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Showing posts with label Yoga Positions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yoga Positions. Show all posts

Saturday, June 4, 2011

So, What Is Yoga About Anyway?

A little history...

Yoga is a combination of physical and spiritual exercises came to us through the centuries. Designed twelve thousand years ago by ancient sages of India, yoga has not lost its popularity today. Nowadays most of the exercises included in a fitness program that has a positive effect on body shape.

There are several types of yoga - hatha yoga, classical yoga and therapy yoga. The basis for all types of practices is same- strengthening of physical health, improving mental abilities, mental balance and strong-willed attitude. Yoga is is not a religious cult or way, but rather a spiritual study about how to "live" and to appreciate yourself and the whole world.

Tips for Beginners

If you want to always look neat, orderly and fun, forget about back pain and other "troubles", turn yourself to yoga practice. Do not worry if you are not physically prepared, it is important to have a strong desire and will to succeed.

Exercises in yoga are called asanas, and are suitable for people of all ages. It is recommended to start practicing yoga under supervision, and later you can continue practicing at home, following tips and guidelines achieved at class sessions.

Do not rush. It is important to feel each pose with the whole body and your consciousness. Sharp, quick movements will not provide the required result. Complex movements designed for body understanding, and this takes time. If you have never done string stretching and rapidly try to make it...? Bdoy won't be very happy about it. You will feel pain and possible injury may occur. You would not teach higher mathematics to the newborn, skipping the alphabet? At the beginning of yoga practice you are a newborn and your success depends on the step by step learning. From how to crouch to running marathon. For example, you perform a certain asana, do not rush and concentrate your senses on every movement of the body, fell every organ and muscle.

Learn how to listen to your body. If you feel tense, stop and take rest. Relax and try to smile. Gain strength, try again, and each time you will perform better. Over time you will be surprised by the abilities of your own body.

It is also important not to wait if something can be done today. Large gaps between classes can lead to unmanageable burden. But when you practice regularly, the efforts are evenly spread and taken much easier. The slow rhythm of execution of asanas helps improving stamina. No muscle ignored and holding pose strengthens muscles and improves their tone.

Interchangeably with "asanas" Pranayama is performed, i.e. breathing exercises. Yoga teaches us to monitor breathing, especially during exercise. Try to breathe only with the nose that helps to enrich the body with oxygen and increase vitality.

Also carefully chose the place for doing yoga. You do not need special equipment and clothing, perhaps a yoga mat and of course quiet environment and desire. In records stores there are plenty of music for yoga practice. Choose the kind you like. The mood should be calm and relaxing. While doing yoga exercises you will learn about positive thinking, clarity of thought and concentration. Problems and daily routine will remain in the background. You will feel the "smile" of life.

Best Yoga Warm-Up? Somatic Movement Might Be the Answer

Do you really need a warm-up for a yoga session? Isn't yoga gentle enough on its own? If you need a little kickstart, how about just doing some sun salutes? The answers are, respectively... Maybe not, probably, and yes, often that's enough... But haven't you ever got a couple of postures into your routine and thought that something's just a little sticky? Maybe there's one little bit of your back that feels a tad locked, or the hips are just not as supple as usual. Well, if you have, somatic movement might just be the answer...

Somatic movement is so incredibly subtle that when I was first introduced to it, even though I had been a long-time yoga practitioner, I thought it was just a little bit too gentle. However, when I had actually tried out the exercises, my body felt so energized and alive, totally effortlessly, that I was forced to change my views.

I started to use somatics as a preparation for my daily yoga practice and found that I was experiencing a far deeper and subtler level in the asanas. This was not just from the fact that the body was well warmed up and the joints 'lubricated' before I even started, but because somatics itself relies on such a deep awareness of movement, which, although that is also encouraged in yoga practice, can often get lost as our asanas become so familiar that our attention drifts.

Somatics brings you back to the importance of breathing and awareness of every bodily sensation as you move, and this calms every aspect of the physiology so that by the time you get to your asanas, you are already deep into that experience.

I find that I think of somatics as a sort of finer sandpaper than the asanas, and with this it can also be useful to finish off after the your yoga practice. After all, these routines were all conceived to deepen our understanding of our own physiologies and expand our intuition, so each day you might spontaneously design some slightly different routine to unlock the stresses and strains of modern life, and adding somatics to your arsenal of techniques to choose from can only be a good thing.

So, however experienced you are at yoga, and however you choose to use somatics as part of your daily workout, I urge you to check out these wonderful techniques. Doing so can only deepen your practice! Good luck!


Philip Escott, author of 'Pure Activity: Eat Better - Exercise Better - Feel Better', in partnership with Somatic Movement Educator Brian Ingle N.D, D.O., invites you to visit the following link for FREE videos and newsletter and to find out more about how the combination of Ayurvedic diet and exercise and Somatic Movement Education can supercharge your health and fitness... Instant downloads also available of Pure Activity and the amazing 90-minute Somatic Movement Education practice video.
http://holistic.pureactivity.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Philip_Escott