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Yoga for pregnant women

Many women have written to us asking whether it is safe for them to do yoga during pregnancy. Most pregnant women find that yoga has both emotional and physical benefits. However, they tend to be unsure about what yoga poses offers the most benefits and which yoga poses they as pregnant women should avoid.

How yoga helps pregnant women

Practicing yoga offer many health benefits for pregnant women. Research as shown that yoga helps pregnant women to develop good breathing techniques and to relax. Better breathing and relaxation will help pregnant women to better deal with the physical demands of pregnancy. The benefits of better breathing and relaxation will help during labor, birth and the early stages of motherhood. Yoga helps pregnant women to relieve stress associated with pregnancy. Pregnant women who have taken prenatal yoga class found it to be a great way to meet other soon to be moms and share their journey toward motherhood together.

Things pregnant women should be careful about when doing yoga

It you are attending a regular yoga class, tell your yoga instructor that you’re pregnant, and which trimester you’re in. If you’re attending a yoga class that is specifically geared to pregnant women, all the better.

After your first trimester, don’t do any yoga pose or asanas that can reduce blood flow to the uterus. This includes any yoga poses that involve you lying on your back. Such yoga poses can reduce blood flow to your uterus which is not good for the baby.

Don’t do yoga poses that require you to stretch your muscles too much. In particular, avoid doing yoga poses that stretches your abdominals. Being pregnant releases relaxin, which enables your uterus to expand, but this results in the softening of your connective tissues. The soften connective tissues means as a pregnant woman, you’re more susceptible to injuries including strains and pulls. Therefore, it’s best to avoid yoga poses that require strenuous stretching.

During your second trimester, your center gravity changes so it is important to keep your balance when doing yoga. If you are doing a standing yoga pose, we recommend that you do such standing poses with your heel to the wall or a stable chair to give you support. This will ensure that you avoid losing your balance and falling. You should always remember to keep yourself well supported to prevent injury to yourself and your baby.

Stay away from hot yoga or Bikram. Steer clear from hot yoga like the plague if you are pregnant. According to researchers, pregnant women working out in such an overheated room exposes their growing fetus to risk. The high heat could adversely affect the healthy development of your baby in the uterus. So hot yoga is a definite no no during pregnancy.

During yoga practice, its important when you bend forward, hinge from the hips, leading with the breastbone and extending the spine from the crown of the head down to the tailbone. This technique will give more space for your ribs to move and will make breathing easier.

During yoga poses, always keep your pelvis in a neutral position by engaging the abdominals and slightly tucking the tailbone down and in. Doing this will help to relax your buttocks muscle (your glutes) and hip flexors, and will reduce and prevent sciatic pain down the back of your leg, which is a common symptom in pregnant women. By keeping your pelvis in a neutral position and engaging you abdominals, you can prevent injury the connective tissue in your body that stabilizes your pelvis.

When you bend forward while seated, it’s a good idea to place a towel or yoga strap behind your feet and hold both ends. Avoid compression your abdomen by bending from your hips and lifting your chest. If you find this movement to be too difficult if your belly is too large, you can place a rolled-up towel under your buttocks to elevate the body, and spread your legs slightly to give your belly more room to move forward.

Avoid doing yoga pose that require deep twisting movement. If you doing a mild twisting yoga poses, be careful to avoid putting any pressure on your abdomen. You can twist more from your shoulders and back rather than your waist.

Be mindful of your limitations. It’s a good idea to be in tune to your body. Listen to what your body is telling you. Don’t do anything that feels uncomfortable. When you feel the even the slightest discomfort, stop. This will ensure that you don’t do anything that will harm you and your baby. If necessary, you can modify the yoga pose so that you are completely comfortable. Good yoga instructors will always help to customize the yoga class to suit pregnant women.

Safe yoga poses for pregnant women

Butterfly stretch

Cat-Cow

Cobra (in the first trimester, if you feel comfortable doing this face-down pose)

Seated forward bend (with modifications as described above)

Side angle pose

Standing forward bend (with chair for modification)

Triangle pose (with chair for modification)

Yoga poses that are dangerous to pregnant and should be avoided during pregnancy

Backbends

Balancing poses on one leg (unless supported by chair or wall)

Camel

Handstands

Headstands

Upward bow

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Does fruit make you fat?

Fruit is healthy, full of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and low in fat and calories. Today we will discuss the truth about fruits and the myth that it will make you fat!

The old adage that your body is a temple is well known and still has relevance today. Without a solid foundation a temple cannot be successfully constructed and will eventually collapse. The same holds true for the human body.

The importance of nutrition is imperative as the foundation of any successful fitness program. The core of this foundation should be based around food. Just as certain compounds are necessary to build a solid foundation in a building, specific foods are necessary to build a solid nutritional foundation.

Why Fruits Are Important!

With the advent of so many nutritional approaches to achieve the ideal look, numerous inquiries regarding the practice of omitting fruit, fruit juices or any of its derivatives from a diet have surfaced. Fruit is a healthy food, full of nutrients, high in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and low in fat and calories. It is a common practice for bodybuilders during pre-contest preparation to omit fruit from their diets, as it should be for anyone looking to minimize body fat. We will discuss the chemistry behind the efficacy of this practice.

Our bodies can only absorb monosaccharides (glucose, galactose, or fructose), the single units of sugars and starches. Once absorbed through the small intestines into the portal vein, and then circulated into the bloodstream through the liver as blood glucose, our bodies can put glucose to work in three ways.

The Three Ways Our Bodies Put Glucose To Work

  1. It can burn the glucose immediately for energy if blood glucose levels are not at a stable level of 20 grams blood borne glucose circulating per hour.
  2. If it is not needed for energy immediately, then it is converted into glycogen in the liver or muscles. The liver has the capacity to store 100 grams of glycogen. The muscles have the capacity to store between 250-400 grams of glycogen, depending on muscle mass and physical condition. Liver glycogen supplies energy for the entire body. Muscle glycogen only supplies energy to muscles.
  3. If the body has an excess of glucose, and all of the glycogen stores are full, the surplus glucose is converted to fat by the liver and stored as adipose tissue (bodyfat) around the body. If needed, fatty acids can be burned as fuel (BUT the fat cannot be converted back to glucose).

Now that we have outlined how our bodies use glucose, we will discuss why fruit (fructose or fruit sugar) is detrimental in an attempt to maximize fat loss. Since muscles have the specific purpose of contraction, they have a limited number of enzymes for glycogen synthesis. Muscle only has the necessary enzymes to convert glucose (and nothing else) into glycogen. The liver, however, is able to make glycogen from fructose, lactate, glycerol, alanine, and other three-carbon metabolites. Muscle glycogen, which is similar in structure to starch, is an amylopectin (branched chained polymer containing hundreds of glucose units). Unlike muscles, which can only supply energy to themselves through the stored 250-400 grams of glycogen, the liver is responsible for supplying energy to the entire body.

If You Have Fruit Or Fruit Juice The Following Conditions Occur

Referring to the three ways the body uses glucose, assuming that blood glucose levels are adequate, the glucose will then be stored as glycogen. Muscle does not have the necessary enzymes to synthesize fructose into glycogen; therefore the liver converts this fructose into liver glycogen. It would only take three, 8-ounce glasses of orange juice to fully replenish liver glycogen stores. Since the liver is responsible for supplying energy to the entire body, once its stores are full, a rate limiting enzyme in glucose metabolism, which is responsible for signaling the body to store glucose as glycogen or convert it to fat (phosphofructokinase), signals the body that all stores are full. If the glycogen stores are signaled as full, then the third way our body uses excess glucose is to convert it to fatty acids and store as adipose tissue. In essence, fruit sugar is easily converted to fat.

Many may be asking why then is fruit low on the glycemic index? If it does not cause a sudden release of insulin, then how could it ever be a poor food choice? Once the fructose (fruit sugar) enters the liver and liver glycogen is already full, then it cannot be used by the muscles for glycogen or energy production.

It is converted to fat and released back into the bloodstream to be stored as adipose tissue. The low glycemic response is based on the fact that fructose leaves the liver as fat, and fat does not raise insulin levels.

This is the biochemistry behind the recommendations to limit fruit in your diet. As mentioned, fruit is a very nutritious food full of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and low in calories and fat. If your goal is to exclusively to minimize bodyfat, then it is advisable that you consume more complex carbohydrates, which will go to replenishing muscle glycogen stores rather than fruit, which will only replenish liver glycogen stores, and is useless in muscle glycogen replenishment.

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An introduction to CrossFit

What is CrossFit?

CrossFit is a program developed to offer a full-body workout that combines elements of cardio, weight lifting, gymnastics, core training and more to prepare the body for the unexpected.

According to the CrossFit website: “CrossFit is the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide.”

This high-intensity workout is extremely varied and all about getting the most bang for your workout buck. A CrossFitter will likely never do the same routine twice in one week and each workout will usually last between 45 minutes to an hour.

CrossFit gyms are usually large warehouses (often referred to as the “box”) which offer group classes where an individual may choose to workout anywhere between three to five times a week. CrossFit coaches either develop their own daily workout or follow the “WOD” or Workout of the Day from the CrossFit website.

For example, a typical CrossFit WOD may look like this:

Sample WOD:

20 Min AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible)

100m Run

2 Burpees

2 Deadlifts 185lb

2 Pull-ups

AMRAP means that you will do your best to complete as many rounds of this sequence as possible in the time allotted; in this case 20 minutes.

What do people love about it?

CrossFit classes are high-intesnity group classes focused on the philosophy of high-intensity interval training or HITT, the belief that more intense exercise in a shorter amount of time is more effective.

CrossFitters are also part of a unique culture and philosophy. Many CrossFitters follow a specific diet, namely the Paleo Diet, and are fitness fanatics or former athletes who thrive off of competition and a team atmosphere (but that doesn’t mean non athletes can’t reap the CrossFit benefits).

CrossFit addicts love the communal environment of this workout regimen and appreciate the verbal encouragement and support that they gain from their teammates and coaches while they exercise.

Sometimes criticized for just how intense the workout can be, CrossFit teaches its followers to accept discomfort, push your body to its limits and therefore bring yourself to a place of maximum impact. CrossFit operates off of the belief that you should train your body for the unknown and be physically prepared for almost anything.

While this philosophy may be intimidating to some, it is inspiring and motivational to its followers.

Tips for Trying CrossFit

If you’ve never tried CrossFit before and you think it may be the right workout for you, here are some helpful tips for staying safe:

  • Go to a few different gyms, talk to the coaches and get an idea for what the workout entails. Most CrossFit gyms offer a free introductory class to beginners considering joining the program. This is a great way to meet your potential CrossFit coach.
  • Be sure to make your coaches aware of any previous injuries before attempting any CrossFit exercises. If you have a serious pre-existing injury you may even want to speak with your doctor before purchasing a package for this high-intensity program.
  • Before attempting CrossFit you should have a basic understanding of general fitness. “You wouldn’t add weight to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, so don’t add weight to a squat with poor form.” Be sure to take an “On Ramp” or “Elements” course to ensure you’ll complete WODs safely and effectively.
  • Scale your workouts. This is something that is discussed a lot in the CrossFit culture. To “scale your workout” means that you, as a beginner, cannot lift as much weight as CrossFit Chris who has been doing this for years. This also applies to intensity and knowing when your body has reached its maximum capacity.

For all medical questions speak with your doctor and consult your CrossFit coach.

 

 

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The real true meaning of “namaste”

Just like a handshake in the West, Namaste, is away to greet and farewell one another in India and parts of southeast Asia. This greeting is done by pressing both hands together and holding them near the heart with the head gently bowed and saying, “Namaste.” Namaste is spoken with a slight bow and hands pressed together, palms touching and fingers pointing upwards, thumbs close to the chest. Nama means bow, as means I, and te means you. Therefore, namaste literally means “bow me you” or “I bow to you.”

The Namaste gesture represents the belief that there is a divine spark within each of us that is located in the heart chakra. The purpose of the Namaste gesture to acknowledge the soul in one by the soul in another. We bring the hands together at the heart chakra to increase the flow of divine love. Bowing the head and closing the eyes helps the mind surrender to the divine in the heart. One can do Namaste to oneself as a meditation technique to go deeper inside the heart chakra; when done with someone else, it is also a beautiful, albeit quick, meditation.

For a yoga teacher and a yoga student, Namaste allows two individuals to come together energetically to a place of connection and timelessness, free from the bonds of ego-connection. If it is done with deep feeling in the heart and with the mind surrendered, a deep union of spirits can blossom.

Ideally, Namaste should be done both at the beginning and at the end of yoga class. Usually, it is done at the end of yoga class because the mind is less active and the energy in the room is more peaceful. The teacher initiates Namaste as a symbol of gratitude and respect toward her yoga students and her own yoga teachers and in return invites the yoga students to connect with their lineage, thereby allowing the truth to flow—the truth that we are all one when we live from the heart.

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How running preserves your thinking skills

We all know that exercise is good for the heart. Now, medical researchers have discovered that running is not only good for the heart, it’s good for the brain too.

According to a recent University of Minnesota study, aerobic exercise in your 20s may protect the brain in middle age. Physical activities such as running, swimming and cycling which are good for your heart, led to better thinking skills and memory 20 years later.

In the article published in the world renown journal, Neurology, scientist state that the results of the research provided additional evidence the brain benefits from a healthy heart, or good cardio fitness. Cardio fitness is a measure of how well the body absorbs oxygen during exercise and transports it to the muscles.

As part of the US study, researcher at the University of Minnesota tested almost 3,000 healthy people with an average age of 25.

The researchers believe that the findings of their study should remind young adults of the brain health benefits of cardio fitness activities such as running, swimming, biking or cardio fitness classes.

Participants in the study were given treadmill tests of cardiovascular fitness during the first year of the study and again 20 years later. The participants were asked to run for as long as possible before they became exhausted or short of breath.

Cognitive tests taken 25 years after the start of the study measured memory and thinking skills. People who ran for longer on the treadmill performed better at tests of memory and thinking skills 25 years on, even after adjusting for factors such as smoking, diabetes and high cholesterol.

Total fitness

People who had smaller time differences in their treadmill test 20 years later were more likely to perform better on the executive function test than those who had bigger differences.

“Many studies show the benefits to the brain of good heart health,” said study author Dr David Jacobs.

“This is one more important study that should remind young adults of the brain health benefits of cardio fitness activities such as running, swimming, biking or cardio fitness classes.”

Dr Jacobs said a concept was emerging of total fitness, incorporating social, physical and mental aspects of health.

“It’s really a total package of how your body is and the linkage of that entire package of performance – that’s related to cognitive function many years later and in mid-life,” he told BBC News.

Dr Simon Ridley, Head of Research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “A growing body of evidence suggests exercise may reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia, and much research has shown a link between healthy habits in mid-life and better health in old age.

“Investment in research is vital to better understand how we can protect our brains as we age.”

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What is yoga?

What is the definition of yoga exactly? Today, most people associate the term “yoga” with hatha yoga and its asanas (postures) or as a form of exercise. While the West has only know about yoga in the last few hundred years, yoga has an even longer history. Yoga has been an important part of India’s rich spiritual tradition for thousands of years. Patanjali was first author to systematized the practice of yoga around two thousand years ago. Patanjali in his renowned work, Yoga Sutra, sets out the yoga into eight limbs system (ashtanga).

What are the eight limbs of yoga?

1st limb of yoga: yama – Moral codes

The yama limb set the following five standards for how to treat others:

Ahimsa: Promote non-violent, non-harming actions and thoughts.

Satya: Strive for truthfulness in speech and action.

Asteya: Abstain from cheating, stealing, hoarding, or envious thoughts.

Brahmacharya: Act responsibly with sexual relations.

Aparigraha: Avoid attachments and possessive behavior.

2nd limb of yoga: niyama – Codes for self-purification and study

Niyama set the following five standards for self-discipline and spiritual observance along the yogic path:

Saucha: Cleanliness.

Santosa: Contentment.

Tapas: Cleansing fire of practice.

Svadhyaya: Self-inquiry and study of the sacred scriptures.

Isvara pranidhana: Surrender to the Divine.

3rd limb of yoga: asana – “Seat” or physical postures.

Asana most-literally means “seat,” and hatha yoga postures help students open and cleanse their bodies in a way that is conducive to seated meditation.

4th limb of yoga: pranayama – Breath extension

Pranayama means “breath extension” and consists of various breathing exercises that help students focus and calm their minds.

5th limb of yoga: pratyahara – Sense control

Pratyahara means “sense control,” and is a practice where advanced students turn their focus inside rather than being overwhelmed by external stimuli.

6th limb of yoga: dharana – Concentration

A precursor to meditation, Dharana means “concentration” and is practised when students focus their minds on one specific thing such as respiration or sensations on the body.

7th limb of yoga: dhyana – Meditation

Dhyana means “meditation,” and it is an advanced stage in practice where students achieve an uninterrupted period of concentration without any internal thought.

8th limb of yoga: samadhi – Enlightenment

To reach samadhi is to become one with the Divine. Also referred to as Nirvana or Enlightenment, Samadhi is the ultimate stage along the yogic path. Beginning yoga students are usually more concerned with the pain and discomfort in their bodies than they are with Samadhi, so these days, most yoga classes focus primarily on the physical aspects of yoga which are often referred to collectively as hatha yoga.

What is hatha yoga?

The word hatha means “sun” and “moon,” and hatha yogis see the imbalance of opposing forces in nature as the cause of suffering. Hatha yoga unify the sun and moon, the body and mind, the masculine and feminine.

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What are the different types of yoga?

With so many types of yoga to choose from, you can be forgiven if you become a little confused. People who are new to yoga are often overwhelmed by the various types of yoga that is being practiced today. To make things easier for you, we have written a brief introduction of the different types of yoga below:

what-are-the-different-types-of-yogaHot yoga Hot yoga in practiced in a room or yoga studio that is heated to 37 degrees Celsius. In hot yoga, the high heat causes you to sweat and detoxify. You will sweat away toxic and polluting element through your skin. Another purpose of the heat in hot yoga is it helps you as a yoga students to work deep and safely to strengthen their and lengthen your muscles and connective tissues. We highly recommend that you have a bottle of water ready to replenish and keep your body hydrated. Bring a towel and be ready to seriously sweat!

Ashtanga vinyasa yoga

Known simply as ashtanga yoga, this is one of the most popular types of yoga practiced today. The most well known teacher of ashtanga yoga is Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in India. Ashtanga yoga is a set series of postures linked together by vinyasas (flowing movements connected by breath). Ashtanga yoga classes are usually taught in a ‘Mysore style’, which mean students self practice in the presence of a teacher who helps adjust and correct the student’s posture where required. In ashtanga yoga, the breath, bandha (internal locks), and the dristi (point of focus for the eyes) are the most important elements while practicing asanas. Pattabhi Jois often tells his students, yoga is “99% practice, 1% theory.”

Power yoga

Power yoga is a modern style of yoga which developed from ashtanga yoga. Many students who are new to yoga find the modern power yoga is easier and more accessible than ashtangya yoga. Power yoga classes tend to be athletic and dynamic than ashtanga. With power yoga, students move in and out of postures which have been carefully coordinated to the breathing pattern to help maintain internal heat, keep the heart rate constant, with the aim of increasing strength and flexibility.

Yin yoga

Yin yoga is slower and more gentle type of yoga that was introduced to the United States in 1986 by the American yogi, Paul Grilley. Yin yoga practice involve holding postures for three to ten minutes. During yin yoga classes, students learn how to relax their muscles. By relaxing their muscles, student are able to access their body’s connective tissues. Yin yoga is a very calming style of yoga and students have commented that yin yoga is almost like a form of meditation because it is so calming and relaxing.

Anusara yoga

In 1997, the American yogi, John Friend, developed anusara yoga. Anusara yoga is considered to be one of the most fun and playful types of yoga. Anusara classes emphasize what John Friend refers to as “the 3 As”: Attitude, Alignment, and Action. The principle of Alignment is designed to help students develop a deeper appreciation of yoga postures. At the same time as being fun to practice, Anusara yoga is also quite athletic and challenging even to intermediate yoga students.

Iyengar yoga

Iyengar yoga was named after one of the world’s leading and influential yogis, B.K.S. Iyengar, from India. B.K.S. Iyengar has written books and developed yoga methods which are now studied and practiced by almost all yoga teachers and students. Iyengar yoga classes mainly focus the principle of alignment, that is the precise way in which the body should be positioned in each asana in order to generate maximum benefits to the yoga student and avoid causing injury to him or her. Iyengar yoga often adopts the use of props including blocks, straps, and bolsters as part of the yoga class. Asanas in iyengar yoga are often held for long periods to maximize their effects.

Jivamukti yoga

Jivamukti yoga is a distinct yoga style that was developed by two American yogis, David Life and Sharon Gannon, in 1986. Jivamukti means ‘liberation while living’ and jivamukti yoga classes are aimed at creating this experience by students. Jivamukti yoga classes integrates chanting, asanas, music, meditation and devotion into a vigorous physical practice. Jivamukti yoga involve the following five key elements into each class: 1. Scripture – this involve studying ancient yoga teachings and Sanskrit chanting. 2. Bhakti – this requires yoga students to understand that the goal of all yoga practice to reach the realization of God. 3. Ahimsa: this element emphasize an ethical and compassionate lifestyle involving vegetarianism, animal rights and peace and non-violence. 4. Nada yoga: this element the yoga student to develop a sound body and mind through deep and careful listening. 5. Meditation: this element aim to help students to connect with their internal spirit.

Integral yoga

The influential yogi, Swami Satchidananda, introduce integral yoga to the United States in 1969. His teachings have had a major impact on many modern yoga teachers and students. The key to integral yoga is integration. Integral yoga aims to integrate the various aspects of the body and mind through postures, breathing techniques, deep relaxation, and meditation. Integral yoga classes integrate the use of all these elements to allow students are greater sense of health and wellbeing, both physically and mentally.

Ivananda yoga

Swami Sivananda was one of Swami Vishnu-Devananda’s students in India. In 1959, Swami Sivananda developed the Sivananda yoga style. Sivananda yoga classes incorporate the use of traditional yoga postures which were practiced for centuries in the Himalayas. Sivananda yoga has a series of 12 postures, breathing, diet, chanting, scriptural study, and meditation.

Kripalu yoga

Kripalu yoga is a gentler style of yoga which require students to use yoga poses to explore, deal with, and release emotional and spiritual conflicts. Kripalu yoga was developed by the yogi Kripalvananda and one of his disciples, the yogi Amrit Desai, in India. Kripalu yoga has three stages: Stage 1: Firstly, students are required to focus on posture alignment and coordination of breath and movement. Postures are only maintained for short durations during this stage. Stage 2: Secondly, student include meditation in their practice and postures are held for prolonged periods. Stage 3: Lastly, the practice of postures becomes a spontaneous “meditation in motion.”

Kundalini yoga

Kundalini yoga was introduced to United States by Sikh master, Yogi Bhajan, in 1969. Prior to introduction to the United States, it was a secret type of yoga was only practiced by a small exclusive group of yoga practitioners. The work “kundalini” means awareness, and the aim of kundalini yoga is to stimulate the life force which resides at the base of the spine, and encourage the energy to flow through the body. Kundalini yoga is practice using a combination of classic postures with breathing, chanting, and meditation.

Viniyoga yoga

Viniyoga yoga was developed by T.K.V. Desikachar, the son of the yoga master, T. Krishnamacharya. In developing the viniyoga yoga style, T.K.V. Desikachar, was inspired by the teachings and philosophy of his father, T. Krishnamacharya. Viniyoga yoga involves adapting yoga practices to meet the needs of each individual students. The aim of viniyoga yoga put students on a path of self-discovery and personal transformation.

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How does yoga benefit your health?

What are the health benefits of doing yoga? We have the answers, read on!

There are loads of health benefits to doing yoga. Doing yoga benefits your health in many was including: improved blood circulation around your body, increased self confidence and self esteem and better breathing. Yoga also helps with weight loss because it is an aerobic form of exercise. Yoga will help to improve your health by improving your general fitness and helping with detoxification of your body. Yoga also helps improve your strength and flexibility.

Yoga improves circulation

Circulation refers to the circulation of blood around your body. But why is circulation important to you? The circulation of blood around your body deliver fresh oxygen supply and essential nutrients to all your body’s cells helps to keep them healthy. Healthy cells in your body means your body is better at healing wounds, tissue repair and boost immunity from germs and bacteria. By enhancing your body’s circulation, yoga directly makes your body stronger and improves your sense of vitality. Practicing yoga increase your heart rate and boost the circulation of oxygen rich blood around your body. In addition, yoga further benefits your health by improving blood flow to regions of your body that don’t normally good blood circulation, particularly your joints, connective tissues and internal organs. When you do Yoga postures and moves involving deep stretches, twists, backbends, and muscular contractions, your body actively send fresh blood to your joints, connective tissues and internal organ to delivery more oxygen and nutrients to these areas. yoga helps with detoxification of your body

Toxins are everywhere in our environment. A toxin is a chemical or poison is harmful to your body and may cause disease. Toxins can be found in food or water, from chemicals used to grow or prepare food, and even from the air that we breathe. Our bodies naturally process toxins through our liver and kidneys and other organs. Toxins also pass out of your bodies through sweat, urine and feces. So how does yoga help your body get rid of toxins? When you practice yoga, your body generate sweat and cause you to breathe more deeply, your heart rate increases. All these twisting, bending and stretching movements in yoga helps improve circulation and massage and stimulate your organs to actively detoxify you body.

Yoga helps improve strength and flexibility

Yoga is one of the best form of exercise to increase your body strength and flexibility. Don’t worry if you have trouble touching your toes. With yoga practice, you’ll become much stronger and more flexible can you ever imagined. This makes yoga is ideal for those to have to sit for long hours in front of the computer who tend to have weak muscles and poor flexibility.Yoga postures involves twisting, bending and stretching movements which strengthen and lengthen your body’s connective tissues through physical postures. Regular yoga practice will transform even the most stiff body into a more flexible and stronger body with stronger muscles. Therefore, you can become stronger and more flexible simply by doing yoga. No need to buy expensive exercise machines or hire costly personal trainers. yoga helps reduce stress relief

If you are reduce by the pressures of life, we highly recommend that you give yoga a try. It’s important to reduce stress because stress can lead to all sorts of health problems if left unchecked. By regularly doing yoga, you will effectively calm your body both physically and mentally. Many yoga fans find that after their yoga session, they feel refreshed and have a greater sense of wellbeing. Yoga will help to make you feel energized and calm at the same time. So kiss away your stress with yoga today.

Yoga helps increase self confidence & self esteem

Research conducted by the National Institute of Health in the United States confirmed that practicing yoga have many therapeutic benefits. The study showed that yoga led to increased body strength in the adult participants. Participants in the study showed an increase in self confidence and self esteem after doing yoga as part of the study. Additional research by Central Washington University has also shown a significant increase in the self-esteem of in young after doing yoga.

With an increasing percentage of the population becoming affected by low self confidence, self esteem and depression, it’s never been more important to look into the benefits of yoga in addressing these problems. Fans of yoga consistently report that practicing yoga make them feel healthier, stronger, and more flexible. In additional yoga also provide a boost to their self esteem and self confidence.

Regular yoga exercise makes your heart, bones and muscles stronger, reduce your risk for chronic disease and reduces feelings of anxiety and depression. Yoga will boost your energy levels, oxygen capacity, muscle tone and general fitness, leading to the benefit an increase in self-esteem. Just the success of doing certain yoga postures give you a great sense of achievement.

Yoga helps breath control

For most people, breathing is something that just happens and we don’t think too much how we breath. In fact, the way we breathe can greatly impact our quality of our physical and mental health and well being. Therefore, it is particularly important that we develop good breathing habit and yoga is certainly one of the best forms of exercise that will help us improve the quality of our breathing.

Often, we are feeling stress, unhappy or upset, our breathing become faster and shallow. In contrast, when we are relaxed, our breathing become slower and deeper. We take slow, deep breaths when we are at ease. How yoga help your breathing habit is yoga places great importance on good breathing techniques. Yoga encourages you to breathe low and deep during your exercise.

Yoga will help you to learn to develop better quality breathing techniques which will allow you to take in more oxygen with every breath and leaving you more relaxed and comfortable. An advice yoga practice is what is called the “moving meditation,” which require students to maintain deep, consistent breathing throughout their whole yoga session. Students need to keep on with this controlled deep and slow breathing throughout all physical postures. Being doing this, yoga helps to teach us to control our mind by relieving stress, making us more relaxed and give us better quality breathing.

Yoga helps with weight loss

Doing yoga will help is lose weight by encouraging a much healthier lifestyle. Beth A. Lewis, Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota School of Kinesiology in Minneapolis believes that: “regular yoga practice can influence weight loss, but not in the “traditional” sense of how we link physical activity to weight loss. Typically, weight loss occurs when a person’s calorie intake (i.e., food and drink consumed) is less than their caloric expenditure (i.e., energy is expended all day and more is expended during exercise).

“Most individuals need to change both their energy intake and energy expenditure to lose weight. Many yoga practices burn fewer calories than traditional exercise (e.g., jogging, brisk walking); however, yoga can increase one’s mindfulness and the way one relates to their body. So, individuals will become more aware of what they are eating and make better food choices. “Individuals may avoid foods that make them feel sluggish and lethargic (most processed foods). Instead, individuals will seek out foods that are healthier, which then may lead to weight loss. “Additionally, many individuals eat more when they are feeling stressed and yoga can help combat stress, which can influence one’s energy intake.”

For these reasons, students of yoga report that after practicing yoga regularly, they feel less hungry and make better choices when eating. By helping you to make better healthy lifestyle choices, yoga is ideal for cleansing your body, increase metabolism, stimulate waste elimination, and reduce food cravings. is yoga an aerobic form of exercise?

The definition of aerobic exercise is exercise which elevate your heart rate for a sustained period of twenty minutes or more. Aerobic exercise helps to make your heart stronger, burn excess fat and increase your metabolism.

Many people have asked: “Is yoga an aerobic form of exercise?” Yoga can in fact be a great aerobic form of exercise. However, this will depend on the types of yoga postures you are practicing. To ensure that you get a good aerobic workout when doing yoga, please sure you that you actively participate in all postures, especially the more challenging yoga postures. yoga helps to improve general fitness

Yoga is a unique form of exercise that can really improve you general fitness by helping to strengthen you both physically and mentally. The added benefit is yoga is low impact and does on come with many of the risk associated with other forms of exercise. For example, running can lead to knee and back injuries. Tennis can damage the wrist and elbow, while weight lifting can result in reduced flexibility. The beauty of yoga is you get the overall benefit of exercise and not subject yourself to many of the risks that arise from other exercise.

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Short introduction to yoga

While Yoga has been practiced in India for over 5000 of years, yoga is a relatively new phenomenon in the United States and Europe. In the past 10 years, most people outside of India has come to understand and associate yoga with hatha yoga, which is focused on posture and so hatha yoga is often referred to as postural yoga.

In fact, Yoga is much more than the posture and just the physical form of exercise that we in the west often perceive it largely being. In the most important classical work on yoga, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, written around 200 BCE, only 3 out of the 196 sutras refers to asanas (postures). The remainder of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali deal with the composition of nature and spirit and how we may come to realize our natural state of freedom from within rather than the subliminal patterns that bind us.

The key to understanding yoga is to understand that yoga is geared towards awareness of both your mind and body. Patanjali lists out eight steps in this process that are to be refined in order to bring about a greater clarity from within i.e. a genuine experience of yoga. These eight steps are as follows:

  • Moral Observances towards our fellow men
  • Personal Observances towards ourselves
  • Physical posture
  • Breath Control
  • Sense Withdrawal
  • Concentration
  • Meditation
  • Absorption

The last three steps of concentration, meditation and absorption are refined states of the mind where your spirit no longer misidentifies itself with the patterns of nature, but is gradually drawn towards its taintless luminous quality of pure being within.