oxygen on a day to day basis to keep them in good health.
Scientists and doctors have shown that the way you breathe can have a serious impact on your mental state as well as your physical state. It's been proven that just a few minutes of deep breathing can help people to calm down when they are angry or upset. Deep breathing can also help people who are depressed. When you breathe deeply and fill your body with oxygen your circulation improves and your brain releases endorphins, which induce a sense of peace and well-being. So if you're feeling sad or depressed and you spend a few minutes breathing properly you will feel better instantly.
But when your breathing is shallow and quick instead of deep and long you will begin to feel worse. You aren't getting enough oxygen into your body and you also are not getting rid of the carbon dioxide your body produces. When that carbon dioxide starts to build up you will start to feel ill because carbon dioxide is a waste product. Deep inhalation and then deep exhalation will help the body rid itself of the toxic carbon dioxide and replenish it with oxygen and you will feel better.
It's not necessary to spend thousands of dollars every month on supplements and over the counter drugs to feel better. You can start feeling better immediately if you become more aware of your breathing and you consciously make time to breathe deeply and help your body cleanse itself everyday. Just sitting down for a few minutes to center yourself and take long deep breaths will do you a world of good.
Jay Franco has been a Yoga enthusiast since an early age. He is constantly trying to find practical ways of implementing this ancient knowledge into his Western lifestyle. His website is:
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5 Essential Tips For Yoga Beginners
By
Jay FrancoIf you're just starting a Yoga practice then you probably haven't had time to figure out some of the tips and tricks that will make it easier to get started with a regular Yoga practice. These 5 tips from experienced Yoga practitioners will help you as you start your own regular Yoga practice:
1. Buy a good mat - Your Yoga mat will help protect your joints and will also be an important part of your yoga practice. Don't buy a poor quality mat just because it's inexpensive. When you are sure that you are going to start doing Yoga on a regular basis then it's time to invest in a high quality mat. It's a better value to buy a high quality mat that will last than to buy something cheap that will need to be replaced quickly.
2. Wear clothing designed for Yoga - When you're doing Yoga you'll be moving in ways that can put a lot of stress on clothing. You need to have clothing that is loose enough to be comfortable but tight enough to not get in the way of your movement. You also need to wear clothing that will stand up to a lot of movement and stretching. Resist the urge to buy normal gym clothes and buy some clothes that are specifically designed for Yoga.
3. Practice at home - Even if you're taking a class at a Yoga studio you should set aside some time to practice your Yoga at home until you get the hang of the poses. Practicing at home will also help you increase your flexibility and agility.
4. Compare Yoga studios before you commit - There are lots of Yoga studios and holistic centers that offer Yoga classes. Before you commit to one particular studio you should attend classes at three or four different places so that you can compare the prices, the class sizes, and the teaching styles to which one is the best for you.
5. Give it time - It might take some time before you are as flexible as some of the other people in the class. It also might take some time for you learn the poses and the meditations. Don't give up. There's always a learning curve when you're learning something new and the other people in the class and the teacher won't expect you to be to be perfect from the start. Join a beginner's Yoga class at first so that you will be other people who are also just learning.
Jay Franco has been a Yoga enthusiast since an early age. He is constantly trying to find practical ways of implementing this ancient knowledge into his Western lifestyle. His website is:
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The Benefits of Yoga Practice
By
Shelley CostelloPractising yoga asanas, or the physical practice of yoga brings many benefits to mind, body and spirit. Yoga means union and through the breath connects the mind, body and spirit. With regular practice, yoga becomes a moving meditation with the focus remaining throughout on the breath. It is the breath which makes yoga unique and more than just a physical exercise.
Breath is what enables prana, the life force which pervades all living things to enter our body. Practising yoga therefore increases our pranic energy. Each movement is initiated by either an inhalation or exhalation and the movement flows with the breath. Breath and movement work together effortlessly to create a yoga practice.
For most, breathing is an automatic function which we give little thought to unless our breathing alters in some way; when we experience shortness of breath perhaps. Without breath there is no life and yoga teaches us to focus on our breath and to harness the power of our breath enabling us to reap the benefits. In practising yoga we are able to experience a greater sense of self as well as rewarding our body and mind by restoring balance and wellbeing.
Yoga works on many levels.
Subtle/Spiritual
Our planet is made up of energy and at the level of quantum physics we are nothing more than a ball of energy. Throughout our body there are subtle energy channels known as nadis. The three main energy channels in the body are known as sushumna, the central channel, ida, the left channel and pingala, the right channel. Sushumna runs the length of the spine from the sacrum right up to the crown of the head. The ida and pingala nadis cross over the sushumna and the points of their convergence create energy centres known as chakras.
On a subtle level, prana flows through these nadis. The energy channels and centres are affected by the physical body and mind and vice versa. When we experience a physical or emotional disorder the channels and centres become blocked. The practise of yoga works to cleanse and detox the physical body mind and by increasing the flow of prana throughout the body, clear the blockages and restore the flow of pranic energy. This in turn restores homeostasis or optimum functioning to the physical body and mind. Yoga therefore restores our natural emotional and physical balance.
A person who is often unwell physically and/or emotionally is said to have more prana outside the body and in contrast, a person who experiences physical and emotional wellbeing and is healthy both inside and out, is said to have more prana inside the body. Yoga practice and breathing techniques known as pranayama work to not only increase the flow of prana into the body but also to keep that prana flowing around inside the body. In addition, engaging energy locks known as bandhas during a yoga practice work to eliminate the toxins from the body and keep the pranic energy inside the body.
Over time as yoga practice evolves and as an awareness of self grows it becomes easier to tune in to our own energy, restoring balance and wellness from within. When we feel well from the inside our outer world inevitably follows and our life becomes healthier and much happier, more fulfilled.
Physical
On a physical level our bodies require oxygen to function properly. Full deep breathing increases the supply of oxygen to our bodies, providing nourishment and nutrients to our blood, nerves, glands and vital organs. In addition, oxygen is responsible for burning up waste matter and eliminating toxins from the body. By practising yoga and the breathing techniques used in yoga, we are increasing the supply of oxygen throughout the body, cleansing, energising, nourishing, detoxing and purifying the body. All bodily systems are strengthened and thus creating an enhanced immunity and overall greater wellbeing. Yoga works to energise, restore, refresh, revitalise, relax and rejuvenate the body.
Yoga increases flexibility throughout the body and is gentle on the joints compared to some high impact sports. Yoga actually increases lubrication of the joints.
Muscular endurance is enhanced throughout the body and muscles become more toned, and excess weight lost.
Many yoga asanas massage the vital organs of the body. This works in many ways; providing increased energy and actually contributes to delaying the ageing process, keeping us youthful with increased vitality.
Emotional
Yoga brings about many changes emotionally. Just the act of feeling a greater sense of wellbeing physically works towards improving our self esteem and confidence. Increased energy levels enable us to do more in our personal and professional lives and we find that happiness comes naturally to the practising yogi. As all our bodily systems are strengthened these too impact on our mind and emotional wellbeing. Stresses, strains and anxiety are greatly reduced. Yoga lifts depression and can help other emotional disorders. A heightened awareness of self enables one to feel in control. Ultimately, the mind influences the body and when our mind is balanced we will find so too is our body.
These are just a few of the many benefits yoga brings. Practising asanas, the physical aspect of yoga inevitably leads one to other branches of yoga and becomes a life long journey of self awareness; finding one's true self, one's dharma or purpose in life and along the way becoming happier, healthier and more fulfilled.
Namasté Shelley
http://www.shelleycostello.net/Shelley Costello is a Wellness Coach, incorporating Yoga, Life Coaching, Indian Head Massage, Relaxation, Meditation and Ayurveda.
The essence is of helping others to help themselves become healthier, happier and live a more fulfilled life.
Shelley is a qualified Yoga Teacher, Life Coach and Indian Head massuese. In addition, over the past two years she has studied Buddhism, meditation, anatomy and physiology, nutrition, quantum physics related to the natural laws of the universe and conscious creation techniques.
She has extensive internet marketing experience and works part time as a freelance marketing consultant. She has 15 years business management experience and is currently studying courses related to wellness with the Open University, England.
For more information please contact Shelley by email at
shelley@shelleycostello.net or visit her website
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Improve Health With Yoga in Chairs
By
Susan LaschIt is never too late to start a yoga practice. Forget the pictures you see in ads and TV that show 23 year old dancers and gymnasts doing pretzel-like yoga postures. Sure, there are young people taking fast moving classes that focus on difficult poses. But the majority of people taking yoga classes are middle aged and older. And the fastest growing student population for yoga is seniors.
To accommodate this growing segment, more and more classes are being offered to suit the needs and desires particular to older adults. Generally, these classes are called Yoga in Chairs or simply, Chair Yoga. The obstacle to yoga for older people is the frequent getting up and down off the floor, and sitting cross-legged on the ground for extended periods of time. Back problems, knee and hip replacements, arthritis, and fatigue combine to make it difficult to do. Chair Yoga overcomes this difficulty by featuring most of the same postures traditionally taught, but done either sitting in a chair, or using the chair as a balance and support. These classes are not yoga simplified, but yoga adapted.
Chair Yoga offers increased range of motion in the spine and joints, strengthening of muscles, improved balance, better breath control, relaxation and lessening of physical and mental tension, and improved concentration. Exactly as any other yoga class does. Even if you haven't exercised in a long time, or especially if you haven't, you will begin to feel these and other benefits after just a few classes. Ageing creates more of a need for the gifts of yoga, not less. Using the chair as a base, allows older people, or people with physical limitations, to carry on a full yoga practice the same as the 23 year old with both knees behind the head.
A common concern among seniors is that yoga will conflict with their beliefs and traditions. Yoga does have a focus on contemplation and inner peace that can be spiritual for some, but it is not religious in and of itself. There is room for all types of believers and non-believers in a yoga class.
A class for older people in particular will focus on the physical aspect of practice and the breath.
There will be relaxation and quiet. And there will be time for questions and sharing. Perhaps some soothing music will be played; maybe there will be a chance to chant the sound OM at the end of class-- if you feel like it. The chant of OM is just the traditional way to end a yoga class. It is a bow to history and tradition.
Yoga in Chairs classes can be found in churches, senior centers, through community education, and at yoga studios. Look for ads, fliers, and talk to your friends and family and find the teacher and the location that is right for you. Take a friend with you to practice. Make it a social occasion, and enjoy improving your health in a group of like- minded people who share your interests and concerns. Making yoga a part of your life will be one of the best things you have done for yourself.
Susan Lasch owns and operates East Aurora Yoga in the village of East Aurora, NY. A certified yoga teacher through the Sivananda Organization, she is also a registered yoga teacher(RYT) through the Yoga Alliance. Visit
http://www.eayoga.com/ for more information about yoga and classes offered.
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Top 5 Yoga Myths
By
Anmol MehtaIt is not surprising to those of us who are long time yoga practitioners that the popularity of this profound spiritual science is now exploding on a world wide scale. Unfortunately though some of the authenticity and truths about yoga are being lost and some myths are creeping in with regard to what yoga is and how it is to be practiced. In this article I will look to clear up what I find to be the top 5 myths about yoga.
Top 5 Myths About Yoga:
1. Yoga is a Form of Physical Exercise:
This is perhaps the most common view of yoga. That it is a form of physical exercise. This certainly needs to be clarified and I am going to provide some details about true yoga practice in order to do this.
Yoga is actually has 8 parts to it, with the physical aspect being just 1. These 8 parts, include yoga dos, yoga don'ts, physical exercises (asana), breathing exercises, sense control, concentration, meditation and divine union.
So you can see from above that although the physical aspect of yoga, which is called asana, is an important part of yoga, yoga as a whole is certainly more that just a series of postures and movements. Yoga is essentially a spiritual science whose objective is to still the mind of thoughts, so that the truth of Oneness hidden behind the waves of the mind can be clearly seen and embraced.
2. Yoga is a Religion:
The other extreme and incorrect view on yoga is that is it a religion. Commonly yoga is considered part of Hindu religion, but yoga is not a religion. It is a time tested spiritual science with the goal of revealing the true nature of reality. As indicated above, yoga practice is a step by step process with the end goal of calming down the thought waves in our mind and thus prevent them from distorting the truth.
3. To Practice Yoga You Must be Vegetarian:
There is a notion floating around that in order to practice yoga you must not eat meat and be a vegetarian. This is not true. Although there are tremendous benefits to being vegetarian and this is being more and more validated by the mainstream medical community, there is no requirement of vegetarianism in order to practice yoga.
One point I would like to add here is that, vegetarianism is consistent with the non-violence which yoga advocates and it certainly would be to your benefit to reduce meat intake, nevertheless, you don't have to be vegetarian in order to be a great yogi.
4. You Need to be Initiated by a Guru:
I have also come across this notion that many believe you need to be initiated and have a guru in order to learn and practice yoga. This is not true. According to yoga, the true guru is within and although it would be to your benefit to learn yoga from an accomplished teacher, this is not a requirement.
5. You Have to be Flexible to do Yoga:
Not so. No doubt yoga will improve your flexibility, along with your strength, balance and overall health, but in order to practice yoga you do not have to be flexible. Yoga is designed to be practiced by all.
Different bodies have different degrees of flexibility and in this case one size does not fit all. For most of the complex yoga posture which require great flexibility to do, there are plenty of modifications which allow you to get the same benefits for those who are less flexible. In fact one of the original reasons I took up yoga because I was not flexible and wanted to improve this aspect of my physical dimension.
Summary:
So there you have the top 5 myths about yoga. Essentially, what these myths do is prevent people from taking up this wonderful science. So if you feel you will have to change faiths, find gurus, stop eating meat or are too inflexible to take up yoga practice, you are wrong. Don't pass up the wonderful opportunity to learn and practice this amazing science, which helps you discover your true divine and eternal nature.
Anmol Mehta is modern Yoga & Meditation master. His massive
Guided Zen Meditation blog offers the ultimate Meditation Techniques Guide and free
Yoga Detox Cleanse techniques.
This article is available for reprint on your website and/or newsletter, provided it is not changed and you include the author's signature.
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Yoga Butt Kicking
By
Thomas StrumpskiLast month, I climbed the stairs of one of our local yoga studios here in Vancouver with nervous anticipation. As I approached the door, I caught the faint odour of incense wafting through the air. I entered the studio and was greeted by a well-toned, attractive young lady wearing the latest outfit by Lululemon.
At this point, I started to feel intimidated but she quickly put me at ease and asked me if it was my first time. I said yes, and she offered me the two-week special for first-timers – all the yoga you want for two weeks at a cost of $30.
After I paid, I proceeded to go in for my first class - 90 minutes of Vinyasa Flow … so, how did it go?
Putting it mildly – I got my ass kicked! I’ve been working out for over 15 years with free weights and consider myself in decent condition, but I have to tell you, I was sweating profusely after only a few minutes. It was a full-body workout, from head to toe - bum, stomach and back … whatever body part you can think of, I think I worked on.
What benefit did I get?
Well, the problem with traditional working out is that it is very easy to form imbalances. We all favour certain exercises and this can lead to certain muscles getting stronger than others, which can also lead to chronic pain and possible injury.
Yoga really appealed to me because I really wanted to tone up my body and fix my ‘imbalances.’ Yoga accomplishes this by ‘flowing’ through different positions such as ‘downward dog’ or ‘plank’. Within minutes your heart starts to race as your body struggles to maintain balance and uses long-dormant muscles that you didn’t know you had.
Yoga is not just about the physical but also the mental. We focused on breathing and clearing our thoughts and during the class, the instructor helped out with positive mental affirmations and anyone (mostly me) who needed help with the positions or poses.
Several days later, I still felt energized and I have to say, my posture was much better and best of all, my mind was much clearer.
I definitely think more guys should do it – I would say about 80% of the class was female. We guys tend to focus on things like getting bigger muscles and increasing our strength, but as we get older, it just isn’t practical. I can definitely see myself doing yoga even when I am much older.
What about the free weights?
I’ll still be going to my regular gym but I think yoga will be an excellent addition to my fitness regime for the foreseeable future!
My name is Thomas Strumpski and I am a p/t business owner, accountant and aspiring singer!
Please feel free to check out my blog on personal finance and development at:
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