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Why yoga is perfect for 2015!

yoga_Dec26_AIt is always an exciting time of expectation at the start of New Year; with plans to make positive change. If you are planning to make a difference with your health and your fitness levels, then yoga could be the practice you are looking for in 2015. Yoga might have been around for what seems like forever, well thousands of years, but it is still as popular and as relevant as ever; making it into the top 10 of the American College of Sports Medicine’s 2015 fitness trends, an annual worldwide survey of industry professionals.

So, what’s so perfect about yoga for beyond New Year and into 2015?

Yoga embraces new beginnings and change – Yoga is a non-competitive exercise program that is deeply personal. You progress at your own pace and when you start your practice there is a feeling of being at the start of a wonderful journey. This fits with New Year, where you are looking ahead at new chapters unfolding and alternative fitness routes to follow.

The breathing techniques and meditative elements of yoga are connected with the idea of letting go and living mindfully; aware and present in the here and now. New Year too is about saying goodbye to the past and looking forward; of starting from this point onward.

Yoga is a great entry level exercise program – This time of year, many people who have long been out of the habit of regular exercise or even activities, are propelled to make a difference. However, if you are not used to working out, the world of health and fitness can be a little overwhelming to say the least. You want to feel motivated and not humiliated or out of your depth and yoga is one of the best exercise programs to do this.

Even beginners with little or no experience, and those who have led a sedentary life as of late at least, can feel comfortable with yoga and progress without any pressure.

Yoga destresses you after the holiday season – The festive holidays can be great fun for some but also a source of stress for many. There is often a real feeling of internal stress building up in individuals, while relationships and socializing can intensify, not to mention the general hubbub about this time of year, which can put strain on anyone.

After a frenetic or simply an indulgent holiday, you really need to reduce your stress levels. Yoga is a calming and soothing practice that lets you escape your everyday world and suspend your mind in its own time and space; a perfect exercise antidote that helps you energize and revitalize.

Yoga inspires lifestyle changes – Yoga is a holistic practice and which really encourages greater mind-body connection and awareness. Of course, there are also many poses which are aimed at one part of the body, say to strengthen or stretch, but the overall idea behind yoga is about general wellness.

This wider approach, along with an enjoyable practice, often extends into other areas of life, such as nutrition, patterns of behavior, and relationships. Health is about much more than fitness after all.

Yoga grounds and creates balance and stability – Many yoga poses are concerned with strengthening muscles so that the spine is well supported and there is a sense of equilibrium, both mentally and physically. Breathing, correct posture and awareness of your body has a wonderful effect of making you feel strong and in control and gives you a grounded feeling.

Yoga focuses on wellbeing in general – Because yoga is all-encompassing and about your whole being, it is ideal to get involved with for New Year and beyond. In January your focus is on this wider health and fitness philosophy too.

Yoga is perfect for 2015, so get in touch with us and make some moves towards a healthier and happier fitness journey for the year ahead.

Published with permission from FitnessAdvisory. Source.

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Yoga inversions for beginners!

yoga_Dec4_AOver the last couple of weeks we’ve looked at the power of inversions in yoga, whereby poses put your head below your heart. Though great core strengthening movements, inversions can be incredibly strenuous and are often a real challenge to the novice yogi or yogini. However, even if you’re not quite at the level of a headstand or a shoulder stand and find Downward Facing Dog difficult to sustain, there’s no reason why you cannot still benefit from some yoga inversions for beginners.

If you are not used to being topsy turvy and upside down, yoga inversions can prove to be a rush to the head that’s a little too far out of your comfort zone. However, with as they boast such great benefits, it’d be a shame to dismiss inversions altogether. Instead, start with less challenging but still incredibly beneficial beginner inversions.

Extended Puppy Pose

This is a good and far easier pose than Downward Facing Dog; begin on all fours, like a dog but take time to make sure you are creating a good, grounded position. This means your hands should be placed on your mat firmly, under your shoulders and your knees should be under your hips.

Keeping your arms shoulder-width apart, walk forward with your hands. You will need to keep your palms pressed down. Throughout the exercise you want to ensure that your forearms and elbows stay away from your mat and do not make contact with the floor. To do this you will have to consciously raise your arms a little.

As you move your hands forward, let your chest lower to your mat. As you rest your forehead on the ground, you’ll feel a kind of melting sensation as you let your body sink down, while your spine lengthens.

Keep your hips up and vary the pose on an exhale, by bringing your hips back so that you are halfway to sitting down on your calves and really stretching your back. All the while you should be keeping your hands in place and feeling that sense of relaxation in your core. You can let your forearms touch the ground and then you are transforming your pose into Child’s Pose which inspires deep relaxation and calm.

If you are feeling this is too much of a stretch then add a blanket or bolster for support between your calves and thighs, and also bring the arms in a little and add a blanket under your forehead.

Dolphin Pose

This is really a variation on Downward Facing Dog. Start on all fours and lower your forearms so that they lie parallel with each other. Your palms should be facing down and your elbows under your shoulders.

Curl your toes in to get a grip on your mat as you raise your hips and abdomen. Try and walk in a little if you feel yourself slide. You are aiming for a V shape, so it is important to keep your hips straight and pulled up. A good way to achieve this is visualize an imaginary piece of string pulling you up toward the ceiling and keeping you in place.

If you can, place the soles of your feet flat on the ground, but don’t worry if you have to raise them because your calf muscles are too tight; it’s always best to listen to your body and not over-stretch.

Keep your head and neck relaxed and in line with your upper arms, with your face looking into the V. Your legs and spine need to be straight.

In essence, Dolphin Pose, takes the pressure off the wrists that you often feel with Downward Facing Dog and allows for greater stability with an inversion that is still incredibly effective.

Next week, we will look at shoulder stands and also how putting your feet up can relieve stress and tension in the body. Meanwhile, come and be part of our yoga experience.

Published with permission from FitnessAdvisory. Source.

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5 Extra reasons we love yoga!

yoga_Nov6_AYoga is one of those activities that once you get into it you really become a dedicated fan; the reason being that you feel all the great benefits from your yoga practice pretty much immediately. We’ve already looked at many reasons to love yoga and this month we’re going to look at five extra reasons, just in case you still need some encouragement to give this great exercise a try.

While there is definite progression with yoga, what’s great about it is that you don’t have to really train up to feel the benefits and enjoy the practice. Yoga is accessible and leave you feeling energized, with stretching moves which strengthen and inspire flexibility. With yoga you learn to move your body in a different way, in an environment that isn’t competitive or highly-charged. So what else can yoga do?

   1. Relaxes the mind – It is not just the body that unwinds with yoga moves but also your mind. Breathing techniques and a focus on proper form combine to center you. The more grounded you feel, the more likely the mental stresses and strains of the day disappear and culmulative anxiety dissipates.

The fact that yoga is generally less frenetic than high-level cardio workouts, as well as the point that you do not have to prove yourself or pit your skills against others, means that your mind can simply relax into each movement. Yoga is more than a form of exercise, it is essentially a philosophy on life and how to live life with less internal turmoil and tension.

 2. Creates a sense of space – Following on from the relaxed body and mind benefits of yoga, this type of exercise can really create a feeling of expansion. As you concentrate on certain movements and do not take into consideration other people’s progress, you in effect create your own yoga world. While still feeling connected, to yourself as well as others, you can enjoy the inner sense of space as well as a nurturing feeling within the exercise session.

When you have space you have time to really think about many factors about your life and this in itself can be transformative. Without space to think and feel it can be difficult to initiate positive changes for your health and wellbeing.

 3. Instills clarity of thought and better focus – Because yoga does not merely focus on physical benefits but also on deep relaxation and mentally de-stressing, a yoga session can feel refreshing to your mind too. Yoga can be like a spa treatment for your mind almost, and even one session can clear away the cobwebs and help you see more clearly with your mind’s eye.

The advantages of this clarity of thought can be clearly seen in your everyday life, at home and at work. Many yoga fans say that they can concentrate better with mental tasks and cope with potentially stressful situations more easily. With better focus, you can be more productive and this can have enormous advantages in many areas of life.

 4. Targets problem areas easily – Yoga may benefit your mind and body but it does so through exercises which can really focus in on one area of your body. If you need to stretch the spin and improve your posture, there are many moves and poses aimed at this. You can help open up tight areas too, and as you pay more attention to each part of your body you become more aware of where weaknesses lie and what you need to work on.

As well as this, yoga can target areas to help support better performance in other types of exercise, or in certain sports. If you need greater flexibility in your hips then there are a raft of yoga exercises to inspire this. Yoga is about functional fitness.

  5. Brings holistic wellbeing benefits – Yoga can promote restful sleep and help combat insomnia. Good practice can strengthen muscles to minimize exercise injuries, as well as making you feel good and helping your digestive and circulatory systems. Yoga is about you as a whole person and the health and fitness benefits it brings encompass every part of you.

Experience the power of yoga today. Get in touch.

Published with permission from FitnessAdvisory. Source.