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Doing Power Yoga can elevate your mood, strengthen your body and is a great way to relieve stress. It is definitely a viable option toward...

Learning to calm and center yourself with Yoga is literally a lifesaver. People die from stress, anxiety, and depression every day; so...

Let's now study what pranayama can do to reduce or lessen anxiety and stress in people. The Sanskrit word pranayama means controlling breath, and breath...

Scientific studies even found explanations to confirm some benefits of meditation. These studies point out that meditation shift the brain's activity from the stress-prone part to the calmer part of the brain.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed If you are teaching a number of Yoga classes on a regular basis to a diversity of students, you probably notice that many of your students are just as stressed about "getting a good workout in" and practicing as many challenging postures as possible during class, just as they are about accomplishing as much as possible "off the mat" in their daily lives! This level of frenetic activity can undermine the more grounding and replenishing aspects of a well-rounded Yoga class.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed. As I sit down to write this article, the holiday season is firmly underway. Many local Jewish families have just completed their celebration of Hanukkah, which marks the power of the light to penetrate the darkness. Additionally, many Christian families are now preparing for the annual celebration of Christmas with festive lights, gift giving and memorable gatherings with family and friends. Of course, during this time of year, there always seems to be an endless assortment of tasks to accomplish before the holidays are actually upon us; including buying gifts, preparing beautiful meals and making travel arrangements if you are going out of town to spend time with family and friends.

By Faye Martins Do you get any requests for asanas or Yogic techniques to heal the feet? Most of our students ask us about techniques for reducing stress, back pain, and body weight. As essential as our feet are to Yoga, we give them little thought. Maybe we would treat them differently if we realized how great an impact they have on the rest of our body and the clues they hold to its general condition.

Yoga For Beginners: Best Yoga Poses For Weight Loss And Other Benefits [Laura Serio] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Yoga For Beginners: Best Yoga Poses For Weight Loss And Other Benefits Want to lose weight, get rid of stress

Written By Noel Halpin This article gives you all you need to know if you wish to make yoga a major part of your life. Yoga is for every man, woman, and child on this planet, regardless of age. In fact it seems to benefit the elderly as much as it does the younger people. It is probably the only activity which is so beautifully designed that there is no stress on the body , because everything is done at the individuals own pace. You can be very selective as to the exercises you wish to perform, and you can ease into every movement without causing any pain.

By Sangeetha Saran Can Yoga teacher training prepare you for the temptations in life? Especially during the busy holiday season, it's easy to pick up a cookie or grab a glass of eggnog without even thinking about it. Amidst the hustle and bustle, we forget to practice the habits we use during the rest of the year. When it's all over, or before, we can restore a little balance and eliminate stress with a regular Yoga training session. Asanas, deep breathing and meditation all contribute to clean mind and body.

By Sanjeev Patel Meditation is the process of calming and focusing the mind. It can effectively relieve anxiety, stress, or depression. Many people use it every day to calm and refresh the mind. There are many positions to take upon meditation, but we often think of the image of a person sitting with his or her legs crossed, hands resting on the knees, and eyes closed.

By Faye Martins When you decided to become a yoga instructor, did you think you would get so many different requests? Many women and men want to gain strength without gaining size. As we know, more size is stressful on the leg joints and the heart. As a yoga instructor your mission is to help people maintain a long and healthy life.

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 How does Yoga Nidra work for sleep disorders? Many people, in our contemporary society, experience difficulty sleeping well on a consistent basis. In fact, it is estimated that fifty percent of adults, in the United States, struggle with insomnia. The types of insomnia range from difficulty falling asleep, to waking frequently during the night, and waking up too early. There are many different factors that can precipitate insomnia. An individual may experience insomnia because of a medical condition, such as sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, or periodic limb movement. Insomnia can also be caused by an inability to relax due to stress, anxiety, an overactive nervous system, and depression.

By Faye Martins In a perfect world, productivity would be at its maximum all hours of the workday, employees would feel clear-headed and motivated to wipe out their to-do lists during an eight-hour stretch, and people would save any emotional stress or physical weariness for when they stepped out of the office. The reality is that people get tired, productivity rises and falls throughout the day, and everyone hits a little afternoon slump where they would rather be napping than sitting at work.

By Rachel Holmes As anyone with experience practicing yoga can attest, the discipline does a lot to calm stress and anxiety, boost mood levels, reduce the symptoms of mild or seasonal depression, and possibly even aid the treatment of PTSD. But you don't have to take our word for it: a Harvard mental health study, published in 2009, supports all of these positive effects and more, highlighting the benefits of yoga for those suffering from anxiety and depression, the latter of which can be a major source of mood swings.

By Michael Gleason Life is getting faster and faster - both physically and virtually. And while getting a lot accomplished in the course of a work day is good, as is completing many overdue chores on the weekend that does not mean we as human beings experience anxiety and burnout. Thankfully there is yoga for anxiety.[1] Sally Susinno, RYT-200 of Wellesley, Massachusetts, pointed out that more and more people are waking up and drinking larger and larger flagons of sweetened coffee drinks and diet colas which make their bodies more and more wound up. Caffeine is also a diuretic which can lead to dehydration, or just not enough water consumption over the course of the day. At the end of the day, the sweeteners and the stimulants have people reaching for sleeping pills - both over the counter and prescription strength.

By Faye Martins The practice of yoga is meant to calm both the body and the mind. With slow movements and a focus on breath, we learn to quiet the mind and focus on the present moment. Most often, we need to be calm enough to handle the stresses of daily life, regret over past actions, and worries about the future. It is easier than it sounds to think only of the present moment. Our minds wander quickly, and thoughts tend to "snowball" toward worst case scenarios. When our minds are in an anxious state and we forget about the present, we may notice our breath quickens and our heart beats faster. Whatever we are doing in the present is quickly forgotten.

By Bhavan Kumar The romance between yoga and your hinge joints is a bittersweet one. In addition to being very conscious of your knees, it is also imperative to be mindful of your elbows. Either of these complex hinge joints can easily be hyperextended, which can lead to injury and pain. Generally speaking, hyperextensions require rest to heal, which means that holding postures will be better for you than flowing through them. For teachers, this means recommending a student to the restorative class and advising him or her to avoid the vinyasa class. Additionally, postures that stress the elbows will not help the healing process.

By Faye Martins Headaches occur for a number of reasons, from stress and hunger, to a lack of sleep and dehydration. Even poor posture, allergies and eye strain can cause tension headaches in millions of people every day. In various yoga forums, new members often complain about headaches after their first yoga session. Does this complaint warrant further investigation into yoga as a potential cause of headaches?

By Avalon Hicks For years, yoga has been praised as a spiritual and physical practice able to increase flexibility in the body and help reduce stress. However, there are specialized programs that use yoga as a form of mental exercise designed to increase focus and clarity of thought. This type of Yoga has been used in several studies and has been shown to have significant results in both adults and children.