One good thing about yoga is that it can be practiced almost anywhere, without all those yoga equipments, and by all people of all ages.
When doing yoga it is best to wear loose and comfortable clothing. Yoga is traditionally done and practiced barefoot, but if this does not suit you, you can just wear socks or soft-shoes.
It is also best to practice yoga on an empty stomach. Empty your stomach, clean your nostril and throat, and consume a glass of warm water 15 minutes before you start.
You may drill on energy bars, fruits or drink a glass of water an hour before class to avoid getting hungry or dehydrated during yoga sessions.
It is said earlier that you basically don?t need anything in order to practice yoga. All you need is the desire and the attitude to really be into yoga and expand your self awareness.
But this does not completely eliminate the need for different yoga equipment. This yoga equipment helps you do your postures properly.
It helps you achieve the proper alignment, balance and makes the pose a little bit easier to do. The use of Yoga equipments also lessen out the stress and strain from doing your yoga positions.
Yoga equipments help you support your muscles and refrains you from any muscle injuries. Yoga equipment also helps to save energy by exerting less effort on a pose.
After a thousand of years in existence, Yoga has already been part of everybody?s lifestyle from any part of the world. From India, yoga has evolved through the years and reaches the United States and other countries extending a different yet proven
effective form of achieving self balance that results to utmost health be it physical,
mental or spiritual.
Now millions of people around the world practice Yoga to cope with stress, feel renewed and energized, release tension, achieve a healthier and fitter body and gain a deep sense of self-knowledge.
Doing yoga is not just about postures, there is also one vital part of yoga that we can never live without, and these are yoga equipments.
When starting out yoga you should know the basic yoga equipments that you will need.
YOGA MATS: these yoga equipment provides cushioning on a hard floor, this specially needed if your yoga studio floor is made up of cement or hard wood floor.
This yoga equipment is also provide traction for your hand and feet thus prevents you from slipping or sliding on a wrong position when your doing your yoga postures
YOGA BOLSTERS: This yoga equipment provides support for your spine, abdomen and legs in a number of different poses.
Yoga bolsters helps you achieve the utmost result of your practice.
YOGA BLANKETS: this yoga equipment helps you feel relaxed and comfortable which is essential in the practice of yoga.
Yoga Mats also provides added warmth and softness to your yoga mat, making you feel more relaxed and comfortable.
YOGA STRAPS: this yoga equipment is either made out of cotton or nylon. This allows you to grasp your body part which you cannot.
Yoga straps give you added flexibility and holds your pose a little bit much longer.
Yoga equipment may not be a requirement for doing yoga but through times they have been proven to be helpful in their own simple ways.
They have been useful to yoga practitioners especially to those who are suffering from ailments and the elderly.
Most yoga equipments are made to provide support to help you feel relaxed and feel deeper into the pose or do the pose better.
Learn all you need to know about Yoga - http://www.yogaadvice.info
Showing posts with label Deep Sense. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Deep Sense. Show all posts
March 1, 2009
February 23, 2009
The Benefit of Yoga
The benefit of yoga practice goes far beyond the actual time you spend in the poses. One of the most common reasons why people begin practicing yoga is to improve their health and well-being. Yoga means union. It is a union of the mind, body and breath, so all aspects of your life are impacted by your practice.
A major benefit of yoga is physical.
Yoga improves your flexibility. ? The stretching that you engage in during every practice helps lengthen and stretch muscles, which helps reduce the risk of injuries.
It helps to improve your balance. ? The majority of yoga practices include some type of balancing in the poses. A significant number of people, especially as they began to get older, start to have problems with balance, which can lead to major injuries due to falls. By having a greater sense of balance, you are able to move more easily and safely.
Yoga can help reduce pain. - Tense muscles often contribute to pain. Relaxing muscles helps to minimize muscle tension and the pain that is associated with it. Also, breathing deeply into muscles helps lessen pain by altering your perception of it.
It tones your muscles. ? Yoga works all the muscles in your body. It helps strengthen and tone them and also builds endurance and stamina.
It helps to increase your level of energy. . ? Carrying tension in your body takes an enormous toll on your energy reserves. By learning how to relax through your yoga practice, you benefit by enjoying higher levels of energy so you can more thoroughly enjoy your daily activities.
Yoga helps promote a sense of relaxation. ? Most people breathe high in their chests. This not only does not allow them to get sufficient oxygen, it also triggers the stress response, which contributes to feelings of anxiety. Breathing deeply as practiced in yoga, helps relax your muscles and also brings much needed oxygen to your cells. The deep sense of relaxation also leads to better quality sleep.
Each yoga practice ends with some type of relaxation. Since your body and mind are one, by relaxing your body you also relax your mind. Many yoga experts believe that a relaxation pose is the most beneficial pose in any yoga practice.
Another benefit of yoga is mental.
Yoga clears your mind and helps you focus your attention. ? During your practice, you are focusing your attention on your breath and turning inward. This concentration allows you to withdraw from the distractions in your environment. A significant benefit of yoga practice is that you can take this ability to focus your attention into every aspect of your life. You can be fully present with whatever you are doing instead of worrying about tomorrow or regretting yesterday. Not only will your actions be more productive, you can also enjoy them in a greater way.
Yoga helps reduces stress. - Deep breathing helps reduce the hormones that are released when you are feeling overwhelmed, overloaded, and frazzled. The internal focus that accompanies the poses helps create a relaxation response in your body.
Yoga can help release stuck emotions. ? Often stuck emotions find their way into our bodies. Remember, your mind and body are one, and if you are suppressing any painful emotions, you will often experience that as pain in some part of your body. A benefit of yoga is that by breathing deeply into places in your body that hold tension, you can help release the emotions that may be buried there. You can then examine these emotions and let go of those that do not serve you.
Also, as you take your body past the limits of where it has been, you start to feel that you can move past other limitations in your life as well.
You gain a sense of peace and tranquility. - Most yoga practices include some time for meditation. Regular meditation helps your mind reach a state of inner calm. It helps you gain control over your thinking instead of being at the mercy of wayward thoughts.
As you can see, the benefit of yoga has far reaching effects in every area of your life. Maintain a regular yoga practice, and you will see for yourself, how yoga can benefit you too.
Della Menechella is a yoga and fitness enthusiast who has been involved in fitness for over thirty years. Here website http://www.beauty-fitness-yoga-source.com/ is filled with practical information about how you can make yoga and fitness a positive part of your life.
A major benefit of yoga is physical.
Yoga improves your flexibility. ? The stretching that you engage in during every practice helps lengthen and stretch muscles, which helps reduce the risk of injuries.
It helps to improve your balance. ? The majority of yoga practices include some type of balancing in the poses. A significant number of people, especially as they began to get older, start to have problems with balance, which can lead to major injuries due to falls. By having a greater sense of balance, you are able to move more easily and safely.
Yoga can help reduce pain. - Tense muscles often contribute to pain. Relaxing muscles helps to minimize muscle tension and the pain that is associated with it. Also, breathing deeply into muscles helps lessen pain by altering your perception of it.
It tones your muscles. ? Yoga works all the muscles in your body. It helps strengthen and tone them and also builds endurance and stamina.
It helps to increase your level of energy. . ? Carrying tension in your body takes an enormous toll on your energy reserves. By learning how to relax through your yoga practice, you benefit by enjoying higher levels of energy so you can more thoroughly enjoy your daily activities.
Yoga helps promote a sense of relaxation. ? Most people breathe high in their chests. This not only does not allow them to get sufficient oxygen, it also triggers the stress response, which contributes to feelings of anxiety. Breathing deeply as practiced in yoga, helps relax your muscles and also brings much needed oxygen to your cells. The deep sense of relaxation also leads to better quality sleep.
Each yoga practice ends with some type of relaxation. Since your body and mind are one, by relaxing your body you also relax your mind. Many yoga experts believe that a relaxation pose is the most beneficial pose in any yoga practice.
Another benefit of yoga is mental.
Yoga clears your mind and helps you focus your attention. ? During your practice, you are focusing your attention on your breath and turning inward. This concentration allows you to withdraw from the distractions in your environment. A significant benefit of yoga practice is that you can take this ability to focus your attention into every aspect of your life. You can be fully present with whatever you are doing instead of worrying about tomorrow or regretting yesterday. Not only will your actions be more productive, you can also enjoy them in a greater way.
Yoga helps reduces stress. - Deep breathing helps reduce the hormones that are released when you are feeling overwhelmed, overloaded, and frazzled. The internal focus that accompanies the poses helps create a relaxation response in your body.
Yoga can help release stuck emotions. ? Often stuck emotions find their way into our bodies. Remember, your mind and body are one, and if you are suppressing any painful emotions, you will often experience that as pain in some part of your body. A benefit of yoga is that by breathing deeply into places in your body that hold tension, you can help release the emotions that may be buried there. You can then examine these emotions and let go of those that do not serve you.
Also, as you take your body past the limits of where it has been, you start to feel that you can move past other limitations in your life as well.
You gain a sense of peace and tranquility. - Most yoga practices include some time for meditation. Regular meditation helps your mind reach a state of inner calm. It helps you gain control over your thinking instead of being at the mercy of wayward thoughts.
As you can see, the benefit of yoga has far reaching effects in every area of your life. Maintain a regular yoga practice, and you will see for yourself, how yoga can benefit you too.
Della Menechella is a yoga and fitness enthusiast who has been involved in fitness for over thirty years. Here website http://www.beauty-fitness-yoga-source.com/ is filled with practical information about how you can make yoga and fitness a positive part of your life.
February 21, 2009
Sitting Fit for Everyone
Public enemy #1 for our bodies….the simple chair. Or is it how we use chairs that’s the problem?
When I was a kid, my Dad asked me if I could design a chair for people whose knees bent backwards. I’m still working on that one. But since I began doing yoga, I’ve been working on designing a practice for those of us whose knees bend forward many hours a day. What do we do with bodies that ache because we sit, and sit, and sit? We’re a society of “chair people.” We sit for meals, sit for classes, sit in the car, sit at a desk, sit in meetings and movies. We sit to talk on the telephone and watch TV, sit at computers, on planes, on trains, in waiting rooms. Some of us sit due to accident or illness, weakness, or job requirements. Some of us sit because we just have a lazy life style. Do you ever feel that your life has become a series of transitions from one seated location to another?
I don’t think our bodies were meant to live that way! Most chairs aren’t designed to support our bodies with healthy posture. They cause us to slump, curve our spines, push our heads forward or lean us back onto our tailbones. The worst back problem I ever had came after sitting in a seminar room for three days of lectures.
Inactivity can cause stiffness, backache, weakness, constipation, poor circulation, mental dullness, nervousness, cramps, and degeneration. Depressing thoughts. Whatever the reason and wherever you sit, its possible to begin to become fit, even while sitting in your chair.
Yoga, the 5000 year old gift of body/mind balance, can be adapted to a seated stretching program that can counteract the inevitable results of too much sitting. Body awareness, better posture, relief from aches and pains, as well as increased flexibility and strengthening, and a deep sense of relaxation can be achieved right where you are….are you sitting down?
Although a consistent yoga program of standing, balancing, lying poses, and inversions is a more complete practice, yoga need not be relegated to the yoga studio or health club. The time commitment of hours per week can sometimes be difficult to fit in to a busy schedule. Doing a pose or two hourly throughout the day can give you some of the benefits of a yoga practice and help relieve the results of sitting too much. In fact, small efforts while sitting in various daily situations, can contribute greatly to our strength, flexibility, relaxation, increased circulation, stronger respiration, and clarity of mind. Yoga poses adapted to small bites may not have the same intensity as a full yoga class, but the benefits of yoga are readily available to those who nibble on yoga throughout the day.
Those who are physically challenged due to age, illness, or who just can’t do poses on the floor, need not miss out on the many benefits of yoga. Invalids, those confined to wheelchairs or recovering from injury, with their physician’s approval, can benefit from their own adaptation of the breathing and gentle seated poses. Seated yoga can build the strength and flexibility, needed to progress to more and more challenging poses. Breathing, stretching and strengthening can be introduced at a slow pace, gently bringing bodies to new levels of fitness, increasing circulation and bringing in healing “life force” energy.
“Sitting Fit” benefits all of us, regardless of our physical condition. Sitting needs to be balanced with moving, breathing and stretching, so try some of these simple poses for a “mini yoga break.” You’ll feel the difference and return your attention to your work refreshed, more relaxed and with a clearer mind.
Sitting Fit Can Be Done in a Chair … Anytime, Anywhere
Breathing Sit up straight on the edge of your chair, feet flat on the floor directly below your knees. Let your hands rest on your thighs. Take a long, deep breath, and exhale completely. Inhale deeply again, reaching for the ceiling with the crown of your head, lengthening your spine. Continue breathing with full deep inhalations and complete exhalations for 10 to 20 breaths.
As you exhale, slide your shoulder blades down your back, dropping your shoulders away from your ears as you reach through your finger tips. Keep breathing deeply for 3 to 5 breaths. Exhale as you lower your arms.
Shoulder shrugs Inhaling, bring your shoulders up tightly toward your ears. Roll your shoulders back, pressing your shoulder blades tightly together. Exhale as you press your shoulders down toward the floor. Inhaling again, bring your shoulders up again, roll them back and press your shoulder blades together, and release down. Repeat several times and don’t forget to breathe!
Forward Fold Still sitting on the edge of your chair with your feet hip width apart, inhale as you bring your arms out to your sides. Reach forward with your chin as you rotate from your hips, exhaling as you bring your chest toward your thighs. Keep your back flat. With your next exhalation, allow your self to relax, chest on your thighs, arms and head dangling, relaxed. Take 3 to 5 deep, full, relaxing breaths. Inhale as you sit up slowly with a flat back.
Knee Raises Sitting up straight, inhaling as you raise your right knee up in front of you. Grasp your leg in front of your knee with both hands. Keep your back flat as you exhale and draw your knee in toward your chest. Hold it there for 3 to 5 breaths. Release as you exhale. Repeat with your left leg.
Susan Winter Ward, internationally recognized yoga instructor, author, and video producer, is the creator of Yoga for the Young at Heart?, a multimedia publisher which publishes an informative and inspiring collection of CDRoms, videos, audio tapes, books and television programs, as well as exciting vacation retreats. Her product line is available at: Yoga for the Young at Heart
When I was a kid, my Dad asked me if I could design a chair for people whose knees bent backwards. I’m still working on that one. But since I began doing yoga, I’ve been working on designing a practice for those of us whose knees bend forward many hours a day. What do we do with bodies that ache because we sit, and sit, and sit? We’re a society of “chair people.” We sit for meals, sit for classes, sit in the car, sit at a desk, sit in meetings and movies. We sit to talk on the telephone and watch TV, sit at computers, on planes, on trains, in waiting rooms. Some of us sit due to accident or illness, weakness, or job requirements. Some of us sit because we just have a lazy life style. Do you ever feel that your life has become a series of transitions from one seated location to another?
I don’t think our bodies were meant to live that way! Most chairs aren’t designed to support our bodies with healthy posture. They cause us to slump, curve our spines, push our heads forward or lean us back onto our tailbones. The worst back problem I ever had came after sitting in a seminar room for three days of lectures.
Inactivity can cause stiffness, backache, weakness, constipation, poor circulation, mental dullness, nervousness, cramps, and degeneration. Depressing thoughts. Whatever the reason and wherever you sit, its possible to begin to become fit, even while sitting in your chair.
Yoga, the 5000 year old gift of body/mind balance, can be adapted to a seated stretching program that can counteract the inevitable results of too much sitting. Body awareness, better posture, relief from aches and pains, as well as increased flexibility and strengthening, and a deep sense of relaxation can be achieved right where you are….are you sitting down?
Although a consistent yoga program of standing, balancing, lying poses, and inversions is a more complete practice, yoga need not be relegated to the yoga studio or health club. The time commitment of hours per week can sometimes be difficult to fit in to a busy schedule. Doing a pose or two hourly throughout the day can give you some of the benefits of a yoga practice and help relieve the results of sitting too much. In fact, small efforts while sitting in various daily situations, can contribute greatly to our strength, flexibility, relaxation, increased circulation, stronger respiration, and clarity of mind. Yoga poses adapted to small bites may not have the same intensity as a full yoga class, but the benefits of yoga are readily available to those who nibble on yoga throughout the day.
Those who are physically challenged due to age, illness, or who just can’t do poses on the floor, need not miss out on the many benefits of yoga. Invalids, those confined to wheelchairs or recovering from injury, with their physician’s approval, can benefit from their own adaptation of the breathing and gentle seated poses. Seated yoga can build the strength and flexibility, needed to progress to more and more challenging poses. Breathing, stretching and strengthening can be introduced at a slow pace, gently bringing bodies to new levels of fitness, increasing circulation and bringing in healing “life force” energy.
“Sitting Fit” benefits all of us, regardless of our physical condition. Sitting needs to be balanced with moving, breathing and stretching, so try some of these simple poses for a “mini yoga break.” You’ll feel the difference and return your attention to your work refreshed, more relaxed and with a clearer mind.
Sitting Fit Can Be Done in a Chair … Anytime, Anywhere
Breathing Sit up straight on the edge of your chair, feet flat on the floor directly below your knees. Let your hands rest on your thighs. Take a long, deep breath, and exhale completely. Inhale deeply again, reaching for the ceiling with the crown of your head, lengthening your spine. Continue breathing with full deep inhalations and complete exhalations for 10 to 20 breaths.
As you exhale, slide your shoulder blades down your back, dropping your shoulders away from your ears as you reach through your finger tips. Keep breathing deeply for 3 to 5 breaths. Exhale as you lower your arms.
Shoulder shrugs Inhaling, bring your shoulders up tightly toward your ears. Roll your shoulders back, pressing your shoulder blades tightly together. Exhale as you press your shoulders down toward the floor. Inhaling again, bring your shoulders up again, roll them back and press your shoulder blades together, and release down. Repeat several times and don’t forget to breathe!
Forward Fold Still sitting on the edge of your chair with your feet hip width apart, inhale as you bring your arms out to your sides. Reach forward with your chin as you rotate from your hips, exhaling as you bring your chest toward your thighs. Keep your back flat. With your next exhalation, allow your self to relax, chest on your thighs, arms and head dangling, relaxed. Take 3 to 5 deep, full, relaxing breaths. Inhale as you sit up slowly with a flat back.
Knee Raises Sitting up straight, inhaling as you raise your right knee up in front of you. Grasp your leg in front of your knee with both hands. Keep your back flat as you exhale and draw your knee in toward your chest. Hold it there for 3 to 5 breaths. Release as you exhale. Repeat with your left leg.
Susan Winter Ward, internationally recognized yoga instructor, author, and video producer, is the creator of Yoga for the Young at Heart?, a multimedia publisher which publishes an informative and inspiring collection of CDRoms, videos, audio tapes, books and television programs, as well as exciting vacation retreats. Her product line is available at: Yoga for the Young at Heart
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