If you would like to really put your daily fitness routine in overdrive and get better results than you ever have in the past, you really should consider adding yoga exercises into your home fitness workouts. Aerobic exercise is great for burning calories, and strength training works very well for strengthening your muscle groups. But yoga goes far beyond either of those forms of exercise and can benefit you both physically and mentally. Let’s see how.
Physical Benefits
1. Flexibility — strength training helps improve muscle mass but it does very little to improve muscle flexibility. And studies have shown that short powerful muscles are prone to injury. So one of the major benefits of yoga exercises is the prolonged stretching found in many of the yoga positions and poses.
2. Balance — especially as we get older balance becomes more critical. It also allows you to move more easily and comfortably. Most yoga positions stress some form of balance in order to maintain the position.
3. Energy level — higher levels of energy often come through higher levels of relaxation in the body. Tension on the other hand is an energy killer. Yoga exercises help lower stress and tension and and improve oxygen flow in the blood. All of that helps lead to a higher energy level.
4. Pain management — many people today suffer with chronic pain, often in their back. Much muscle pain has its roots in tension. If you can get your muscles to relax, often the pain can even disappear. This is another great benefit of the relaxation techniques found in yoga.
Mental Benefits
1. Through the yoga positions and breathing exercises you are helped to focus inward rather than on the outward distractions of your life. This introspection can help clear your mind and focus your attention on the more important things in your life.
2. Stress levels can be greatly reduced by a regular yoga exercise routine. As was already mentioned, many yoga poses and breathing techniques encourage extreme relaxation of body and mind. This can help you let go of daily stress and it’s damaging influences.
3. Yoga can help promote a feeling of inner peace and tranquility because many yoga practices encourage time for meditation, which helps you gain control over your own thinking instead of being at the mercy of negative thoughts.
As you can see, there are lots of very good reasons for including yoga exercises in your daily fitness routine. Why not start learning more about yoga right away, and put it to work for you?
Thad Pickering writes on many consumer related topics including fitness. You can find free yoga exercises and free yoga poses by visiting our Home Fitness website.
Showing posts with label Fitness Routine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fitness Routine. Show all posts
February 26, 2009
February 25, 2009
The Top Five Benefits of Yoga Exercise
Yoga has been practiced by people the world over for many centuries, and it is still very popular today. Many people use it to strengthen the mind, body and spirit connection. There are actually several forms of yoga, and a seemingly infinite array of poses and postures that can be used. But however you choose to make use of yoga exercise, here are the top five benefits of including yoga in your home fitness routine.
1. Yoga not only strengthens your muscles but also increases their flexibility. Many people today use weight training to help build larger more powerful muscles. However, short and powerful muscles can be prone to injury. And flexibility is often ignored in many workout routines. Yoga can help round out your workout schedule, not only strengthening the muscles of your body but also making them flexible enough to protect you from injury as you exercise.
2. Yoga also helps increase your energy level. There is an emphasis on increasing the oxygen level in your blood while doing yoga exercises, and that in turn leads to a more energetic overall feeling. And because of the increased flexibility that yoga brings, there is a tendency to move more anyway because there is a wider range of free movement available in the body. And staying active also leads to higher energy levels as well.
3. Yoga also stimulates endocrine gland function by utilizing twisting and bending poses that activate the endocrine system and helps normalize sluggish glands.
4. One of the most popular benefits of yoga exercises is that it not only strengthens and improves your physical condition, but also helps relieve stress and tension to improve your mental outlook too. Today’s society is fast-paced and hectic, and this can take its toll on one both physically and mentally. Yoga recognizes this, and many of the slow stretching movements and deep breathing that is part of most yoga exercises help clear your mind of the cares of the day and focus it on positive things instead.
5. Closely related to your mood and mental outlook are other psychological benefits of using yoga. Very often we carry negative messages and feelings inside, and the practice of yoga helps a person better tune into the person that they are inside, increasing self awareness and self esteem.
There are lots of other advantages and benefits of adding yoga exercise into your fitness workouts, including the fact that it is both inexpensive and relatively easy to do. You may find by incorporating yoga into your daily routine, that even more benefits become readily apparent. This is fine because yoga is a deeply personal experience. It is not necessarily the same for each person who practices it. But hopefully the benefits of yoga exercise that we have covered in this article will help convince you that it should be a major part of your daily fitness routine from now on.
Thad Pickering writes on many consumer related topics including fitness. You can find free yoga exercises and free yoga poses by visiting our Home Fitness website.
1. Yoga not only strengthens your muscles but also increases their flexibility. Many people today use weight training to help build larger more powerful muscles. However, short and powerful muscles can be prone to injury. And flexibility is often ignored in many workout routines. Yoga can help round out your workout schedule, not only strengthening the muscles of your body but also making them flexible enough to protect you from injury as you exercise.
2. Yoga also helps increase your energy level. There is an emphasis on increasing the oxygen level in your blood while doing yoga exercises, and that in turn leads to a more energetic overall feeling. And because of the increased flexibility that yoga brings, there is a tendency to move more anyway because there is a wider range of free movement available in the body. And staying active also leads to higher energy levels as well.
3. Yoga also stimulates endocrine gland function by utilizing twisting and bending poses that activate the endocrine system and helps normalize sluggish glands.
4. One of the most popular benefits of yoga exercises is that it not only strengthens and improves your physical condition, but also helps relieve stress and tension to improve your mental outlook too. Today’s society is fast-paced and hectic, and this can take its toll on one both physically and mentally. Yoga recognizes this, and many of the slow stretching movements and deep breathing that is part of most yoga exercises help clear your mind of the cares of the day and focus it on positive things instead.
5. Closely related to your mood and mental outlook are other psychological benefits of using yoga. Very often we carry negative messages and feelings inside, and the practice of yoga helps a person better tune into the person that they are inside, increasing self awareness and self esteem.
There are lots of other advantages and benefits of adding yoga exercise into your fitness workouts, including the fact that it is both inexpensive and relatively easy to do. You may find by incorporating yoga into your daily routine, that even more benefits become readily apparent. This is fine because yoga is a deeply personal experience. It is not necessarily the same for each person who practices it. But hopefully the benefits of yoga exercise that we have covered in this article will help convince you that it should be a major part of your daily fitness routine from now on.
Thad Pickering writes on many consumer related topics including fitness. You can find free yoga exercises and free yoga poses by visiting our Home Fitness website.
February 23, 2009
Healthy Habits Last a Lifetime
Starting a family fitness routine is a great way to set up your kids with a lifetime love of fitness and exercise, not to mention that it?s good for your health and waistline as well. Although most of us know the importance of exercise and physical fitness, life often gets in the way and exercise is often the last thing on your mind.
However, it doesn?t have to be difficult to get your family up and moving. Here are a few tips and ideas to help you start your family fitness routine.
If you have young children often visiting the local playground is enough to get them active and moving. Activities such as monkey bars and playing tag develop a child?s strength, speed and agility; things like biking and rollerblading are great aerobic exercises. Parents may also want to consider a ?Mommy and Me? class to get the two of you moving together ? and provide some bonding time as well!
As your child ages and becomes a teenager, the tendency to be even more sedentary exists. Encourage your child to participate in team sports, but allow him or her to choose what activities to participate in. If your teen is self-conscious about participating in team sports, encourage them to work out with exercise videos. Parents may also want to make rules about how many hours per day their children can watch television, use the computer, or play video games.
Parents also need to be aware that your children will follow your lead. Try making small changes to your own routine like taking the stairs at work instead of the elevator, or getting outside on your lunch hour and taking a brisk walk. At home, plan activities that the entire family can do together instead of sitting in front of the television.
Family activities don?t have to be limited to conventional team sports like basketball or football: expand your horizons! Try things like soccer, going for a hike, or rollerblading. Consider having a family ?game night? and play a game of Twister! Games like ?Capture the Flag? or ?Duck, Duck, Goose!? are fun and easy to involve the kids in. Don?t be afraid of acting silly Mom!
Get up, get moving, get outside and have fun with your kids! Not only will you be teaching them powerful lessons about the importance of physical activity, you?ll reap health benefits yourself, and strengthen your bonds with your kids.
Need help with your child?s fitness? Grab your kid fitness tips, nutrition articles and fun kid exercise ideas ? Free Kid Fitness Tips
However, it doesn?t have to be difficult to get your family up and moving. Here are a few tips and ideas to help you start your family fitness routine.
If you have young children often visiting the local playground is enough to get them active and moving. Activities such as monkey bars and playing tag develop a child?s strength, speed and agility; things like biking and rollerblading are great aerobic exercises. Parents may also want to consider a ?Mommy and Me? class to get the two of you moving together ? and provide some bonding time as well!
As your child ages and becomes a teenager, the tendency to be even more sedentary exists. Encourage your child to participate in team sports, but allow him or her to choose what activities to participate in. If your teen is self-conscious about participating in team sports, encourage them to work out with exercise videos. Parents may also want to make rules about how many hours per day their children can watch television, use the computer, or play video games.
Parents also need to be aware that your children will follow your lead. Try making small changes to your own routine like taking the stairs at work instead of the elevator, or getting outside on your lunch hour and taking a brisk walk. At home, plan activities that the entire family can do together instead of sitting in front of the television.
Family activities don?t have to be limited to conventional team sports like basketball or football: expand your horizons! Try things like soccer, going for a hike, or rollerblading. Consider having a family ?game night? and play a game of Twister! Games like ?Capture the Flag? or ?Duck, Duck, Goose!? are fun and easy to involve the kids in. Don?t be afraid of acting silly Mom!
Get up, get moving, get outside and have fun with your kids! Not only will you be teaching them powerful lessons about the importance of physical activity, you?ll reap health benefits yourself, and strengthen your bonds with your kids.
Need help with your child?s fitness? Grab your kid fitness tips, nutrition articles and fun kid exercise ideas ? Free Kid Fitness Tips
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
