Practice and Non-attachment to Results

A life philosophy that I have often heard and am a big proponent of goes as such: how can you love others and be a happy person if you don’t love yourself and are not happy person? It is like teaching a person how to play guitar without ever having plucked a string. All this pondering about the meaning of life is fascinating enough but what does this have to do with yoga and, more importantly, poker?

Going back to the previous discussions of the yoga sutras, we must go back to the very beginning and study some of the core principles and pieces of advice given by Patanjali to all practitioners of the science of yoga.

In the beginning of the yoga sutras one of the very first pillars mentioned is abhyasa, or practice. This does not mean that one must constantly do asanas (poses) it merely means that one needs to be persistent in trying to maintain a tranquil state of being, which is the entire point of yoga.

The essential companion to abhyasa is vairagya, or non-attachment. Yoga teaches us that we must learn to let go of the many attachments we hold on to in our everyday live such as fears and distractions we pay attention to that cloud us from getting in touch with our true inner-selves.

These concepts, carried out during the practice of yoga, can be readily applied to one’s poker game. There is a reason why many of the best-known poker players in the world gained their renown through impressive and consistent online play, not just by winning a tournament on television - players who clock in such a great deal of hours gain their skill through experience and tenacity, not chance. Many of these players not only spend a great deal of time playing the game, they have also put in hours in the library studying texts and learning what the best in the business have to say. They learn every single strength and weakness of their game thereby finding ways to work with their shortcomings as well as gifts.

Of course, there are always exceptions to the rules. There are several young poker players that have begun to dominate the poker world such as Josh “JJProdigy” Field, Dario Minieri, and Annette Obrestad. These players seem to have an uncanny feel for the game and made it straight to the top as mere children with little or no experience. These players should be used as learning examples, but should not be emulated considering less than 1% of poker players have that kind of natural talent. The best way to improve one’s game is to simply put in the time, practice, and study. Studying the game is a key ingredient that keeps many average players from becoming truly great players.

Studying does not mean to sit and read one book. It goes much deeper than that. Studying the game means not only playing and reading, but watching others play poker. Sit down one day and watch a WSOP tournament on TV and take notes with a pen and paper. Take note of the various betting strategies players use and how their personalities reflect their playing style. Some writers even claim that by simply observing the way a person dresses and walks one can deduce a great deal about their playing style. Doing this on TV can be a little difficult considering the players are at such an elite level and are quite good at hiding their weaknesses, but there is still a great deal to learn from them. Even going to a local casino and observing other players can be a great help and for beginning players would do more than watching the pros.

There is much wisdom in the saying “practice makes perfect”. The ancient yogis were some of the original propagators of consistent practice in order to better their yoga practice as well as their lives. You too can take this advice and apply it to your poker game in order to increase the size of your bankroll.

Techniques of Yoga

Yoga

The ultimate goal of yoga is to reach complete peacefulness of body and mind, helping you relax and manage stress and anxiety. Traditional yoga philosophy requires that students adhere to this mission through behavior, diet and meditation. But if you're simply looking for better stress management and not an entire lifestyle change, yoga can still help.

Yoga improves our concentration and can make us stronger both physically and emotionally. It is widely recognized as an excellent stress management tool; teaching us to relax, it aids restful sleep and helps foster spiritual peace and contentment.

Yoga for Stress Management

Yoga is very good for stress. It offers gentle asana, relaxation, pranayama, meditation, shat kriyas and hand mudras. The complete breath exercise can be done at your desk, in the car or anywhere else when you start to feel stressed out. Meditation helps calm your mind, teaching you to relax at will and giving you a quick mental vacation whenever you need one. And daily practice of three or four yoga poses will help ease knotted muscles. The methods of classical yoga include ethical disciplines, physical postures, breathing control and meditation. Virtually everyone can see physical benefits from yoga, and its practice can also give psychological benefits, such as stress reduction and a sense of well-being, and spiritual benefits, such as a feeling of connectedness with God or Spirit, or a feeling of transcendence.

Laughter Yoga

Laughter Yoga is supported by powerful tools derived from the Western psycho analytical methods as well as Eastern spiritual laws. It will help you to stay in high spirits when life throws up challenges. It will enhance your ability to laugh and smile when dealing with negative emotions, situations and negative or difficult people.

Virtually everyone can see physical benefits from yoga, and its practice can also give psychological benefits, such as stress reduction and a sense of well-being, and spiritual benefits, such as a feeling of connectedness with God or Spirit, or a feeling of transcendence. When we laugh our bodies release a cocktail of hormones & chemicals that have startling positive effects on our system. Stress is reduced, blood pressure drops, depression is lifted, your immune system is boosted & more. Laughter is nature's stress buster. It lifts our spirits with a happy high that makes us feel good and improves our behavior towards others.

The Future Of Online Yoga

Why? Because there is no one to watch the kids? Because there is no time for an hour long class and commute? There is always an excuse.

Part of the problem is that, as much as we love yoga, yoga studios themselves are not always what they are cracked up to be. The fact is that studio classes are expensive and, unless you have free time to burn, out of reach of many people. Newcomers often say they feel lost in classes that are geared to the higher skill levels of more frequent visitors. Or they worry about other students judging their bodies or their skill. For as egalitarian as yoga should be, the yoga studio can be a daunting place.

Online yoga is increasingly being seen as an alternative and a cure for these studio shortcomings. And the yoga studios are figuring it out. Every day it seems another yoga studio starts a website seeking to extend its reach into cyberspace. Some sites offer written instruction. Most offer video programs of their yogis' most popular classes, which can range from simple hand-drawn animations to high-definition video. Some of these videos are such high production value that they look like something out of Hollywood!

But videos are not where online yoga sets itself apart. After all, you have been able to buy a yoga video and watch it on your TV for at least a decade now. Where online yoga is making real strides is where it takes advantage of the power of its medium. The internet is a dynamic, fluid place where sites and experiences change on a daily basis in response to their users' choices. Your online yoga class should be the same way.

Guided Yoga is one of the online yoga sites that has transcended video. It was developed by a team of yogis and programmers, and allows you to control the difficulty of your yoga class and the length of the class down to the minute. It uses an algorithm to search through hundreds of poses to put together yoga classes that are personalized to your preferences. The yoga classes it creates are always different--there are literally thousands of possible classes for each length and level of difficulty.

Beginner Yoga Class Checklist

1. Nail down your goals and find the right style for you.

Everyone comes to yoga for different reasons. Sometimes these differences are slight, other times they’re vast.

For instance, are you interested in an intense physical workout to throbbing music, or are you on more of a spiritual path towards (quiet) enlightenment? Are you attracted to yoga because of its health benefits, and if so, is it physical or emotional health you are most interested in?

Are you interested in the philosophy and rich traditions of yoga, or are you on the other extreme and wouldn’t be caught dead reciting a mantra?

Whatever your personal needs and proclivities, there’s a yoga for you. If several flavors of yoga are offered in your area, do your research online or in the library to find which style would be the best fit for you.

Once you know what it is you’re looking for, you can set some goals. Call the teacher of the beginner yoga class you’re considering and ask if your expectations are reasonable.

2. Choose a drop-in or series beginner yoga class

A drop-in yoga class allows you to pay-as-you go. There will likely be some turnover week to week as to which students show up for class. The teacher is likely to keep this class on the mild side, because students will be at such differing ability levels.

This may be just what you’re looking for if you just want a taste of yoga but don’t want to buy an expensive package of classes. This may also be a good choice for you if your schedule won’t allow you to attend a class every week. Keep in mind there are significant drawbacks.

One, because the class is ongoing, you will never get to start at “the beginning.” You may be a little lost at first while you learn the culture of the class. Also, drop-in beginner yoga classes tend to be repetitive.

A series yoga class is different in that you buy a set number of classes and each class builds on what you learned in the previous week. A good series class is repetitive only in that there is some review each time, but then the teacher introduces new material.

You can learn much more much faster in a series class, but again there are drawbacks. First, if you miss a class it may be difficult to make up the material that you missed. Also, you will be asked to pay for the whole series up front.

Take a look at your level of commitment, your schedule and your budget and decide whether a drop-in or a series class is better for your needs.

3. Make sure the teacher has adequate training.

Yoga is now a significant contributor to sports injuries. This can be attributed to two things: students pushing themselves too hard for perfection and inadequate training of instructors.

Don’t be shy in asking your potential instructor about their background. There are certifications for teaching “gym yoga” that an instructor can get in a long weekend. A three day training is just enough to make someone dangerous. That’s not to say that some of the people who start with such certifications don’t turn out to be excellent instructors by dedicating themselves to practice and increasing their knowledge over the course of months and years.

There are of course people who teach yoga with no formal certification whatsoever, and though it might be difficult for these teachers to get liability insurance, there’s nothing illegal about it. Keep in mind that yoga is a spiritual tradition thousands of years old, and the idea of giving someone a certificate for learning a few poses and breathing techniques would have been an odd idea indeed even seventy years ago. It is one thing to wake up one morning and decide to teach yoga with little to no experience. It is quite another to teach after living for years under the tutelage of a master yogi who just doesn’t believe in certificates.

As a general rule, seek out yoga teachers with at the very least 200 hours of training. In the United States there’s an organization called the Yoga Alliance that offers a registry of teachers who attended training programs that meet certain standards. Someone can have the Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) designation from the Yoga Alliance and still be a crummy teacher, but usually RYTs are a safe bet.

Learning Yoga For Your Good Health

For many of us, cranking out a ten-minute mile on a treadmill or pounding the floor of the racquetball court can mean major joint pain. Fortunately, you can cover all three of your major exercise types (aerobic, anaerobic and stretching) through a low-impact activity like yoga.

Yoga is an ancient Indian practiced designed to promote relaxation, health and flexibility. By using a series of poses and breathing techniques, yoga also works on the practitioner's balance, strength and overall health.

Yoga has been shown to reduce blood pressure, lower cholesterol levels, diminish back pain and improve cardiovascular health. Depending on the type of yoga you do, yoga can be an aerobic, anaerobic or stretching exercise or all three.

Essentially, yoga tones and stretches all your joints and muscles. Not only does this unique form of exercise deliver physical benefits, it also reduces stress while promoting relaxation. When it comes to aging well, yoga is one of the best activities you can do.

Some types of yoga are more strenuous than others, so before you sign up for a class or purchase a yoga DVD, you may want to make sure you're choosing a yoga program that's right for you. Keep reading to learn about the five major types of yoga:

Integral Yoga: This is a basic and very gentle form of yoga with a set pattern of postures. The emphasis is on pose control, relaxation and deep meditation. Integral yoga is perfect for beginners.

Ashtanga Yoga: You may see Ashtanga yoga listed as power yoga. This type of yoga moves fast and focuses on a continuous flow of movement through the traditional yoga poses. By incorporating strength, aerobic exertion and flexibility, Ashtange embodies all three types of exercise.

Kundalini Yoga: This form of yoga is extremely spiritual and tends to focus predominantly on breathing exercises, chanting, relaxation and meditation.

Iyengar Yoga: Iyengar yoga focuses predominantly on positioning and poses that are precise and correct. Using wooden blocks, buckets or straps, Iyengar concentrates on alignment and the actual structure of a pose. Though slow and steady, Iyengar is not recommended for yoga beginners.

Yoga Therapy In Kerala

The term "Yoga' has been originated from Sanskrit which means union of mind , body and spirit. Yoga can be also defined as practice of physical postures or poses. The vast field of Yoga includes techniques of breathing, meditation, body awareness, purification, and emotional stability.

Yoga has wide range of features which can very well diminish, managed and cure a particular disease by carefully selecting elements included in the Yoga traditions.

Yoga Therapy:

In the first half of the 20th century, Yoga therapy has been evolved in India. Yoga therapy is a new discipline which integrate traditional Yogic concepts and techniques with the western medical and psychological knowledge. It is a therapy without medicines and surgery without tools. Yoga therapy deals with the holistic treatment of various kinds of psychological or somatic dysfunction. The natural and innate healing resources of the body is promoted by this therapy. It also helps in restoring the proper functioning of the various systems present in our body.

Depending on the individual needs and also considering the medical accounts, Yoga therapists designs Yoga practices for the patients. They prescribes some specific regimens of postures, breathing exercises and relaxation techniques. Yoga therapy can diminish various symptoms and guard the body against various diseases which are mostly evolved due to stress. It treats various ailments ranging from back problems to arthritis to heart conditions to hyperventilation to asthma to irritable bowel syndrome to diabetes to multiple sclerosis to chronic fatigue syndrome to anxiety to hypertension.

In contrary to this, traditional Yoga is primarily concerned with personal fineness on the part of a "normal" or healthy individual. But both the techniques, however, share an understanding of the human being as an integrated body-mind system, which can function optimally only when there is a state of dynamic balance. Yoga therapy is more effective than general yoga practice as a safe means of treating medical conditions.

Advantages of Yoga Therapy:

1. Yoga therapy is good for everyone.

2. It is a modified form of all the classical Yoga practices and therefore provides same advantages the traditional Yoga practices provides but without having any risk of injury.

3. Yoga therapy keeps the body flexible and mobile and keeps the joints moving.

4. Yoga therapy helps in both preventing and curing the diseases..

Yoga Therapy in Kerala:

Kerala which is situated in the southern most part of India is renowned all over the world for its Yoga therapy. Kerala has many Ayurvedic resorts which offers Yoga therapies. Some of the famous Auyurvedic resorts of Kerala are Athreya Ayurvedic Resorts, Keraleeyam Ayurvedic Resort, Somatheeram Resorts, Kare Yoga Centre (Iyengar yoga therapy kerala) and many more.

All these resorts offers special therapies to treat various ailments depending upon the body condition. These therapies included general body massages with herbal oils, Steam bath in herb enriched steam, Dhara [with medicated buttermilk], Half body massage with herbal oils, Special head massage, Panchkarma tretmens, Slimming programs, paralysis, weight loss, Anti- aging, Yoga and mediation, Detoxification and rejuvenation therapies.

Yoga For Beginners

Firstly, this type of yoga concentrates on the practice of postures and the control of breathing to invigorate the subtle channels. Focusing on the third and fourth steps of the eight-fold path of Ashtanga Yoga, this type of yoga concentrates on the practice of postures and the control of breathing to invigorate the subtle channels.

If you believe that hatha yoga most suitable for you and want learn how to do yoga, it is probably a good idea to do a course or class offers hatha yoga. You can visit your local health club, search through your local phone book or local newspaper or use google to find how to do yoga classes nearby to where you live or work.

Additionally, not much in the way of equipment is needed when learning how to do yoga. More often than not yoga mats are provided for free in the classes that offer yoga or you can purchase a yoga map for very little cost.

Bikram Yoga

Bikram yoga is practised in a very hot room and is another form of yoga.

If you want to learn how to do yoga of this type then be warned that it is not for everyone. People who don’t like to perspire or find it too uncomfortable in hot humid environments generally are not keen to learn how to do yoga of this.

Bikram yoga involves a sequence of 26 standing and twisting yoga poses and includes a breathing technique called the Kapalabhati breath. The advantage of Bikram yoga being performed in a extremely hot heated room is that it helps the body to stretch more than it would under normal conditions.

How To Do Yoga

Hatha Yoga

Firstly, this type of yoga concentrates on the practice of postures and the control of breathing to invigorate the subtle channels. Focusing on the third and fourth steps of the eight-fold path of Ashtanga Yoga, this type of yoga concentrates on the practice of postures and the control of breathing to invigorate the subtle channels.

If you believe that hatha yoga most suitable for you and want learn how to do yoga, it is probably a good idea to do a course or class offers hatha yoga. You can visit your local health club, search through your local phone book or local newspaper or use google to find how to do yoga classes nearby to where you live or work.

Additionally, not much in the way of equipment is needed when learning how to do yoga. More often than not yoga mats are provided for free in the classes that offer yoga or you can purchase a yoga map for very little cost.

Bikram Yoga

Bikram yoga is practised in a very hot room and is another form of yoga.

If you want to learn how to do yoga of this type then be warned that it is not for everyone. People who don’t like to perspire or find it too uncomfortable in hot humid environments generally are not keen to learn how to do yoga of this.

Bikram yoga involves a sequence of 26 standing and twisting yoga poses and includes a breathing technique called the Kapalabhati breath. The advantage of Bikram yoga being performed in a extremely hot heated room is that it helps the body to stretch more than it would under normal conditions.

Power Yoga

There also some forms of power yoga which increase the physical resilience of the participants. There is a good reason that it is called power yoga because you will be totally worn out by the end of the class. Power yoga should be undertaken with care as there is always the possibility that you could get an muscular injury don’t do it properly.

Advanced Yoga

To fully convince you to experience this elevated aerobic training, enumerated are the five good effects of practicing advanced yoga:

1. Regular practice of the movements involved in advanced yoga sessions effectively boosts the body's stamina at the same time enhancing one's vigor and flexibility.

2. Advanced yoga practices greatly help in reducing stress-related body problems and may completely prevent the practitioner from encountering any types of tension and uneasiness.

3. The techniques done in advanced yoga exercises can remove body toxins through a series of workouts using different asana postures.

4. The advanced yoga movements also enhance the practitioner's memory and sense of awareness due to the concentration required in performing the complex positions.

5. Practicing advanced yoga exercises regularly improves the body's posture and clears the body and mind from any kinds of stress and discomfort.

Adding Power to Your Yoga Exercise

There are several types of yoga postures which are considered part of the advanced yoga training. Most of these asana poses are under the classification of power yoga. Often called as athlete's yoga, the advanced yoga drills involved in the power yoga consists of stretching calisthenics and muscle strengthening aerobics. These two types of exercises are integrated with meditative breathing to create advanced yoga techniques. Some of the activities done on the advanced yoga training include push-ups, hand stands, reaching toes with the tips of the fingers and side to side body flexing.

Other than the advanced yoga poses used on power yoga, the performance is done at a faster pace. The rapid succession of the techniques focuses on increasing the concentration and perspiration in doing the aerobic exercises. Moreover, the quickness implemented on the advanced yoga practice allows the practitioner to adapt with the progressing level of movements involved in power yoga. The advanced yoga program is composed of a series of exercises with gradually increasing difficulty. A meditative breathing exercise is included between each group of heavy exercise to contemplate the effects on the body.

History of Yoga- an Overview

How yoga derived its name?

The history of yoga is recorded in our scriptures and it’s continuously evolving in recent times. Though yoga has evolved with changes in techniques and methods but the essence and goal remains the same. The word yoga derived from Sanskrit word “Yuj”, meaning to “unite”.

History of yoga in Indus valley civilization-

The archeological excavations of ancient civilization shows that even before 3000 BC yoga had evolved. The artifacts and the “Yogi glyptic” are testimony to the fact. The various yoga postured relic’s depicts, some of the noteworthy yoga postures in them.

History of yoga in Vedic period –

With evolution of Vedas the foundation of Hinduism was laid. The Vedas hold the ancient yogic teachings and hence is known as Vedic yoga. While some vague references of history of yoga could be found in the Vedas but practices could be found in the Brahmanas. The Rig Veda mentions yoga’s practice as yoga was essential with Vedic ritual. This dates back to 900 BC.

History of yoga in the Upanishads-

This period is also knows as pre-classical yoga period. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad makes the reference of yoga meditation and is clearly reflected in 900 BC to 400 BC. The Mahabharata and the Bhagavad-Gita (oldest Yoga scripture) shows the yoga history in 500 BC and 200 BC resp. Even in Buddhism, the importance of yoga meditation and various yoga postures have been mentioned.

History of yoga in the Patanjali “Yoga Sutra’s”-

This period is also known as the Classical period of yoga. The main attempt of Patanjali was to define and normalize classical yoga form and is known as Patanjali eight fold path of yoga (Eight Limbs of Classical Yoga).

Post classical yoga-

Numerous sovereign yoga schools were developed during this period after the Yoga sutra period, hence the name Post classical yoga. The human body became filed of study along with the meditation which was missing is the previous years. A new system with numerous yoga exercises was developed. And thus Hatha yoga, Raj yoga and other branches emerged.

Modern yoga and its history-

The Chicago summit and the famous lecture of Swami Vivekananda became a turning point with the introduction of Yoga to the Western world. Thus various yoga schools emerged and more and more people learnt this yogic form of exercise.

Yoga today in modern world-

Yoga has gained immense popularity in recent years. Yoga has become a health movement. The westerner’s views and spirituality has changed a lot. Yoga’s has become a mandatory fitness regime. Yoga has evolved into more modern form like power yoga or Zen yoga.

What are the Health Benefits of Yoga?

Benefits of yoga for flexibility-

Age is nor bar when it comes to yoga. Elderly people and arthritis patients are extremely worried about flexibility. But the fact is that even people with such condition can make use of yoga in everyday life and can benefit good health. The muscles can be safely worked out by various yoga poses and the range of motion can be increased. Yoga increases the natural lubrication of body and softens all the body tissues. Thus, Yoga health benefits can be observed and enjoyed in very short period of time.

Benefits of yoga for strength-

Some fusion forms of yoga like the power yoga and asthanga yoga offer more health benefits and they are vigorous. They tone the muscles. The iyengar yoga lays less stress on movements with precision in poses. These are good to give strength and stamina benefits.

Benefits of yoga for posture-

With flex and strength the posture improves. Further the core strength gets developed with standing and sitting postures. Another important benefit of yoga comes with increase in alertness.

Benefits of yoga for better breathing-

All the yoga asana and the yoga postures are well structured with breathing techniques. This is important to improve the lung capacity and increase the blood flow in the body. With improvement in endurance the performance also perks. Yoga lays stress on deepened and lengthened breathing technique.

Benefits of yoga for reducing stress and increasing calmness-

Even a beginner can feel the difference in his/her first yoga class. Numerous yoga styles make particular meditation technique to calm the mind. Some other yoga forms focus on breath. Yoga is popular on account of its anti-stress benefits.

Benefits of yoga for concentration-

It’s true that with absorption of yoga in life the concentration improves and the mood swings arrested. Yoga has tremendous effect on depression and anxiety. Yoga is said to ease some of the obsessive compulsive disorder.

Benefits of yoga for heart-

Even studies support that yoga is capable in alleviating cardiovascular diseases. It reduces heart rate and control blood pressure. People can get benefited with yoga and they can control hypertension, stroke, cholesterol etc. some studies even show the anti-oxidant effect of yoga for better health.

Benefits of yoga for other ailments-

In the west the researchers has found the benefits of yoga on account of its therapeutic effects. Yoga benefits arthritis, asthmas, back pain, insomnia and even in sclerosis too.

Other health Benefits of yoga -

Yoga builds memory. It also slows down the aging process and boosts energy level. On a spiritual level too the awareness increases. Yoga practitioners opine that even on personal front yoga works miraculously.

Yoga for Beginners

Some easy positions of yoga, for beginners-

We all do simple positions in everyday life, like lying down, sitting, standing, prone inverted etc. But with proper practice of the aforementioned yoga postures the beginners can be benefited to great extent. These simple activities are arranged and worked out so that a yoga beginner also gains from them. Medical practitioners find yoga to be therapeutic. They even suggest to make yoga a part of their every day life. With gradual introduction of yoga and its method health benefits can be gained.

As a yoga beginner you can choose moderate style like the viniyoga, kripalu yoga or iyengar yoga. You can choose vigorous forms like the power yoga, asthanga yoga in late stages. The later one will be too dynamic for the yoga beginners.

See that you start yoga gently with 10-15 mins warm up session, as it increases blood circulation and lubrication in joints. The body flexes and it becomes easier to do the yoga asana. Maintain correct erect posture throughout.

Breathing techniques of yoga, for beginners-

Yoga is synonymous with breathing technique. With simple breathing exercises in yoga like the pranayama, kapalbhati, anuloma-viloma, one can improve breathing pattern and lung capacity. This kind of yoga relaxes and eases stress.

Importance of sequence for yoga beginner-

Ideal yoga sequences should not be taxing, especially for beginners. As a yoga beginner you can start with standing pose, followed with sitting posture, Supine postures, twist poses, prone postures, inverted and balance postures, back bends and finishing asana.

Some do’s for yoga beginners-

As a beginner it’s better to inform the yoga instructor that you are new to yoga fitness regime. You can even ask the teacher to help you out in case of need. You can seek the help of other advanced students to demonstrate poses. It’s better to know about basic yoga etiquette and learn some basic yoga poses, this you can do searching online or from books and DVD’s. Start fresh with refreshing bath prior to yoga practice. Always end the yoga session with shavasana.

Some don’ts for yoga beginners-

Avoid taking large heavy meals before any yoga class. Ensure that you have eaten 3-4 hrs before the class. You can have some water before and after the yoga class. Avoid tight fitted clothes, shoes and socks while doing yoga.

Yoga for Children

A number of Yoga for Children programmes have been created by Yoga teachers to introduce the benefits of yoga and relaxation at an early age in a playful, simple and fun way. The combination of special yoga moves, breathing exercises and relaxations will energize, strengthen, loosen and balance little bodies, while helping to calm and control and relax little minds.

Kids yoga is a wonderful opportunity for the child to learn life skills that can be implemented into their daily routine. Whether it's breathing and relaxation techniques that will help them, focus, concentrate or be calm; or postures that will help their endurance, flexibility, balance and coordination these are all very naturally a strong part of yoga.

Yoga for children is most successful if the children are encouraged to use their imagination. A dynamic, creative and stimulating approach grabs the children's attention.

Yoga for children is practiced in the United Kingdom. It is not new to Britain, with after-school clubs and classes gaining popularity in recent years as parents realize its wide-ranging benefits. What is new to the UK, however, is the method of Research on Yoga in Education (RYE), an international non-profit making organization which blends the standard school curriculum with exercises on concentration, attention and relaxation, drawn mainly from traditional yoga.

What is also claimed is that Yoga for children gives the benefit that the children may be protected from injuries and at the same time they get all the benefits of exercising the system. This is not to suggest that the other exercise including outdoor forms of exercises and sports and games are not beneficial.

Parents have expressed appreciation for the presentation of yoga in a playful manner with its presentation of actively moving exercises balanced with those that require stillness and inner concentration, all in a child-friendly way. Parents may be practicing yoga themselves, and kids are always interested in what their parents are up to.

When assessing yoga trainers for children, parents should also inquire as to the spiritual nature of the classes; some instructors take a strong religious stance, while others offer no particular religious slant, instead focusing simply on the movements and breathing.

Novice Guide To Yoga

For many people in the west, the meditation aspects of yoga is known, however, there is more to yoga. Doing yoga for many people practicing yoga, is also a way to spiritual growth, and spiritual enlightenment.

Benefits of Yoga

When you start to do yoga, you will find many benefits, not just spiritual or physiological, but also psychological, and biochemical, not to mention the many more benefits of you doing yoga.

Some of the benefits of yoga, you may be able to get are your mood improves and subjective well-being increases, your level of Anxiety and Depression decreases, sleep improves, pulse rate decreases, and your weight normalizes. This is only a very small handful of the benefits of doing yoga.

For people who may be looking for the health benefits which can help heal certain ailments, you may be glad to know glucose and sodium levels in the body go down because of doing yoga. So the steps you are taking now can greatly benefit your health in a positive way.

As always, remember to get these health benefits from yoga, you will need to remember to keep to practicing yoga regularly. If you have old health issues, then also make sure you speak to your doctor before embarking on any new healthy health exercise regimen, such as yoga.

Beginning Yoga

Beginning yoga is much easier today, thanks to the major interest in yoga over the last few years, more and more yoga classes are being started. The first step in beginning yoga, is to decide to start! At this point, most people may wonder if they have what it takes to start yoga, what will be involved etc. Relax, yoga classes can teach you from beginning, even if you do not know the first thing about yoga.

Learn more to quit smoking

Westner Yoga

Rodney Yee was once a gymnast, a ballet dancer, and a philosophy major. What do all of these things have in common? The helped him satisfy a deep hunger for knowledge and understanding of the human mind and body. This curiosity is what led him to begin learning, and eventually teaching, his own form of yoga. Rodney has appeared on several national morning shows, and daytime television talk shows like Oprah. He owns a major yoga studio in LA, and is probably THE most well known yoga personality in America, next to Bikram.

#2 Bikram Choudhury

Bikram's Yoga: http://www.bikramyoga.com

Although he was born in India, Bikram began teaching his "hot yoga" classes in the California during the 1970s. This form of yoga, in which students perform mostly Hatha yoga poses in a heated room, may be the most popular type of yoga in the United States today.

#3 Shiva Rea

Shiva Rea's Yoga: http://www.shivarea.com/about

Her name sounds Indian, but Shiva is actually an American-born yoga instructor, daughter of an artist/surfer. Shiva has released several award-winning yoga videos, and has traveled the world to appear at yoga retreats and international studios. Now a regular contributor for the Yoga Journal, Shiva has built a name for herself as one of the best yoga teachers in the Western world. She is widely known for her cultivation of Vinyasa yoga techniques into her own style called Prana Flow.

#4 Patricia Walden

Patricia's Yoga: http://www.gaiam.com/category/yoga-studio/yoga-instructors/patricia-walden.do

While many Western yoga teachers are drawn to the temptation of creating their own, unique style of yoga, branding it and watching it flourish, Patricia has remained dedicated to her Iyengar yoga roots for over 25 years. She has co-authored The Women's Book of Yoga and Health and starred in several award-winning yoga DVDs, including the best-selling Yoga for Beginners series.

#5 Seane Corn

Seane's Yoga: http://www.gaiam.com/category/yoga-studio/yoga-instructors/seane-corn.do

The extremely beautiful, talented and charismatic Seane Corn teaches Vinyasa yoga, and is the star of the hugely popular Vinyasa Flow Yoga DVD series. She has been featured on the cover of the Yoga Journal three times, and has also appeared on the covers of Natural Health, Fit yoga, Yoga Life and Healing Retreat and Spa Magazine. Many are drawn to Seane Corn's charisma and authentic messages of change and progress. She has worked with several political and social programs to bring changes to local and global communities, including a shelter that houses and educates adolescent prostitutes, and YouthAIDS. Born in New Jersey, Seane had her first yoga experience at the Life Cafe in the East Village area of New York.

Learn more to quit smoking

What Is This Thing Called Yoga ?

The actual word yoga is a Sanskrit word. That means union or merger and the ultimate goal of the practice of yoga is to strike a balance between the mind and body. In order to achieve this balance between the mind and the body the practice of yoga will use movement, breath, posture, relaxation and meditation in order to establish this balance. This in order to live a healthy, lively and balanced life.

There are many types of yoga, one of the most popular forms of yoga is called Hatha Yoga. Hatha Yoga deals mainly with physical postures and breathing exercises. Another form of yoga is Karma Yoga which emphasizes the spiritual practices to help you unify your body mind and daily life through certain practices. The other form of yoga is called Bhakthi Yoga. Bhakti Yoga is a devotional form of yoga and generally includes chanting, reading scriptures and doing worship.

Most people have heard of the word yoga as yoga is a very popular practice that is practiced all over the world. The ancient yogis had the believe that in order for somebody to be in harmony with themselves and his environment he have to find a balance between the mind that the body and the spirit with in. Yoga was used to find a balance between those three. The yogis formulated the way to achieve this balance. And this is done through breathing techniques and meditation.

Lets look at the 5 different kinds of yoga.

Hatha yoga

Hatha yoga is a yoga of postures. Probably when you think of yoga you will be thinking of Hatha yoga. Hatha Yoga is the most popular form of yoga in the west. Hatha yoga uses physical postures or Asana and different breathing techniques and meditation. All of this is combined to achieve a better health as well as in understanding of spirituality.

Bhakthi Yoga

Bhakthi yoga is the yoga of devotion. It is yoga for the heart and devotion of the people. The practice over Bhakthi Yoga teaches a person to have devotion for his spiritual being or God and to develop this love and acceptance for all living things.

Learn more to quit smoking

Pranayama and Asana

The word “yoga” derived from the Sanskrit word "Yuj", which means to yoke, and is typically translated as union, integration, attach, join, or unite. Thus, it is the union and integration of every part of a human being, from the innermost to the external.

The yoga sutras are considered to be a collection of yogic thoughts that is largely raja yogic in nature. In yoga sutras, Patanjali suggests eight steps that are the basic principles of yoga practice to calm one's mind and unite with the infinite.

The yoga sutras are the physical activities that focus on the body, meditation and the mind. Yoga sutras combine the yoga practices to provide an overall sense of physical and mental health.

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras - Ashtanga Yoga

Here are the eight yoga sutras to look at and learn a little about each one.

* Yama - abstentions

* Niyama - self-purification and study

* Asana - posture or pose

* Pranayama - breathe control

* Pratyahara - sense control

* Dharana - concentration

* Dhyana - contemplation

* Samadhi - veridical meditation

Yama and Niyama

The first two yoga sutras, yama and niyama, are ten good logical guidelines for bringing spiritual consciousness into a social perspective to lead a healthier, happier life. They both cope with moral and ethical issues.

They are the fundamental laws to direct the actions of humanity. These yoga sutras help us in respecting the principles of this life, in balancing our inner intensification with outer restraint. Following these principles of yoga sutras means leading a life in a better way, about making it possible to understand and connect with the divine. Thus they lead us to a conscious life.

Asana

Asana refers to the different postures that can be practiced to reinforce the body physically. It is treated as yoga postures in accord with one's inner consciousness. A Regular practice of this yoga sutra helps to keep our body fit, controls levels of cholesterol, normalizes blood pressure, reduces weight, and recovers heart performance.

Learn more to quit smoking