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Archive for the ‘Yoga’ Category

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Breathe in, breathe out, hand to heart. Start your day focused on the goals ahead, all the while maintaining your inner spirit. Whether you practice Hatha, Ashtanga, or Bikram yoga, be prepared to bring your full self. Yoga is a way of life and the journey never ends. Seamlessly transition from the studio to brunch in sleek, sophisticated yoga apparel that looks good on and off the mat.

Onzie blends the best of traditional yoga wear with modern innovation and a touch of whimsy. Fashion meets function in printed tanks and colorful rashguards. Onzie yoga pants come in a range of silhouettes including capri, bell, and wide leg. Choose from sleek solids and eclectic prints while chic cutouts and mesh insets add sex appeal. Mix and match pieces for a range of stylish looks. Utilizing Free-Flow Fabric Technology that is durable and breathable, this fast-drying material keeps bodies cool, dry and comfortable. Onzie yoga gear will retain its shape after hot yoga, but can also be worn for pilates, swimming, surfing or running weekend errands. All Onzie apparel is made with love in Southern California.

Another active wear brand proudly made in the U.S.A is Hard Tail. Mixing fun and function in a collection that offers yoga pants, flowy tanks, bohemian maxi dresses, and wrap jackets for chilly days. Hard Tails tie dye collection is dyed individually by hand so that each piece is as unique as the person wearing it. So downward dog with reckless abandon knowing youll look good from every angle.

Stretch and pose without sacrificing comfort or style when you suit up with prAna. They carry supportive yoga tops and non-restrictive yoga pants and yoga capris to help you move into poses more easily. Hold your hair back and keep the sweat out of your eyes in a colorful Prana headband. Add a yoga tunic by Soybu for layering pieces that transition from the studio to trips around town. Fashionable options abound from lucy, Lole and ALO. Yoga hoodies and yoga jackets by Beyond Yoga conserve heat after a long Bikram session on a cold night, while colorful yoga tank tops mirror your personality

For lifelong practitioners, Manduka and Sherpani offer yoga blocks, yoga mats, and yoga towels to help you reach your nirvana. Soothe sore muscles and tackle tough knots with a foam roller or massage ball from Trigger Point.

Whether youre a serious yogi or just like to live your life in comfort, you cant go wrong with one of our many yoga brands. From sun salutations to that final savasana, breathe in, breath out. Reflect on the days events and know that you worked diligently on self-improvement. Give thanks. Hand to heart. Namaste.

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August 2nd, 2017 at 9:45 pm

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Kids explore yoga with song, play – Jackson Hole News&Guide

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Toddlers lay in a circle breathing quietly. No, it wasnt nap time yoga time.

Yoga is having its moment nationwide, as trendy and often expensive studios pop up from coast to coast. But at its root yoga is about moving your body, being mindful and controlling your breath.

Thats why Emily Bedell thinks its a great fit for little ones.

We only teach breathing when kids are upset, Bedell said. But what about while they are happy?

During a July 24 class in Miller Park Childrens Learning Center kids ran around in a circle, getting some of their jitters out first. Then they sat on their mats and did a simple peace begins with me chant to begin. Unsurprisingly, some toddlers were more focused than others.

Its fun to see the silliness, Bedell said. They dont really know Im doing yoga.

Bedell had the children stretch out their arms by miming sitting and watching TV and reaching around to grab pretzels. Then they alternated being animals cats and cows as they moved through more traditional yoga poses.

The sound of moos and meows filled the air as children made noises along with the poses. That included barking and howling during downward facing dog. Other positions were taught through a story that flowed along with music.

One story took them through a trip to the beach. Another talked about professions that parents do for example, a characters father was a gardener so kids worked their way into tree pose.

Bedell received her 200-hour yoga certification from the Teton Yoga Shala in 2014 and became a certified childrens yoga instructor this spring. As a practitioner of yoga for over 15 years she shows no signs of stopping and now devotes time to offering free yoga for teachers in Teton County School District 401 in Idaho. She also teaches yoga in her Victor Elementary School kindergarten classroom.

Bedell teaches her own style of a global program called Kidding Around Yoga, a curriculum designed to encourage children to be active, build confidence and manage their emotions. The program sneaks yoga poses into partner exercises, games, activities, storytelling and even music.

Its so much different and so much fun, Bedell said. Im not interested in alignment, and its not about the pose. Its more about the movement, and its boisterous as it should be.

The skeletons of yoga, Bedell said, like breath and deep relaxation, are the same. The only rule? Stay on your mat unless otherwise asked.

Bedells program for Childrens Learning Center consisted of a four-week stint with 30 minutes of yoga each week.

At the end of the program families were invited to a free yoga night where kids could share what they learned and Childrens Learning Center teachers were given a starter kit to continue yoga in their classrooms.

Bedell sees an opportunity for childrens yoga to expand in the area in the future. She says she is an advocate for kids yoga, especially in schools. As a dancer, she said, she is drawn to movement.

She notices a difference in her elementary school class when they practice yoga.

It can bring us up and bring us back down again, she said. I love it. The main goal is for them to rest at the very end.

Bedell feels at peace with kids and understands some might have traumatic pasts to come to terms with. She hopes yoga is one way for them to cope.

Little kids are my people, she said. How would I have been if I had been exposed to something like this when I was their age?

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August 2nd, 2017 at 9:45 pm

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Becoming Christopher Raven, yoga musician – KWIT

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He was once an aspiring attorney who wound up becoming a pastor.

In a Sioux City yoga studio, a long-haired musician sits off to the side, softly strumming his electric acoustic guitar with an assortment of prayer beads wrapped around his tattooed wrists, a fedora on his head. He hums in the microphone. No words or lyrics. Just sounds.

Rainsticks and looping melodies blend together, creating a soundscape for yoga and meditation.

Everything works in harmonya reflection of the life Christopher Raven has found.

Not too long ago, though, this man was lost. He was once an aspiring attorney who wound up becoming a pastor. (He was also known by another nameChris Saub.) For more than two decades, a pendulum swung back and forth between music and ministryor spirituality as he calls it today.

I saw the two as very separate destinations, he said.

In college, he started as a music major, but his studies robbed him of the joy. Saub graduated with a pre-law degree in political science. He was studying for the LSAT when his mom saw something in him that he couldnt see himself. She said, You love music so much. Why dont you pursue that?

And he did. At one point, he was in four bands. But he was overcome by a spiritual yearning.

Sometimes I even feel it in my chest, he said. Thats that gnawing. Like a desire, a burning. Something. And in my 20s, I didnt know how to seek it out other than church.

Saub joined the church worship team and kept playing in one of the bands. On Sunday mornings, hed lead the congregation in worship with stamps all over his hands from being at clubs the night before. The elders didnt like how it looked.

It was one or the other, they said. He couldnt do both.

I had done the music thing for a while. We had some CDs out, had done some festivals And yet, I couldn't get rid of this gnawing, he said. It didnt take to long to wrestle with that to just say, I got to figure this out.

He quit the band and became a pastor. He wanted to help others experience the fullness of life, but at the same time, he was silencing part of himself. He had abandoned his music, trying to satiate his spiritual hunger. That didnt turn out as he had hoped.

As I look at spirituality, I just view it as this endlessness, he said. It wasnt too long into the trek of being the pastor guy that I found myself bouncing into walls and hitting my head on a ceiling.

So, he went back to music. This time, he got signed by a management company out in Los Angeles. But the shift caused a rift between him and his wife. They got divorced. That was the death knell to his church work.

For several years, he was writing furiously and recording demos, constantly trying to appeal to labels that would take him to the next level. It never happened.

It just ended up frying my soul. Because I wasnt writing out of a place of truth. I wasnt writing out of a place of experience or my own person, he said. Rather than living inside-out. I was living outside-in.

Too often, Saub did what he thought he should dogo to school, get a good job, get married, have kids. Following the prescribed path didnt always bring happiness and success as promised.

Sometimes we think that Step 1 leads to Step 2, and so we think, well, I went to school for this. Thats going to lead to the next step of a job doing what I studied, he said. We have this very linear view sometimes. We dont always know that Step 1 is preparing us to make a decision on a multitude of tributaries that lead from that one step, and it might go this way, this way or that way.

By that logic, studying pre-law prepared him to be a musician, which prepared him to be a pastor, which was a necessary step to return to music.

But then, as it always did, his spiritual hunger growled again.

He went looking for morsels of knowledge at the Christian bookstore, where his mom worked. He told her, Mom, I think I need a Bible, but I dont want it to sound like a Bible or read like a Bible. I dont want to be reminded of any sermon Ive ever heard. I just want to hear God.

He didnt find what he was looking for that day. Instead, hed get an answer from a contestant on So You Think You Can Dance, who was staying at his house in Omaha. Saub remembered watching him on TV and seeing a spark in his eye. His whole person glowed.

Saub had to know his secret. The dancer smiled and said, Kabbalah.

That was the door being opened to spirituality, Saub said.

Now, on this journey of I just want to hear God, he stumbled upon another bookstore. Following an overwhelming urge to talk to the clerk, he went in and told her what was going on in his life. She assured him, Chris, as long as you keep an open mind, youre going to be fine. And then she sent him home with two personal growth books, The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz and Be the Person You Want to Find by Cheri Huber.

It was like a deluge on top of a dry sponge. Awgh, just keep it coming. Keep it coming, he said. One conversation of one book would lead to something else, and it just ended up being a wonderful carnival of information.

He spent the next four years reading books on Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, as well as Egyptian, Native American and Australian Aboriginal spirituality. He explored Tai Chi, Qigong and Traditional Chinese Medicine. He befriended a psychic and a group of Tibetan monks.

He started with one tattoo on his wrist that said love in Arabic, giving a nod to the origins of his family name, and then kept adding ink to his arms until he had two full sleeves, documenting his discoveries about Kabbalah, Zen, Hinduism and himself.

Each day its like getting closer to findingin Hinduism, they call it the atmanyour true self. Every day, finding more of that and being free to be that, he said.

His spiritual journey became endless, effortless. And after more than five years of not writing any songs, the music poured out.

I didnt have a context in mind. I wasnt writing for any purpose. I was just exhaling what was naturally in me and letting it out, he said. (It was) probably the first time in my years as a creative artist of actually being an artist rather than trying to get someone to like me.

The sound surprised him. It was ambient and ethereal. He played his new song snippets for a friend, who asked if he ever thought about playing music for yoga. To which he replied, Pshh. What are you talking about? That just sounded like Charlie Browns teacher.

His friend gave him the number of her yoga teacher more than a year ago. Hes been creating soundscapes for yoga and meditation ever since, finally finding harmony between his spiritual life and music.

My output was a natural input in the yoga community, he said.

He mostly performs in and around Omaha, where he lives. Recently, hes been making more frequent trips to Sioux City to play at Be Yoga Studio.

Floating down this new tributary of sorts, hes adopted a new name based on his spirit animalbecoming Christopher Raven.

Its said that the raven signifies change and healing because of its ability to cast light into the dark. Maybe it wasnt a gnawing that Raven felt all those years ago but an internal cawing, building up, waiting to be released.

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Becoming Christopher Raven, yoga musician - KWIT

Written by simmons

August 2nd, 2017 at 9:45 pm

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Updated: Apple won’t have a yoga workout mode for WatchOS 4 – TechCrunch

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Update: Weve looked into this further and it turns out you might have to wait longer for yoga tracking this reference in the file is apparently about new labels for optional, manual workouts you can program yourself on Apple Watch, not about automatic tracking for yoga. Control of external yoga apps will still be on the table in Watch OS 4 though.

News continues to leak out about whats new in iPhone 8,and most of those rumors seem to be coming from a leaked iOS release related to the HomePod speaker. Something else we were tipped to in that same file: several references to yoga, including under a listing of workouts associated with the Apple Watch.

While the yoga listing (right under walk and before crosstraining) isnt directly connected with the Watch, the list includes many of the typical workouts associated with workouts on the Watch.

Downhill skiing also makes an appearance in that same list, something MacRumors has mentioned could be coming to Apple Watch.

Yoga shows up 29 times in the file; many of these are references to websites. However, the file also mentions some interesting findings, such as Workout Activity Type, doing Yoga and yoga Prototype.

So far Apple has required Watch owners to manually enter yoga and other not-yet-added activities as other in the workouts menu.

Yoga is probably tough to track through a device on your arm as it requires interpreting a lot of slow movements. There dont seem to be many workout trackers that have added yoga as a listed choice for likely that reason. But other uses for the Watch during yoga could be remote control of instructional videos or apps.

Fitbit offers the ability to add yoga as a workout for some of its devices, but its not automatically on its list of workout activities you have to set it up as a preferred workout first. Misfits app also claims to include yoga as an activity for its Shine device, but you must first set up a tag for yoga. Its unclear how accurate these trackers are at interpreting yoga movements, but a few Fitbit users have voiced their confusion over the process.

Apple declined to comment and has not confirmed it will be adding yoga as a workout, but has announced it will include HIIT, or high-intensity interval training, in the WatchOS 4 roll out, along with a Siri activity coach, the addition of GymKit and an enhanced Workout app.

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Updated: Apple won't have a yoga workout mode for WatchOS 4 - TechCrunch

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August 2nd, 2017 at 9:45 pm

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Healthy and Active: Injury affecting your yoga practice? – Madison Park Times

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Every yogi has been there. That forward fold was just a little much for your hamstrings. Or maybe your right shoulder tweaks on that fourth round of sun salutations. Or perhaps your left knee hurts in lotus, tree pose, or pigeon. Most of the time, we carry on, thinking more yoga will bring resolution to our issues. And then it doesnt, and then youre stuck. It doesnt have to be this way. Physical therapy can help you resolve your biomechanical problems so that you can return to yoga happier, healthier, and with more body awareness in your practice.

The documented benefits of yoga are endless. A study in the April 2015 issue of Diabetology & Metabolic Syndrome noted that yoga improved cardiovascular health after researchers followed 182 middle-aged Chinese adults who suffered from metabolic syndrome who practiced yoga for a year. Another study in Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation in 2016 shows that 12 minutes of yoga a day reverses osteoporotic bone loss. And yet another study published in Translational Psychology in the same year shows that combining meditation and aerobic exercise reduces depression.

Similarly, there is a large body of evidence for the use of physical therapy in treating many muscle-and-joint-related issues when compared to more invasive interventions. A New England Journal of Medicine study showed physical therapy to be just as effective as surgery in patients with meniscal tears and arthritis of the knee. A 2015 study from the Annals of Internal Medicine shows that physical therapy intervention has equivalent results as surgery in the treatment of spinal stenosis. And another recent study published in the Bone and Joint Journal states that when it comes to treatment of non-traumatic rotator cuff tears, physical therapy alone produces results equivalent to arthroscopic and open surgical repair.

Based on the evidence, it seems clear that doing physical therapy to prevent and/or address yoga injury may be a better choice than alternative interventions. Physical therapists are biomechanical experts, and those that have experience with the yoga postures, or asanas, are uniquely positioned to help yoga practitioners understand why certain movements are difficult or causing pain and dysfunction. In the case of injury, physical therapists can look at your body and movement patterns and determine involved anatomic structures, stage of tissue damage, and the level of activity modification necessary to put you on the path to recovery. They can also perform hands-on techniques, such as joint mobilization and tactile cueing, to help you move safely and effectively through postures without compensation or strain.

Practicing yoga is a great way to stay healthy, both mentally and physically. It can keep depression and anxiety at bay as well as increase strength, flexibility, symmetry and balance. If you want to practice yoga but find that you are limited by pain, physical therapy can help. Combining the practices offers a holistic and winning alternative to more aggressive intervention by addressing the root mechanical cause of injury rather than the symptom. This leads to better results, longevity as a practitioner, and a deeper understanding of the body.

In the spirit of yoga, physical therapy practice, and knowing your body better, I leave you with the words of the great George Sheehan, physician, senior athlete and running legend: The body mirrors the mind and soul, and is much more accessible than either. If you can become efficient at listening to your body, you will eventually hear from your whole self.

Dr. Ryan Simmons is a Physical Therapist at MoveMend in Madison Valley. Contact her at 206.641.7733 or visit http://www.MoveMend.info.

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Healthy and Active: Injury affecting your yoga practice? - Madison Park Times

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August 2nd, 2017 at 9:45 pm

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Inmates find freedom, connection in prison yoga class – FOX 61

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ENFIELD -- According to the most recent study by the Connecticut Department of Corrections, 79 percent of male offenders who were released from prison back in 2005, were rearrested within five years of their release.

To combat this statistic, the Willard Cybulski Correctional Facility started the Community Reintegration Center. Inmates who have passed an application and interview process for admittance, are then put on a rehabilitative path meant to encourage successful re-entry into society once they are released from prison.

In this program, the inmates are required to have eight to 10 hours of meaningful activity per day. This can include taking educational classes, working various jobs, doing community service, and perhaps surprisingly, yoga.

Though prison may not be the typical setting for a yoga class, the principles of the ancient art remain constant.

For Kendra Morales, who currently teaches yoga to inmates in the Community Reintegration program, this is her favorite type of yoga.

I am able to come and teach to people who are at their bottom, said Morales.

A philosophy of living with the absence of violence to self or others, the ability to concentrate, the ability to stay present moment, the ability to get out of self and serve when possible, being content with being exactly where you are at any given point, accepting every moment as you chose it," said Morales. "Those are the basic philosophies of yoga.

It's a connection with this class, and with this type of yoga, that has changed her perspective on the world.

Teaching within the prison," said Morales. "It has been one of the best experiences of my life.

Born in prison herself, Morales grew up with her own struggles, which lead to a persisting feeling of disconnect.

For me, I chose to take my trauma and use it in a way that hopefully other people could connect from and learn from," said Morales.

And those shes connecting with, are people like Jacob Rebb, a first time offender serving eight years for assault charges.

Im not who I used to be," said Rebb. "Its taken a lot of hard work and dedication.

Also John Pettaway, who is now serving what he calls his fourth but final sentence after struggling with drug and alcohol problems for his much of his adult life.

This is my last shot, if I dont get it right this time, Im never going to get it right in my eyes," said Pettaway. "I know one thing, the reintegration program that I am in, its helped me prepare for my life goals when I go out.

In this reintegration program Pettaway and Rebb, along with many other inmates, have found yoga. Many may think of yoga as a trendy workout, but these inmates see it as a way to heal.

This program has given me my life back," said Pettaway.

Morales' class has become a way for inmates to learn strategies of patience, and control, in hopes of making this their last time ever coming to prison.

This isnt a reward, this is another tool that they have in order to go back in to these environments back into the world, and process differently, and in turn react differently, said Morales. I recognize that there are crimes that have been committed, and theres consequences for those crimes, but eventually time is going to get served and then you get out. So where are the coping skills when you get out?

So, for a few hours each week, yoga becomes an escape for these inmates.

Like Im not here, like Im not in prison," said Rebb. "Its an environment that you wont find anywhere else.

Now, every Thursday night, Morales comes face-to-face with people that many may fear, or look down upon, but she said it's all part of her hoping to influence instrumental change.

I work to not label them by the worst thing that they have ever done, because who of us wants to be labeled by the worst thing that we have ever done by the worst behavior that we have ever executed," said Morales. "So if anything this is my way to say 'okay we are where we are now okay, what can I do and how can I help in whatever way possible.'

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Inmates find freedom, connection in prison yoga class - FOX 61

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August 2nd, 2017 at 9:45 pm

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Erie football earns good karma at yoga class – 9NEWS.com

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Erie football takes on yoga

Taylor Temby, KUSA 6:51 PM. MDT August 02, 2017

WESTMINSTER - Most football teams hit the weight room in the summer, with the goal of getting stronger, faster and more focused for the upcoming season. Erie football is no exception. But when it comes to gaining a mental edge, the Tigers are taking a new approach.

"When [head coach Chad Cooper] announced we were going to do it about a week ago, just the whole entire week, I was trying to mentally prepare myself, because I knew it was going to be bad," senior Noah Roper said.

That thing they were going to do -- was yoga.

"Maybe in the first five minutes, I started sweating, and I was like, 'I should not be sweating by now,'" senior Jaden Gilmore said.

The Tigers took on a sculpt yoga class at Prizm Yoga in Westminster. A handful of players had gone in the previous summer, but others weren't sure what to expect. After all, when most people think of yoga, there is a more calming connotation in the surrounding the workout.

"I think of stretching more," senior Jacob Mansdorfer said, "more of a relaxing, strengthening your muscles through stretching and lengthening them out. [And] helping yourself with flexibility."

"I think it's just stretching [and] doing some nice poses," Roper added.

This class was some of that -- but a lot more of a physical grind. From squats to pushups, sit-ups and burpees, the sweat was flowing freely. It wasn't a hot yoga session, but the studio hit 92 degrees during the workout due to sheer body heat. It was as if the Tigers were experiencing summer's heat without the effect of the sun.

"I feel like I stepped into a pool and just got out, I was sweating that much," senior Cameron Marcucci said.

Despite the exhaustion that quickly overtook the room, the Tigers forged on. For Erie, the yoga class was a tool they were going to use to improve this upcoming season. Not only did it strengthen their bodies, it made their minds more powerful as well.

"It's really hot in here, and it's a lot of work," Mansdorfer said. "You're getting tired and you're getting out of breath. It's really hard to push through and it's going to help us as a team to know everyone is here and willing to push through and get through the hard parts."

"When it comes to the fourth quarter, to push that extra step, we'll think of this [class] heading into that quarter," Gilmore added.

Erie was knocked out of the playoffs in the first round last year. While it's not something they want to dwell on, the Tigers are using new experiences to find a new mantra that will drive them a full 48 minutes on the gridiron.

"It just helps if you make it seem more fun than it really is," Marcucci said. "Since you weren't focusing on the pain, you were just focusing on having fun."

Erie opens the regular season on Friday, September 1, against Vista PEAK Prep.

2017 KUSA-TV

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Erie football earns good karma at yoga class - 9NEWS.com

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August 2nd, 2017 at 9:45 pm

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Benefits of Yoga Poses and Postures

Posted: August 7, 2016 at 4:49 pm


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You're never too young or too old to reap the health benefits of yoga. Find out how all types of yoga can improve your health.

Yoga, the Sanskrit word for "union", is a practice that uses posture and breathing techniques to induce relaxation and improve strength, and its health benefits may surpass those of any other activity.

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Whether you practice yoga to relax, stretch, breathe, meditate, or simply because it's in fashion, you may not realize the numerous health benefits of yoga. And while there are many different kinds of yoga, ranging from the more gentle hatha yoga to the more strenuous, like Bikram yoga (which is performed in a 105F room) or power yoga, every form of yoga improves your health from head to toe. Here are some of yoga's many health benefits.

Yoga has tremendous health benefits for your heart. Most notably:

Regular yoga practice will create multiple and noticeable benefits to your health. Try some yoga postures today! And as your instructor will no doubt tell you at the end of your practice: Namaste.

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August 7th, 2016 at 4:49 pm

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What Is Yoga? Definition and Information

Posted: June 7, 2016 at 1:45 am


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As yoga becomes increasingly diffuse and diverse, a single, common definition that can be agreed upon by everyone is almost impossible. Complicating matters further, the term yoga has been in use for several thousand years and has shifted in meaning many times. Since my primary concern is the modern interpretation of the physical practices of yoga, it is there that we will look for our definition.

The word yoga comes from Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language. It is a derivation of the word yuj, which means yoking, as in a team of oxen. In contemporary practice, this is often interpreted as meaning union. Yoga is said to be for the purpose of uniting the mind, body, and spirit.

How can this union be achieved? Meditation is one way, but sometimes it is necessary to prepare the body for meditation by stretching and building strength. This is the physical practice of yoga, also know as asana.

Most modern yoga practices rely heavily on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, a series of aphorisms written c. 250 CE, as the basis for their philosophies. Patanjali classifiesasana as one of the eight "limbs" of yoga, the majority of which are more concerned with mental and spiritual well-being than physical activity.

Many people think that yoga is just stretching. But while stretching is certainly involved, yoga is really about creating balance in the body through developing both strength and flexibility.

This is done through the performance of poses or postures, each of which has specific physical benefits. The poses can be done quickly in succession, creating heat in the body through movement (vinyasa-style yoga) or more slowly to increase stamina and perfect the alignment of the pose. The poses are a constant, but the approach to them varies depending on the yoga tradition in which the teacher has trained.

Yoga teachers will often refer to "your practice," which means your individual experience with yoga as it develops over time. The amazing thing about yoga is that your practice is always evolving and changing, so it never gets boring. Although the poses themselves do not change, your relationship to them will. Anyone can start a yoga practice, even if you don't feel like you are very flexible or very strong. These things will improve the longer you practice. Another great thing about thinking about "your practice" is that it encourages the noncompetitive spirit of yoga. One of the most difficult, but ultimately most liberating things about yoga is letting go of the ego and accepting that no one is better than anyone else. Everyone is just doing their best on any given day.

In addition to practicing the poses, yoga classes may also include instruction on breathing, call and response chanting, meditation, or an inspirational reading by the teacher. The variety and amount of this will depend on the individual teacher and the yoga style in which he or she is trained.

Typically, a yoga class at a gym will be more focused on the purely physical benefits of yoga, while one at a yoga center may delve more into the spiritual side. Some people find that the physical practice of yoga becomes a gateway into a spiritual exploration, while others just enjoy a wonderful low-impact workout that makes them feel great. Whatever your tendency, you will be able to find a yoga class that suits your style.

2016 About, Inc. All rights reserved.

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June 7th, 2016 at 1:45 am

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Yoga 101: the Foundational Poses, Philosophy & More

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Theres so much more to yoga than what happens on the mat. When you need a little push in the right direction or a fresh perspective, the Yoga Sutra is your guidebook living with intention.

Yoga teacher Eric Paskel takes us inside San Quentin as part of the Prison Yoga Project, where he helps inmates create a prison break without ever leaving the prison.

Yoga teacher Shauna Harrison shows us how TRX can benefit both beginners and more experienced yogis. Learn how to incorporate this it into your routine.

If you can stand on one foot, you CAN do yoga on the water. Get your feet wet with SUP yoga tips and poses from Amelia Travis, founder of Stoked Yogi.

Ever feel like its just too tough to get to the studio/gym/track? It could be that youre not exercising according to your sign, or more specifically, your element.

Just as nature enters a cycle of renewal, growth and expansion in springso does the energy within us. Embrace the opportunity to shed old unwanted layers and make a conscious choice to begin again.

It takes creativity and fearlessness to adventure into our hearts deepest desires, and this Kundalini Yoga practice can help you find both.

Since filtering what we share on social media has become the norm, Bad Yogi Erin Motz offered to take us behind the scenes of her Instagram account. Steal her best tips for getting real.

Acro yogi Lizzy Tomber helps students and studios find their unique superpowers. Read all about her.

Yoga Journal readers share photos of their standup paddleboard (SUP) yoga practice to get you psyched for summer.

This sequence helps to diminish many of the common discomforts and imbalances experienced in the low back, pelvis, and hips during pregnancy.

These six yoga towels are sticky, soft, and stylish, so you can forget about your fears of falling on your face and get back to the present moment.

Want to hone your intuition? We went behind the scenes at YJ LIVE! in NYC to bring you this third-eye-activating practice from master teacher Seane Corn.

Backbending while pregnant can bring a range of sensations from most delicious to most painful. These poses will open you up only where you need it most and reduce risk of injury.

When it comes to yoga and meditation in the West, Hindu mythology can often be polarizing among practitioners. But it doesnt have to be.

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Yoga 101: the Foundational Poses, Philosophy & More

Written by grays

June 7th, 2016 at 1:45 am

Posted in Yoga


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