Yoga For Beginners - Five Useful Habits to Adopt to Live a Healthy Lifestyle

During a recent yoga lesson with one of my new students, she said she wanted to know what other changes she could make in her daily life to improve her health.

She realised that her yoga practice is just one aspect of living a healthy and happy lifestyle.

To live a holistic and balanced lifestyle, you need to include relaxation, wholesome foods, breathing and positive thinking into your daily routine.

Five Useful Habits To Adopt To Live a Healthy Lifestyle

1. Proper Exercise

Proper Exercise is one of the five basic points of yoga, as taught by Swami Vishnu-devananda, founder and Guru of the International Sivananda Yoga Centre.

Yoga exercises are designed to promote flexibility, strength and balance in the body. In yoga, the physical body is regarded as the vehicle in which the soul lives in on its journey in this lifetime. Yoga exercises are therefore designed to also enhance your spiritual and mental life.

Yoga physical exercises are called Asanas, which means steady pose. As you become more attuned to yoga, you are more able to 'hold' i.e. be in a pose for a longer period of time.

Through the practice of yoga your body becomes more flexible, stronger and supple. The postures bring balance to the body, especially to the muscular-skeletal which supports the body.

Internal organs are gently massaged; muscles gradually release tension to allow new energy to flow through your body.

Yoga exercises focus on developing a strong and supple spine. You may be aware of the saying "you are as young as your spine." The spinal column houses the nervous system. As you stretch and exercise, circulation is increased, which helps to supply and nourish the nerves with a rich supply of nutrients and oxygen.

2. Proper Breathing

In yoga, proper breathing, known as pranayama, means breathing fully, deeply and rhythmically using the whole of your breathing apparatus. Most people use only a fraction of their lung capacity for breathing.

When you practice yoga you learn how to breathe properly. This is a precious gift you give to yourself. When you feel stressed, frustrated and tired a few round of deep yogic breathing helps to recharge your body and clear and calm your mind.

3. Proper Relaxation

We lead stressful, busy and full lives. Many of my yoga students come to yoga as a way to learn how to relax and release stress and tension from their body. During yogic relaxation, you are encouraged to relax in savasan, the corpse pose. This promotes deep physical, emotional and spiritual relaxation.

After a busy day at work, I encourage my students to rest and relax for 10 - 20 minutes when they get home. This helps the body to let go of the stress and tension of the journey home and frantic pace of work.

4. Proper Diet

Yoga encourages you to eat a nutritious diet which is based on eating wholesome, natural and simple foods, e.g. whole grains, fruits, pulses, seeds, sprouted seeds, nuts and vegetables. These foods are easier for the body to digest and have a calming effect on the mind.

5. Positive Thoughts and Meditation

A positive attitude plus the ability to calm and clear your mind is an essential habit to cultivate to help you lead a healthy, balanced life. Meditation is the key to help you achieve this state.

Regular practice of these five habits will help you to live a happy, healthy and relaxed life. It takes time to change, but with regular practice you will live the healthy lifestyle you desire. Let me know how you get on. I would love to hear from you and support you achieve your health goals.

Ntathu Allen, Hatha Yoga Teacher designs personal yoga exercise programmes for beginners. She helps you learn easy yoga postures which improve your flexibility, breathing practices to release stress and meditation techniques to soothe and calm your mind. To find out more go to:> http://www.yogainspires.co.uk and sign up for your free monthly yoga and health newsletter, "Healing for the Soul," full of wellbeing and holistic healing tips and; yoga exercises to energise and nurture your soul.

Email: ntathu@yogainspires.co.uk

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The Advantages of Weight Loss Health Spas - Useful Facts You Might Not Know

Weight loss health spas are now common destinations for those seeking to, you got it, shed off those excess pounds. Unlike traditional health spas that only cater to rest and wellness packages, spas that aim to make their clients lose weight combine the luxuries of a health spa with the single-minded focus that defines a weight loss camp. By putting together a regular workout routine, a delicious healthy meal, relaxation and beauty treatments and group talks, weight loss health spas offer immense benefits.

1. Participants experience accelerated weight loss. In a weight loss spa, the exercise sessions often take up several hours. While some spas specifically focus on a particular exercise regimen to shed off the fat, there will most likely be cardiovascular and strength training workouts included in the package. It is not unlikely that Yoga, hiking and Pilates classes are also offered.

2. Participants are fed healthy and nutritionally-balanced foods. Depending on the spa, the dietary plans could include vegetarian or low-calorie diets. In other spas, delicious, low-calorie meals are prepared. For long-lasting lifestyle changes, healthy cooking classes are offered to teach participants recipes and meal preparations that they can do at home so they can continue with their fat loss regimen.

3. Participants get the benefit of stress-relief through relaxation, meditation and Yoga techniques. Learning these strategies is important in order to help participants manage their stress that, most of the time, lead them to overeat.

4. Participants experience the added benefit of beauty treatments. Facials, massages and spa treatments are often included in a weight loss spa package. Thus, aside from shedding off the excess pounds, participants also get to feel and look beautiful with the beauty treatments included in the package.

5. Participants get the chance to learn from motivational coaches and like-minded people who are facing the same problems they are on their journey towards better health. Peer-facilitated or life or fitness coach-led group sessions allow participants to share their experiences so that everyone can learn from it. These discussions are also therapeutic since these are avenues by which participants can vent out their frustrations about the obstacles that prevent them from reaching their desired weight goal.

If there is any downside to weight loss health spas, it is probably the expense that goes with it. Since these are not merely overnight programs and are held in fine resorts, you will have to save up enough money to get the pampering you want. Moreover, you will need to really psyche yourself up to lose the weight and actually commit to following the routines set. Otherwise, the beautiful surroundings and other amenities of the spa might just tempt you to do something else entirely and that would curtail your fat loss efforts.

Other than these minor considerations, weight loss health spas can really jumpstart any fitness regimen. Instead of a boring exercise routine, these spas make the road to fitness actually fun. So if you're thinking of something to motivate you to actually begin to shed off those belly bulges, try enrolling yourself in one such spa today. The benefits are really well-worth it.

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Yoga For Beginners - Five Useful Things You Need to Know About the History of Yoga

"What is Yoga? What style of yoga do you teach? What do I need to practice yoga?"

As a Yoga Teacher, I am often asked these questions by potential yoga students.

Given the vast array of yoga classes available it can be quite overwhelming to choose a programme most suited to your individual health and well-being needs and lifestyle.

You may have heard that yoga helps you to relax, calms your mind and releases tension from sore muscles, but how can you be sure if the yoga class advertised at your local Leisure Centre is the right form of exercise for you?

There are many styles and ways of teaching yoga. "Yoga" means different things to different people. I have three teenage daughters, each have their own understanding and definition of yoga ranging from:

- "Yoga is a peaceful way to exercise and, a good way to let your feelings out"

- "Yoga is mum's job!"

- "Yoga is gentle stretching and balancing exercises"

The following top five tips give you a clear introduction about the practice and teachings of yoga.

Top Five Useful Things You Need to Know About Yoga

One: Yoga is a form of exercise which consists of a programme of stretching exercises,(known as asanas) which gently open and stretch the body, increasing flexibility, suppleness and strength; breathing practices (known as pranayama) designed to cleanse the body and calm the nervous system and emotions; and guided relaxation to release body tension and promote a sense of well-being. Some yoga classes also include meditation and chanting. Meditation helps you to calm and focus your mind and have a sense of inner peace.

Two: The traditional meaning of the word 'yoga' originates from Sanskrit yuj meaning to yoke, unite, union, join together. Traditionally speaking, the goal of yoga is to achieve union, connection with the Divine. In more general terms, yoga is seen as a practical way to help you achieve a state of balance, sense of harmony and union into your life

Three: There are four main paths of Yoga practice, which all traditionally serves as a means to help you achieve your potential and unite with your divine nature: Karma Yoga (the path of selfless service and action), Jnana Yoga (the path of intellect, knowledge and wisdom), Bhakti Yoga (the path of devotion and love), Raja Yoga (the physical practice of yoga - asanas, breathing, plus spiritual, ethical guidelines, known as the Yoga Sutras or Patanjali's Eight Limbs of Yoga.)

Each path of yoga will appeal to different people depending on your personal temperament and personality.

Four: There are various styles and different approaches to yoga. In essence, asanas, breathing exercises, relaxation and in some cases meditation and chanting form the basis of all yoga styles. All yoga is known as "Hatha Yoga." However, different schools of yoga place difference emphasis on these aspects. Some yoga teachers, may focus more on breathing techniques (known as pranayama ), whilst another may pay more attention on the alignment of the body in the poses. The most common styles of yoga taught are Iyengar Yoga, Sivananada Yoga, Viniyoga Yoga, Astanga Yoga and Bikram Yoga

Five: The practice of yoga exercises (asanas) is one aspect of yoga. As a way of balanced holistic living, the other elements of yoga consists of paying attention to eating a wholesome, preferably vegetarian diet, proper breathing; proper relaxation; positive thinking and meditation.

The practice of yoga is a personal journey. The holistic nature of the practice and range of tools equips you with a range of useful tools to help you find inner peace, calm and balance within your life.

Ntathu Allen, Yoga Teacher, teaches professionals simple yga stretches and meditation to manage stress at work , improve creativity and strengthen relationships at work and at home. Contact Ntathu for your free monthly Yoga and Polarity Enewsletter - Healing for the Soul. Email :ntathu@yogainspires.co.uk ; http://www.yogainspires.co.uk phone: 07973 777 882

Yoga Balls - Useful Yoga Aids

Yoga, which originated from India more than five centuries ago, was essentially a school of thought leading to a spiritual discipline for its followers. Even though different branches of yoga evolved, the core teachings of these branches did not have much to do with physical exercise or development of the body. However, the 20th and 21st centuries saw a big transformation taking place with lots and lots of people seeking yoga as their means to better health and stress relief. This in turn resulted in the development of a new range of branches in modern yoga.

With yoga gaining popularity in the Western world, a new set of visions and experiments started emerging in order to help yoga reach more individuals and to find innovation in the practices. The yoga ball happens to be one of the products of this innovation. An inflated vinyl ball to support the yoga postures wouldn't have likely been thought of by the ancient gurus; nevertheless, it was the need of the hour for yoga to be more innovative and accessible.

Until the path breaking movement of the renowned yoga guru BKS Iyengar, vinyasa (the fluid transition or the movement from one pose the next in a series) used to be considered more important than a perfect posture. But with Iyengar yoga growing out of Hatha Yoga, the emphasis was transformed from vinyasa flow to the perfection of postures.

In Iyengar yoga, a lot of props, such as yoga balls, are used in perfecting the postures. The teachers help their disciples attain the perfect postures using different prop models including the yoga balls, thus eliminating the need for undue or unbearable strains to improve the postures. These props are of tremendous help to the beginners, as well as for those who have health or strength problems.

Yoga aids like yoga balls can be of help in different levels ranging from helping someone keep one leg elevated for an extended period in a balancing pose or in perfecting the arch of the back. Yoga balls can also be used for sitting. Yoga balls are of help not only for the weak or the less balanced practitioners but also for the experts. Yoga balls help the experts stretch their boundaries to achieve even more difficult postures or to hold to their postures for longer periods.

Iyengar yoga may not have the cardiovascular benefits that can be had from the yoga types that follow the vinyasa flow principle, but it offers improved muscle strength and perfect postures. Yoga aids used in Iyengar yoga apart from yoga balls include straps for bound poses, bricks for support, and rollable blankets for back support. The blankets can be used for holding sitting poses also.

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