Introducing Kids to Yoga
If you practice yoga asanas and you have small children, the chances are they are “playing yoga” with you. If you’re wondering how to keep them practicing as they grow and develop, here are some hints:
Yoga for Stress Relief
Stress is an inevitable part of our lives—in any profession, at any age, no matter where we live. But there is a lot we can do to respond to stress in ways that mitigate its affect on our health and on our lives in general.
Yoga Poses to Prevent and Relieve Headaches
When we’re stressed, our muscles tense up—especially in the neck, shoulders, face, and jaw. We often don’t even notice that it’s happening. This unconscious buildup of tension can lead to headaches.
It can arise for many reasons: working long hours, holding the head in an uncomfortable or unnatural position for long periods of time, exercising excessively, regularly carrying a backpack or heavy load, and so on.
Meditation/Relaxation for Weight Loss
You may be surprised to hear that in addition to practicing yoga asanas, yoga relaxation and Yoga Sound Meditation can also help you lose weight.
One reason is because these techniques are so effective at reducing stress. Studies show that stress is one of the main reasons people overeat. Stress may also cause the body to hold onto fat, making it harder to lose weight. So by using these yoga techniques to reduce your stress, you’ll be well on your way to dropping a few pounds (provided you still watch what you eat, of course).
Yoga Poses and Weight Loss
The best and healthiest way to lose weight is to watch what we eat and exercise regularly. Yoga asanas are a great form of exercise that can help you lose weight, though not necessarily in the way you might think.
While yoga asanas don’t burn as many calories as, say, running or cycling, they have many deeper effects on our body and mind that can lead to permanent changes, helping us to lose weight as well as to maintain our ideal weight.
Yoga Is Fun and Great for Kids
Kids have great imaginations and lots of energy and they love to play, so it’s not surprising that they enjoy doing yoga. Pretending to be dogs, cats, cobras, and camels is great fun, and they really enjoy the challenge of moving their bodies in new and different ways. This fun activity has lots of benefits. For example, balancing poses not only develop children’s sense of balance, but also teach them to be still and to concentrate. They become more coordinated while cultivating strength, flexibility, endurance, and stamina.
Yoga Breathing: Five Essential Tips
I’m sure you’ve noticed that your physical and mental condition can influence your breath and vice versa. For example, when we are angry and stressed, our breath becomes shorter, while deep breathing has a relaxing and positive influence on the body and mind. So here are a few tips to help you use your breath to your benefit.
Five Keys to a Successful Yoga Practice
A successful yoga practice is one that leads you toward the goals of yoga: optimum health and deep inner peace and happiness. These five keys offer a practical way to help you make your yoga practice a success.
1. Set a time when you can practice each day
Yoga Diet
According to the science of yoga, we can compare our bodies to vehicles that we use to travel the path of life. The food we eat is like the fuel we put in the gas tank—the better the fuel, the better the vehicle performs. What we eat has a huge impact not only on our physical well-being, but also on our mental and our spiritual well-being. So our diet is a vital component of the yoga lifestyle.
Yoga Lifestyle Tips for a Good Night's Sleep
Sleep is a wonderful thing. A good night’s sleep not only gives us a restful break between one busy day and the next, but it’s also a chance for our bodies to heal and rejuvenate. That's why when we miss our sleep, we generally feel lethargic and out of sorts the next day. We may become irritable and stressed, especially as the day wears on, and this can affect our work as well as our relationships with others. Lack of sleep can also depress the immune system, making us more likely to catch whatever virus is going around. So getting a good night’s sleep is really quite important.
