The Physical and Mental Benefits of Yoga

It is advocated by knowledgeable personalities and by those who have experienced it, the following benefits are certainly available if practiced regularly and sincerely:

Physical benefits

Flexibility: By turning, twisting and stretching in proper manner, will certainly make the body muscles more flexible. One can get flexibility in hamstrings, back, hips and shoulders.

Muscle tone: As the muscles gets stronger through Yoga, one can get long, lean increased muscles tone.

Strength: Many Yoga poses need you to support the body weight in a different manner, including balancing on one leg or supporting yourself with your arms. Some of the Yoga poses requires slow movement of the body in and out of poses which increases strength.

Breathing: Yoga breathing exercise called Pranayama teaches clearly how to breath properly resulting in better functioning of lungs. Pranayama, the Yogic breathing exercise , focuses the attention on the breath and teach us how to better use our lungs and thereby benefit our entire body. Some specific breathing exercise also help clear the nasal passage and have calming effect on the central nervous system that benefits us physically and mentally.

Prevention of pain: Increased strength and flexibility that is attained through Yoga, help prevent back pain especially for those who work with computers for long hours and car drivers driving through long stretches or otherwise. In fact, Yoga improves body alignment.

Mental Benefits

Stress reduction: Yoga is good for relieving mental or physical stress. Concentration which is essential part of Yoga, melt away the day to day stress while doing the Yoga and seem to bestow a lasting peaceful composure. Emphasis Yoga places on being in the moment help relieve stress as you stop dwelling about the past or future anticipations. Yoga provides the much needed break from stresses and put things into proper perspective.

Mental calmness: Yogic exercises being intensely physical, keeps the mind concentrated during the process, thereby, mental calmness descends automatically. No other thoughts can possibly engulf you. Yoga's meditation techniques help calm the mind.

Body awareness: One gets the essential awareness of his body through Yoga. Subtle changes of body movements during Yoga session or afterwards make you feel better aligned to day to day needs and better comfort. One becomes more confident about his self mentally or physically.

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Achieve Personal Growth While Practicing Yoga

It doesn't matter if you are a yoga student or a teacher, but what really matters is that personal development occurs only when you practice effectively, learning from your mistakes as you go on. If you are already into teaching yoga and taking yoga classes, you yourself have seen the tremendous personal growth that you have experienced and have seen your abilities shift to an advanced level since the time you started with your basic foundational training.

However, students do have problems on a regular basis, and as they are in the early learning phase, it's easy to get sidetracked with the burden of their struggling life. You may give your best by investing time in the physical practice, but along with that, what's more important is focusing on your own emotional, mental and spiritual growth.

Let's see how we can continue with our personal growth during a period of a one whole week. Analyze yourself and try to find out if you are spending a lot of your time watching, reading or listening to bad, negative news. Although it's not really possible to totally avoid the rampant stories of terror, violence and crime, we can still filter out the horrible stories that come our way and sense the amount of bad media that we consume.

Many people out there are living a balanced life by choosing to listen something productive in their free time. By making out time to read helpful information, watch educational channels and listen to good educational CDs we heal our inner self by bringing more positivity in our lives. This does not mean that you should completely cut yourself out from the current events, but we do have the right to see and listen to how much we want when it comes bad news.

The human mind does have its own limits when absorbing bad information of any kind. This is very similar to working with your computer, where it stops working or slows down if a lot of harmful viruses get downloaded. In Yoga, we learn to gain control over the mind and clear it up.

This is definitely not good for all those who want to control us remotely. Hitler and Stalin build huge empires by controlling people in a remote way, through dogma, misinformation and propaganda. However, we still cannot go ahead and accuse the media for controlling the masses, but by going through enough of bad news can lead a person to become a pessimist.

Over the past few decades, the media has learned a great deal when it comes to news, and they know that people would rather pay for negative information. Therefore, the media gives a service that is in demand. However, it's not right for anyone to get manipulated into going through negative thinking.

Take out some time and listen to speakers, and how they try to motivate or even manipulate. Is the message they delivering of fear or of hope? How does the audience react to it and what vibes do they give? Unless and until we train and balance our mind, the external information will keep influencing each one of us.

After practicing meditation and yoga for years, an individual learns to find and seek the answers that lie within. This surely does not mean that yoga practitioners need to go into a hiding and get underground, but we should recognize our responsibility towards ourselves and not allow any message of anger, hate or intolerance influence our mind.

By: Tom Dahne

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Practicing Yoga: The Best Natural Tool To Manage Stress

Stress can grow to high levels and slowly devour your health bit by bit. Many young people are nowadays a victim of this damaging condition. People belonging to all major occupations are going through stress of various kinds in their life. In this article, we will be looking into what exactly causes stress and how you can cure it naturally through the use of Yoga. However, before we hit upon the subject of dealing with stress with yoga, it's important to clearly understand what exactly stress is and how it impacts our life.

Stress is nothing but a mental pressure created due to excessive work or fatigue of any kind. Another major cause for stress is by thinking heavily about the past, present or future or even worrying about work. For example, a businessman who exports his products to different countries might go through a number of ups and downs in business, many of which are short lived. However, this leads him to develop a large amount of stress that can eventually lead to severe problems to his mental health.

In today's world, we go through stress in every part of our life, whether it's offices, schools, colleges or any place where there is a pressure to perform and give results. Students tend to face stress during exam times, 9-5 workers face the stress because of the pending work that needs to be done on time etc. This generally results in people consuming medications such as narcotics, sedatives and tranquilizers (which cure anxiety). Such medicines may calm the mind of a person but when taken on a long-term basis, they can give rise to other serious maladies.

Given all this, there is still a way to naturally combat stress and can be called a lethal weapon against this disorder - yes, I'm talking about yoga. Yoga is the ancient practice that can give you good health and help you rejuvenate your inner self to a high extent. It has been practiced over time by many experienced yogis in ancient India and now has turned out to be a major health revolution in the modern age.

Coming back to stress management, yoga gives you a unique way to manage stress through the use of controlled breathing, which is called Prayanama. During this technique a person breathes in a slow and steady manner, like inhaling through one of this nostrils and exhaling through the other. Besides this, there are also fast paced breathing techniques, like inhaling air via the nostrils and exhaling it through the mouth. Doing this makes sure that the air is passed through the blood capillaries properly and the practitioner himself feels lighter, meaning he or she feels that there is absolutely no burden on their soul or mind.

Finally, Yoga has proved to be the best stress management tool that's natural without any side effects. The western world is adopting it fast for a reason and that is getting the most of your inner self, while avoiding the use of offensive allopathic drugs that do long term damage. Make a wise decision today, and start on your road to a better, healthier well-being.

By: Tom Dahne

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The Difference Between Yoga and Exercise

Like regular exercise, yoga strengthens and tones the body. Regular exercise typically makes a body stronger and less flexible. Weight training for example, builds strength by breaking down and rebuilding muscle tissue. That bulky, muscle bound look and tighter muscle mass is a result of this breaking down and rebuilding of muscle. Yoga strengthens the body by toning the muscles and creates longer, leaner muscles due to the stretching. Yoga creates a body that is stronger and more flexible. Often the goal of regular exercise is to increase the heart rate.

While yoga can be practiced vigorously to increase heart rate, it can also be practiced in a way that reduces the heart rate and lowers blood pressure. Typically one exercises to a point of fatigue. At the end of a yoga practice, you feel as though you have had a workout, but are more relaxed and energized. Hatha yoga is not just a series of exercises, but a principle of exercise that involves concentration, breathing and movement.

Yoga offers many additional benefits as well. Bending, stretching and twisting the body massages and soothes the internal organs aiding digestion and elimination. Our hormones are brought into greater balance due to the toning of the endocrine system. The respiratory system is strengthened and the nervous system is soothed. Stress relief is also a major benefit of practicing yoga. In fact, all systems of the body are affected by a yoga practice. A qualified yoga teacher can advise you on the most appropriate yoga practice for you, regardless of age, health issues and fitness level.

Whether practicing vigorously with challenging poses or practicing gently with soothing poses, yoga is balanced action of the body, awareness of breath and steadiness of mind. This is yoga in action, union of the body/mind.

Regular exercise and yoga both help us to lead active, healthy lives. Yet, yoga is a life support system...a way of life that helps us to maintain a healthier body, a calmer mind and a more balanced and peaceful life.

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Corpse Pose - The Yoga Link For Relaxation and Liberation

Corpse pose or savasana is the final pose in many yoga practices that sets the stage for relaxation. While it may be easy to relax the body through progressive steps-from muscular to spiritual-the mind is much harder to tame. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, one of the oldest texts on Hatha yoga from the 15th century, states "with this posture tiredness caused by other postures is eliminated; it also promotes calmness of mind. And it is pleasant to find that no mystery is involved." Final relaxation is thus another tool in the yoga tradition to achieve relaxation and liberation from the negative thoughts and emotions of the mind.

Muscular relaxation is one of the primary goals in corpse pose. This is achieved by scanning the body for tension and sustained muscular contractions or actively tensing muscles and releasing them to teach awareness of tension vs. muscular relaxation. Most yoga classes minimally focus on releasing this kind of tension during the session.

Autonomic relaxation calms the nervous system by reducing the over-activation of the fight or flight response. This includes lowering the blood pressure and heart rate. One way to calm the nervous system is through focusing on the breath during final relaxation. The breath calms the nervous system in three ways: natural diaphragmatic breathing, extending the exhalation slightly beyond the inhalation and natural smoothness. For these reasons, B.K.S. Inyengar in Light on Yoga, recommends to breathe fine and slow with no jerkiness and to concentrate on deep and fine exhalations for 15-20 minutes.

Emotional relaxation involves letting go of negative thoughts and emotions and replacing them with positive thoughts and affirmations. A simple technique often used in the gratitude release. As you lie in corpse pose think of positive thoughts, experiences and people that you have gratitude for in your life. Another way to achieve this is to have compassionate thoughts for someone that you have conflict with or negative emotions. Dwelling on positive affirmations such as "I can relax, "I am loved," or "my heart is open to receive" can help shift the mind to a relaxed and positive state.

Mental relaxation moves beyond letting go of negative thoughts. At this point, the mind may still have thoughts but there is an unbroken concentration that prevents one from attaching to the thoughts. They simply come and go like ocean waves. Mental relaxation can be as easy as focusing one's attention on the breath, counting numbers or repeating or internalizing a mantra such as "relax" or "let go."

Spiritual relaxation occurs when a personal is able to absorb the thoughts and agitation of the mind and connect deeper to the infinite space or Self that lies within. At this point the person, still fully awake and can transcend the senses and connect inward. This means that the personal is fully relaxed whether in a quiet yoga room or experiencing the sounds of a busy city. Spiritual relaxation leaves the body and mind in an energized and renewed state.

The next time you do yoga, think of the crucial benefits that come from corpse pose. It's easy to skip or reduce the amount of time given to this section of yoga practice; however, the benefits are very powerful in that they help achieve the ultimate goal of yoga-liberation of the mind.

For more information on yoga, breathing and meditation, visit our yoga teacher training and meditation teacher certification resources at http://www.kcfitnesslink.com/yoga_teacher_training.html. KCFitnessLink is a registered school with the Yoga Alliance offering yoga instructor programs in yoga, yoga therapy, Thai massage yoga therapy, meditation and holistic health.

Darryl Olive, MBA, MHA, CSCS, E-RYT 500 is a 500 hour certified and registered yoga teacher with the Yoga Alliance. He leads yoga teacher training workshops and is the director of programs for KCFitnessLink. For more information, visit http://www.kcfitnesslink.com/yoga_teacher_training.html, e-mail info@kcfitnesslink.com or call 816.256.4443 for information about yoga classes, private yoga instruction and yoga instructor certification.

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The Many Benefits of Yoga Exercises - For the Old and Young, Fit and Unfit

So, you know that yoga is healthy for you but you don't quite understand an exercise that is often done to a slow pace could possibly improve your health. This is a common confusion that stumbles many people, but there are in fact many great benefits of yoga exercises when performed on a regular basis. These benefits are not only physical, but mental as well.

Physical Benefits of Yoga

If your main goal is to burn a ton of calories and drop a lot of weight, yoga exercises would not necessarily be your number one pick, right? That's what most people think, and it is a shame. Yoga can actually help you reach weight loss goals, and look even better when you get there!

The types of poses that yoga requires will build strength and flexibility throughout your entire body. As you grow stronger your muscles will develop more and you will have more lean muscle mass. Since muscle is what actually burns off calories you will start to burn more calories on a daily basis the longer you do yoga exercises.

Mental Benefits of Yoga

Correct breathing is a huge part of practicing yoga. You simply cannot get the most out of yoga exercises or sequences if you are not breathing correctly. The slow, deliberate breaths that you are taught to favor help your lungs and teach you how to breath for more energy every day of your life.

In addition, the calming effect of these breathing practices has great benefits to your mind. You will come out of a yoga routine relaxed, at ease, and ready for whatever life hits you with next. Many people do yoga on a daily basis simply as a form of stress management.

Yoga isn't just a physical exercise; it's also a mental one. Get all the latest yoga tips and proven strategies about getting the most out of yoga. Visit Yoga Asana for more on Yoga.

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Children's Yoga - 5 Ways Yoga Helps Your Child Develop a Healthy Body

If you are looking for a safe, fun and quick way to help you child develop a healthy body, introduce him to yoga.

Yoga is a holistic health care system which consists of a range of exercises, breathing practices and visualisation techniques which strengthens and develops the whole body. Children from as young as two years old can practice yoga, at home or in a group with other children. Here are five ways yoga exercises help your child develop a healthy body.

5 Ways Yoga Helps Your Child Develop A Healthy Body

1. Yoga Exercises tone your internal organs - In yoga you are encouraged to stay in a pose for at least 3 - 5 rounds of yogic breathing. When you hold a pose and release it, it brings fresh rich oxygen to that part of the body. This helps to cleanse and strengthen the body.

2. Yoga Calms Your Mind - There is a direct link between a calm mind and a strong healthy body. Yoga poses, such as the child pose, the rag doll pose or seated forward bend help to calm the nervous system. Yoga breathing exercises also have a similar effect to reduce nervous tension and calm negative emotions.

3. Yoga Exercises Promote Flexibility And Suppleness - Some children are stiff and have difficulty moving gracefully. Poses can be adapted to increase the range of movement in different parts of the body, e.g. tight hips and stiff backs can be eased open through gentle yoga poses such as the Wind Reliving Pose or the prayer pose can help ease tense shoulders.

4. Yoga Is Non-Competitive - Some children shy away from participating in exercise and physical activity as they these activities are generally competitive. Yoga places great emphasis on teaching your child how to listen and respect their body and not to push it beyond its limits. It is not competitive and yoga teachers actively encourage your child to adapt poses to suit their capability.

5. Yoga Promotes Balance and Inner Peace - The word yoga means union, to bring balance and harmony to your inner and outer world. Yoga stretches the whole body, as opposed to focusing on your child's dominant skills. Guided visualisations help your child to experience inner calm and quiet.

So, if you are looking for an all-round system of exercise to help your child develop a strong, healthy and balanced body, try yoga. The range of poses, breathing exercises and relaxation techniques offer your child a truly holistic exercise programme and affirm foundation for their well-being as they grow up.

"And now I would like to invite you to claim your Free Instant Access to my Special Report "Yoga Exercises and Breathing Exercises to Ease You Into Your Day" when you visit http://www.yogainspires.co.uk/pages/ntathusfreeyogaandmeditationtips.php - Start your day with a smile, a relaxed body and a more peaceful mind."

From Ntathu Allen - Sivananda Yoga Teacher and Registered Polarity Therapist.

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Proper Breathing Can Enhance Your Yoga Positions

Many yoga positions are geared to improve your posture. Like dance, yoga when done right uplifts the practitioner and helps to strengthen the spine and neck. One of the most important aspects of yoga postures is the breathing rhythm.

Pranayama is the science of breath control. By controlling your breathing, yoga practitioners discover how to control their thoughts and emotions. New practitioners are taught to first focus on the form of the posture and the motion and position of their bodies. The Asanas or exercises are the physical aspect of yoga. This aspect develops your physical form; it allows you to build a strong foundation for what is to follow.

What most new practitioners don't yet realize is that proper breathing consists of five of the eight fold path of yoga. Proper breathing is important for a number of reasons; the breathing itself is controlled to affect the body chemistry as you move and pose. It also controls the mind by giving focus to your mind and emotions.

Once you are able to get your muscles to accept the movements and postures as a natural part of its routine, your mind must begin to focus on the control of your diaphragm. There are complex actions going on when you attempt to take over from your autonomic system. Breathing is an automatic system for a very good reason, if everyone had to control their daily intake and exhalation of air, I guarantee you that people would be dead as soon as they fall asleep.

What we learn to do in yoga is breathe on purpose. The cerebral cortex allows us to take over from the autonomic system to control our body's ability to take in air and expel it at our conscious will. Controlled breathing can alter our biology in profound ways. We can slow our heartbeat, our blood pressure and even affect our brain chemistry.

Executing yoga postures strengthens our bodies, our backs, knees and the arms. As you get used to practicing yoga positions everyday, you can begin to gain insight into the benefits of the breathing exercises.

Certain types of advanced breathing techniques can enrich your levels of oxygen in the blood stream and decreasing the levels of carbon dioxide. The effect is like going up to the high altitude mountains. Practitioners can sharpen their senses and reach a heightened level of awareness.

Thoracic breathing occurs in the chest. The shoulders and chest do most of the work which causes a more shallow breath. Thoracic breathing in yoga is used for therapeutic reasons. Chest breathers tend to feel short of breath and will tend to yawn.

Paradoxical breathing takes the chest breathing exercise to the extreme. During this exercise, the chest is expanded and abdomen is constricted to a large degree. Paradoxical breathing stimulates the sympathetic nervous system and stimulates your flight or fight response.

Abdominal breathing is a natural, relaxed form of breath control that reaches deeply into the diaphragm. The diaphragm plays an important part in your full breathing regimen. Lung volume is increased and your blood volume will increase as well.

You can practice abdominal breathing while lying in the prone position. Breathe through your nostrils as evenly and as deeply as you can while filling your lungs. Your abdomen will rise as your lungs expand; you'll be able to monitor the movement of your diaphragm. Make sure that your chest remains motionless during the exercise.

These exercises allow your mind and body to work together for harmonious integration. Yoga breathing exercises cover a lot more than what I've covered in this article. There are even complex systems of breathing for sex, sports, illness recovery, spiritual growth and health maintenance.

Very few of us use the full capacity of our respiratory system. Our lifestyles and priorities lead to several complications popularly called - lifestyle disorders. Many of the diseases we face later in life are based on our priorities as young men and women. Yoga can help you to deprogram your nervous system to give you full control of your breathing capacity.

If you are older and suffer from asthma, COPD, or other pulmonary ailment, yoga gives you an opportunity to help your system get back to optimal health. Be sure to practice breath control once you have achieved familiarity with your postures and poses. Trying to master both at once can be daunting for a beginner.

For more information on combating disease and getting fit with yoga, visit our website. http://yoga.didarticles.com/

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How to Take Care of Your Eco Friendly Yoga Mat

An eco friendly yoga mat is specifically designed to support a yoga practitioner's body as he or she goes about the pulls and stretches that make up yoga. This means that yoga mats go through as much physical strain as the practitioner who uses it on a regular basis.

The main difference, though, is that the body heals and repairs itself over time, while a yoga mat deteriorates over time. This makes proper yoga mat maintenance essential if you want to keep on using your mat for a few decades to come.

So without further ado, here are three simple tips to properly take care of your eco friendly yoga mat:

Proper Use
The first thing to keep in mind when it comes to preserving a yoga mat is to use it properly.

A yoga mat is meant to support the human body during stationary activity like yoga. It is not meant as a foot rug, face towel, pillow or object for venting one's frustration. Therefore it is to be placed flat and evenly on the floor; cushioning and supporting a yoga practitioner's body and bones from the pressure of sitting on a hard floor.

And speaking of proper use, friction is to be avoided as much as possible when using a yoga mat. Although the movement of the body will inevitably grind away the top layers of the mat, unnecessary friction on the mat's surface and bottom will speed this process up. So keep that mat as friction-free as possible, and it will last for quite some time in your care.

Proper Cleaning
Dirt and oil serve not only to make a yoga mat look dirty and unkempt. They can also have a weakening effect on the material of the yoga in the long run.

The dirt and oil referred here comes from both the human body and the environment where the mat is placed. Not only will they make a mat look and smell bad, but they will also get into the tight spots of the mat - which will eventually speed up the deterioration process as it goes through the wear and tear of constant use.

Yoga mats must not be hand washed or machine washed too frequently if they're made from synthetic materials. And if an eco friendly yoga mat is made of natural materials, they should be kept as clean as possible in order to reduce the need for washing.

Proper Storage
Yoga mattresses may be made tough enough to withstand some wear and tear, but the elements care little for physical strength when it comes to deterioration.

Water, heat, molds and moths can easily damage a yoga mat as time passes. This makes proper storage essential for an eco friendly yoga mat for it to last more than one year. An unexposed area away from moisture and sunlight mixed with plenty of flowing air is the perfect place to store a yoga mat. These places will shield the mat from heat and moisture, while molds and moths will not be able to set up shop in such environments.

Robert W. (Bob) Walker reports on a number of natural health and wellness issues and believes the ecological way is the only way. Please visit his blog ecofriendlyyogamatblog.com

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Costa Rica Yoga Vacation

A vacation is a time to rest, refocus, and enjoy, there is no better way to do all three than on a Costa Rica yoga vacation. A Costa Rica yoga holiday is more than just a trip away from home, it is a way to experience the practice of yoga in the peaceful, serene natural beauty of the rainforest. Take your yoga skills to the next level as you breathe the ocean air deeply and enjoy the sounds of the rainforest. While you're at it, meet some of the inhabitants of the rainforest, your Costa Rica Yoga vacation will be an opportunity to reach within and embrace your true self while at the same time reaching out to embrace the iguana that's sauntering by.

When you've achieved a peaceful state of enlightenment, trade your mat for a board and hit the waves because with more than eight hundred miles of shoreline, your Costa Rica yoga experience is just getting started! After some serious surf time use what you've learned during your Costa Rica yoga training to conquer your fears and head out to enjoy one of the many adventure activities. Kick your journey of self-discovery into high gear with the white water rafting, snorkeling, horseback riding, canopy tours, zip-lining, mountain biking, and even bungee jumping that makes Costa Rica synonymous with adventure travel.

If your Costa Rica yoga journey requires quieter pursuits, the jungle offers amazing opportunities for bird watching and hiking as you search for monkeys, toucans, parrots, and the reclusive rainforest sloth. A great yoga session will prepare your mind to concentrate on your swing as Costa Rica boasts world class golf courses and day spas. Of course the best way to cap off a perfect day of yoga is to take a dip in one of Cost Rica's famed natural waterfalls. End your day of yoga and adventure by strolling on the beach at sunset, you're at peace, you're enlightened, you're on a Costa Rica yoga holiday!!

For more information about Costa Rica yoga, visit the website at http://www.laescueladelsol.com.

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Using Yoga Cleansing to Regulate Type 2 Diabetes

For those who suffer from type 2 diabetes, it is a life changing situation. Diabetes can cause heart disease, stroke, amputations, kidney failure, blindness etc and it can remain undetected for years. If you are overweight, pregnant or over 50, it is important to get checked for diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes develops due to a diminished production of insulin. Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults, and was previously known as juvenile diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar (glucose), starches and other food into energy needed for daily life.

Type 2 diabetes develops due to resistance to insulin effects and is mostly associated with obesity. In type 2 diabetes, either the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin. Insulin is necessary for the body to be able to use glucose for energy.

Yoga can help to regulate your mind and body while cleansing your system. Yoga has several parts- asana, pranayama and shatkarma. Asanas (postures) and Pranayama (breathing techniques) are quite popular and widely practiced but today only a few people practice Shatkarmas (Yoga cleansing practices).

By taking up yoga your quality of life can vastly improved. If you dedicate yourself to the daily practice of yoga, the practice can help to reduce your stress hormones, bring a feeling of calm and relaxation and at the same time help to reduce the effects of type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes can be prevented. It is not a foregone conclusion to get the disease or to fall victim to its effects once contracting it. The best method of prevention is a balanced diet and exercise program that regularly cleanses your system and lowers your stress level.

Yoga provides a stress reducing regimen and a vigorous exercise program that can reduce your fat level and strengthen your body. If you become a serious practitioner, you can master the ancient cleansing arts. In order to perform these rituals, you should find an accomplished yoga master.

There are six practices used in Yoga cleansing; they are Dhauti, Basti, Neti, Tratak, Nauli and Kapalbhati.

Dhauti is an important yoga system of cleaning. It has four distinct types.

Antar (internal) Dhauti - This further divided into Vatsara Dhauti (Expelling air through the anus).
Varisara Dhauti (Purging water through the bowels).
Vahnisara Dhauti (rapid expansion and contraction of the abdomen).
Bahiskrita Dhauti (washing the rectum in the hands).
Hrida (cardiac) Dhauti - It has three kinds of practices Danda Dhauti (Inserting soft banana stem in the stomach).
Vastra Dhauti (Swallowing a long thin strip of cloth) Vaman Dhauti (Regurgitating the contents of the stomach).

Basti - This practice of colon cleansing has two parts Jala (water) Sthal (Dry) basti (Air is sucked in this case).

Neti - this yogic nasal irrigation technique is of four types Jala (water) Neti (passing warm saline water through the nose) Sutra (thread) Neti (passing a soft thread through the nose) Ghrita (ghee) Neti (passing clarified butter through the nose).

Dugdha (milk) Neti (passing of milk through the nose.

Tratak - A yoga exercise for the eyes, it involves steady and continuous gazing at a point of concentration. It is further subdivided into:

Hantar (internal) Trataka, and Bahir (external ) Tratak.

Nauli - A yoga abdominal cleansing technique which serves to massage the internal organs of the body. In this the abdominal muscles are isolated and churned. It has three parts akshin Nauli (when muscles are isolated to the right).
Vama Nauli (left) Madhyama Nauli (middle).

Kapalbhati - this mind detoxification technique of yoga has three components Vatkrama Kapalbhati (similar to bhastrika pranayama). Vyutkrama Kapalbhati (sucking water in through the nose and expelling it through the mouth) Sheetkrama Kapalbhati.

Using yoga to reduce your stress, cleansing your body and mind as well as building your body is a great way to stave off the effects of diabetes. If you are working pro-actively to reduce your chances of contracting Type 2 diabetes, cleansing and working out regularly can help you to combat the disease.

For more information on combating disease and getting fit with yoga, visit our website. http://yoga.didarticles.com/

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Yoga - For the Nose

The practice of nasal cleansing has been used by Yoga and Ayurveda Practitioners for thousands of years. This practice is called "Neti." It is one of the six purification techniques performed as a way to prepare the body for yoga practice. This simple technique uses lukewarm water as an irrigation process to gently cleanse the nasal passages. As the gentle flow of salt water (similar to the concentration of your tears) flows through your nasal passage it will help wash away bacteria and viruses.

You may have heard of the Neti Pot recently from articles in the Minneapolis Star and Tribune or possibly on Oprah. Many people nationwide are discussing its benefits and why it has become so popular. Unfortunately with the rise of pollution and chemicals in our environment-what follows is a rise in sinus infections and respiratory illnesses.

A natural way to avoid these issues is to adapt to the practice of Neti just like you would with brushing your teeth in your daily routine. Find a Neti Pot that best suits your nostrils. They come in many shapes and sizes, plastic and ceramic. Most Neti Pots will come with full instructions on how to use them and a salt mixture for you to make your own saline solution at home.

This practice will be very helpful if you are irritated by allergies to pollen, dust or chemical irritants.

Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and these materials are products and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Stacy Seebart, Massage Therapist, Pranassage Practitioner, Interdisciplinary Yoga Teacher

Stacy Seebart approaches bodywork holistically, drawing from many modalities, always with the intention of helping to connect the body, mind, and spirit. She is a graduate of New England Academy of Therapeutic Sciences in Dublin, New Hampshire, and has worked as a massage therapist since 2001.

Stacy is also a Pranassage Practitioner and Interdisciplinary Yoga Teacher. She is a graduate of the Nosara Yoga Institute in Nosara, Costa Rica. She is on faculty at NYI as a teaching assistant for the annual 100-hour Pranassage Practitioner Training. As Stacy has continued her yoga studies, she has focused on Yoga Therapy. Visit Aagesen Chiropractic Clinic at http://www.aagesenchiro.com for more information.

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Yoga's Healing Powers and Anti Aging Properties

Yoga has countless healing powers and health advantages. Yoga originated from India where yogis were Buddhists who practiced to attain spirituality and harmony. You might have dwelt on the pictures of yogis floating in the air with their legs crossed and eyes closed and pondered over its implication. The idea behind the picture is very simple. Yogis believed that such immense lightness of mind and body was achieved from meditating that the body itself floated in the air like a feather in the wind.

Today yoga is still as popular over there as it was in dark ages but modern yoga does not deal with floating in the air but focuses more on health and fitness of the body as well as that of the mind. Yoga inculcates discipline, harmonizing the body, mind and spirit. The combined efforts of posture maintenance, relaxation, and breathing exercises clear the body of toxins and allow free flow of energy.

Yoga provides immense relief from daily tensions which a person experiences from routine life activities and responsibilities. Yoga postures improve the blood flow to the crucial systems of the body like the spleen, pancreas, urinary system, thyroid, lungs and heart and tones our muscles increasing their efficiency and longevity.

The few main benefits of yoga are highlighted below:
1. Insomnia and asthma attacks are prevented and eliminated to a positive extent
2. It provides relief to sufferers of backache and osteoporosis
3. It regulates blood pressure and blood flow
4. Combats obesity and acidity
5. Cures breathlessness and aids anemic patients
6. The functioning of the ovaries also improves for those women suffering from menstrual disorders
7. Body posture is elevated and firmness of figure is acquired
8. Harmony of the body and mind is ensured

Yoga focuses on unity of mind and body. It is very important to practice the yoga postures
known as asanas with the help of some yoga dvds as some exercises require guidance to follow and exercising in the wrong ways may lead to serious complications.

Courses are available commonly for home practice. More and more people are realizing the benefits of yoga and join yoga classes to derive its multiple benefits.

Yoga is a natural anti aging agent. Different yoga postures ensure that the health of the body is maintained and that the skin remains wrinkle free for longer years. Yoga is a beauty enhancer, toning the skin and keeping the twinkle and glitter of the eyes for a lifetime. The soul of the yogi undergoes tranquility and peace and this contentment is shown on the skin and body. The waves of moods are kept at bay by meditation and relaxation.

There are three styles of yoga which a person can choose from: Hatha yoga, Bikram yoga and Raja yoga. Hatha yoga is the standard style followed commonly as the asanas are very easy to catch on and practice regularly. It does not demand any special qualifications. The answer lies in keeping up with the yoga postures and maintaining a balance in life to get long lasting and effective results.

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Some Tips About Yoga Sandals

Whether you should buy some yoga sandals to wear in your class is a decision only you can make. A has to be said, however most people prefer to be barefoot. On the other hand some people do like to wear something on their feet. You could give barefoot a try, and if that doesn't work buy some sandals. Your feet need to have a good grip on the floor all mat, because being balanced in almost all the positions is important.

You will have a choice of color when buying your new sandals with browns and blacks being the most popular with both sexes. Quite a few people actually like to wear sandals but don't wear them in class.

Yoga sandals are unlike other types of footwear that are designed for martial arts. They have four supports for your toes to fit into, unlike normal sandals which only have one support. They certainly help keep your balance and not put all of your weight on the bones of your feet. They help your toes by stopping them curling up which in turn helps your balance and circulation.

Different natural styles.

Yoga sandals can help you become healthier when walking, this is because they use certain principles that allow your body to get into physical alignment, which is obviously very healthy. You might be interested know that Beech Sandal Company of Australia holds the trademark for this type of sandal.

More and more people around the world are becoming environmentally aware and are try to live more naturally. So many stores are offering holistic products such as environmentally friendly sandals. Generally, these eco-friendly and holistic fashion products copy or model Hindu traditional attire such as sandals and robes.

Funnily enough, in India, Yoga is practiced barefoot so you don't actually see many people in sandals.

The designers at Beech Sandal Company of Australia, noticed that in order to stop nail varnish from smudging professional pedicurists employed to holders. This was the idea that inspired the shoemakers to manufacture yoga sandals.

Malc has been interested in yoga for many years and likes the airex yoga mat and yoga sticky mats, for more interesting topics about yoga please check out his website.

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A Pregnancy Yoga DVD Aids You in Dealing With Pregnancy

Your body goes through umpteen alterations as you progress throughout your pregnancy. You get the option of how to handle these alterations and the way you will respond to all of them. It can be troublesome going from time to time, particularly when your body does not even feel like your body at times. Each woman manages these changes in different ways but you invariably have a choice in the way you manage them. A productive and helpful way to deal with them is to use a prenatal yoga DVD.

It might aid you get in tune with your body and the shifts going on within and outside of it. Getting in tune with your body might help you cope with all of those changes and come to a place of understanding and acceptance with them.

One area that a pregnancy yoga DVD may aid you to do is merely experience your body. The stretches and various yoga positions which you do may aid you find where your body is tense and may help you to loosen that area. As you go on in your pregnancy, there is so much of additional weight tugging at your back that doing these stretches can help you unwind your back and feel improved.

Another terrific thing about a prenatal yoga DVD is that it can help you deal with your ever-changing body with the deep breathing techniques taught. Most of us do not really take a breath in the manner we should (from the diaphragm, not from the chest) and yoga can assist you do that. These breathing techniques are fantastic for helping you tune in and listening to your body. A few deep breaths can have you actually get grounded in your body and experiencing each area of it. Closing your eyes as you breathe in and out can assist you ground and focus yourself. This may aid you get in touch with what is occurring inside your body.

Another thing which you will discover on a pregnancy yoga DVD which may assist you manage your altering body is meditation practices. Once again, this is a great way for you to merely loosen up, center on your body and your growing child, and relax into your body. Taking the time to merely sense your body and what is taking place in it. A terrific thing to do is to just welcome the alteration as you get in touch with your body throughout your meditation. Merely concentrate and unwind. Permit your body state to you what is coming about with it and what it wants. If you just heed, it will tell you.

Having time with a prenatal yoga DVD to unwind yourself and get in touch with your body can assist you handle the alterations that are coming about in your body right now. Simply allow yourself to slow down and realize what is coming about in it. Acquire additional free pre natal yoga help at http://www.PrenatalYogaDVD.net

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