Hissing Cobra-Yoga

Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Inhaling, circle your arms overhead, and bring your palms together. Interlock your fingers, with index fingers pointing up.

Benefits Forcibly gets rid of stale air and toxins in the bottom of the lungs Focus Keep your chest as low to the ground as you can for as long as you can before arching your body. Hiss as loudly as you can for maximum benefit.
Once in the extended forward position with your arms locked, keep lengthening and stretching through your abdominal muscles as you hiss. Sit on your heels on the floor. Lean forward and stretch your arms out in front of you, palms flat on the floor. Inhale. Exhaling strongly through your mouth (making a hissing sound), slide your chin and chest forward along the floor. Keep your hips low.
Push up with your arms, and support your body on locked elbows; drop your head backward, arch your back, and stretch through your abdomen. Continue hissing until you empty your lungs completely. When you run out of breath, inhale while you sit back on your heels, arms extended in front of you, palms flat on the floor. Repeat Hissing Cobra 6 more times, hissing as you slide forward and inhaling as you sit back on your heels.
Do not take any extra breaths in between. Sit back on your heels with your arms outstretched and your head on the floor. Rest, and notice how clean your lungs feel. Star Stretch- Improves Circulation to the Abdominal Area.
The act of consciously tensing and releasing your muscles makes you more aware of the difference between the two and of how good relaxation can feel. Benefits Improves circulation to the abdominal areaReleases tension across the abdomen, chest, and back to make breathing easier and deeper Focus Focus on extending and tensing every muscle, even those of your face.
As you tense your muscles, visualize your body as being as taut as a guitar string. As you release the tension, visualize yourself as being as soft as a rag doll. Lie on the floor on your back with your arms and legs spread wide, palms facing up your body should resemble the shape of a starfish.
Inhale deeply, then exhale. Hold your breath for 7 counts as you stretch and lengthen through your arms, pressing the backs of your hands into the floor. Leave your legs soft. Release and relax. Inhale, then exhale. Hold your breath for a count of 7 as you stretch and lengthen through your legs while pointing your toes to the floor. Leave your upper body soft. Press your lower back to the floor, and tighten your abdominal muscles and buttocks. Release and relax. Inhale, then exhale.
Hold your breath for 7 counts as you stretch through your right arm and left leg diagonally through your body, pointing your toes and fingers.Release and relax. Inhale, then exhale. Hold your breath for 7 counts as you stretch through your left arm and right leg diagonally through your body, pointing your toes and fingers. Exhale and relax. Inhale, then exhale. Hold your breath for 7 counts, as you stretch through your arms and legs. Flatten the backs of your hands and your back to the floor, and tighten every muscle in your body, including those of your face. Relax by practicing 3 Full Yoga Breaths .

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Paschimotanasana Yoga

Purva and paschima are the Sanskrit words for the east and west.

In the context of the human body purva means the front side or the ventral side, paschima meaning the dorsal or back side. Tana means to stretch. Thus the name of this asana indicates that in it the back side is stretched. It is also called Paschimottana because the back side faces up (uttana). A third name often given to it is Ugrasana, ugra meaning fierce. This posture is highly talked about in the yoga texts.

The description of it in the Shivasamhita as follows: "Keeping the legs straight in front of the body and holding the feet fast with the hands, the forehead is placed on the knees. This is called Paschimottana. One who masters it and practises it every day makes the vayu (air) flow through the dorsal path."Making the vayu flow through the dorsal path has a great significance in connection with the arousal of the dormant spiritual power called Kundalini. This asana is very important for that because of the stretching influence on the lower back where the Kundalini power is said to reside. Sitting on the seat, the legs are kept straight in front of the body with the heels on the ground and toes pointing upward. The hands are kept on the thighs with the palms facing downward.

The hands are then advanced slowly forward, at the same time bending the trunk forward, and without allowing the knees to be raised even slightly, the toes are grasped with the hands. The forehead is then lowered on the knees. Many people find it impossible to achieve this in the beginning because there is much strain on the hamstring muscles (on the inner side of the knees). But these muscles can be trained to bear the strain within two to three weeks by subjecting them to a steadily increasing stretch every day for a few seconds. If one fails to grasp the feet with the hands on the first day, one should take the hands as near the feet as possible, and remain in that state for a few seconds.
The hands may then be brought back to the starting position, and after relaxing for a few seconds the procedure may be repeated again.There should be no haste and no feeling of undue strain. When one starts grasping the feet with the hands without raising the knees, the head should be kept on the knees and the elbows should be kept on the ground by the two sides of the knees.

The duration of the final pose may be increased gradually from a few seconds to begin with, to one minute. This posture exercises the muscles of the limbs and the back, especially the base of the back by stretching them, and improves the tone of the organs in the abdominal cavity. This influence on the abdominal viscera can be enhanced by contracting the anus and pelvis with a deep exhalation during the final pose, and hulding the breath out. This asana helps to reduce the fat accumulated on the belly.

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Yoga for Neck Pain

Everyone gets a stiff neck sometimes. Often yoga can help. Of course, before you do anything, it’s important to know if your neck pain is the sign of something more serious.

Yoga for Neck Pain

Everyone gets a stiff neck sometimes. Often yoga can help. Of course, before you do anything, it’s important to know if your neck pain is the sign of something more serious. Make sure to see your doctor if:

• Your neck pain persists for more than three days or keeps coming back.
• You suffer from neck pain after a fall or accident.
• Pain radiates from your neck down your arms or legs.
• Neck pain is associated with nausea or dizziness.

Yoga Exercises for Neck Pain

If you determine you simply have a stiff neck, specific yoga exercises will help strengthen muscles and increase flexibility in the neck. Even gently exercising your neck helps lubricate and speed nutrients to the area. Here are a few exercises for your neck that are particularly helpful.

Neck Stretches

Follow these steps when practicing neck stretches:

• Start in seated position (cross legged)
• Sit up tall, reaching up through the top of the head
• Draw shoulders back
• Exhale, drop chin towards chest, keeping elbows and shoulders pulled back
• Inhale, raise the head back to center
• Do this five times, then on the last exhale, drop the chin and stay in this position for three breaths, breathing through the nose
• Inhale, raise head back to center
• Exhale, slowly drop right ear towards right shoulder
• Inhale, raise head back to center
• Do this five times, then on the last exhale, drop the ear towards the right shoulder and stay in this position for 3 breaths
• Inhale, raise head back to center
• Repeat on left side

Half-Circles

Rolling your head around in a full circle—as some people do to "loosen" their neck muscles—can actually cause more damage, so avoid it. The neck is not a ball and socket joint and is not meant to move around in circles. However, half circles in the front can be done instead. To do this, first drop your chin to your chest. Move your chin towards the right shoulder then back to your chest. Then move your chin towards the left shoulder and back towards the chest. Repeat this movement three to five times.

Shoulder Moves

Hunch your shoulders as high as possible, then let them relax completely. Repeat this movement 5-6 times. Next, roll your shoulders in a backwards circular motion (lifting shoulders up, squeezing them back, dropping them down and then bringing them forward again). Repeat this motion 5-6 times, then move your shoulders in a forward circular motion. All these shoulder movements help to relax the muscles in your neck and upper back. Many of us hunch our shoulders unconsciously much of the time. Notice how they feel when they are relaxed and try to keep them this way.

Chest Expander

Stand up with your feet close together. Bring your hands behind your back and interlace your fingers. Tuck your tailbone in, so you don’t arch your low back too much. As you inhale, lift your hands away from your tailbone. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and you lift your arms and stay in this position for 3-4 breaths. On your next exhale, lower your arms back down. This exercise helps strengthen the muscles in your upper back and relieve tension in your upper back and shoulders.

Arm Lifts

Bring your arms straight out in front of you with your palms facing each other. As you inhale, reach your arms overhead, bringing your arms next to your ears, if you can do so without any pain. As you exhale, bring your arms back down in front of you. Repeat 4-8 times. This helps to relieve tension and build strength in the muscles in the upper back.

Press It

Place the palm of your hand against the back of your head and gently press while resisting with your head. Hold for a count of ten. Repeat with your palm on your forehead. Now place the palm of your right hand against the right side of your head and press, again resisting the movement with your head. Repeat on the left side. This exercise helps to strengthen the muscles in your neck and makes them less prone to strain.

Prevention is the Key

There are many things you can do in your every day life to prevent neck pain in the future.

1) Improve your posture

Sit and stand, so your head is properly aligned over your shoulders. Many of us tend to drop our head to look down at what we are reading or writing or have our computer situated in a way that forces us to tip our head forward. But, poor posture isn't just how you sit and stand. It's how you hold your body when you function—moving, sitting, standing, bending or lifting. It’s how you hold your body while you are active or inactive. To maintain good posture: Sit up straight and tall, raise your chest up, relax your shoulders down and pull your head back so that your ears are directly over your shoulders, not in front of them.

2) Hold the phone

Rather than propping the phone between your head and shoulder—which can strain the soft tissues in your neck and the muscles in your upper back—hold the phone in your hand. Or better yet, buy a headset or speaker phone.

3) Check that pillow

The wrong pillow is a common cause of neck pain. But rather than taking someone else's advice, try different ones and find one that works best for you. Any cervical pillow that provides support to the neck ligaments can be very helpful. Avoid pillows that push your head forward. You may also want to try a cervical roll, which is designed to slip under your neck while you’re sleeping, reducing strain on neck joints.

4) Make your workspace work for you

When you read or write at a desk, prop your books or papers up so your head doesn’t have to tilt down. While typing at your computer, install a copy holder that's flush with the screen. Keep your computer monitor at eye level. At least once an hour, get up and walk around and stretch your neck and back.

5) Manage your stress

Pay attention to your stress level. Excessive stress can lead to tight and knotted muscles, particularly in the neck and shoulders area. Taking a yoga class is a great way to not only relieve stress, but to also learn how to manage your stress levels throughout the day.

Following these simple tips will help to keep your neck and upper back pain-free and functioning well. To learn more tips and exercises to help your neck and upper back feel their best, visit: www.yogatg.com/ys-upperbackneck.html

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About the Author

Nancy Wile, Ed.D. is the founder of Yoga To Go (www.yogatg.com) – a yoga organization that provides simple and effective yoga programs for busy people around the world – and the Yoga Education Institute (www.yogaeducationinstitute.com) – a yoga teacher training organization.

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Yoga As Part Of An Anti-Aging Plan

Can yoga be an effective part of an anti-aging plan?

While the topics under discussion are obviously yoga and having or making an anti-aging plan, it has become obvious over the last few years that anything done to improve personal health, increase flexibility, optimize the cardiovascular system, improve strength, increase the efficiency of organs and glands, and/or keep a person mentally alert and feeling glad to be alive has a place in any anti-aging plan.

Even though my contention is certainly going to be that yoga can produce all the effects mentioned, and maybe more, some people will simply not be attuned to donning a leotard, lighting candles, chanting to the tunes of other-worldly CD's, and attempting to bend their bodies into positions they know they cannot attain anyway!There will be people interested in the aging process who are genuinely willing to do a lot to create an effective anti-aging plan but who are just not interested in yoga. While I cannot address each possible consideration in such a short article which is dedicated to the specific topic of yoga, I can say that any exercise program or regular activity can produce many similar physical results. Regularly challenging the mind, by puzzles, by learning new skills, or by placing oneself in social situations rather than withdrawing from them can certainly help maintain not only intellectual vigor but encourage physical activity and help defend the body against the effects of an unrestrained aging process. Attention to proper nutrition is valuable in this process as well.

In fact, there is no reason why anyone should not, or would not, use all of the above suggestions as part of an anti-aging plan whether they practice yoga or not! Yoga, while effective in this plan is not the only thing that someone should be doing, nor should they wait until they are "old" to begin the process. In fact, the sooner the better. Starting a child on a path that includes health, fitness, intellectual stimulation and growth, and a love of life and the people around us is a means of insuring that the child will, as Mr. Spock says, "Live long and prosper."

To speak in generalities about yoga as part of an anti-aging plan is a simple task. It produces physical fitness, encourages overall health of mind and body, helps keep the intellect stimulated, helps with the removal of toxins from the body, increases flexibility, helps improve the effectiveness of the immune system...the list goes on.

However, what can be said specifically about yoga and aging? After all, those comments are just words that I have placed upon a page.

Well, others have placed such words as well, and have been applauded by the medical community as well as the general public. For example, in their acclaimed book "YOU: The Owner's Manual: An Insider's Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger", authors Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet Oz, who are concentrating on the physical side of life, applaud the daily practice of yoga as it relates both to life and to aging. The authors are both MD's. Dr. Roizen has provided health care to eight Nobel Peace Prize winners and more than 100 Fortune 500 CEOs and CFOs, and countless others. He has been in the Best Doctors in America since 1989. Dr. Oz is professor and vice-chairman of surgery at Columbia University. He is also medical director of the Integrated Medicine Center and director of the Heart Institute, New York Presbyterian/Columbia Medical Center.

Below is an excerpt from an interview conducted by WebMD.com. Dr. Roizen is speaking in response to a question about the daily practice of a short yoga program:

Physical activity has three major components:

• Any activity -- such as walking.
• Strength building activity -- such as lifting weights.
• Stamina activity -- such as any activity that gets you to sweat in a cold room.

Yoga constitutes two of those, that is, any activity and resistance activity because you are holding a body part in a position that gains strength.

All of these activities decrease aging of your arteries, decrease aging of your immune system, make your hormone system youthful and increase muscular skeletal strength, keeping your bones and muscles stronger. By keeping your immune system younger, this little activity of five minutes a day helps prevent cancer and immune dysfunction, which prevents things like infections and many forms of arthritis.

"Additionally, the regular practice of yoga breathing throughout a full yoga workout can assist with improvement in cardiovascular health, while it is possibly a good idea to include some sort of cardio specific activity. Regular practice of yoga creates a state similar to meditation which has been shown to improve mental acuity and reduce stress, a major player in aging. It obviously increases flexibility and improves balance. Regular practice of yoga can improve the functioning of internal organs and glands, and aids in digestion.

Also, despite the arguments against yoga earlier in this article, No special clothing is required, nor does any specific type of atmosphere need to be created. I travel a lot, and have often done my yoga routine in my underwear on a small strip of floor beside the bed while my wife watched the news on TV. While setting the stage properly can assist with some of the concentration and attitude that makes for a more highly effective yoga session, it can be done anytime, anywhere, by anybody.

Nor is the ability to convert yourself into a pretzel required. The goal of any yoga practitioner is to do what he or she can to achieve the posture or movement. The people shown in pictures are the ones who have gotten to that point generally after years of practice, and, as in any activity, some are just going to be better at it than others. Regularly doing what you CAN do to the best of your ability will return positive results.

My recommendation? It's obvious. I believe that yoga can be an effective part of an anti-aging plan even if it is not the only part.

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About the Author

Donovan Baldwin is a Texas writer. He is a University of West Florida alumnus, a member of Mensa, and is retired from the U. S. Army. Learn more about yoga at http://yoga-4-the-health-of-it.com/ .

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Practising Ashtanga Yoga

Yoga is a philosophy of the life, which has also the eventual to create a healthy body and vibrantly spirit.

The yoga of Ashtanga vinyasa is a method of the yoga which has it's origins in a known ancient document under the name of korunta yoga. Ashtanga refer specifically to eight the practical spiritual ones described by wise Patanjali in Sutra yoga. It is advisable to note that the experts of the majority of the modern externats of yoga of hatha, including pattabi jois, draw from yoga sutras de patanjali and thus practise the yoga of ashtanga. Means of yoga of Ashtanga exactly "eight-limbed yoga," as described by wise patanjali in sutras yoga.

The yoga of Ashtanga aims at purifying the body by the eight members or stages of yoga. It starts outside with yama which is the order and niyana which is the codes of conduct. They are manners that we trade and with what we can act one on the other with whole reality and ourselves at the same time. These stages cannot be practised but they are the exits morals. This way you can produce environments which supports the constructive increase. The yoga of Ashtanga concentrates on the concept that breathing is essential with the life.

Majority of people who are not able to emit decently simply the catch approximately half of their complete possibilities of lung. Help of asanas too you cut your force and cholesterol inferiors of blood and obtain a robust eye and remain in good health. In terms of mental physical form they lower the effort and the tension in our lives. The four other stages cannot be practised. These stages are about creating the superlative conditions which provide you the true meditation. The fifth stage is known as will pratyahara or withdrawal of your directions. Dhara is concentrated on you to help to concentrate you in a simple direction. Dhayna is a not stopped meditation and Samadhi is about being completely with the art of the self-portrait and to test full absorption.

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Juliet Cohen writes articles for http://www.health-disease.org/ . She also writes articles for http://www.makeup-care.info/ and http://www.hairstyles-picture.com/ .

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Hatha Yoga

This article provides useful, detailed information about Hatha Yoga.

Patanjali collected the yoga knowledge available in 2 A.D. and wrote a treatise called ‘Yoga Sutra.’ The yoga of Patanjali has 8 limbs to be practiced in sequence. They are Yama (restraint), Niyama (observance), Asana (posture), Pranayama (breathing), Pratyahara (withdrawal of senses), Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation) and Samadhi (ecstasy). The end of yoga after Samadhi would be the union of individual consciousness with the universal consciousness.

In the modern age, yoga has come to mean basically ‘Hatha Yoga,’ ‘Ha’ meaning sun and ‘Tha’ meaning moon unites in Hatha Yoga. It is the symbolic union of active and passive energies, the opposites. The Hatha Yoga aims to unite harmoniously the body, mind and spirit, and create a healthy, supple and strong body and a relaxed, stress free mind.In the late 19th century, T. Krishnamacharya, a yoga teacher in Mysore Palace in south India, was the source of most modern Hatha Yoga. His disciples B.K.S. Iyengar, K.Pattabhi Jois and Indira Devi, and his son T.K.V. Desikachar, were instrumental in setting up their schools and spreading Yoga throughout the world, particularly in America.Each one has its own name, but it is only a matter of stress rather than substance. They are Ashtanga Yoga of Pattabhi Jois, Iyengar Yoga of B.K.S. Iyengar, Vishnu Yoga of T.K.V. Desikachar, Bikram Yoga of Bikram Choudhry, Sivananda Yoga of Vishnu Sivandandam, Integral Yoga of Swami Sachidananda and Ananda Yoga of Swami Kiriananda.Yoga as an exercise is vastly different from calisthenics or aerobics. In yoga the body does not do any movement, but holds different postures that are designed to direct the life energy to all parts of the body. The respiratory and pulse rate drops. The endocrine system increases activity.The benefits of yoga are many. It helps in managing many illnesses for which there are no cures. It helps in building a supple and strong body. But its major contribution is in relaxing the body and mind, relieving stress and rejuvenating the energy level. Positive thinking and feel-good factors increase amongst practitioners of yoga. The degree of concentration in yoga students is very high.With some amount of commitment and regular practice of Hatha Yoga, there will be a substantial difference to the quality of life in the modern age.

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Bikram Yoga provides detailed information on Yoga, Bikram Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Pilates Yoga and more. Bikram Yoga is affiliated with Cheap Yoga Mats.

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Pilates Yoga

This article provides useful, detailed information about Pilates Yoga.

Though referred to as yoga, the Pilates exercise regime has no connection with it and works on entirely different approaches. The common factor between yoga and Pilates programs is their emphasis on mental focus and breath control during exercise. Some refer to Pilates as ‘yoga with movement,’ and others as ‘yoga with machines.’

George Pilates, a German, was a sickly child who managed to improve his health with dedicated exercise programs. As a nurse during the First World War he was looking after the internees. He developed his system of exercises during this time. In 1926 he and his wife opened an exercise school in New York and never looked back. Now it is the top method of keeping fit. Initially, many dancers flocked to his studio to get a supple, strong and balanced body. Now his system has over 500 centers throughout the United States.His basic approach to exercise was maintaining correct posture while exercising, with particular reference to the spine. The muscles that support the spine, like the back and stomach muscles, get a good workout. He uses breathing techniques to keep the mind focused and increase efficiency. The movements flow from the spine and posture, and balance predominates.Initially he used the help of some springs. Now over the years many Pilates machines have been developed. These use springs, pulleys and weights, and over the years have become very complicated.The Pilates exercise program is sweeping over the United States with so much enthusiasm that there are long waiting lists in most studios. There is an acute shortage of trained instructors.There are three pieces of equipment that are used with Pilates exercise - Reformer, Cadillac and Wunda chair. Individual studios have come up with their own specific machines also. But it is not always necessary to use equipment. There are programs, though limited in effect, that can be done on a simple mat.The merger of yoga techniques with Pilates exercise enhances its effect and appeal to the public.

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About the Author

Bikram Yoga provides detailed information on Yoga, Bikram Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Pilates Yoga and more. Bikram Yoga is affiliated with Cheap Yoga Mats.

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Using Yoga and Meditation To Discover Your Hidden Talents

Most of us quietly drift through life with the nagging feeling that we have much more to offer, that we have more strengths than we have demonstrated to our friends and family. With Yoga and Meditation, you can change this dissatisfaction to joy, happiness and great achievement, with as little as 15-minutes each day.

Do you feel as though there is something missing from your life?How about the nagging feeling that you have been just floating through life so far, yet to make the sort of difference you envisioned as a child?It's common to have the "gut" feeling that we are capable of much greater things in our lives, but to lack clarity on how we can realize such accomplishments.

Now is the time to change all of that by using yoga and meditation to become directed by inner strength and passion rather that external influences.

Face it, the vast majority of decisions in our lives are directed by others. You would be correct in arguing that we don't have someone else telling us what to do every single hour of each and every day, but through leaving our lives to chance and by following a short-term, tactically driven lifestyle, we really control very little about the direction of our life.

No wonder that as each year passes we seem to drift further and further away from the key characteristics of someone in control of their life: happiness, health, meaningful relationships and a fulfillment that can only be achieved through alignment with your inner passions.

LOOKING WITHIN TO FIND OUR GREATNESS

As we move through life we become better and better at "tactical living". We get better at making short-term decisions related to short-term goals, fooling ourselves into thinking we are making giant leaps of progress when in fact, we are moving further away from inner-directed greatness.

We chase job after job, business after business with the hope of gaining more money - but for what?We deal with health problems with an ever-growing list of substances from alcohol and drugs to painkillers and sleeping pills, yet we fail to recognize the underlying cause of such ailments.

Relationship seeking becomes an essential part of our life, each subsequent relationship is designed to overcome the limitations of the first and satisfy our ego giving us that short-term fix that eventually leads to the very thing we hope to prevent - loneliness, unhappiness and unfulfilling relationships.

Through all of this "tactical living", we become lost, adopting outward beliefs, impressions and values to help make the many decisions we must make each day.

What if we could harness the power of strength, passion and inner spirit that exists today, deep inside of us?With yoga and meditation you can open up your inner resources to work in your favor, overcome the conflict that often exists between your decisions and your inner values.

I first started yoga and meditation to relax, to simply re-capture a portion of the day for myself and I have to admit, the insight gained into my own strengths and passions is a powerful effect I had not earlier planned.

After just a few months of practicing yoga and meditation, two important things happened:

1. It became easier to relax and let my sub-conscious thoughts make their way to the surface. We all have a powerful sub-conscious that is capable of directing your life, the key is to understand what the messages are.

2. Through the process, many people soon begin to experience new feelings of self-respect, a like for themselves achieved through greater understanding and self-awareness. Quite simply, you can't like someone you don't know, and most of us go through life not really knowing who we really are. In fact, this lack of knowing what is deep inside us scares us enough to cover it up entirely.

Success in relationships, health, social situations, career, finances are all embedded within us, by choosing to understand and leverage our internal strengths and talents, we can live the lives and impact society as we secretly know is possible.

Adopting just 15-20-minutes of yoga and meditation each day will open your conscious mind to your sub-conscious strengths and talents making you virtually unstoppable.

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Join The World's Top Achievers Reach Inner Strength, Happiness, Fulfillment and Live Their True Potential by Discovering The Secrets of Yoga and Meditation.

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Understanding the different types of Yoga

Confused about the different types of Yoga? Read this quick guide to find out what's right for you.

Yoga is becoming a more and more popular activity in the Western world today. The number of places holding Yoga classes is on the increase and there is a plethora of different types of Yoga. With a choice of Hatha Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, Power Yoga, Iyengar Yoga, Bikram Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga and many more it can be easy to get confused

The article will help you to understand the difference between the most popular types of Yoga so you can choose which type is right for you.

Hatha Yoga - in Sanskrit (an ancient classical language of India) Ha means sun and tha means moon. This type of Yoga is relatively slow paced, gentle type of Yoga and is a good place to start if you are completely new to Yoga and don't know any of the asanas (poses). Like all types of Yoga, Hatha Yoga aims to unite the mind, body and spirit.

Ashtanga Yoga - this is the type of Yoga that I practice on a regular basis and means eight limbs in Sanskrit. It's a fast moving, intense style of Yoga practice and is based on a progressive set sequence of asanas, synchronized with the breath. Ashtanga Yoga can be quite physically demanding as you constantly move from one asana in the sequence to the next, so you'll find that it will improve your stamina as well as your flexibility and strength..

Power Yoga - this is a western interpretation of Yoga and is based on Ashtanga Yoga. A Power Yoga class may not necessarily stick to the exact sequence of poses like Ashtanga Yoga does, but it does involve practicing a series of poses without stopping and starting.

Iyengar Yoga - This type of Yoga is based on teachings by B.K.S Igengar and concentrates on the correct alignment and form of the body. Unlike Ashtanga Yoga, there is an emphasis on holding each pose for a long period of time rather than moving constantly from one pose to the next. Iyengar Yoga uses props such as blocks and straps to help align the body into the different poses.

Vinyasa Yoga - Vinyasa means breath synchronized movement and is another fast paced type of Yoga, with an emphasis on breathing. A practice typically starts with sun salutations and moves on to more intense stretching. Throughout the practice each pose is balanced with a counter pose.

Bikram Yoga - otherwise known as Hot Yoga, is practiced in a room heated to 105 degrees, with a humidity of around 40%. Generally a sequence of 26 different poses is practiced during a Bikram Yoga class and the hot temperature helps to loosen muscles. Due to the high temperature most people sweat a lot during the class and this helps to cleanse the body of toxins.

If you're just starting out or have never done any Yoga before, I recommend trying a few different types of yoga to find out what you like best.

Remember, there's no rule that says you have to stick to one type of Yoga. I like Ashtanga Yoga best, but I also go to occasional Iyengar and Hatha Yoga classes for a bit of variety.

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To find out more about the different types of Yoga visit the Free online Yoga Guide

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