Yoga For Beginners Guide

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 Can Yoga help workaholics? Sometimes, each of us needs a reality check to assess work and the rest of our life. Granted, we need to work, unless we are independently wealthy, but we need balance in our lives. Yoga brings life into balance. Yoga training for the workaholic is usually long overdue. People can submit to many vices; among them are alcohol, food, cigarettes, or other addictive substances. In some circumstances, a person is not addicted to a substance; they are addicted to behavior such as: gambling, sex, and excessive work hours.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed Teaching Yoga poses that reduce anger will effectively detoxify negative emotions from the body and minds of your students. Angry feelings can be generated by frustration, a sense of powerlessness or the subjective experience of being disrespected, to name only a few possible scenarios. Many Yoga students and teachers alike may experience a low level of chronic anger and frustration, which is often evidenced by having a short fuse and breathing in a shallow manner.

By Kathryn Boland There I was, in my typical Tuesday night yoga class. We were warmed up and moving into some vigorous Warrior flows. Having been on my feet all day long, my quads whimpered for mercy as I bent deeper into Utthita Parsvakonasana (Extended Side Angle Pose). Ok, true, maybe my alignment got a little sloppy as I backed off my deep bend slightly. The instructor, whom I looked up to highly (both as a student and a new, quite green instructor myself), came over and gave me a physical cue to deepen me in the posture. "They're watching you!" she whispered in my ear.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed. Can you think of effective themes for Yoga sessions that are based on the seasons? Although many of us visualize the carefree days of summer, the summertime can also be filled with long "to-do" lists, as many of us plan assiduously to fit in all of the activities we had planned to do, during these supposed "lazy days." The same is true of many of the seasons during the year. For instance, during the fall many Yogis and Yoginis rush to fit in that final trip to the wilderness or to the ocean. In a similar fashion, the holiday season, as festive as it is, is also often a time of heightened stress, because of all the extra gatherings with family and friends.

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 Neck and shoulder pain seem to be a universal problem in the world today - thanks to the time spent hunched in front of a computer and behind the wheel in lengthy commutes. Many people tighten their neck muscles when they experience stress or when they concentrate, exacerbating the problem. How can the neck and shoulders be relaxed? How can Yoga help maintain health in the upper body?

By Faye Martins Restless leg syndrome is a disorder that causes uncomfortable, urgent feelings in the body. It is considered a neurological sleep disorder. Those with restless leg syndrome can have a variety of symptoms including an insatiable need to move or shake the legs, a crawling sensation, or a tickling or itching feeling. Many people with restless leg syndrome also experience twitching or jerking of the limbs during sleep. Sensations are not limited to the legs, and may affect the arms or even limbs that have been amputated. The cause of restless leg syndrome is uncertain, but in some cases, there may be a connection to iron levels in the blood. Certain medications have been shown to cause or contribute to restless leg syndrome, as well.

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 What does Yoga have to do with improving emotional health? All too often, people blatantly ignore their emotional state of mind. We live in a world that places importance on achievement, work, and business, in general. The more one's emotional, physical, and spiritual needs are neglected, the more out-of-balance a person's self-image becomes.

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 How can we make the public aware of the reasons for improving posture? Yoga teachers have found many opportunities for teaching positions within the corporate sector. In office Yoga training sessions, and corporate fitness centers, the need is based around holistic health, and proper posture plays a major role in maintaining good health.

By Faye Martins Is Yoga for weight loss a reality? Yoga is a great tool for enhancing your weight loss efforts. Yoga tones the entire body. It also helps to keep you limber and, if performed in optimal alignment, the Yoga poses will help to prevent injury and heal injuries that you may have previously suffered. Vigorous Yoga practices, such as Power Yoga, Bikram Yoga and Ashtanga Yoga all increase your heart rate, metabolism and muscular strength. A well-rounded Yoga practice will also enhance your balance, coordination and flexibility. If you integrate Yoga pose that specifically target your abdominal muscles into your practice, you will also tone your entire abdominal area and help to trim resistant belly fat.

By Kimaya Singh Can yoga improve your eyesight? It may be surprising, but with persistence and patience, eyesight can be drastically improved through the therapeutic use of yoga. Steadily, more and more yoga practitioners are using yoga to improve eyesight. Around the world, myopia, or nearsightedness, and hyperopia, farsightedness, have become epidemics in the past years, as well as other eye problems. Over 70 million Americans suffer from myopia alone, or about 25% of adult Americans.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed A balanced routine of Yoga poses will strengthen all of your muscles and ligaments. Engaging in a comprehensive Yoga practice several times a week will help to keep your body limber and your skeletal system in correct alignment. There are a number of very effective ways to improve core strength by practicing asanas that specifically target the abdominal muscles. Although many Yoga poses help to increase core strength, specific asanas, such as Plank Pose and Navasana, are very effective at trimming your midsection and increasing core strength.

By Michael Gleason What can Yoga do to relieve tailbone pain? The objective to yoga is taking the time to realize you are in your body. While sweating and caloric output have their places, yoga is the opportunity to learn what your body is non-verbally conveying to you. In this modern age of working at desks, or being hunched over on squishy coffeehouse sofas, your yoga practice is your chance to address issues brought on by sedentary life. One of the culprits being tailbone pain. Any aches or muscle spasm just south of the lumbar region, therefore, is your body's message that you need a change of pace. Even an hour of yoga every other day or every few days will affect these changes.

By Gopi Rao Unfortunately, I have met teachers who purposely discouraged experienced students from practicing at home. They pointed out that improper alignment could ruin a practitioner for life. In fact, they preached that practicing Yoga without one's teacher could be a "game ender." Some of us believed it until the Internet made information easy to obtain. Suddenly, people were sharing information free. The magazines, studies, and research, rained down from cyber space and some of us started to realize that we had been misinformed. The world would not end if we practiced Yoga alone.

By Dr. Rita Khanna Our back or spine is like the pillar on which the entire body rests but the strongest part can also be the vulnerable spot if not taken care of well. About 80% of the people suffer back pain at some time or the other in their lives. The spine consists of many small bones called vertebrae. These vertebrae are further divided into five sections, namely the cervical region (the neck area) which contains 7 vertebrae (C1 to C7), the thoracic region (the chest area) which contains 12 vertebrae (T1 to T12), the lumber region (the abdominal area) consists of 5 vertebrae (L1 to L5), the sacrum region (the pelvic area) consists of 5 vertebrae (S1 to S5), and the coccyx region (the tail bone area) consists of 4 vertebrae.

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 Sangeetha Saran Are there any weight loss tips to be learned from yoga? Being overweight is a condition that many people grapple with. The negative effects of weighing too much can include serious joint problems, diabetes and heart issues - just to name a few. Researchers and doctors tell us that reducing calories and engaging in regular exercise can help people lose weight. Adding Yoga training to your life can have additional positive effects. One of the strongest benefits to regularly practicing Yogic techniques is developing the mind-body connection. This valuable connection can help to change the way people look at food. It can also help to enhance a more positive body image instead of a negative body image - something that is important for everyone, not just people who are overweight.

By Narendra Maheshri What are the benefits of twisting yoga poses? In our fast-paced world, stress and tension are endemic. In fact, stress and tension seem to be unavoidable for many of us. Holding stress and tension in our bodies creates muscular stiffness and contraction. Energetically, if we are very overwhelmed, our muscles contract in a similar fashion to a tortoise pulling its head and legs into its shell for protection. In the moment, this response may feel protective. Over the long run, muscular contraction and stiffness will stifle the flow of energy throughout the body and will create a state of heaviness, lethargy and discomfort.

By Kimaya Singh How can yoga poses relieve back injuries? A back injury or severe back pain can be extremely debilitating and take the joy out of life. One of the best ways to strengthen your back and get out of pain is to establish a simple, gentle, and regular yoga training routine. Back pain can comes from a wide range of causes such as trauma, strain, sprain, osteoporosis, herniated disc or discs, scoliosis (lateral curvature of the spine), sciatica, or osteoarthritis, to name a few.

By Faye Martins Should there be chair yoga precautions before a class? For those with knee or hip problems, or decreased mobility, Chair Yoga can be a great modification, allowing practice to continue. Chair Yoga consists of poses and breathing exercises performed in a seated position or with the use of a chair, allowing it to be performed even in hospitals or nursing homes. Through Chair Yoga, the physical and spiritual benefits of a healthy practice are available to everyone.

By Sangeetha Saran Yoga is great for reducing stress, and this makes it a wonderful practice for individuals with high blood pressure. Teaching yoga students with high blood pressure can be very worthwhile, but these students have a few special needs that should be taken into consideration. High blood pressure is often accompanied by a hardening of the arteries. The arteries are hardened by a build up of plaque which accumulates over time. As the plaque increases, the arteries become more and more narrow, making it harder for blood to flow properly. In response, the heart must work much harder in order to maintain proper blood circulation throughout the body, and this creates a higher than normal resting blood pressure.