Archive for the 'Yoga' Category

Yoga slows the aging process. It helps maintain a healthy, young mind, body and soul and brings psychological, physical and spiritual rewards.

Yoga is well liked by people with breathing difficulties such as asthma.

Performing Pranayama regularly can control lack or shortness of breath more successfully without the use of drugs.

Yoga is relaxing so it works well in controlling blood pressure.

Yoga can also assist in the managements and relief of pain. Back pain in particular can be vastly improved or totally stopped. It is very helpful to arthritis sufferers. The moderate stretches provide relief to aching joints.

It is also good for weight management. The weight loss is slow but constant and Yoga tones the body while weight is reducing.

Yoga instructs in managing pain and in relaxation. Once the skill of relaxing when needed has been learnt, managing pain is straightforward. Yoga can also assist those who have chronic depression.

Pranayama requires breathing through one nostril only. EEGs have proved that this increases brain activity in the other side of the cranium, which can improve cognitive functioning.

Most people who practice Yoga for a long time say that they have an improved attitude and awareness of life.

Whether you are eating before or immediately after yoga, it is important what kind of food you are eating rather than when you are eating.

Actually, it is suggested to eat 2 hours before practicing yoga and the food you are eating plays a vital role in maximizing the effect of yoga.

Here are few diet tips recommended by experts to follow when you are eating before starting your yoga session.

4 Tips for eating before yoga class

1. Avoid eating heavy foods: Foods like pasta, fried foods and even meat should be avoided before practicing yoga. This is because of the reason that these particular heavy foods can just fill your stomach and takes long time to digest well and disturbs your yoga class.
2. Avoid fatty and oily foods: Oily and fatty foods and also other complex carbohydrate substances including proteins will certainly slow down your body’s ability to perform perfect yoga poses. Try to avoid them as well.
3. Prefer fruits and vegetables: If you really want to eat before your yoga class, fruits and vegetables can help you a lot. They will not only increase your body energy levels, but also helps you to reach your fitness goals quickly.

Besides being effective in improving physical and emotional health, yoga is great for building body strength and flexibility.

However, if you are doing it for the first time, it can be an overwhelming experience for you.

The moves or poses involved in yoga are slow-paced with hands-on instruction and lots of positive support for your health.

So, if you are planning to start a yoga regimen, here are few useful tips for you to turn it into a successful exercise routine.

Choose a good quality yoga mat

Most of the yoga postures are done either sitting, kneeling or lying. It may be hard to perform on a solid surface.

Many yoga mats which protect your body from injuries are available in the market. So, choose a yoga mat that fits your size.

Wear proper clothing

Don’t wear tight gym outfits. To performing yoga comfortably, loose clothes are the best choice. Scout around for loose apparel that looks good.

Focus on your poses

Yoga is not about competitiveness. Try to perform yoga poses as instructed by your yoga instructor or at your own pace.

A program of yoga poses, breathing and relaxation significantly reduces joint tenderness and swelling for people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to the research.

Scientists from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore randomly divided a group of 30 sedentary adults with RA into two groups: one group participated in an eight-week program of yoga and the other was put on a waiting list and served as the control.

Those in the yoga group took two one-hour classes per week and were instructed to practice at home as well.

Traditional yoga poses were modified as needed to accommodate for limitations due to RA. Also included in the sessions were deep breathing, relaxation and meditation techniques.

The research team found that those who participated in eight weeks of yoga classes had significantly fewer tender and swollen joints than they did before starting class. Those in the waitlist control group saw no significant changes in their tender and swollen joint counts.

Arthritis Foundation grant recipient Steffany Haaz, MFA, says, “We have previously reported that yoga helps people to feel better, and we wanted to make sure it wasn’t harmful to arthritic joints.

Ever woman’s life is filled with some sort of stress and emotional pressure. These are the ultimate causes to spoil your health.

It is a known fact that emotional distress is finally translated into illness and physical weakness.

Also, woman’s health depends on various factors like hormonal changes.

Practicing yoga postures will greatly help you in overcoming these types of issues.

Different stages in a woman’s life lead to different problems.

Menstrual cramps and premenstrual syndrome are the most leading issues that are affecting many women around the world.

Hormonal changes that come along with menopause are one more reason why a woman has to cope with increased levels of stress.

Pregnancy is also a stage, which brings various changes in your life. In this stage, every health problem will also show an effect on your baby’s health. So, it is essential for every pregnant woman to stay healthy during the pregnancy period. Practicing pregnancy yoga will give you various benefits in order to overcome from these types of issues and also it enables you to overcome from these obstacles.

Benefits of regular yoga practice in a woman’s life:

• Practicing yoga regularly will lessen the negative effects of pregnancy like morning sickness and nausea.

Pranayama is basically the science of breath control. It mainly contains sequence of workouts intended in attaining your body’s requirements and keeps you in vibrant health. Pranayama comes from the following wordings:

• Prana – Life energy or life force
• Yama – Control or discipline
• Ayama – Non-restraint, expansion or extension

The four stages of pranayama include:

Commencement stage: In this stage, your interest towards pranayama is awakened.

Merging of three sariras: At this stage, the three sariras merge to surround the soul, the three sariras include: subtle, gross and causal

Experiencing the knowledge of pranayama: In this stage, the yogi experiences the knowledge of pranayama

Changing physical body postures: In this stage, the yogi goes away from his physical body and gets mixed with the supreme.

Major benefits of pranayama:

Breathing is a very natural part of our life. Knowing this, most of us fail to pay attention to it. This is an autonomic functioning of the body that we can perform even without concentrating on it. Here are the reasons why you need to learn pranayama:

“Kriya yoga is a self-discipline, self study and attunement to the indwelling reality”.

Exercises and breathing techniques are intended to purify and hence cleanse the body’s energy channels.

Kriya Yoga mentally directs one’s life’s energy to revolve, upward, downward and around the six spinal centers which correspond to 12 astral signs of zodiac.

One half minute rotations of energy around the sensitive spinal cord of the man will affect subtle process in his evolution.

Kriya Yoga is derived from three other yoga techniques such as Karma yoga, Bhakti yoga and Jnana yoga.

Karma yoga - Focus on the movement of soul inside and out side of body. Karma means actions, all acts done by you from birth till death. Karma yoga shows the path for doing right things.

Bhakti yoga- Focuses on spreading love to other fellow beings. This yoga is based on the principle “God is love and love is God”. This yoga is regarded as the most direct method to merge in cosmic consciousness.

Jnana yoga- Focuses the mind on a task and allows the mind to be free. Knowledge of the right and insight into the proper means of realization are the two attribute to Jnana yoga. Jnana yoga is awareness to do or not to do.

Bikram yoga is also called as the hot yoga as it is practiced in a room with 105 degrees Fahrenheit temperature and with 40 percent humidity.

This yoga is guided with a specific dialogue including twenty six postures and two breathing exercises. You can practice Bikram yoga at any age.

In the 26 postures of Bikram yoga each posture is used in stretching and strengthening your muscles, ligaments, tendons and joints.

By doing this yoga, the fresh blood and oxygen is moved through all parts of your body and restores all systems in your body.

Bikram yoga is helpful in following conditions:

You can use Bikram yoga in promoting the development of a strong, lean and balanced body.

Bikram yoga is used for stimulating the different systems such as digestion, immunity, cardiovascular function and glands in your body. If you practice Bikram yoga regularly then you can get medical and mental benefits.

Bikram yoga is used for reactivating, reorganizing, revitalizing and reenergizing every cell in your body. It is used in eliminating the risk of injuries, promotes sweating and helps in releasing the toxins from your body. This yoga works on the internal organs and physical body.