Warm-up Exercises in Yoga

Yoga is a Sanskrit word meaning union or joining. Yoga exercises basically comprises of Asanas. Yoga not only helps in maintaining the physical essence of our body but also keeps us mentally strong. Everyone knows how important warm-up is for any kind of exercises and so is the case with yoga. Yoga exercises comprises of a special set of warm-up exercises. Let us see what are the different types and how can we perform these warm-up yoga exercises. Essentially, there are five major types of warm-up yoga exercise. 

• Eye exercises
• Neck exercises
• Shoulder stretches
• Shoulder lifts and
• Cat pose (Bidalasana)
  

How to perform eye exercise


Very few forms of exercises would ask you to do something about eyes. As like other muscles, eye muscles also require exercise to stay strong and healthy. Though being one of the most sensitive parts of our body, we neglect to take care of our eyes. However, yoga exercises include a small but essential workout for our eyes. This exercise can be performed anywhere and at any time (even in the office or kitchen). To start with the exercise, you can look up and then look down. Start moving your eyes far right and then to far left. Also, try looking at the bottom right side and then diagonally to the left upward side. You can also take the help of a large round clock and start rotating your eyes clockwise and anti-clockwise.


How to perform neck exercise


Neck exercises are beneficial for relieving tension, increasing flexibility and toning up the muscles of shoulders and neck region. Keep a note that your spine is straight while performing the exercise. To start with the neck exercise, bend your head forward till the chin meets the chest and drop it backward. Now, keep your head erect and start turning it to right, taking back to center and again turning it to left. Another method includes rolling out the head in as wide circle as possible. Raising your shoulder and dropping it down is another good way of performing neck exercises. 


Once you are done with one kind of exercise, repeat it by changing the sides. It shall also be remembered that the exercises must be performed slowly to avoid any future complications.


How to perform shoulder lift


This form of exercise is again beneficial for the ones who hold tension in their necks and shoulders. As a result, person becomes prone to stiffness, bad posture and tension headaches. Shoulder lift can be performed in following way:

• Keep your spine straight and neck relaxed.
• Slowly raise your right shoulder and drop it down.
• Do the same procedure with the left shoulder.
• Now, raise both the shoulders and drop them down.
  

How to perform shoulder stretches


Shoulder stretch exercise helps in relieving stress and tension from your shoulders and the entire upper back. Sit in any comfortable erect position while performing the exercise. Hold the strap with the hands keeping them far apart. Now, straighten your arms forward. While inhaling, move your arms up until they are overhead. During exhaling, bring them down behind you. While performing this act, try to coordinate the movements with breathing. 


How to perform cat pose (Bidalasana)


Cat pose has number of benefits such as stimulating spinal fluid and the digestive tract, improving circulation and relieving stress. To perform cat pose, you need sit in a proper position (the way cat sits) and maintain the coordination with breathing. While inhaling, lift your back upside and while exhaling take your abdomen towards the bottom side. It is highly advised to seek help from a yoga practitioner before performing the exercise. This exercise may not be suitable for pregnant woman and hence shall be avoided.

Weight loss with yoga

Therapies to lose weight and advance your energy are available in yoga. They are color therapy, stress reduction, aroma therapy, cellulite treatments, breathing techniques, simple yoga poses, meditation technics.they also help in motivating your metabolism. 

With the help of different asanas yoga reduces excess fat reducing obesity. Some asanas inspire exhausted glands for increase in hormonal secretions. As thyroid gland affects body metabolism, it has great influence on your weight. Shoulder stand and fish posture like asanas increase fat metabolism. They convert fat to muscle energy. This leads you to a better muscle tone and energy without loss of fats. 


How yoga helps to lose the weight


Yoga exercises improve working of our lungs and breathing makes you fresh and active. So the inactivity or laziness caused by obesity is reduced in these cases. You never get strain after practicing yoga exercises. Many exercises involve part of spin, limb chest, and abdomen. So body gets activated with energy. 


Oxygen intake into body cells including fat cells is increased when you perform yoga deep breath and these results in fat cells burning. Yoga reduces anxiety and it results into minimizing anxious eating. In tense mood we take our food without joy and containment. As a result we eat more. Yoga keeps us calm and cool. 


Yoga helps in preventing eating between the meals. With charismas of yoga power if you are underweight, you will gain the weight. If you are overweight, you can reduce weight and if you have balanced weight, you can maintain it forever. 


Specific spot reduction is not practiced in yoga. There are more than 70 postures in yoga, which help in weight loss. Back bends twisting positions, inversions, forward bends are popular moves for weight loss. Endocrine system of body greatly inspired with these moves. 


Asanas 


Sun salutations, standing poses, camel pose, shoulder stand, bridge, tree pose, angle pose, triangle pose, hero pose I and II, locust pose, cobra pose, camel pose, aero plane pose, wind releasing pose, child pose (sitting), spinal twists (sitting & dynamic poses), cat pose dhanurasana, rabbit and plow poses are the exercises if done in an order inspire body metabolism on a large scale. However, they should be performed carefully and slowly. For overweight people these moves may be difficult. 


Diet


You should practice healthy diet and regular lifestyle to get more and more benefits from yoga. Yoga diet is fiber rich and contains more vegetables, whole grains and legumes. Weight loss diet in yoga is low in fats, animal proteins and processed foods. Avoid alcohols and unhealthy products while practicing yoga for fitness. Have a sense of positive self action and respect to be healthy mentally. 


Benefits 

Yoga has gradual weight loss. It gives uniform toning of your body. It reduces your weight naturally. It has body cleansing methods as follows:

• Kapalbhati (a breathing technique type)
• Basti, (colon cleaning)
• Baghi (tiger exercise)
• Nasal cleaning
• Kunjal kriya (for stomach wash and cleaning)
  

Yoga in a proper manner reduces your weight without any side effects. Experience it and have perfect body with natural beauty and best health.

Seated Poses in Yoga

Yoga and seating poses 

Yoga is a proven science for attaining the physical as well as mental fitness. Through its simple and easy methods, yoga empowers the mind to stabilize and develop the various skills. Yoga also promises to give a flexible, strong and subtle body to keep the various disorders away from a healthy body. However, one must try to get the knowledge of performing yoga exercises correctly from a trained practitioner. Yoga exercises basically include different types of asanas or poses. If the asanas are not followed correctly, it may create problems. Therefore, one must be careful while performing the simple asanas of yoga. There are number of poses under yoga exercises, out of which, seating poses are one of the easiest one to carry out.


The real essence of yoga is to provide the optimum health and growth of the body through easy asanas. One of the most fascinating factors about the yoga is that it does not require any instrument to perform the exercises. Seating poses of yoga is basically performed while meditating. Some of them are also performed for their therapeutic effects. Let us learn some of the seated poses in yoga.


Easy pose (Sukhasana) 

Sukhasana is one of the classic meditative poses, performed usually after the corpse pose. This exercise helps in promoting inner tranquility, slowing down metabolism, straightening the spine and keeping the mind still. This pose is probably the easiest pose in yoga. However, the exercise must be carried out in a right way to get the maximum benefits. The right procedure of doing Sukhasana is as follows: 

• Sit down on the ground.
• Cross your legs with feet placing below the knees.
• Clasp your hand around the knees.
• Keep your head and body straight.

Try to perform this exercise in calm atmosphere.

Spread leg forward fold (Upavista Konasana) 


Upavista Konasana offers a calming and energizing activity by stretching the hamstrings and adductors. This exercise is especially helpful for women for getting relief and benefits during their menstruation period. In men, Upavista Konasana helps in reducing the sciatic pain. Let us learn the correct way of performing this exercise. 

• Sit on the ground with your legs spread wide.
• Place one hand in front and one hand on the floor behind you. Lift your hips and scoot forward till you feel comfortable.
• Pull the buttock flesh backward so that the sitting bones can merge with the floor.
• Sit tall. Turn the legs in or out until the kneecaps face the ceiling and the inner edges of your feet are vertical. Keep the back of each thigh firm, extend the heels away from you and spread your toes and press outward through the ball of each foot.
• Align your torso and elongate your core. Bring your lower back forward so that the spine is erected. Lift your chest upward away from the pelvis. Move the shoulders backward, tugging gently downward with the shoulder blades and bring the navel backward toward the spine. Bring your hands in prayer position.
• Lean forward and place your hands on the ground. Keep your hands shoulder-width apart and the fingers spread. Snuggle your palms into the floor and wriggle the buttock backward and position yourself on the frontal edge of the sitting bones. 
  
  This exercise is little difficult to perform and must be performed after taking proper knowledge from the yoga practitioner. Consult your doctor before performing this exercise. Do not overstretch the body limits as it may lead to hurt legs, torso or hamstrings.
  
  

Pranava Mudra for Pranayama Yoga

Introduction 

Yoga is derived from a Sanskrit word 'Yuj' which means to join or unite. In simple words, yoga is a way to unite our body, mind and soul. There are numerous asanas or poses in yoga. Pranayama is one of the special and distinct branches of yoga. The sole meaning of pranayama is breathing exercises. Pranayama includes number of asanas which are related to breathing exercises. Pranayama is a Sanskrit word which means pause in the movement. Pranayama is a combined form of two words, prana meaning breath and ayama meaning exercise. Western countries believe and focus in deep breathing whereas pranayamas believe in controlled breathing practices. To proceed further, one must understand the meaning of prana and yama. Prana translates into 'life force energy' while yama translates into 'control or mastery of'. Hence, in totality pranayama is used to control, cultivate and modify the prana in the body. 


Pranayama exercises are essentially related to breathing exercises. The breathing process is composed of two main activities, inhaling and exhaling. In yogic term, inhalation is termed as Puraka and exhalation as rechaka. Through practicing breathing exercises, we can attain a healthy body as well as healthy mind. Pranava Mudra is one of the important asanas in pranayama. Let us explore about this important asana in yoga.


How to perform Pranava Mudra? 

Though Pranava Mudra seems easy to perform, but in reality you need to practice to achieve the correct way of doing it. The correct way of performing Pranava Mudra is as follows:

• Curve the first two fingers of the right hand palm and keep the last two fingers straight and together.
  
• Straighten the thumb and bend the right hand in the elbow. Place the curved fingers in such a way that they lie near the lips.
• Keep the right hand thumb on the right side of the nose and the last two fingers on the left side of the nose.
• By pressing either the thumb or the last two fingers, you can close the nasal activity of the respective sides.
• Remember that the pressure should be light and on just below the nasal bone, where the fleshy part begins. It must also be remembered to allow the movement of either thumb or last two fingers.

Movements of other parts must be avoided completely. To ease the cycle of inhaling and exhaling, six supplementary types are laid down. While practicing, you are advised to sit on padmasana, vajrasana or swastikasana. After sitting on either of this asanas, keep your left hand in dhyana Mudra and the right hand in Pranava Mudra. Close the eyes and concentrate entirely on breathing process. Let us also learn the six supplementary exercises to ease the breathing technique.

• Inhale and exhale with the nasal passages open. Try to increase the speed of breathing, keeping the body limits comfortable.
• Close the right nostril and try to exhale and inhale with left nostril. This is also called as quick breathing with the left nostril.
• Try doing the quick breathing with the right nostril.
• Alternately, try inhaling with right and left nostrils.
• Now, alter the exhalation with right and left nostrils.
• In the last type, exhale with the right nostril and inhale with the left nostril. Change the process of exhaling and inhaling with the right and left nostrils.

Kapalabhati Pranayama

Yoga is a group of ancient spiritual practices possibly originating in India around 3300 BCE for the purpose of cultivating a steady mind. A practitioner of Yoga is called a Yogi or Yogini (female) .Yoga is derived from a Sanskrit word 'Yuj' which means to join or unite. In simple words, yoga is a way to unite the body, mind and soul. Yoga exercises basically comprise of a number of asanas to achieve the union of the body, mind and soul. These asanas are nothing but the practice of physical postures or poses that help our body in attaining a healthy level. Moreover, almost every yoga exercise includes stretching. However, there is much more to yoga than this.. Through yoga practices, we can develop strength and flexibility. It also helps our body to create a balance by stretching in various ways. The most fascinating thing about yoga is that it can be performed by any individual. 

There are numerous asanas or poses in yoga. Pranayama is a distinct branch that includes a number of asanas which are related to breathing exercises. Pranayama is a Sanskrit word meaning 'lengthening of the prana or breath'. In fact, Pranayama is a combination of two words, prana meaning breath and ayama meaning exercise. Western countries believe and focus on deep breathing whereas pranayamas believe in controlled breathing practices. To proceed further, one must understand the meaning of prana and yama. Prana translates into 'life force energy' while yama translates into 'control or mastery of'. Hence, in totality pranayama is used to control, cultivate, and modify the prana in the body. 


Ujjayee, shitali, viloma and kapalabhati are some of the basic asanas in Pranayama. Let us learn something more about kapalabhati asana.


Kapalabhati Pranayama


Kapalabhati is a combination of two Sanskrit words, kapala meaning skull and bhati meaning light or luster. This exercise comes under breathing exercises that are done for cleansing. The breathing process is carried out through the abdomen and not through the chest. Kapalabhati exercise is essentially performed for clearing the nasal passage with the force of breath. In the initial days of performing the exercise, try only 3-5 cycles at a time and increase the number of cycles as you feel comfortable. Kapalabhati exercises helps in purification by eliminating carbon dioxide content and other impurities. This exercise is most suitable for people with asthma, smokers and sinusitis. This exercise is not recommended for people with eye problem, hypertension, hypotension, poor lung or weak constitution.


How to perform kapalabhati pranayama


The kapalabhati and bhastrika breathing techniques follow the same principle of clearing the nasal passages. However, bhastrika asana needs careful processing to avoid any tension that may be created in the breath. As compared to bhastrika, kapalabhati is easier and can be performed without any problem. The correct way of administering kapalabhati pranayama is as follows:

• Sit straight and comfortably in lotus pose or keeping the legs crossed. Exhale the breath from the lungs.
• Inhale slowly and relax the abdomen allowing the air to return gently to the lungs.
• Exhale with a quick and strong blast of air. Contract the abdominal muscles so that the diaphragm rises and force the air out of lungs.
• Repeat the blast for four to eight times.
• This completes one entire cycle of kapalabhati. Try to relax by taking few slow and deep breaths in between the cycles.

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Benefits of Meditation

Basics about Meditation 


Meditation is a technique through which we attain a still and relax mind by detaching ourselves from our everyday thoughts and emotions. The relaxation to the mind is achieved just by sitting quietly and concentrating on our breathing mechanism. Essentially there are two types of meditation, active and passive. Active meditation is related to our daily activities like working, eating, walking etc. Passive meditation requires time and a quiet place to perform meditation. Active meditation can not be started without mastering passive meditation. The purpose behind the passive meditation is to make the mind still and calm from the distracting thoughts and emotions. 


Meditation benefits for brain 


Meditation is found to offer some extraordinary outputs to our brain. Meditation not only helps in relaxing the body but also sharpens the functioning of our brain. It can also help people to relieve from conditions such as insomnia, stress, depression, anxiety, pain and emotional problems. As a matter of fact, meditation not only helps to prevent certain diseases but also contribute to the well-being of mind and body. Few things that you must know before starting to mediate are as follows.


Meditation is probably the easiest and most effective way of improving our brain. It has been proved that people who meditate regularly are more active and innovative. Meditation is an inexpensive way to achieve a healthy mind. Small exercises such as breathing exercise can prove beneficial to one who undergoes meditation. Meditation shall be performed in silent places to gain the ultimate benefits. Regular meditation will help you to relax your body by reducing the stress levels. 


Meditation and health benefits 


There are innumerable health benefits of meditation. When you perform meditation, you try to focus on some part of the body. As a result, this particular part of the body receives more oxygen and nutrients as the blood flow increases. Meditation is largely considered as a spiritual practice but it also provides many health benefits. Meditation is especially good for people with heart and cardiovascular disorders. It helps to increase the blood flow and slows the heart rate. With the help of meditation, people have also gained to bring their blood pressure back to normal. It also helps in producing serotonin which is associated with headaches, depression, obesity and insomnia. It has also been found that meditation helps in enhancing the immune system by increasing the activity of natural-killer cells. Some of the beneficial health aspects of meditation are:

• Lowers oxygen consumption.
• Decreases respiratory rate.
• Elevates the level of relaxation.
• Decreases muscle tension.
• Reduces the risk of getting diseases such as allergies, arthritis and heart problems.

Besides this, meditation helps in transformation of molecular and genetic structure, solving problems, and gaining better ecological understanding. By virtue of meditation, we can develop our skills and straighten the mind for completing various difficult tasks. Prominent sports personalities, actors, politicians, business personnel and elites of technological field have been practicing meditation. Thus, meditation can help us to walk on the road of healthy lifestyle.

Guidelines for Yoga

Understanding Yoga 

Yoga is derived from a Sanskrit word 'Yuj' which means to join or unite. In simple words, yoga is a way to unite our body, mind and soul. Yoga exercises basically comprise of number of asanas to achieve the union of body, mind and soul. These asanas are nothing but the practice of physical postures or poses that helps our body to attain a healthy level. Moreover, almost every yoga exercises include stretching; it does not mean that yoga is all about stretching. Through yoga practices, we can develop the strength and flexibility of the body. It also helps our body to create balance in the body by stretching in various ways. The most fascinating thing about yoga practice is that it can be performed by any individual. 


Yoga for everyone 


The real essence of yoga is that it can be performed by ages of all groups. Right from the kids to the senior people, yoga has everything for all. However, some exercises needs a proper guidance and some may not be able to perform typical yoga asanas. As the children's body is in developing stages, a separate set of yoga exercises have been prepared. Yoga exercises for children help them in many ways such as improving the mental and physical abilities and maintaining a healthy body free from illnesses and diseases. Some yoga exercises are specifically meant for women to cope up with the problems related to their periods, pregnancy other health aspects. Women usually complain about the back pain, arthritis, or weaknesses which occur after passing certain age (usually after 45 years of age). Yoga exercises can help them in overcoming weaknesses, reducing stress and increasing flexibility. Besides these, yoga also offers some curing effects to people with hypertension, obesity, diabetes, heart problems and respiratory disorders. With the regular practice of yoga exercises, one can achieve a life-long immunity from dreadful diseases. 


Guidelines for practicing yoga 

Although yoga is for everyone, it must be performed carefully and obediently. It is always advised to start practicing yoga only under trained yoga practitioner. It is because the correct procedure of doing yoga exercises can only be understood by taking guidelines from a trained person. Once you learn the exact way and technique of performing different set of exercises, you can pass on to your family members and relatives. It will not only give you the best benefits but would also help in communicating the correct ways of performing yoga to others. No matter whether you take classes or join an institute for yoga to learning yoga, some basic requirements remain the same. You are advised to follow the core basics of yoga which are as follows:

• There is no specific time for performing yoga exercises. However, morning hours are considered to be the best time for yoga as you will be free for rest of the day. The timings for yoga shall be strictly followed and shall not be change for any reason.
  
• Practice yoga exercises regularly. Taking pauses in yoga will not bring any satisfactory results. Practice at least 15 minutes daily, for 5 days a week. This time can be increased to 1 hour and more per day, once you gain the mastery.
• Practice yoga at neat and clean and natural surroundings. Try practicing yoga at the same place. It is always good to practice yoga alone.
• Do not attempt yoga exercises with a heavy stomach. If you have taken meal, wait for 2 hours or more. A yoga practitioner is also expected to avoid spicy and hot food.
• After finishing every asana, relax for 6 to 8 seconds and then proceed further.
• Keep your body neat and clean, without any strain or pain, while performing yoga. Always wear light and clean clothes while performing yoga.
• Women should not practice during their menstrual periods and shall avoid certain asanas during pregnancy.

Overview of Backbend Poses in Yoga

Exploring yoga 

Yoga is derived from a Sanskrit word 'Yuj' which means to join or unite. In simple words, yoga is a way to unite our body, mind and soul. Yoga exercises basically comprise of number of asanas to achieve the union of body, mind and soul. These asanas are nothing but the practice of physical postures or poses that helps our body to attain a healthy level. Moreover, almost every yoga exercises include stretching; it does not mean that yoga is all about stretching. Through yoga practices, we can develop the strength and flexibility of the body. It also helps our body to create balance in the body by stretching in various ways. The most fascinating thing about yoga practice is that it can be performed by any individual. 


Yoga exercises include number of asanas that falls in main categories such as warm-up poses, standing poses, supine poses, seated poses, backbend poses, finishing poses and so on. Backbend poses are one of important categories of yoga exercises. It includes exercises such as bow pose, wheel pose, locust pose, fish pose, dog pose, cobra pose and so on. Backbends are the special yoga asanas which improves your spinal flexibility and back strengthening. However, some of the exercises shall not be performed by the one who has chronic back pain or injury. Let us see some of the important poses in backbend category. 


Bow pose (Dhanurasana) 


As the name suggests, this asana resembles the archer's bow. It is well-known by the name of Dhanurasana. Bow pose helps in strengthening the back muscles, improves posture and provide a relieving effect from various gastrointestinal problems. However, this asana shall not be performed by person with neck or back injury. The correct way of performing Dhanurasana is as follows:

• Lie on the yoga mat with arms on your sides and palms facing upward.
• Bend your knees and bring them near the buttocks.
• Grasp your ankles with your arms and put the entire weight on the stomach and not on the pelvis.
• Raise your ankles further by pulling your ankles with your hands.  

Try to increase the stretching in the chest and the backward bend for a relaxed mind and body. Keep the breathing slow and regular.

Fish pose (Matsyasana) 


Matsyasana is a Hindi word for fish pose. This exercise shall be performed after the shoulder stand. Fish pose exercise helps in relieving the stiffness of your neck and shoulder muscles. Doing this exercise after the shoulder stand exercise offers benefits for thyroid and parathyroid glands. At least half the time spend for shoulder stand shall be given to accomplish fish pose in order to balance the stretch. Matsyasana also helps in expanding the rib cage fully, thereby increasing the lung capacity. The correct way of performing Matsyasana is as follows:

• Lie down on the ground. Keep the legs straight and feet together. Keep your hands, palms down, underneath your thighs.
• Pressing down on your elbows, inhale and arch your back. Keep the weight of your body on the elbows and top of your head on the floor and exhale. Take a deep breath and keep your legs and lower torso relaxed. While coming back in the resting position, place your head gently back and release the arms.

Overview of Basics of Pranayama Yoga

Yoga is a group of ancient spiritual practices possibly originating in India around 3300 BCE for the purpose of cultivating a steady mind. A practitioner of Yoga is called a Yogi or Yogini (female). Yoga is derived from a Sanskrit word 'Yuj' which means to join or unite. In simple English, yoga is a way to unite ones body, mind and soul. Yoga exercises basically comprise of a number of 'asanas' to achieve the union of the body, mind and soul. These asanas are nothing but the practice of physical postures or poses that help our body stay healthy. Moreover, almost every yoga exercise includes stretching. However there is a lot more to yoga besides this. Through yoga practices, our bodies can develop strength and flexibility. The stretching exercises in yoga also help our body improve its balance. The nicest thing about yoga is that it can be performed by anyone of any race, caste, creed, sex, or age. 

'Pranayama' is a distinct branch of yoga dealing with breathing exercises. 'Pranayama' is a Sanskrit word which means pause in movement. 'Pranayama' is actually two words, 'prana' meaning breath and 'yama' meaning exercise. Western countries believe and focus on deep breathing whereas 'Pranayamas' believe in controlled breathing practices. To proceed further, one must understand the meaning of 'prana' and 'yama'. 'Prana' translates into 'life force energy' while 'yama' translates into 'control or mastery of'. Hence, in totality pranayama is used to control, cultivate, and modify the 'prana' in the body.

Process of Pranayama

'Pranayama' is all about breathing correctly. As we increase the amount of air we inhale, we increase the intake of 'prana.' All the 'pranayama' exercises (except kapalabhati) are performed by breathing slowly and steadily. While performing this exercise, you must sit in a relaxed position with your back straight and upright. You also need to remove all worldly thoughts from your mind and concentrate on breathing. Only then, can you achieve the true benefits of 'pranayama.' 


The period of exhalation should be twice as long as the period of inhalation. Initially, you may start the breathing exercise without a full pause between inhalation and exhalation. As you gain mastery, try to pause and hold your breath in between; according to your comfort level. As you gain practice, you will reach a point where you can manage to take pauses equal to the exhalation, or double that of inhalation. A trained yoga practitioner can take pauses which could extend to four times the duration of inhalation and double the duration of exhalation. By doing this, you can alleviate some ailments, improve respiration, and increase oxygen supply to aid cellular respiration. 


The sole purpose of pranayama is to increase the flow of freshly oxygenated blood such that it reaches your neck muscles, throat, tongue, nose, ear, eyes and brain, and the sensitive areas of the skull. This exercise helps combat common health problems such as: mild headaches, tiredness due to overwork, tension and sleeplessness.

Tips On Yoga For Beginners.

Any people can practice yoga. It is a safe form of exercise that helps body to relax, strengthen and nurture the body and calm the mind. Starting yoga may be confusing to the beginners at first with all the different positions that is taught. When the beginners start yoga class the instructor can go over the different names with them to help them learn the novice yoga poses. Yoga is a great way to stretch body muscles safely and it is useful to everyone, even women who are pregnant. 

If people have had a sports injury or work injury yoga may be a great form of exercise to get them back on track and help them to heal faster. The yoga instructor will go over some primary poses with the beginners if they are just starting yoga. The names of such poses are, the Rabbit Pose that teaches the techniques to relieve neck and head pain as well as back pain. Birds Wing pose, which is great for beginners, intermediate or advance. Other poses people will hear are Happy Baby pose, Downward Facing Dog Plank, Standing Yoga Mudra, Cat Cow Pointer Sequence, Cobra pushup with Roll, Twisted Root, Saw, Reclined Twist, The Curl, Teaser Prep, Prone Gluteals, Bridge with Roll, Swimming, Warrior I, Warrior II, Cross Legged Sit and Stretch, and Chair. 

The yoga poses people will learn are going to teach them many things, including how to reduce and handle stress, understand life and be in touch with their inner feelings, help their body to be balanced. This actually does not happen after one session. Beginners should be prepared to continue yoga on a regular basis in order to get the full result of yoga and what it is intended to do. Each pose will show people a different way to handle their life and balance their body. In order to use yoga to its full potential people should make sure they practice it regularly and without stopping. If they cannot join a class there are CD's and DVD's available that will teach them all about beginner poses. 

To ensure the safety and maximise the enjoyment of yoga class, people need to pay attention to several practice guidelines and safety tips. People should treat their body with respect, care and love. If they have a medical condition, should always check with the doctor to make sure yoga is suitable for them. Every one should wear comfortable clothing that will not restrict the movement or get in the way while practicing the postures. People should never practice on a full stomach, must allow at least 90 minutes after eating before they start their class. 

Also people should listen to their body and move into each position slowly and carefully. Yoga encourages self-awareness, which is enhanced as people move gracefully thorough the poses. Yoga is best practiced in bare foot, which enhances the sensitivity of being in a pose. People should never compare and compete with anyone in the class and should focus on their breathing as they move in and out of their poses. People need to breathe smoothly and gently in and out through their nose without holding the breath in postures and should exhale as they stretch into a pose.

Top Tips On Yoga.

Yoga is one of the most ancient forms of exercises and methods of rejuvenation and it has been practiced for centuries in India. There are various top tips available on yoga that can help you to attain better mental and physical health along with other benefits also. Yoga is one of the oldest forms of exercises and its origins go back more than 5000 years and thus it is proven that have practiced Yoga to achieve a balanced body and mind. 

Usually people assume that yoga is a slow form of exercise and does not help you lose weight but there are various forms of yoga that people are not aware of. There are various styles of yoga and its variations and some of the most popular styles of yoga are iyengar, kundalini, kripalu, bikram, ashtanga, power, hatha and sivanda. These forms of yoga will help you to get in shape in no time and thus to underestimate yoga as a mere form of rejuvenation would be wrong. 

The most common forms of yoga practiced around the world are hatha yoga, power yoga and bikram yoga. They involve different styles of yoga and usually originate from different regions also most of the breathing styles and postures are same. Hatha yoga is the style of yoga most practiced today, which is regular form of yoga and lays focus on breathing and postures. The power yoga is a more aerobic-style yoga that lays emphasis on cardio forms of yoga. The Bikram yoga is a style of yoga performed in a heated room so that detoxification can be accelerated. 

There are some other forms of yoga along with power yoga that are designed for the more aerobic and fitness conscious person and these include iyengar yoga and ashtanga yoga. By performing these forms of yoga one can get a strong cardio workout because this is fast flowing and precise for extreme fitness. The other yoga, which is familiar to the regular styles of yoga practiced today, is kundalini yoga, which is considered by many cultures to be the life force within us that can be awakened. 

This Kundalini form of yoga includes meditation, belly dancing and yoga and mainly concentrates on charkas in the body to generate a spiritual power. Some of the yoga forms that are the least heard of these days are kripalu yoga and sivanda yoga. The Kripalu yoga makes use of practices from many different wisdom traditions and includes health sciences, psychology and consciousness. Thus it is more of an intensive life improvement plan. The Sivanda yoga is similar to kripalu yoga and includes meditation as basis of the practice. 

Even though yoga is primarily practiced as a physical activity it had initially begun as a meditative discipline. It has been seen that practicing yoga for even half and hour for a few days leads to benefits and it is equally beneficial for women and men. This is one of the safest exercises for pregnant women and helps them in childbirth but this should be done under the guidance of a professional yoga teacher.

List Of Yoga Poses.

Today most of the people get stressed as because they are placed in demanding situations where they feel they must excel. Competitions all where, work pressure, athletic programs, and daily tasks will tend to stress most of the people to the breaking point. All of these mental and physical stress and strains that are placed on them afford them little opportunity to relax. Yoga postures help people in many areas of their life, and sometimes transports them into a whole other self. 

When people begin taking yoga classes, they are guided by instructors who want them to become in tune with their mind, body and spirit. Yoga posture can be likened to the phrase, thinking outside of the box. Through the different yoga postures for individual needs, people can change their behavior by going to another place, and becoming a animal, bird, or mental time traveler, if only for a short time. 

Most of the yoga postures are taught in postures, vinyasas, or yoga flows. The yoga postures have clever names such as cobra, bridge, mountain, and cat and dog. A vinyasas is a sequence of yoga postures, and yoga flows are vinoyasas that continuously flow form one to another. Yogoa postures are not actually the speed events and are not meant to be done to the point where any type of pain is caused. 

All of the common yoga postures serves a direct purpose and will benefit one or more body areas. One of the special yoga postures is the Sukhasana, which is a starting position that helps children focus on the breathing techniques, and it will help people strengthen their lower back and loosen up the groin and hip areas of the body. Two particular yoga postures are done together, because one flows into the other. The Cat and Dog yoga postures can help to increase the flexibility of the spine. The basic movement of the Dog places the people in a knee and hand crawling position, and the Cat movement is the reversal posture of the Dog movement. These yoga postures require tiling of the pelvis and bending the spinal column. 

One of the most exciting yoga postures for the sufferers is the Mountain, which is a three phase movement that improves posture, self-awareness and physical and mental balance. This Mountain yoga postures is deceptive, and people think it will be so easy. The Mountain posture is done in a seemingly simple standing movement that requires a lot of movement and breathing exercises to be performed at one time. 

The Uttanasana II is another forward bend or extension movement of yoga postures for kids that stretches the legs and spine, and provides rest to the heart and neck. The Uttanasana II also relaxes the mind of the people, as well as the body. Sports enthusiast people might refer to this movement as the standard touch their toes routine. The Triangle posture or Trikonasana is also one of the effective yoga postures that will have people moving in constant motion. The Triangle yoga stretches the spine, opens the torso, and helps them improve their balance and concentration.

Different Steps In Yoga.

Yoga is among the most effective fitness exercises routines around. Beyond being just a fitness routine it's a way of life, and this is the major reason many people prefer to adopt yoga as a way to gain and sustain fitness. The premise under which the practice of yoga was established was to attain physical, mental and spiritual strength for the body. Yoga focuses on creating harmony between the mind and body. The whole theory is reform one's life and comprises certain critical steps that take one down the path to being a successful 'yogi'. 

Steps in Yoga: 

To be successful at Yoga, you have to adopt the following steps in your daily routine; 

1. Yama and Niyama: the first step in yoga is to consciously practice the ethics of yoga until they become habit and second nature. This is where yama and niyama come in. Yama means restraints, the things one has to avoid in life. Niyama means the practices and ethics that have to be observed. 

2. Asana and Pranayama: this step is where the physical training steps in. postural training for physical is done to attain and ensure physical fitness in the yoga doctrine. It is a series of body-control instructions that need to be followed carefully and with precision. I yoga, breathing has a vital role to play for physical well being as well. the breath is considered as the 'life force', and when this is strengthen and passed with energy throughout the body, the individual becomes strong. Yoga hones the life-sustaining bio-energy through proper breathing and builds the body's immune system. The general rule for breathing while performing yoga exercises is to take long deep breaths. 

3. Pratyahara: this is the abstraction or dissociation of the mind from sensory disturbances and is achieved through controlling both the external and internal senses. This actually serves to better synchronize the mind and body. The process circulates around relaxation, centralization and introversion. 

4. Dharana and Dhyana: this step starts off with building concentration but eventually progresses into a seamless transition into meditation. The mind is taken out of the worldly context, looks inward in an effort to achieve the pure body and the pure mind. The ultimate goal in this case being Kaivalya or the consciousness absolute. 

5. Samadhi: This is the final stage of yoga when a person attains trance-consciousness. He remains motionless and there is a momentary suspension of the life force. It is a moment of perpetual bliss and eternal peace when one is laid to rest in both body and mind and "can see into the life of things". 

Thus you see that yoga isn't simply an exercise regime to be adopted while at the gym or Yoga centre. For those who want yoga to truly influence their lives, there is a whole doctrine of living that needs to be followed. Also, if you don't just want physical well fitness, but rather aspire for peace and the equipment to better deal with the stressful life that exists all around us, then yoga has a methodological support system that will actually overhaul your entire life. It may seem like it's maybe too time consuming, but putting in a few minutes everyday will get you started and you will soon see time make itself.

Yoga And It's Advantage.

Why are so many people today getting into Yoga! While most of the people are not really into the metaphysical, philosophical or religious basis of Yoga, although many of them are, the one thing that no-one can deny is the incredible rewards of greater health, vitality and balance that result from a regular Yoga practice. In the east Yoga has been practiced for thousands of years and shows no signs of flagging, in both India itself the birthplace of most forms of common Yoga, and in most Asian countries which have their own form of yoga known under various names. 

Now what Yoga actually is! Yoga is a system of techniques and disciplines that move the user to an end objective. The system may vary as in the many different forms of Yoga, but the end result always is the same, to find the true balance within and without that leads to knowing the self entirely. Now that may seem like a big ask, but even taking a few steps toward that end objective can result in multi-faceted changes in the life as people begin to feel the effects of better posture, better focus and better health. Yoga literally means the union of body, mind and soul that leads to betterment and enlightenment. Within the many forms of Yoga there are the constants, those physical postures that enable the body to become more flexible, balanced and healthy and create a body awareness that can be felt in daily life. 

This body awareness helps to keep people healthier as we are able to become aware almost immediately of any imbalance in their body. In today's busy world people are often too busy to take note of the smaller warning signs that their body is becoming overloaded, either through stress, toxicity or poor dietary and sleep habits and they often do not know they are becoming unwell until it is far too late to prevent. People end up sick and in bed and at times this can become the only time we take off from our busy schedules. It is this Yoga cultivated body awareness that can help people to prevent and pre-empt most of these illnesses and become aware of the need to slow down and take some time for ourselves so that we can be at our best, and giving of our best at all times. People also get to enjoy the time off rather than spend it in bed wishing someone would just bury us alive. 

An Asana or posture or pose, is meant to be refreshing and relaxing rather than fatiguing or requiring effort, although some forms of Yoga are a real exercise. These postures while performed regularly are meant to create a stable and balanced use of the body in all situations. Some of the postures have been developed from copying the characteristic postures of animals, birds, reptiles and insects and others as form of dance performed as a prayer to the sun. All of them prepare the body for standing, sitting or moving in conscious stillness as meditation. 

There are a few commonsense rules that should be observed before performing a Yoga exercise. One should allow at least 2 to 3 hours going by after a main meal and an hour after a snack. They must empty the bladder and if possible the bowels; sponge over their body to give a feeling of freshness before they begin; wear loose fitting preferably stretchable clothing and workout on a level floor or park and be sure the room has adequate ventilation. People must use a thick blanket or yoga mat under his or her body. For greater control and for deepening their practice they should use a Yoga Swing. There are many types of Yoga filtering into Western society which means it will be easy to find one that suits them.