Archive for September 19th, 2009

    By Swati NitinGupta

Yoga is an ancient science which was practiced some 5000 years ago not in any gurukul but on a battlefield. Indian epic Mahabharata says yoga lessons were first imparted by Lord Krishna to his pupil Arjuna the third pandava.

These days thanks to some practicing yogis (like Baba Ramdev) yoga has become a household name bringing significant changes in people’s stressful lives.

Even the doctors are realizing the importance of yoga in leading a healthy life and advising their patients to incorporate this ancient technique of being fit and fine in their busy schedules. So then what exactly is yoga and how is beneficial to our health?

To put it simply, yoga is not just a series of breathing exercises it is in fact a way of life. Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘yuj’ or yujir yogey’ meaning to join, to unite, yoga is all about becoming conscious about your body, your breathing and connecting with your soul at the most basic level. So then what are the health benefits of yoga? Plenty I should say and here are few of them.

1. Stress buster: Yoga offers relief from the stress we keep gathering in our day to day living. Various positions known as asanas and gestures known as mudras have a soothing effect on our minds and bodies. Rhythmic repeat of the breathing exercises enhances the relaxation power and once you start relaxing your stress levels go down and you are once again ready to face the world.

2. Increased physical strength, stamina, and flexibility: Yoga with its various sets of breathing exercises, meditation and bending and twisting exercises boosts one’s physical strength, increases stamina, and flexibility of body.

3. Increased levels of concentration: When you start practicing yoga you will feel that your concentration levels have increased suddenly. You are able to concentrate and pay more attention to your life and your family. Your work starts improving and you gain confidence in yourself.

4. Self Control: Apart from concentration you start realizing that self control comes naturally to you now. You have started noticing your limitations and working around them for better lifestyle.

5. Healthy glowing skin: You wanted to have that healthy glow on your skin that you see on your neighbor’s face or on favorite TV/movie star. Know their secret yoga. Yes, practicing yoga gives you a clear healthy skin from within thus putting radiance on your skin.

6. Say bye-bye to acne and pimples: It is a known fact that acne and pimples are a result of impurities in the blood and yoga improves blood circulation thus flushing out all the impurities. Result is a clear skin free of acne and pimples. Believe me I tried it and it works.

7. Well toned muscles and abdomen: No amount of cardio exercises will give you such well toned muscles and abdomen as practicing yoga. That’s because yoga not only targets wholesome wellbeing it also targets specific areas of concern.

Apart from these few common benefits yoga has been known to reverse the effects of epilepsy, asthma, chronic arthritis, infertility in women. Yes to some extent yoga can treat infertility like Poly cystic Ovaries and let you have regular menstruation.

    By Betsy J Bjorn

Yoga is a great way for helping to improve your posture. Of course, after years of bad habits, a class or two of yoga isn’t going to fix things. But by using what you learn in class and then staying aware of your bearing throughout your day, you will be able to see an improvement over time.

So how can practicing Yoga help you improve your posture? In your yoga class you will have learned the correct alignment that your spine should have. You should also learn exercises for strengthening your back and neck muscles. These two combined should make a lot of difference.

Throughout your day, as often as you think about it, you should spend a brief moment to check that you have your back in the correct alignment for good posture. Make a conscious effort to keep your head and back straight as much as possible.

Check your side profile view in a mirror to see if you are slumping or tilting your neck forward. And if someone takes a candid picture of you, check to see what your posture was like when you were not consciously thinking about it.

Posture awareness is nothing more than simply being aware of your posture. Whether you are standing, walking, lying down, sitting, eating, reading, or even sitting at your computer typing be sure you are keeping your back and head fairly straight at all times.

Eventually this new way of holding yourself more erect will seem almost natural and require less conscious effort on your part. It is so much easier to slump than to stand or sit up straight. But you can breathe better when sitting upright and you will have less tension in your shoulders if you throw them back rather than pulling them in.

You will also likely start noticing less aches and pains that may have been caused or exacerbated by your bad alignment. By taking the time on a daily basis to be aware of your posture you will be able to correct years of bad habits and reap the physical rewards for your efforts.

Yoga is a great way to get fit and stay fit. Juicing is another way and the Breville JE95XL is a favorite of many. Check it out at http://BrevilleJE95XL.com