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Hatha yoga combines physical exercise and mental discipline, with the goal of integrating and invigorating both body and mind. It consists primarily of poses, known as asanas, designed to increase strength and flexibility, and controlled breathing, known as pranayamic breathing.

Yoga asanas helps to reduce the stress level and anxiety by unifying your body and mind. Therefore, practicing yoga can control and manage your blood pressure.

Heart opening Yoga poses also help to lift a Yogi or Yogini's mood, alleviate depression and bolster energy levels. Two classical heart...

There are several Yoga poses that help to relieve nerve and joint compression thereby relieving pain and increasing flexibility. Yoga...

Yoga poses that make us feel better overall will help us to feel less irritable and more compassionate. To do a full Yoga practice, you...

There are a number of Yoga poses that effectively release tension in the shoulders. Many of these shoulder opening Yoga poses also help...

There are a number of Yoga poses that effectively release tension in the shoulders. Many of these shoulder opening Yoga poses also help...

Yoga can be a wonderful tool for supporting you in your weight loss efforts. Many of the standing Yoga poses are very strengthening and...

Yoga can be a wonderful tool for supporting you in your weight loss efforts. Many of the standing Yoga poses are very strengthening and...

By Kristen McCarthy Practice yoga balancing poses for kids and you can fly like an eagle or be as still as a tree. Yoga for kids expands your imagination and tests your inner focus. Play with eagle pose for kids and imagine that you have long feathers and massive wings.

By Faye Martins Many women strive for that beautiful, slim waist seen on models, television actresses, and even important historical figures and actresses. The desire to have or maintain a narrow waist has been a part of lives for many years. Women will go to great lengths to get it, like sit-ups, weightlifting, jogging, aerobics and more. You might not automatically think of yoga when you think of a slim waistline, but many of the poses tighten the core while slimming the waistline, too. Even some men can benefit from a slimmer waistline. Try a few yoga poses to stretch, strengthen and lengthen the muscles around the waistline.

Whether you just finished your third yoga certification course or are a new student breathing is an integral part of a well-rounded practice. It helps with circulation and relaxation, it helps you go deeper into a pose and it helps you hold poses longer. Competent Yoga instructors constantly remind students to pay attention to their breath.

As the simple gift of ease and spaciousness increases with each inhalation and exhalation during their practice of this flowing version of Extend Child's Pose, you can gently invite your students to release any negative emotions, thinking patterns or beliefs that may be holding them back in their lives. In this way, their Yoga practice will begin to mirror the release of the brilliantly colored fall leaves as they drift to the soft earth below. When you offer your students Yoga classes that are informed by the rich wisdom of the seasons, they will quite naturally align and be supported by the rhythms of the natural world around them.

By Amruta Kulkarni, CYT 500 What are ski postures? After a challenging day on the slopes, it is important to stretch out your muscles and ligaments. Yoga poses that help to elongate and release tension in the muscles and ligaments are critical to preventing injury and stiffness after an exhilarating day of skiing. Your level of skiing ability does not impact the necessity of keeping your muscles, joints and ligaments flexible and pliable. Our bodies work hard to provide us with a perfect run down a favorite bump run or a fast time through the gates on a GS race course. Practicing Yoga asanas that stretch out the hamstrings, quadriceps, lower back and shoulders will help to keep you feeling loose and flexible.

By Bhavan Kumar In order to be an effective yoga teacher, strive to provide a comfortable, challenging environment for students. You must have knowledge of the philosophy of yoga, the poses, and breathing exercises, but knowledge alone is not enough. You must also be able to communicate with your students in a positive manner, keeping them coming back class after class. It is important to think about the logistics of how you will format the class, how you will address the different levels of expertise within the class, how you will explain the poses and philosophy so the average person can understand, and how you will correct incorrect postures in gentle, nonjudgmental ways.

By Faye Martins Vinyasa Yoga is a form of yoga that links the breath, movement, and poses together. The Sanskrit word, "Vinyasa," has a variety of meanings; but the most common reference is to the connection between breath and movement. Vinyasa is sometimes referred to as Flow Yoga, reflecting the emphasis on the movement, or ebb and flow, between poses.

By Jenny Park This article will either make you laugh or make you mad. My intention is to make you laugh. Right now, we live in a world of selfies. People are taking pictures of themselves all the time. I know someone who has hundreds of her own pictures doing yoga poses for wallpaper in her bedroom. She is naturally flexible, doesn't put any effort into practice, can do a variety of postures well, and she is obnoxiously proud of herself. Her pictures are all over Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Therefore, I devote this article to people who practice postures only for their ego's sake.

By Kimaya Singh Yoga can be a wonderful tool for supporting you in your weight loss efforts. Many of the standing Yoga poses are very strengthening and vigorous. When you learn how to enter more deeply into the postures, in correct alignment, you will greatly increase the beneficial effects of the practice. Yogic standing postures increase balance, coordination, flexibility and strength. Each Yoga posture targets different areas of the body. Engaging in a regular practice of standing Yoga postures that are linked together by a series of Sun Salutations will enliven and invigorate you. It will also strengthen all of the major muscle groups in your body, keep your spine strong and flexible, and enhance the circulation of fresh blood and nutrients throughout your entire being.

By Faye Martins One of the greatest things about yoga is that anyone can do it. Whether you are young or old, healthy or sick or agile or stiff, yoga will provide benefits to your body. The same does not hold true for teaching yoga. Just because you know the poses does not mean you are ready to teach a yoga class. Yoga instructors must think carefully about the students in the class, the type of environment they wish to create and how to best explain the postures and philosophies of yoga to their students. It might seem like a beginner's class would be easy to teach, but in reality beginners can be one of the hardest groups of students to manage because they haven't become comfortable with the poses yet. Teaching beginners requires planning as well as a healthy amount of sensitivity toward the students.

By Faye Martins People understand that Yoga training can be beneficial to their overall health, but few of them understand the importance of breathing properly while performing yoga. Each breath we take, whether it is a long and deep breath or a short panting breath, has a physical effect on our bodies. Combine this with the mental and muscular exercises in Hatha Yoga, and the way one breathes while transitioning through or when holding a pose is just as important as the pose itself.