Yoga and Pregnancy - A Great Combination

Yoga is helpful for every individual, but yaga during pregnancy is even more important. Women have great hormonal, biological and anatomical changes throughout pregnancy that might bring about unwanted problems. Pregnancy may also make women feel trapped, insecure and unsure of the outcome of the pregnancy. All of this may cause significant physical and mental distress. But practicing yoga while pregnant, with appropriate modifications and support from their health care professional, can help women discover much needed comfort, not just through minimizing anxiousness and instilling peacefulness, but also in strengthening the body and releasing tightness in the hips in preparation for birth and also by increasing oxygen and energy.

Yoga can increase self-assurance levels and stimulate the intuitive instincts. These elements allow for a smooth, uncomplicated delivery. Special Yogic respiratory techniques, called Pranayama, may help mother and fetus get more oxygen. Deep breathing relaxes the mother during labor; it also can help her focus and control her breathing when labor pains and contractions begin. Yoga during pregnancy helps lessen the strain on the muscular tissues and joints and improves blood circulation and the lymph fluids. Yoga boosts the power, flexibility and elasticity of all muscles and improves posture. It relieves pain in the lower back and knees (a common problem in pregnancy). It lowers blood pressure and benefits the central nervous and endocrine systems.

Stamina increases with regular yaga practice, which helps during labor. Continuing yoga subsequent to delivery will help bring back the strength and firmness of the principal muscles of the abdomen and back. Many health trials have been completed regarding the benefits of yoga, reaching the conclusion that regular practice does the following:

- Regulates the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems;
- Improves the assimilation of nutritional compounds in the tissues;
- Increases endorphins in the brain (cerebral chemicals, serotonin);
- Increases blood flow and massages the muscular tissues and the internal systems;
- Reverses the negative effects of the gravitational forces within the internal organs and the external body;
- During Meditation, the presence of Alpha and Theta waves increase in the brain that are responsible for creating a state of calmness and equilibrium.

POST-NATAL RECOVERY

After the baby is born, even if delivery was uncomplicated, a woman may experience difficulty in several areas. She may be unable to cope with a number of demands that are placed on her. She may experience exhaustion and fatigue and many new aches and pains. Her life is now changed forever and the new obligations may appear insurmountable. Melancholy occurs frequently in new moms and sometimes leads to catastrophic outcomes if not attended to.

A daily yoga practice of asana and pranayama, as well as meditation, is highly recommended for post-natal recovery. Yoga will alleviate symptoms of exhaustion and tiredness and increases positive energy flow. Furthermore, it massages and tightens the internal organs, primarily the womb, that has undergone great changes during pregnancy, and restores resiliency and strength of the abdominals.

Yoga stimulates the pituitary glands which regulate prolactin, helping with the production of milk for breast feeding moms. It strengthens the back muscles that have been strained from increasing body weight, and restores and strengthens the pelvic region, hips and bones. Yaga strengthens, stretches and relieves strain in the upper body, neck and shoulders due to the weight of carrying the new infant, and helps rebuild proper posture and a healthy back. Pranayama breathing techniques will help increase oxygen and energy levels in the body and promote a sense of calmness and much needed rejuvenation. Meditation helps to center and calm the mind and rebuilds a sense of stability, leading to a better capacity to respond to the demands of motherhood.

Yoga during pregnancy will help with the changes that happen physically and emotionally. Afterward, it will help with the transition needed for higher enjoyment and appreciation of, by far, the most amazing occurrence of all, the miracle of life!

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Yoga To Treat Asthma - Breathe Easier By Practicing 3 Simple Poses

Living with asthma can be a real struggle and is often quite frightening when a sudden attack occurs. Being dependent on an inhaler and restricting your activities to those that won't induce an attack can significantly lower your quality of life. However, you can begin to practice yaga to treat asthma and see that it is possible to ease many of your symptoms naturally. Of course, don't change or stop your medications without consulting your doctor first. But why not try yoga-you don't have to be flexible, the poses described below are great for beginners. Over time you may find your asthma symptoms lessening and your breathing is easier with fewer attacks.

How does yoga help to alleviate asthma symptoms? The main way is by promoting deeper breathing. People with asthma tend to have shallow breathing, so breathing deeply will encourage a better breathing pattern. Also, yoga poses that expand the chest and ribs will increase your lung capacity which also helps you breathe better. So which poses are best to treat asthma? Try the three described below:

* Fish Pose - Lie down on your back, with either your legs straight and together with toes pointed outwards or with them bent at the knees. Place your hands palms down under your buttocks and keep your elbows close to your body. Lift your torso off the floor but keep most of the weight on your elbows. Rest either the top or back of your head gently on the floor, keeping your face and neck relaxed. Breathe deeply for about 15 breaths, then lift your head slightly and lower your body back to the floor.

* Camel Pose - Kneel down on your knees with your thighs about hip width apart. Start to lean backwards slowly, reaching behind you for your feet. Only go as far as is comfortable. If you can't reach your feet, you can use a prop until you become more limber. Don't tilt backwards at your thighs, keep them vertical. Hold this pose for about 30-60 seconds, then come back up slowly and rest.

* Cobra Pose - Lie down on your stomach and keep your hands under your shoulders. Keep your legs straight with the heels pointing outwards. Inhale and slowly lift up, but let your back do most of the lifting, not your arms. Press your abs, thighs, and feet into the floor. Only go as high as is comfortable. Hold for about 15-30 seconds, then come back down and rest.

Over time you'll find that you breathe deeper and easier. Don't worry if you can't stretch very far, even just a little bit will help and soon you'll become quite limber. With more practice you may find you don't have as many asthma attacks as before. In the meantime, enjoy your new yoga practice and the path to breathing better naturally!

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Yoga - Different Strokes for Different Folks

Yoga is for everyone! However, there is a big difference between what your yoga practice should be when you are 20, 30, 50 or 70 and more. The practice should change as the body changes and provide what we need in order to enhance our life's experiences.

In Yoga Rahasy of Nathamuni, we are urged to consider the individual's stage in life while practicing yoga. When one is young, the body is in the growth stage. More rigorous forms of yoga are appropriate - like vinyasa, ashtanga, power yoga, etc. With proper breathing rigorous practice helps the young body grow and develop with good physical health and mental stability. Building strength and challenging one's limits are an essential part of yoga for the young. As hormones are changing emotions and behavior, confusion become part of everyday life for a young person. Anxiety, self-confidence, authenticity are all issues that a balanced, challenging and grounding yoga practice can address at this stage of life.

In addition, young individuals are involved in varieties of sports, often competitively. Athletes can benefit from yoga as a cross training tool, as a practice to develop focus and concentration, and as a practice to prevent and take care of existing injuries.

During midlife, when the body is neither growing, nor decaying, the yoga practice takes more of a therapeutic, stress reduction and relaxation approach. More precision, good yogic breathing, meditations, chanting, etc become necessary. In midlife, the main requirement is to stay healthy so one can meet the demands of daily living and the responsibilities of having a job and a family. This is the stage when one has to achieve results - personally, and professionally. The pressure builds mentally and physically. Stress is constantly present as people multitask, juggling family and friends with work deadlines, financial stability and providing security. Headaches, chronic tightness in the shoulders, neck, and back, injuries from caring children or lifting heavy objects improperly, sitting for prolong periods of time in front of a computer or an office desk, occupational hazards, overuse of the body...etc become a fact of life. One must remain fit enough to ward off stagnation, weight gain, heart disease, arthritis, etc, and yet have enough time for everything else that demands attention. Therefore, one's yoga practice should be less "achievement" oriented, and more of an opportunity to reconnect with one's self, realign the body, correct the posture, deepen the breath to relax the nervous system, take care of injuries, and restore calm. The practice should cultivate more mindfulness as life's demands are met easier with more positive attitude, less judgment and tons of compassion towards one's self and others.

As one ages, the body begins to decay - metabolism changes, bone density changes, disease, discomfort and pain seem to visit more often. In this stage yoga practice should be directed toward maintaining mobility and balance more than anything else. Also, as death approaches, one must begin to prepare for the event, so the yoga practice should include more meditation, along with study and reflection on one's life and spiritual teachings. Some specific benefits yoga provides for the elderly body include: reduced blood pressure and maintaining a healthy heart function; maintaining good range of motion, maintaining strength and balance enabling the body to prevent falls and injuries; keeping the spine in proper alignment reducing the need for chiropractic adjustments and considerably lessening chronic back aches and pains; improved circulation to the feet and hands; improved digestion and metabolism; improved breathing which helps with conditions like asthma; improved sleep at night, and much more.

Ultimately, in any stage of life we can benefit from peace of mind, alertness, equanimity, compassion and positive attitude. Yoga is an excellent practice to undertake at any stage of life and by people enjoying any kind of life style. Whatever our life's circumstances, when doing yoga, we do better, have more fun and appreciate what we have a lot more. Finding a class that meets your needs and requirements, with a teacher that you resonate with, will help you appreciate yoga, your body and being, and be more consistent in you practice. The practice is only helpful if it is a regular part of one's life.

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Using Yoga for Stress Relief

Done for thousands of years, yoga has proven to be one of the oldest practices for self-development. It combines meditation, ethical disciplines, breathing control, and physical postures.

Even though it originated from the East, yoga is now gaining popularity in the West as well. In fact, many companies are beginning to recognize the benefits yoga has. Many will now sponsor yoga programs for their workers because they see that it improves their workers' health and output.

People have begun to use yoga for stress relief as well. The power of yoga comes from the combination of meditation, stretching, physical movement, controlled breathing, and mental imagery. The definition of yoga is "to bring together". It is known to combine and unite a person's mind, body, and spirit.

Whether you do yoga for spiritual transformation or for physical improvement, the benefits of doing it are numerous. These benefits would include increased strength and flexibility, sounder sleep, reduced anxiety and tension, slower aging process, lower blood pressure, improvement in medical conditions, and much more.

Because of the numerous benefits of yoga, it has a great payoff considering the amount of work you put into it. Yoga is done by performing different poses and stretching the body while accompanying it with slow and controlled breathing.

Doing yoga helps your body be relaxed and energized at the same time. Yoga has variations of style as well. Some of them would require doing the movements quickly, similar to an aerobic workout while others focus on the relaxation poses.

What is good about yoga is that the benefits it has could be enjoyed by almost everybody. People of all ages, and walks of life can use yoga for relaxation, and practicing it will have many physical, mental, and spiritual benefits.

Another good thing about yoga is that most of the poses can be done anywhere, and the time period of yoga sessions could range from minutes to hours. All of this gives the person more freedom to choose his individualized yoga session. With all the benefits of yoga, there are also some downsides as well.

To reap all the rewards and benefits, you need to have commitment in what you are doing. You need to set aside time to make things happen. Your physical limitations could also deter you from doing some of the more difficult poses.

Just remember, yoga has a lot of benefits for your body, but it requires a lot of commitment and effort, but if you persevere, the benefits you get will get will amaze you.

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Kamloops Yoga: Meditate Your Way to Inner Peace

Yoga has been in practice for over thousands of years. In its most traditional sense, it is defined as the union between the individual and the universal. As a fitness routine, it is a great way to get in shape by toning your muscles and aligning your body. It is also an emotionally and mentally fulfilling exercise, as the breathing and meditation exercises serve to pull you away from the problems that weigh you down.

Let go and live in the moment
In this day and age, it is easy to get caught up in our fears and problems. Oftentimes, our negative thoughts can become so overwhelming that it virtually cripples us. Meditation is the practice of letting things go. It is a practice of emptying the mind of all its thoughts and finding your center so you can be at peace. Many people think that it is impossible to keep their minds under control, but when they take the time out to meditate, the stress of the entire working day melts away, allowing a moment of peace to permeate your mind.

As more and more people practice yoga, they begin to find that their thoughts do not allow them to savor living for the present moment. Moving in yoga and focusing on the breath and the body allow you to think of nothing but the present, and allow you to cast away your thoughts and emotions. This constant act of letting go allows us to dive into the present moment again and again. When practiced earnestly and properly in yoga, the habit begins to find its way into our behavior.

Positive physical effects
Research suggests that meditation also has some positive physiological effects. When a person is stressed, the vein walls contract and this is the cause of high blood pressure. Meditation allows blood to flow easily by expanding the veins. Stress is also caused by lots of electric tension in the brain. Excess electric tension gives way to headaches, one of the most common stress-related ailments. Meditation has been shown to significantly reduce electric tension in the brain, allowing it to rest and heal itself, which is why you feel much more alive and refreshed after meditation.

Yoga is the union of the mind, body and spirit. When one aspect is damaged, the other two do not receive the full benefits of yoga. When your body is in good shape, your mind and spirit will follow.

The more you practice meditation, the more you are able to look deep within yourself and examine patterns and behaviors that hold you back from becoming the person you want to be. Doing this in conjunction with the physical aspect of yoga will help you train your mind to return to a peaceful state.

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Beach Yoga for Your Home Practice

Why the beach yoga style is the best for your home practice? Because this style of yoga has several key features that are ideally match home opportunities. What is the difference between the home yoga practices and yoga studio exercises? A set of exercises and the order of execution should be organized so that you can perform them anywhere. This style of practice called beach yoga, because you do not need anything except a beach towel for doing your exercises.

1. You can do your exercises without outside assistance.

One of the main features of beach yoga is the ability to do your practice independently. You don't need a trainer help and you can not worry on this score. All beach yoga workflows are written so that you could easy handle it yourself.

2. You don't need any accessories or sports equipment.

It often happens that you miss your yoga practice, because you do not have much time to visit the studio. However, many people think that yoga will certainly need belts, box steps, blocks, cushions and mats. You don't need nothing except the desire to work on your body. The execution of classic asanas of hatha yoga requires nothing. Any beach yoga posture has modification for beginners to perform your exercises without additional devices. You may need only a beach towel.

3. Short execution time of required number of exercises.

And one more remarkable feature of beach yoga is that all workflows are no longer than 25-30 minutes. Therefore it will be quite enough to do it at home a few hours before bedtime or early in the morning immediately after waking. There are a number of short sequences to perform at work, during a break. You can get the ability to effectively use your time and do not miss your yoga even on a business trip.

All these features allows you to "bring your Yoga with you" and enjoy the practice, no matter what your level of congestion. This is the best set of exercises which performance will continually improve your Yoga practice. You can learn to devote your time to yourself and your health, without thinking about the daily problems.

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Yoga Improves Posture And Harmonize The Mind And The Body

Living a healthy life can reduce suffering so that you can enjoy life to the fullest. Doing yoga can help this happen. Yoga, through meditation can help us achieve harmony and helps the mind work in synchronized manner with the body. Most of the time with our busy schedules, we often get stressed and unable to perform our important activities.

Stress can affect all parts of our physical, endocrinal and emotional system. Practice of yoga can help things to be corrected as well as improves the posture. Breathing and relaxation techniques can reduce the effects of stress. It can also be achieved by looking at the other side as a means of a challenge instead of threat. This approach allows the mind to focus on the solution rather than having an immediate response.

Yoga is known to increase flexibility. It has exercises that involve the different parts of the body. It lubricates our joints, ligaments and tendons. It massages the organs of the body. In fact, it is the only exercise that involves the internal organs. The stimulation and massage of the organs keeps us away from diseases. It can detoxify our body. It stretches the muscles and joints that ensure good blood circulation in the body. The physical benefit of yoga that improves the posture is only a side effect of the practice. The main concept of yoga is to harmonize the mind and the body.

The practice of yoga helps achieve emotional balance through detachment. This balance creates calmness, physical health and a positive outlook in life. It is not an hour long practice but a way of life. Practicing yoga for years will make the importance of the physical benefits lose importance. The experience you will feel about having peace in your mind and within you counts most.

By: Janna

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Derive the Most Out of Various Yoga Asanas with the Help of Yoga Accessories

The markets of sporting goods are equipped with a comprehensive range of yoga accessories, which enable you to practice your yoga asanas in a more comfortable manner which will further lead to derive maximum out of them.

But it is not necessary to purchase all of the accessories, rather it is recommended to opt for the necessary ones. Unlike other sports, yaga does not require different types of expensive accessories rather the only major equipment required by it is your “BODY”.

The yoga accessories play a significant role in making you to perform various yoga asanas safely, as they may prevent you from unexpected slips and slides while practicing them.

- Different types of yoga accessories:

The followings are the different types of yoga accessories, which will enable you to perform yoga in a more comfortable manner, but as discussed earlier, it is not necessary to have all of them.

a) Yoga Books

b) There is a wide range of yaga books which are considered as the perfect yoga accessories in guiding the practitioners while performing yoga.

c) Yoga Apparels

One of the most common yoga accessories is the yoga clothing which plays a significant role in the world of yoga. It is always recommended to opt for the comfortable pair of yoga apparels so as to enable free movements of your body while performing different types of yoga asanas. The various types of yoga apparels include yoga pants, T-shirts, yoga shorts, etc.

d) Blankets

There are different types of blankets available in the market which can be placed on the floor to proffer comfortability to every part of the body.

e) Benches

There are various benches available along with the cushions on their back in order to deliver comfort and relaxation while meditating. Not only this, they also proffer an excellent support to the body while performing any stretching or deep breathing asanas.

f) Straps

These yoga straps are used for yoga stretches so as to enable the performers to maintain a particular position for longer hours in order to obtain the best results.

g) Sandbags

The sandbags are generally used during the yoga asanas in order to enable the toning up of the muscles at a faster rate.

h) Yoga Balls

The yoga balls are used for various yaga exercise programs.

i) Yoga Bag

The yoga bags are especially equipped with an adequate amount of space so as to carry the various types of yoga accessories to the yoga class.

j) Yoga Mats

The yoga mats act as the center stage for all types of yoga exercises and meditations. They also enable the body to perform various asanas at an ease. They also prevent unexpected slipping and sliding of the performer while practicing.

k) Yoga DVD’s

There are different types of Yaga DVD’s available in the market, which generally guide you while practicing yoga exercises when you want to perform yoga at your own place. Basically, they act as the yoga teachers.

Though, the purchase of all these accessories is not necessary, but they are considered as the useful items in order to perform the yoga asanas at an ease and with comfortability.

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