Archive for the 'Exercise' Category

Vinyasa Yoga

Sunday, May 10th, 2009

There are many types of yoga including Vinyasa yoga. The term “vinyasa” means “breath-synchronized movement”. This style of yoga is a dynamic connecting posture that creates a flow between static traditional yoga postures.
This is a consistent breathing meditation and a rapid breathing-oriented posed yoga.
Its another way of power yoga.

Unlike other hatha styles of yoga, attention is also placed on the journey between the postures. In hatha yoga styles, attention is placed on postures only. In a standard vinyasa, the poses are performed between repeats of “Downward Facing Dog” in a Sun Salutation: Plank, “Four Limbed Staff”, and “Upward Facing Dog”.

The vinyasa flow is a variant of “Suryanamaskara” whish is also called the “Sun salutation”. The whole method is defined by six specific series of postures combined with specific breathing patterns. These series of postures are done in the same order.

The main purpose of the Vinyasa yoga is to generate heat in the body which leads to purification of body by increasing blood circulation and sweat. It can also improve the flexibility and increases the tissue strength. This will help the student to practice advanced asanas with reduced risk of injuries.

The six series of vinyasa yoga are as follows- (more…)

Proper Attire for Yoga Class

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

Before starting your first yoga class its worth considering what you would like to wear to the class. Yoga involves different movements and several positions including stretches. If you are not wearing the right clothing then you might not get all the benefits that you expect from your yoga class. Here are a few recommendations-

First thing that you need to consider would obviously be comfort. The dress that you wear should be comfortable to you, especially while you perform certain stretching poses.

Cottons are preferred for proper ventilation, as they can breathe easily and keep your body cool during your yoga workout.

Pick your clothes based on the type of yoga workout that you are doing. If you are performing the workout in an air conditioned area, then you can wear tracksuit or sweatpants. In an airconditioned room, then the ideal dressing to wear would be long sleeves or elbow length. If you are practicing bikram yoga then choose a lighter dress.

The main aim of yoga is to relax your body and mind, so your attire needs to support this. So choose clothes that will relax you.

Always choose close fitting tops and bottoms. This is because when you perform inverting poses, your body parts wont be revealed if you are wearing them.

You need not worry about the shoes because yoga is mostly practiced barefoot. Generally people prefer to attend yoga classes with sandals and flip flops as they would be very easy to remove before the class.

Shorts and light tops are apt for yoga classes during vacations.

Loose clothing is preferred but do not choose dresses that are too loose for you, because they may show off more than what you want to.

Do not choose very tight clothing because they may hamper some of the poses. Also, clothing that is too tight can be stretched too far and rip during the class. Tight clothing will be too revealing and may disrupt the opposite sex in your class (if present). Your clothing should be comfortable to you and others also.
Track and jogging suits are popular choices among the yoga practitioners during winter.

Like other exercise activities, you will sweat while practicing yoga movements, so choose fabrics taking this in to consideration. Some fabrics will absorb sweat and will keep your body dry during the workout, but still can  burn those calories.

If your clothing is wet then attempting certain positions could be dangerous and the same is true if your clothing is too loose. Take suggestions regarding the clothing from your yoga teacher.

The recommendations that are listed here are only suggestions to direct you.

If you are not sure about the clothing that you have to wear for your yoga classes, perform some basic moves and test the clothing yourself. You should feel free and good when you are practicing the movements. Clothing is very important for yoga, so solicit help from your yoga teacher. All the best .

Learning Yoga Poses the Right Way

Monday, November 3rd, 2008

Yoga has been practiced for ages and is known to strengthen the mind along with the body. Yoga poses are unique and of many different types. The Sanskrit word, which is used to define them, is “Asana”. Yoga has become extremely popular form of exercise over the world due to positive affects of Asana. Engaging in yoga with the right postures helps your body overcome problems such as backache, being overweight and hypertension. In this article we will look into how yoga poses can bring about profound changes in your body and lead you to good health.

Yoga will benefit you in many ways by making it easy for you relieve stress, attain inner peace and tone the bodies muscles. Yoga postures and positions form the building blocks of the art of Yoga. So before you can go ahead and master Yoga poses, it’s important for you to learn and practice the right postures. This will not only help you safely make use of yoga poses, but also effectively assist you in becoming proficient in applying them the way they are intended.

Another very important step when learning yoga poses is learning to control your breathing, without effort. By breathing properly, a yogic is able to reach beyond the physical dimension, achieve mental stimulation, growth and relaxation.

The most common & useful type of yoga is “Hath Yoga”. It’s the basic form of practice we know of today. Hath yoga is simple yet very effective in refreshing and stimulating your mind & body through the use of healing yoga poses. One of the many benefits you get out of practicing yoga is relief from common body problems.

The art of yoga is marvelous when it comes to attaining the right balance and developing a deep sense of calm. However, it should be practiced with the correct poses in their appropriate manner. For example, “Fighting the Cobra” is a posture that provides minor back pain relief and at the same time tones your abs. Yoga cannot be termed as an exercise but rather a way to achieve balance by bringing together your mind & body with your spirit. (more…)

How to Get the Most Out of Your Yoga Pilates Exercise

Tuesday, October 7th, 2008

Pilates is often referred to as yoga, although the Pilates exercise routine has no real connection with yoga. It works differently and with a different approach. The common point, which you notice between Pilates and yoga, is that they both emphasize on mental focus and controlled breathing during practice. There are some similarities as well as differences between them, but both offer excellent benefits to the practitioner. In this article we will delve into the nits and grits of yoga Pilates and in the process understand the fundamentals, which make them the most efficient techniques for achieving sound physical and spiritual health.

It’s not hard to ignore the fact that over the past 2 decades, yoga & Pilates, haVE achieved a cult following. However, it’s important to notice that there is a good amount of differences between the two age-old arts of exercise and meditation. Studies show us that yoga began in South Asia and Pilates was born in Germany, a completely different continent. Although yoga can be easily traced back to the Indus valley civilization, the person who discovered/founded the practice of yoga is still unknown. On the other hand, it has been well documented that Pilates was the brainchild of Joseph Hubertus, which he founded in 1880. The key difference between yoga and Pilates is, while yoga tends to concentrate on uniting the mind, body and the spirit, Pilates solely focuses on the physical body. Given that, we still cannot ignore the positive changes we go through from practicing yoga Pilates.

The main focus of regular practice of yoga Pilates is maintaining good, optimum health with a proper well being. It revolves around helping the practitioner achieve enhanced body flexibility. Once you start practicing it on a daily basis, you will very soon notice a deep, positive change in your physical as well as your mental life. What’s more, the threat of injuries is lessened to a great extent in yoga Pilates because of the stretching that is involved. One of the most radical benefits that you will experience when you practice yoga Pilates is improved body balance. Also, yoga Pilates concentrates on certain well structured breathing methods which help you relax and calm down, leading to sounder sleep. We can also examine the benefits of yoga and Pilates individually for better understanding.

Yoga allows the energy inside your body to move a lot more freely than before, which basically means that your physical health & well-being is improving. Many negative blocks such as stress, tension and anxiety and other such emotions slow down and halt the free energy movement in your body. Yoga works on these key areas to give you improved energy flow and a balanced mental and spiritual health. It will help you prevent your body from being rigid. When we talk about Pilate exercises, we see them branch out in to several forms. For example, dancers usually prefer stretching exercises as it helps them get in tune or in sync with their bodies. Pilates also utilizes machines, which makes it very much similar to weight training. The trend these days in Pilates is the use of mats, such as the  for enhanced comfort.

Yoga Pilates can definitely prove to be a wondeful pursuit if you want to balance your health using these tried and tested forms of exercise. It all boils down to how much of effort you are ready to put in to actually make that big, happening change in your life. Leading a positive life requires the right techniques, and yoga Pilates does offer them. Start now and you should be on your way to living a perfectly balanced life.

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