Different Types of Yoga and Their Benefits 

Many different types of yoga being practiced today, it may be to yoga with basic poses and relaxation techniques; Benefits: Relieves stress and stamina, and those who want to get in touch with their spiritual side.

* Power yoga – If you’re looking for a workout with your yoga, than this style is your best bet. This fast-paced, high-energy style of yoga combines movement with breath, and is often done in a heated room (which heightens the intensity even more). The benefit of Power yoga is that you can combine your yoga and your workout into one, since Power yoga is both a cardio and muscle building workout.

* Yin Yoga – This style of yoga is basically the opposite of Power yoga. It consists of long, deep stretches held for 3 to 5 minutes, which serve to open up your connective tissues – since connective tissues are not as elastic as muscles, you need to hold the poses longer in order to release the tension in them. The benefits of Yin yoga are that it is more of a relaxing, meditative style of yoga (they say it is supposed to “turn you inward”) as opposed to power, and it is usually done at room temperature if you’re not into the high-intensity of a heated room.

* Bikram Yoga – This style of yoga is done in very hot room, and follows a very specific set of poses. Any studio, anywhere in the world will always follow the same series of poses. It is a very formulaic, and some would even say militant, style of yoga. The benefits of Bikram yoga are that you always know what to expect (no matter which studio you do it at), and you can get very good at the poses by doing them over and over again. Bikram people say that the poses don’t change, but instead you change doing the poses; in other words, you can do them better and get more out of them.

* Moksha Yoga- This style of yoga was inspired by Bikram yoga, but is less intense, and more accessible to beginners. You may also find more variety in Moksha, as it tends not to be quite as formulaic as Bikram. Otherwise, the same holds for Moksha as above.

* Iyengar Yoga- This style of yoga was developed by B.K.S. Iyengar, and is very alignment focused. Each pose is looked at individually rather than being connected together; for example, whereas power yoga is all about flowing right from one pose into the next, in Iyengar each pose is focused on individually, and you stop to talk about it before moving on to the next pose. Iyengar yoga is very slow, and uses a lot of props like blocks, bolsters and straps. The benefits of this style of yoga are that it is good for beginners to learn poses properly, and even good for advanced students who haven’t learned their alignment properly.

* Restorative Yoga – This style of yoga is even more relaxing, and even less intense than Yin Yoga. The difference is that you are not looking for a stretching sensation as with Yin, but instead you are just putting yourself into “restorative” poses and holding them for a very long time. The benefits of this style are similar to those of Yin yoga: it is more about relaxation and meditation that about getting a workout, only to an even greater degree than with Yin.

5 Ways to Fit Exercise into Your Life 

As a women on the run I know how hard exercise is to fit into your life. But have you ever stopped for a moment to think about the importance of five easy ways to fit exercise into your life so that it makes a huge difference to your health, fitness and happiness. It is extremely important to select an exercise program that will be well-suited to your lifestyle.

An early run

Exercise is a great way to wake up your body so when you get up in the morning rather than walking straight to the shower put on your trainers and go for a brisk walk, or quick jog, for no more than 10 minutes. By the time you get into the shower you will hardly remember the 10-minute jog but your body will feel energized and ready for the day. Stretch the run to 15 or even 30 minutes when you are feeling more adventurous and you can get most of your exercise out of the way before you have really woken up!

Take the stairs

It may seem like an obvious point but if you remember to walk up the stairs every day then you will be amazed by how much good it does you. It will help to tone your thighs and bottom area and doing it four times a day is the same amount of exercise as walking for 30 minutes.

Break down exercise sessions

By breaking exercise up into small parts of the day you can fit it around your schedule and avoid having to spend hours in the gym. Do three repetitions of 20 sit-ups, push-ups or jog on the spot for five minutes. Such exercise can be a great way to de-stress at work as well as give you an energy boost.

 Easy exercise

Find something you enjoy that doesn't make you feel guilty when you miss it. In that way getting fit doesn't have to mean a gruelling exercise class or hours slaving in the gym. Next time your friend suggests lunch why not suggest meeting for a swim and then lunch after. You don't have to do strenuous lengths; instead swim slowly and chat to your friend and before you know it you have done more than enough exercise to justify a tasty lunch. Renting a bike and cycling is another great, fun activity, especially if you are looking for something the whole family can do together.

Walking

Walking is really great exercise. It tones different muscles to running ones, and in some ways it is more beneficial as puts less strain on your body. Try fitting more walking into your everyday routine on your way to work, at lunchtimes or in the evening to destress. You will be surprised at how quickly you see a difference in your body and health.

Standing Forward Bend Yoga 

Standing Forward Bend Yoga workout is a good way to start your yoga session. As it helps to stretch the muscles and warm up in preparation for the Sun Salutation Vinyasa and benefits.

Instructions Standing Forward Bend Yoga

* Bring the feet together, big toes together

* Bend the knees, draw the abs in, and fold forward from your hips

* Bent the knees as much as you need until your chest rests on thighs

* Hands on the floor outside of the feet

* Lift and widen the sit bones

* Fold and deepen over hips

* Shoulders are lifted away from ears but soften the shoulder blades down into your back

* Let the head hangs and release the back of your neck.

* Bend the knees

* Forearms or hands on thighs.

* Hands clasp behind legs or hold opposite elbows.

* Wide leg forward fold

* Gorilla Pose.

Benefits of Standing Forward Bend Yoga 

* Stretching your hips, calves, and hamstrings

* Strengthening your knees and thighs

* Improving digestion system,

* Helping to cure insomnia, headache, osteoporosis, asthma, high blood pressure

* Relaxing the mind.

Power Yoga Tips 

Power yoga is much more intense and aerobic than the more traditional forms of yoga. Is a synchronization of body movements that are maintained for long periods of time.
• Select open ground like garden, building terrace etc. as it will encourage you to practice yoga.
• Concentrate fully on each pose.
• Practice power yoga thrice a week and that too for approximate 45 minutes each day.
• Develop a proper sequence of yoga before you start your power yoga session.
• Always try to follow proper series of exercises.
• Stay comfortable and wear sweat absorbent clothes.
• It involves difficult poses, so seek guidance of professionals.
• Avoid over-exertion. Try to do slow but steady power yoga always.
• Take the help of yoga videos available in market that best suits your need.
• Do asanas that your body can perform easily. Never try to confront your body in positions that are hard to undertake & can end up with physical injury.
• Give your body time to adjust the power yoga moves. Do not rush through the asanas at the initial stages.

Yoga For Hypertension

Yoga has always been advised to people with High Blood Pressure, because as soon as the person adopts an asana (posture) his life pattern changes. The personality and diet will change and becomes a puritan. Performing asanas, a person will not want to smoke, will not eat a full lobster. 

Yoga is a combination of psychoanalysis, psychiatry and physiotherapy, keeping the blood pressure as normal as possible. Yoga For Hypertension patients gives them spontaneous energy and good things start happening to the person. Besides, yoga also clears the brain and the person performing yoga understands what he was doing and can thus correct himself as he always emanates positive energy.

Yoga is a way of life and it treats a person as one with soul. It helps bring down the high blood pressure and many related disease that may occur due to having high blood pressure. Yoga For Hypertension works as it is both a static and dynamic exercise and improves the cardiovascular efficiency in a healthy as well as a sick person. 

Yoga For Hypertension patients includes Pranayama and Savasana, which are important yogic methods to control the blood pressure. Pranayama or breath control, conscious respiration, savasana were a person adopts a dead-body-like posture and starts relaxing from the toes to the upper part of the body step by step are some yogic postures that can remove the stress and control blood pressure

Hot Yoga at Home 

Are you a fan of hot yoga.Hot yoga is believed to help the body sweat out toxins while allowing the practitioner to safely come deeper into asanas.In the various forms of hot yoga, the room is heated to warm the muscles and induce sweat.

Hot yoga can help improve range of motion, prevent injuries, and help heal from previous injuries.

The heat increases the pulse and the body burns more calories in its efforts to stay cool while exercising.

Heat dialates capillaries, distributing oxygen more effectively to muscles, glands, organs and other tissues, helping to remove toxins.

Hot yoga can also assist with weight loss, exercise and stress reduction – all in one session.

You don't need a large room in order to be able to practice hot yoga at home. You'll only need a space large enough for your mat, with a few feet in each direction beyond it.

The smaller the room you choose, the less energy and time the room will take to heat up to the desired temperature.

Many yogis use space heaters to get a room of their house appropriately hot for the practice.

The amount and type of space heaters needed depends on the size of the room, the insulation, the outside temperature, and the output of the space heater(s). Many people in Florida and in the Southwestern states practice Hot Yoga on their patios or beside the pool! If you live in a colder climate, you'll want to choose the smallest and best insulated room possible.

In order to create a nice, hot environment, try using a humidifier alongside a space heater. In addition, you can use essential oils or scented candles to help improve the atmosphere of the room. Many practitioners who do Hot Yoga at home maintain that the best room of the house for the practice is a large bathroom.

While it may seem like a waste of warm water, running a hot shower or having a bathtub full of hot water will heat and steam up the room.

The only way to find out which temperature and humidity level make your ideal Hot Yoga environment is to try a bunch of different combinations and see how each one feels.

Be sure to try each combination a few times on various days so that you don't wrongly interpret your ideal environment as awful simply because you were overtired or stressed the particular day that you tried it for the first time.

As there will be no instructor to remind you, make sure you drink lots of water before, during, and after each hot yoga session to avoid dehydration.

Yoga Tips

However, performing Yoga requires a person to follow some specific guidelines, in order to achieve best results.

There are various do's and don'ts that a person needs to follow before, while and after performing Yoga.

To know more about Yoga practicing guide, browse through the following lines.

* Yoga must energize and not cause weariness and depression.

* You must take breaks in between, if a particular step or exercise proves tiring.

* Over eating and fasting should be avoided. At the same time, you must try to avoid stale food.

* Remember, to start with your movements should be light and if you feel fatigue in between you must discontinue.

* For a person performing Yoga, the diet should be a balanced and you should eat after an interval of 4 hours.

* The most appropriate time for practicing Yoga is in the morning, before breakfast. This is because it is the time, when our mind is calm, composed and fresh and the body movements can be performed, with considerable ease and vigor.

* To get started, you need to have the urge and confidence in yourself.

* To practice Yoga, the place chose must be calm, quiet, ventilated, dust free, moisture free and also distraction free.

* Remember, you need to always begin with the easy postures and then, proceed to the difficult ones. You should follow the graded steps of Yoga.

* Before you start practicing Yoga, it is very important for you to clear your bowels and bladder as well as clean your nostrils and throat of all mucus. You must also drink a glass of lukewarm water.

* Yoga clothing should be loose and as comfortable as possible. Form-fitting cotton/Lycra pants and shirts are the best. Wait for a few minutes and then you can start.

* Like all other work outs, you must begin with easy poses, thereafter you can advance to the tough ones. Be methodical and systematic.

* You should always keep a Yoga mat, made of some comfortable materials. For lying postures use a woolen carpet and spread a clean sheet over it.