September is National Yoga Awareness Month
September 2, 2009 by Gail Grannum
Filed under Blog
September is National Yoga Awareness Month. This is a great month to increase your awareness of wonderful benefits of yoga. Take this time to explore why millions enjoy practicing yoga.
National Yoga Awareness Month
Are you curious? Learn the therapeutic benefits of different yoga poses, how to use yoga for healing, fitness, preventing chronic diseases, and being more in tune with your body.
There are actually different types of yoga styles that are being taught and practiced. Choosing the right type of yoga style will depend on your specific needs and your own fitness ability. Whereas Hatha, Vinyasa, and Iyengar yoga styles can be safely practiced by anyone and are ideal for beginners.
If you need to read up before taking the plunge, spend a few minutes reviewing these articles: Yoga Self-Taught by Andre Van Lysebeth, Yoga For Beginners, Yoga Anatomy by Leslie Kaminoff.
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Review: Yoga Self-Taught by Andre Van Lysebeth
August 25, 2009 by Gail Grannum
Filed under Yoga Poses Beginner
Do you want to learn yoga, specifically Hatha yoga, with the help of a book? Then Yoga, Self Taught
In simple and easy to understand language, Yoga, Self Taught
The book describes a sequence of yoga asanas and a few breathing techniques. If you are a yoga beginner, you can include this sequence and the breathing techniques easily within a 30 minutes practice session.
- It explains the significance and the benefits of the different yoga poses in a scientific way. Each step of the yoga posture is described with the help of clear instructions and great photography.
- And if you think that a particular pose is too difficult for you, you don’t have to give up on it. This is because the author also describes certain modifications that you can do with a yoga pose so that it becomes easier. This proves especially useful for a yoga beginner.
- And it doesn’t just describe the correct steps involved in performing the pose. In fact, it also shows how not to do a pose and the common mistakes which one makes while doing a particular yoga pose.
- These mistakes are also described with the help of pictures, so the reader can clearly understand how he/she can avoid making these mistakes. It even discusses how an incorrectly done yoga asana can harm an individual. Now, this is something which you will not find in any yoga book.
The focus of the book is definitely on the physical aspect of yoga. But it doesn’t ignore the importance of yogic breathing. This is why it has an exclusive chapter on yogic breathing. It describes a few breathing techniques and discusses how proper breathing can actually help in managing stress.
Clear instructions, clear photos for each step of a yoga pose, and modifications to make it easier. These are the things which make this book perfect for yoga beginners. So, if you are looking to learn yoga through a book or if you are just looking to add a good yoga book to your library, choose Yoga, Self Taught
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Review: Santosha.com – A Site for All Your Yoga Needs
August 23, 2009 by Gail Grannum
Filed under Yoga Poses Beginner
Whether you are a yoga beginner or an advanced yoga practitioner, you sure cannot forget to buy some wonderful yoga accessories for making your yoga and meditation sessions a more peaceful and more healing one. Santosha.com (Amazon affiliate link) provides an opportunity for you to go through their online shop and choose from among a wide range of yoga products right in the comfort of your home. So, you may choose to do as many yoga poses as you want during a yoga session, but don’t forget to get some great yoga supplies from Santosha.com (Amazon affiliate link).
Their wide range of yoga supplies include eco-friendly yoga mats and rugs made from cotton. And if you have yoga mats, you need a place to keep them. So, buy the very stylish yoga bags and totes from Santosha.com (Amazon affiliate link) to make storage easier or to carry your yoga mats while you are traveling.
If you are a yoga beginner, Santosha.com (Amazon affiliate link) has bricks, wedges, and blocks made of lightweight foam, and eco-friendly cork.
- Bricks can help the yoga beginner to modify poses depending on their individual flexibility levels.
- Wedges come as handy tools to help you perform squats and forward bends. They also have a complete set of shoulder stand foam set.
- And of course, stretching is made easier for a yoga beginner with the help of yoga straps. You can also buy yoga bolsters and cushions and yoga blankets to make your yoga session a more comfortable one.
- And then there are books, videos, and yoga music and audio. You can learn yoga asanas or yoga basics through their books and videos.
- For the accompanying music during your yoga and meditation session, you can choose from a wide range of dance music, healing music, and instrumental music products, all available on Santosha.com.
For making your meditation session a more peaceful and more healing one, don’t forget to buy some meditation cushions, aromatic incense, and meditation timers. There are also gongs and chimes available. You can use them for your various cleansing rituals or as decorative items. And don’t forget to pick some instructional and inspirational guided meditation audios and videos from meditation experts and books on meditation.
Santosha.com (Amazon affiliate link) has a wide range of products available to help introduce the magic of yoga into your everyday life and make it more peaceful. There are jewelry and mala beads, decks, charts, and posters, essential oils, soy candles, and aromatherapy supplies. You can buy gift certificates for your loved ones or choose gift items from their “gifts from the heart” section. These include Om symbols, greeting cards, shawls, wall-hangings, statues, and chakra-inspired tea bags.
Their wellness and bodycare section includes neti pots, herbal eye bags, and soaps made from rose, sandalwood, and jasmine among many others. They also have a range of fresh, organic, and contemporary textiles to make sure that you get a peaceful sleep and are aptly called the Sleeping Buddha Bedding.
So, if you are looking for some wonderful and natural supplies for yoga and meditation or some products to make your life more peaceful, don’t forget to check out the wide range of products available on Santosha.com. This online shop accepts all major credit cards, Paypal, and money orders. And while you are checking their online shop, don’t forget to have a look at their articles on the different yoga styles and yoga poses.
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Review: Yoga for Beginners DVD by Barbara Benagh
June 26, 2009 by Gail Grannum
Filed under Yoga Poses Beginner
Yoga For Beginners
If you are a yoga beginner and have no clue how to begin practicing yoga, buy the DVD Yoga For Beginners
Yoga For Beginners (Amazon affiliate link)
- The first routine includes 10 minutes of backbends which are slow but aim at building intensity.
- The second routine includes 20 minutes of standing poses.
- he third routine is also of 20 minutes and is aimed at building strength and balance and teaches core strength breathing.
- The fourth routine is the 20 minutes sun salutation which is done smoothly and slowly.
- The fifth routine includes 30 minutes of seated hip openers which are performed entirely on the floor.
Whereas the idea behind the 5 basic routines is to get the yoga beginner comfortable performing the different yoga poses, the second part of the DVD includes the full workout sessions.
- Although it combines the 5 basic routines, it includes 3 new sequences. These are breathing and centering, restorative, and relaxation sequences.
- It includes 70 minutes of basics and includes breathing and centering, standing yoga poses, seated hip openers, and relaxation as its first routine.
- The second extended routine is the energizing routine and is 40 minutes long. It includes sun salutations, backbends, and relaxation.
- The strength routine is a more challenging one and includes sun salutations, standing poses, strength and balance poses, and relaxation.
- Then there is the 30 minutes long rejuvenate routine which specifically aims at relaxing and includes breathing and centering, restorative, and relaxation yoga poses.
- The 55 minutes long quieting routine includes standing poses, seated hip openers, and relaxation.
Barbara provides clear instructions on how to do the different yoga poses. For a yoga beginner, some yoga asanas may prove to be difficult to perform, especially if you are highly inflexible. This is why Barbara gives some great pointers for adjusting poses based on your current level of flexibility.
And to top it all, the background in itself will make you feel peaceful, calm, and relaxed. For a yoga beginner,Yoga For Beginners (Amazon affiliate link)
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The Wonderful Benefits of Standing Yoga Poses
June 26, 2009 by Gail Grannum
Filed under Yoga Poses Beginner
It doesn’t matter whether you choose to practice the Hatha yoga style or the Ashtanga yoga style. Each type of yoga has its own advantages. Similarly, different types of yoga poses have different advantages. The standing yoga asanas include the forward and backward bends, the twists, and the balance yoga poses and it is important that you incorporate a few of these in your daily sessions. Standing postures strengthen your muscles and increase your flexibility. But if you regularly practice them, this is not all that you will get. Here are some of the additional benefits that you can expect:
Relaxation
People often equate relaxation with lying down. But, actually it is not always relaxing. This is because it’s the thoughts and images of your daily life that leave you all stressed out and prevents you from achieving that perfect state of relaxation that we all yearn for. Now, wouldn’t it be wonderful if there were yoga poses that could keep your mind off these daily life pressures?
Standing yoga asanas can do exactly that. In standing yoga poses, you learn to focus on a particular point and this helps in removing all these useless thoughts and images from your mind. In a standing yoga pose, your full concentration is on keeping yourself upright and balanced. So, you are basically reorganizing everything in your brain. When your ideas and thoughts are not scattered, you are more focused, your mental capacity increases, and you handle every situation in a much better manner.
Balance
If you want to improve your balance, then standing yoga poses are perfect for you. Although all standing yoga asanas require some amount of balancing, there are some which are particularly aimed at it. Although not all of us are great with balance, the wonderful thing is that the human body is able to balance itself quite naturally. Until and unless, of course, you have a medical condition that negatively affects your balance.
So, what is it that prevents you from balancing your body? Well, it is your brain. When it does a little too much thinking, it gets in the way. Here again, standing yoga poses come to the rescue. How? Standing yoga asanas require you to concentrate and focus. This means that the body takes over from the mind. The more you practice these poses, the easier it is to balance.
Improves posture and prevents back injuries
If improving posture is your objective, then there is nothing better than standing yoga poses. If back pain, headaches, and muscle spasms, have been troubling you, it’s quite possible that the reason is a poor posture. In fact, since poor posture puts excessive pressure on the internal organs, it could also cause constant digestive problems.
If your muscles are tight and not strong enough, you are bound to injure your back when you put strain on them. Standing yoga poses stretch your spine and require you to hold the position for some time. This straightens and strengthens the spine. Strong back muscles ensure that the spine is kept straight and it prevents the recurrence of any injuries. Standing yoga poses help in the proper alignment of the back, strengthen the back muscles, and increase your flexibility. All these factors are necessary for the complete health of your back and for preventing injuries.
So, make sure that you incorporate a few standing yoga poses in your daily workout. You will reduce the chances of injuring your back, your mind will be more relaxed, and your balance will improve drastically. So, which standing yoga poses are you planning on including in your daily yoga session?
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