Ashtanga Yoga

Ashtanga Yoga Postures – are they really yoga?

By: Yogacharya


I did a Google Search for “ashtanga yoga postures” today, just to see what will come up.  All ten first-page results gave me exactly what I didn’t want … It gave me websites about the wrong ashtanga yoga.

There’s more than one Ashtanga yoga?

No, not really … but in recent times the word “ashtanga” has been attached to a dynamic system of yoga-based exercises … and it’s become so popular that it has literally taken over the word ashtanga yoga as its own, leaving many practitioners of the traditional system of ashtanga yoga baffled and dismayed.

To them, yoga is a sacred, disciplined, eight-limbed science for personal development and inner transformation … a system that includes much more than what is utilized in the newer, fitness centered pop-ashtanga version.


To learn more about the 8 parts of yoga, Click Here ...


How Strong Are Your 8 Limbs?

You may have heard about the first 2 limbs of yoga, the yamas and niyamas … those pesky morals and ethics that the yogis always seem to keep harping on. Really though, we all know how to be a good person, so what’s the big deal?

Unless you’re from Mars, then you know about the third limb … asana. That’s the cream of yoga for us body obsessed Westerners … and of course, who wouldn’t want to look as young as Madonna in their 50s?

The fourth limb you probably know too. It’s that monotonous breathing they call pranayama (like that exotic word is supposed to make it more interesting?).  I already ready know how to breathe, don’t you?

But after that, things start to get vague for most of us.  

Can you even name limbs five through eight? Don’t feel bad if you can’t, even most yoga teachers today don’t have much to say about them, let alone teach about them. Which is why modern yoga really is more like “yoga preschool” than “yoga college.”

It’s in the last four stages is where yoga really begins. That’s what all the classic literature on yoga says and any real Guru (not the kind with a fake beard and moustache) would agree.
What’s the point of the first four limbs then?

We all know the saying, “you need to crawl before you can walk.”  The first four limbs are “yoga crawling” so to speak … preparation for the higher stages. But one of the biggest yoga delusions people have is thinking that, because they can contort their body into all sorts of extreme positions, they are “advanced” in yoga.

The ashtanga yoga postures are indeed great tools for improving and maintaining our physical health. They even help ground us a lot on the mental and emotional levels too. But transforming from someone who is deeply attached to their possessions, emotional dramas and relationships in this world, into someone who is able to detach from all these things and experience the real joy of being part of this miracle of life, requires a journey to the higher yoga mountain peak.

If we don’t want to go there, then perhaps our yoga teachers haven’t done a good enough job to inspire us … to let us know what we’re missing, and why we need to set our sites a little higher. If we don’t outgrow our attachment to the Ashtanga yoga poses, then we’ll be stuck in that land of preparation forever. The question is, what exactly are we preparing for?

For online lessons in Traditional Ashtanga Yoga, Click Here ...

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Yogacharya is the Director of International Yogalayam, Editor of The Yoga News, and creator of The Yoga Tutor, a step-by-step online yoga training website.

For your FREE TRIAL of The Yoga Tutor, visit www.theyogatutor.com

© Copyright – Yogacharya. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. You may freely republish this article, provided the text, author credit, the active links and this copyright notice remain intact.

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TAGS: Ashtanga Yoga Postures, Astanga Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga Poses, 8 Limbs of Yoga

The Future Of Yoga

woman doing yoga looking at computer

                                                                                         

The Future of Yoga is Online ...

By: Yogacharya


Doing yoga at home is not just for yoga teachers and hard-core yogis. It’s what we should all be striving to do, in my opinion. Now, with the internet, it’s easier than ever … but it can be potentially dangerous too!

The internet didn’t exist though, when I first started yoga. Perhaps that was a good thing. The only real option (to me at least) was going to India … the source, which is exactly what I did, spending years in yoga ashrams and studying with various yoga teachers along the way.

But still, I felt like something was missing.  It wasn’t until I found Swami Gitananda’s “Yoga Step By Step” correspondence course that the “yoga lightbulb(s) finally came on. Yeah, I know … but this was no ordinary yoga book. It was a yoga masterpiece, and my understanding of yoga has never been the same since.

That program really taught me what yoga was all about … and it demonstrated to me that, when done skilfully, yoga can indeed be taught in this medium … and taught very effectively.


To find out how yoga can learn yoga online, Click Here ...


Over the years, I have experimented with various “non-traditional” yoga teachings methods of my own. Ever since the early days of the internet, I’ve known that this would eventually become the next yoga frontier. Now, after many versions and variations, I have some solid training programs online that seem to be doing a good job teaching people how to practice yoga at home.

There’s no substitute to yoga instruction live and in person, which is why I will always teach yoga classes. But I know that there are also many limitations to this modern way of teaching, which is why I have created more comprehensive yoga training programs online.


To learn more about Yogacharya's comprehensive online yoga programs, Click Here ...


The internet is an important tool for the future of yoga, one that only a very few teachers have realized so far.  The zillion yoga websites out there today haven’t gotten it yet.  But some yoga teachers are honing their web development skills and recognizing the power that cyberspace has for spreading the transformative power of yoga around the globe. When more enlightened folks start to clue in to this potential, the future of yoga online looks very enlightening indeed.

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Yogacharya is the Director of International Yogalayam, Editor of The Yoga News, and creator of The Yoga Tutor, a step-by-step online yoga training website.

For your FREE TRIAL of The Yoga Tutor, visit www.theyogatutor.com

© Copyright – Yogacharya. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. You may freely republish this article, provided the text, author credit, the active links and this copyright notice remain intact.

----------------------------
TAGS: Yoga at Home, Yoga Home Study, Yoga Online, Online Yoga

Yoga Posture

Yoga: Pose With Confidence and Style

What first comes to your mind when you hear the word Yoga? You would probably imagine a Yoga guru showing a group of people how to properly meditate with slow dance-like movements. Yoga exercises are basically that, plus much more benefits.

The most important skill that you need to practice if you’re thinking of practicing Yoga is mastery of different Yoga postures. Yoga is all about postures. In fact, it’s been believed that every Yoga posture is attributed to cure a certain disease.

Unconvinced? Try asking any Yoga teacher or practitioner and surely, he will attest to it. He might even offer to teach you how it’s done or give you proofs on how Yoga has cured a lot of diseases.

Testimonies on the various benefits of yoga are believable. A newbie can easily confirm how Yoga has improved the health of several Yoga practitioners. That is why, Yoga is considered to be one of the most popular forms of exercise.

There are actually several ways on how to practice Yoga, but all of them share a lot of similarities. For instance, good posture is very important in Yoga meditation. To be able to breathe properly and meditate deeper, a Yoga student must learn how draw his spine into the straightest possible line.

Most of the Yoga movements require a student to sit on the floor without any backrest. He must learn how to align his spinal cord and be comfortable to be able to go through a meditative state.

However, chairs can become props for some Yoga postures. Usually, chairs are used to support your lower legs while you are lying on a mat. Chairs with a good lumbar support are also useful for seated Yoga postures.

There are still a lot of Yoga postures you can try – too many to mention them all here. You might want to enroll yourself in a Yoga class if you’re interested with this form of exercise. For starters, standing Yoga postures are the most common.

The most basic type of standing Yoga posture is what we call the tree balance. This posture involves lifting up the balls of your feet and rocking your weight onto your heels. Then try lifting your arms and make both of your palms meet on top of your head. Of course, throughout the exercise, you would have to maintain a straight back.

This tree balance posture is said to strengthen your thighs, ankles, spine and calves. It also stretches your inner thighs and groins, and your chest and shoulders, in addition to improving your sense of balance.

The snake is an example of a floor Yoga pose. This is done by lying flat on the stomach with the hands on the shoulders. Lift your arms up and push your pelvis down. Your back should form an arch and try to focus your eyes as if they’re part of the arch. Like with other Yoga poses, you would have to keep the shoulders down.

At first, you might find it difficult to perfectly align your whole body, not to mention painful at times. However, with constant practice, you’ll soon be able to perform these postures effortlessly.

But performing these postures is not enough. You would need to be able to remain there for at least thirty seconds. In this way, you’ll learn how to balance your body. Breathing awareness is an important part of maintaining these postures.

Always take your time. Try to put away all the worldly distractions. Focus inward instead and perpetuate a positive attitude. Your innate ability to heal will then be activated. Yoga postures are slow and versatile enough to help different people relax their bodies, clear their minds and enlighten their spirits.

Slowly, you’ll notice some improvements with your body. Yoga enthusiasts also believe that you could be mentally stronger just by regularly doing Yoga. There will be no instant benefits, though. Don’t be in a hurry, besides patience is one of the virtues you’ll learn from Yoga.

Yoga is also associated with spiritual growth. Yoga does not only improve physical health but also draws the Yoga student closer to his spiritual side. Every Yoga posture relates to a specific spiritual aspect also. Yoga is based on a perfect understanding of how a human spirit relates to his body.

Yoga Meditation

Staying Healthy Through Yoga Meditation

Working a nine to five job can be stressful. This is because not everyone goes home on the dot when deadlines have to be met which may make the employee stay until the early hours of the morning then just go home for a quick shower and report back to the office.

Doctors recommend at least 8 hours of sleep everyday to avoid signs of exhaustion or fatigue. A vacation also sounds good to be able to recharge the old batteries but since the person cannot do this every time, a better solution needs to be found. A good way to relieve stress for those who don’t want to exert too much effort is yoga.

What is yoga? This is one of the many low impact exercises which is designed to help strengthen both the mind and the body. While some think that it is just sitting down in a lotus position, there is more to it than that which is probably why this has been practiced for more than 5000 years.

Yoga meditation allows the person to relax. After closing one’s eyes, the individual can listen to the silence and escape to that special place. For a few minutes, it allows the participant to forget about the problems in life and then wake up feeling rested.

The exercise itself takes discipline and practice especially if there are distractions around when there are a lot of people in the room. The individual should pretend no one else is there to be to take advantage of what this exercise has to offer.

Yoga has evolved through the years and there are many forms to choose from. A beginner can enroll in a gym to learn the basic moves from an instructor and then continue to do this with a group or at home.

The key to yoga meditation is breathing. Everyone does it differently but once the person is able to get in tune with it, the rest will become easy. The best way to achieve this is by drawing the spine to a straight position and keeping it there the whole time.

Those who are not used to maintaining a lotus position on the floor can still practice this by sitting on a straight back chair. This should be done until the individual is ready to participate by doing it on the floor.

Another technique to practice yoga meditation will be to lie down on the mat and put the legs on top of the chair. The spine should be flat the whole time so the person’s breathing will not be disrupted.

The person does not have to say anything throughout the yoga meditation. The instructor will take care of everything by playing a CD of relaxing music playing or the sound of water flowing down coming from the speakers.

The only thing the individual should focus on is the air being inhaled and exhaled. This should not be forced but rather letting it just flow freely in and out while being stationary in that position.

As the person gets up and does the other positions, the participant should not forget to concentrate on the breathing. This is because yoga meditation does not only give the individual inner peace but also a positive personality development.

Anyone can learn yoga and be able to master meditation. All the person has to do is find a gym that offers such classes so one can easily sign up and see what this has to offer. It will be a good idea to wear loose clothing and bring a mat so that one can sit comfortably throughout the entire session.

If the individual does not have time to go to the gym regularly, there are DVD’s available in the market so this can be practiced in the comforts of one’s home.

Those who want to try something else can try Bikram or Yoga Booty which cater to those in the advanced classes.

Sometimes going on a vacation may seem the best to be way to relax but if the cost of air travel and the planning is a hassle, there is no harm in sitting on a mat and doing some yoga meditation.

Naked Yoga

 

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Baring it All with Naked Yoga

As its name implies, naked yoga is practicing yoga without any clothes on. This routine has greatly becoming a popular form of yoga, especially in western communities that are emphasizing the benefits of getting into one’s total self by shedding off material attachment and disguises and appearing in a group of people comfortably and proudly of one’s totality. A lot of naked yoga practitioners do their exercises at home, but lately, more and more people are engaging in naked yoga classes.

In the past two decades a plethora of old yoga traditions have been introduced to the mainstream. The renaissance of age-old yoga practices has been a very welcome phenomenon among yoga enthusiasts and among the wide array of ancient yoga practices that has been revived was naked yoga or nudist yoga despite the relatively queasy disposition of the present generation.

Naked yoga was introduced in the Western world around the 1960s when it has been integrated into wellness programs of progressive centers such all over the US like the Esalen Institute based in California. In fact, naked yoga has been featured in some films back then such as Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice (1968), The Harrad Experiment, and the appropriately titled Naked Yoga (1974). However, the practice was rather sparse back then.

In the US, a sizeable population of both men and women has rediscovered yoga as a great activity to relax the mind and find inner peace. The number of people who practice naked yoga has been increasing steadily throughout the years, resulting into the proliferation of many naked yoga classes, where people are free to shed off their clothes and be one with their selves and among other practitioners.

By 1998, a group known as “Midnight Yoga for Men” has been instituted in New York by American yogi known as Jayadev, involving participants who practiced the yoga style called sadhus in the buff. This instigated the proliferation of emulators. A lot of this exclusively male naked yoga gathering has been very much linked to the gay community, however, they were often not formed intentionally that way. Other cities followed suit such as in San Francisco, led bay George Monty Davis, and in Chester and Basking Ridge, New Jersey led by Ernesto Bustamante.

The principles of naked yoga can be traced back to the ancient form of yoga known as Tantra. Like the other types of yoga, Tantra aims to promote total health improvement, including one’s most innate and instinctive energies. In Tantra, practitioners may also be naked as the exercises focuses primarily on the sensual and sexual nature of each person, without necessarily doing the sexual act.

It can be expected that the people of today may find being naked amongst others, especially strangers, a violating activity. But this does not mean they could not practice naked yoga. They can take personal lessons with yoga instructors they trust or they can follow naked yoga videos that are becoming quite widely available. This allows people to practice naked yoga in the privacy of their home.

Several variations of naked yoga are also becoming in-demand. A lot of naked enthusiasts have been suggested to practice the exercise on the beach to shoot two birds with one stone by practicing yoga and being able to get a good tan as well. However, this is not yet a very widespread practice as permissions are needed to be able to do naked yoga on the beach.




Perhaps the most accepted variation of naked yoga is couples’ naked yoga. This form of naked yoga is deemed to increase intimacy among couples. It has widely been practiced as a way to help couples enhance their sexual compatibility.

Being in the nude, a lot of naked yoga sessions aim at enhancing one’s sexual facilities. This makes naked yoga a very good practice for couples, especially for those who find their sexual compatibility lacking. Not only does naked yoga help enhance people’s libidos, they also help couples to get to know each other more than ever. It helps couples discover parts of their sex lives that do not focus so much on the intercourse, but more on intimacy and togetherness.

If you want to stay fit and at the same time be totally comfortable about yourself, then perhaps naked yoga is a good activity for you. To know more about naked yoga, check out the various websites dedicated to this noble art.

Source: Software Bronze Club

Hatha Yoga

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Getting To Know Hatha Yoga

Yoga has it beginnings in ancient India but this discipline has invaded the whole world due to the benefits it offers to people who take up yoga. A survey shows that there are more than sixteen million people who practice yoga in the United States alone.

There are various types of yoga and each type has its own methods and purposes. One type of yoga is the Hatha Yoga which literally means sun and moon, coming from two Sanskrit words Ha which means sun and Tha which means moon.

Hatha Yoga, which was first introduced in the 15th century by Yogi Swatmarama, was meant to help yoga practitioners start off with purifying their bodies before proceeding to a higher level of meditation. It is said that Hatha Yoga is similar to Raja Yoga which follows the principle of yama which refers to moral self discipline or control. However, there are sectors who believe that Hatha Yoga has its origins as early as the 10th century.

American yoga followers usually practice the Hatha Yoga to improve their physical and mental health. Most of the Western practitioners of the Hatha Yoga focus on the asanas or yoga poses and exercises but it is really a unified yoga discipline veering not only on the physical but also in Pranayama which consists of breathing and meditation techniques.

Both Hatha Yoga and Raja Yogi are known as Ashtanga Yoga because it follows the eight limbs which include the asana or the poses including the Lotus pose, easy pose, pelvic pose and easy pose. Some sectors however do not consider Hatha Yoga as Ashtanga Yoga since they believe it follows the six limbs.

The literal meaning of Hatha Yoga refers to the use of opposite forces or energies much like the sun and moon or the more familiar concept of yin and yang. This yoga discipline aims to achieve a balance between the physical and the mental powers of a person to achieve a higher level of existence. The body and mind is prepared for a higher level through the execution of the asanas.

Hatha Yoga makes use of Yama or moral control, the Asanas or the poses, Pranayama, Niyama, specific exercises known as Mudra which aims to improve the breathing technique and Nadanusandhana. All the six limbs work together to help the practitioner achieve a higher level of Kundalini or concentration and meditation.

Most Yoga practitioners strive to follow moral discipline or yama to live a virtuous life. According to the yoga discipline, a person can live a virtuous life by following the ten moral restraints primarily the ahimsa or veering away from causing harm to all living creations.

The other yamas include Satya or the ability to stick to the truth, Asteya which prohibits a person from stealing or incurring debt, Brachmacharya which requires celibacy for singles and faithfulness for those who are married, Kshma which refers to the virtue of patience, Dhriti or the principle of commitment, Daya which prohibits cruelty to all beings, Arjava or the promotion of honesty, Mitahara or keeping a moderate food intake and Shaucha or purity in thoughts and words.

Yoga has been referred to as physical yoga because of the use of poses or exercises to achieve unity in body and mind. Some people equate yoga with Hinduism maybe because it started in ancient India but it should not really be identified or attached to any religion because it is a universal science that aims to achieve spiritual balance.

Hatha yoga is a very significant discipline that helps a yoga practitioner to achieve unity of body and mind in order for him to be elevated to spiritual perfection. While different yoga pose can also develop muscles and body form, they are however primarily aimed to achieve a balance in the body systems and internal organs.

Some people take up Hatha yoga to heal their physical and emotional illnesses. With constant execution of the asanas, the human body ultimately develops into a stable and enduring vessel for the human spirit.

Yoga disciples continue to execute the asanas not only to gain physical but also mental balance. The discipline one can gain from yoga will go a long way in helping the person lead a disciplined, happy and peaceful life.

Source: Software Bronze Club

Yoga Meditation

 

Staying Healthy Through Yoga Meditation

Working a nine to five job can be stressful. This is because not everyone goes home on the dot when deadlines have to be met which may make the employee stay until the early hours of the morning then just go home for a quick shower and report back to the office.

Doctors recommend at least 8 hours of sleep everyday to avoid signs of exhaustion or fatigue. A vacation also sounds good to be able to recharge the old batteries but since the person cannot do this every time, a better solution needs to be found. A good way to relieve stress for those who don’t want to exert too much effort is yoga.

What is yoga? This is one of the many low impact exercises which is designed to help strengthen both the mind and the body. While some think that it is just sitting down in a lotus position, there is more to it than that which is probably why this has been practiced for more than 5000 years.

Yoga meditation allows the person to relax. After closing one’s eyes, the individual can listen to the silence and escape to that special place. For a few minutes, it allows the participant to forget about the problems in life and then wake up feeling rested.

The exercise itself takes discipline and practice especially if there are distractions around when there are a lot of people in the room. The individual should pretend no one else is there to be to take advantage of what this exercise has to offer.

Yoga has evolved through the years and there are many forms to choose from. A beginner can enroll in a gym to learn the basic moves from an instructor and then continue to do this with a group or at home.

The key to yoga meditation is breathing. Everyone does it differently but once the person is able to get in tune with it, the rest will become easy. The best way to achieve this is by drawing the spine to a straight position and keeping it there the whole time.

Those who are not used to maintaining a lotus position on the floor can still practice this by sitting on a straight back chair. This should be done until the individual is ready to participate by doing it on the floor.

Another technique to practice yoga meditation will be to lie down on the mat and put the legs on top of the chair. The spine should be flat the whole time so the person’s breathing will not be disrupted.

The person does not have to say anything throughout the yoga meditation. The instructor will take care of everything by playing a CD of relaxing music playing or the sound of water flowing down coming from the speakers.

The only thing the individual should focus on is the air being inhaled and exhaled. This should not be forced but rather letting it just flow freely in and out while being stationary in that position.

As the person gets up and does the other positions, the participant should not forget to concentrate on the breathing. This is because yoga meditation does not only give the individual inner peace but also a positive personality development.

Anyone can learn yoga and be able to master meditation. All the person has to do is find a gym that offers such classes so one can easily sign up and see what this has to offer. It will be a good idea to wear loose clothing and bring a mat so that one can sit comfortably throughout the entire session.

If the individual does not have time to go to the gym regularly, there are DVD’s available in the market so this can be practiced in the comforts of one’s home.

Those who want to try something else can try Bikram or Yoga Booty which cater to those in the advanced classes.

Sometimes going on a vacation may seem the best to be way to relax but if the cost of air travel and the planning is a hassle, there is no harm in sitting on a mat and doing some yoga meditation.

Source: Software Bronze Club

Bikram Yoga Tips

Tips on Bikram yoga

Yoga is a good exercise for most people especially those who want to achieve a good mental and physical well-being. The discipline offered by yoga no matter what type it is will surely help a person become fit and confident about his physique.

Those who practice yoga believe that a person has to unite body and soul to be able to achieve a higher level of being. Only by uniting his physical with his mental can a person elevate himself to that state where everything is within his control.

The different yoga poses have their own individual purpose but all of these are aimed at enabling the person practicing yoga to relax and to become flexible and comfortable with his body. A person who is able to find that perfect balance between body and mind will not only be physically fit and healthy but also happy and mentally fit.

Despite the misconception that yoga belongs to the underworld practice of what is mystical, it is really in effect a science that tries to find the connection between the body and the mind in order to achieve physical and mental fitness for its disciples.

Yoga can be beneficial to a person in terms of lessening his pulse rate and blood pressure and in increasing the efficiency of his cardiovascular, respiratory, endocrine, gastrointestinal and other bodily and organic functions. If you have not noticed it yet, try to observe people who do yoga and you would be impressed with their body posture.

It also helps to empower a harried person into living a life that is less stressful and helps him improve his mood and his attitude towards life, people and events. A person who does yoga will have more ability to accept his actualities in life.

One type of yoga that has caught the interest of some people is Bikram yoga or what they refer to as hot yoga. Bikram yoga is literally a hot yoga because the poses are performed or executed in a room that has been well-heated. Doing the poses in a heated room relieves the disciple or the follower from the various toxins that has invaded his body by releasing sweat all throughout the session.

The hot yoga style is being promoted by an Indian yoga master named Bikram Choudhury. Choudhury has recently attempted to copyright his Bikram yoga poses and this has led him to become embroiled in a legal battle that has been solved in his favor.

Choudhury claims to have the legal right to the 26 poses used in Bikram yoga and he is posing a heavy legal battle to have the exclusive right to call the practice of hot yoga Bikram yoga. If his legal action becomes successful, Bikram yoga will only be practiced and taught only by his disciples who will follow his method and prescribed yoga environment to the letter.

If his claim goes well, he would be like the franchise owner of the Bikram method and no one would be able to teach Bikram yoga without his two cents worth. This attempt to make Bikram yoga exclusive for him and his disciples has made Bikram a controversial figure in the world of yoga today.

A person who wants to give Bikram or hot yoga a try should arm himself with a durable man slip-proof mat because the high temperature required by Bikram in his hot yoga will be more than enough to keep the yoga follower sweating profusely for the whole session.

It is also very important that a woman who intends to practice Bikram yoga should make sure she is not pregnant to avoid possible negative effects to her health and the health of the unborn baby. Always drink plenty of water before doing the poses, during exercise and even after to avoid dehydration. Also avoid eating at least two hours before the actual yoga exercise.

To be sure, it is best to get the opinion of a doctor before doing the Bikram yoga to avoid health problems and complications later on. To make sure the doctor understands the extent of the risk being taken by a person doing the different yoga pose, he can bring a photo of the poses and show this to the medical expert.

Source: Software Bronze Club

Power Yoga

Power Yoga: The Powerful Way of Improving Inner Health

Power Yoga is basically the term used to refer to a modification of yoga where in the focus is more on the physical, fitness aspect. This practice is largely based on a yoga form known as Vinyasa, integrating more vigorous poses and exercises. Power yoga exercises are very much similar to Ashtanga yoga with the main difference that this variation does not adhere to a preset sequence of poses.

Power Yoga became popularly called as such beginning in the mid 90s, when a group of yoga instructors where trying to find a way of introducing Ashtanga Yoga to the western yoga enthusiasts. Power yoga classes are deemed to be quite dynamic and exciting as each session can greatly vary from one another. This was one of the instrumental practices that led to the practice of yoga as a way of working out into a worldwide phenomenon.

Perhaps Power Yoga can be compared to Tae-Bo, which was what introduced martial arts as a way of working out. It can be safely said that if Tae-Bo was responsible for introducing martial arts into the health clubs and gyms in America then it was Power Yoga that helped bring yoga side-by-side aerobics and other conventional exercises.

Who Developed Power Yoga?

Two yoga instructors, both American, were most often associated with the development of Power Yoga: Bryan Kest of Lost Angeles and Beryl Bender Birch of New York. Both instructors apparently studied under Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, the great Ashtanga yoga master. Birch and Kest were able to popularize almost simultaneously the practice of Power Yoga in the opposite coasts of the US. They were the ones who have introduced the meditation and stretching poses that most Americans know as yoga.

Power Yoga vs. Other Yoga Forms

As mentioned, Power Yoga is largely based on Ashtanga Yoga, however the poses have been modified to suit the general public. The first series of poses of Ashtanga Yoga are by themselves already difficult for beginners because they require students to be mostly in the half lotus or lotus position. To accommodate the not-so-familiar American public to Yoga, modifications were made such as prolonging the preparation and resting time while decreasing the total workout duration. The primary series of Ashtanga Yoga normally takes around two to two and a half hours, which is quite long for most students, so by shortening or eliminating certain poses, Power Yoga cut the time spent on the exercises.

Physical, Mental and Spiritual Benefits

Power Yoga provides a lot benefits, here are some of them:

- Increasing strength, stamina, and flexibility
- Enhances people’s focus and concentration
- Diminishes anxiety, stress and distractibility
- Helps maintain good posture.
- Tones the muscles without subjecting it to pressure
- Eliminates body toxins through sweat excreted during sessions
- Helps improve performance in sports such as swimming, cycling, football, and golf

Where Power Yoga is Practiced

Power Yoga classes are now being offered in many health clubs and gyms throughout the US and all over the world in response to the growing popularity of the yoga form. Most exercises offered in gyms often focus to much on physical workouts, leaving the spiritual and mental facet of fitness out. This is what power yoga covers quite effectively, as people are not only working out their bodies but their minds as well. Fortunately, today’s health clubs are recognizing the need for people to enhance all facets of their health, which is why more and more power yoga classes are emerging.

Who Can Practice Power Yoga?

As the term suggests, Power Yoga requires physical and mental power as the exercises are not really that gentle. Classes are quite fast-paced and require much stamina. While one does not have to be a human pretzel to enter the class, some working flexibility might be needed to cope up with the demands of Power Yoga. Nevertheless, flexibility and strength can be developed throughout the sessions, which means that beginners are quite encourage to try this form of yoga out.

Power Yoga can be a very rewarding form of exercise especially for those who want to be both physically and spiritually healthy. To know more about Power Yoga, you may consult books, the internet and your local health clubs.

Source: Software Bronze Club

 

Benefits Of Yoga

Discovering the benefits of yoga

Most people have this preconceived notion that yoga is only for the rich and famous. In fact, some people who are a little bit interested in yoga become discouraged even before they start with the discipline because they see it as difficult and very demanding.

Yoga may be viewed as some sort of mystical or exotic thing because of its origins in India. The word itself means to unite in the Indian language and so it does unite both body and spirit, both the physical and the mental.

Others see Yoga as a series of exercises maybe because of the asana but yoga is in reality a science that aims to unify the consciousness and subconscious of every human being in order for him to attain a higher level of existence, Yoga is really all about promoting good health and good mind to achieve happiness.

Blame it on the exotic attribute of yoga but there are people who consider it as a part of sorcery or black magic. Unable to understand the mantras as well as the asana that are common among yoga practitioners, people would just as easily judge yoga as something done to achieve magic or mysticism.

Unknown to them, yoga is a way of life for most people who have learned to adapt the discipline to their way of life. Some people equate yoga with diet or series of exercises which they think are way beyond the capacity of an ordinary man. But yoga can benefit any person no matter what his age or sex is.

The ignorance of the many could not be blamed on them because yoga has not really been promoted to the public during its ancient beginnings. The early yogins or yoga masters chose their disciples and followers and kept them at a minimum and this made yoga some kind of an ascetic thing. It took the Yoga Institute in Mumbai to make m ore people familiar with yoga way back in 1918.

The asana or poses identified with all types of yoga are not being executed just to make yoga take an esoteric form. Rather, the asana are very important in every yoga type because they help in regulating the circulation of blood. Yoga is not just all about the mind acrobatics but it is basically science that seeks to balance physical as well as mental health.

While modern medicine prescribes physical cleansing to patients including steam bathing and the likes, yoga masters ask their disciples to practice physical cleansing in every major part of the body like the nose, stomach, the major internal organs as well as the sexual organ.

Other people may look at the asana as something difficult and tiresome but those who practice yoga will aver that the asana have the effect of relaxing their body and minds and ridding them of toxins that pervade the body and make it unhealthy.

The misconceptions about yoga may have come from the ancient philosophical concept of the discipline. The most known yoga types are Ashtanga, Hatha and Kundalini and all of these types provide the disciple with the inner and physical strength.

To get to know yoga, a person should imagine it as a discipline that does not only exercise and heal the muscle but also the soul. The discipline of yoga unifies the physical, mental and spiritual health of a being all at one time. A person who has mastered yoga is said to have achieved the highest form of relaxation that can never be possible for non-yoga practitioners.

The yoga postures can be difficult but constant practice makes perfect and daily execution of these postures can only make the person an expert in the poses after some time. Once the Hathayoga has been mastered the person can proceed to respiratory domination or breathing mastery.

When the person has gone as far as having mastery over his breathing then he can proceed to pratyahara or a technique which maximizes his power to relax and to visualize things until he becomes a master of meditation.

A student who has mastered all the basic requisites of yoga will be able to achieve a trance-like stage where he is said to have already achieved a higher level of consciousness. This is said to be the ultimate perfection and bliss. For any person as he becomes one with life.

Source: Software Bronze Club

Ashtanga Yoga

The Basics of

The word yoga has become synonymous with stretching exercises and the image of a person deep in though while posing with both legs kept together and the yes close. This may be basically true but this is not the whole truth of yoga. In fact, there are a variety of yoga styles that are not known to most people. One yoga style is known as Ashtanga Vinyasa which is characterized by aerobic actions and which originally targeted teenagers particularly boys. However, Ashtanga Yoga is now popular by enthusiasts of all sex and ages. The word Ashtanga literally means eight for ashta and limbs for anga. True to its original meaning of eight limbs, Ashtanga Yoga follows the eight limbs identified with the discipline called yoga. The eight limbs poses can be found in the Yoga Sutras as detailed by Patanjili. Indian Sri Pattabhi Jois taught Ashtanga Yoga to his students but this type of yoga was started by Sri Krishnamacharya whose book known as Yoga Makaranda became the basis for the asana poses or sequences in Ashtanga Yoga. Krishnamacharya is a major influence in the development of yoga because he was considered the great teacher of many yoga teachers. While he has been a major influence in the various types of yoga being taught today, it is still the Ashtanga Yoga that is considered the closest to the teachings originally espoused by Krishnamacharya. Unknown to many people who are not well versed on the goings on of Yoga, the various types of Yoga is intended for specific reasons. This was the thrust of Krishnamacharya who made sure that the yoga he was teaching specifically conformed or responded to the needs of the students or the disciples. This is especially true for Ashtanga Yoga which was established by Krishnamacharya for young boys who used to live in the grounds of the place owned by the Maharaja of Mysore. Since Ashtanga Yoga is targeted for very young boys in the prime of their youth, it is understandable that this yoga type is very demanding physically and mentally. Ashtang Yoga may still sound strange to those who do not know much about yoga but to make it more concrete, Ashtanga Yoga is the type of yoga being practiced by Madonna. The well known singer Sting is also following the discipline of Ashtanga Yoga. Ashtangi Yoga is more popularly known in the Western World as Power Yoga. Ashtanga Yoga helps the disciple or follower live a healthy and full life through the enhancement of the eight limbs. This yoga type essentially aims to rid the follower of the everyday stress he is faced with. By following the Ashtanga Yoga discipline, a person is expected to be more relaxed despite living a stressful life. The eight limbs of Ashtana Yoga consist of the following: 1. Niyama which aims to take control of the life of a person and introduces the following virtues to the follower-personal restraint, patience, purity, and love of god. 2. Yama allows the disciple to focus on the goodness of man by looking at the following—truthfulness and non violence and keeping off from the worldly pleasures through celibacy. 3. Pranayma which refers to breathe control 4. Dharna which helps the disciple focus on his life and the overall goal of his life 5. Pratyahara which helps the follower isolate himself from the everyday noise and disorder and helps him to focus on what is positive 6. Dhyana which aims to help the disciple focus on his goals and how to achieve these goals 7.Samadhi which focuses on accomplishing bliss and overall peace 8.Asana which is basically the posture taken to relax the body and mind of the disciple While Ashtanga Yoga is guaranteed to get a person to stretch himself physically and mentally, this yoga type does not really impose immediate success or achievement to the user. Rather, Ashtanga Yoga is meant to be practiced slowly and gradually until the student achieves his target. Like most types of yoga, Ashtanga Yoga requires a lot of discipline from its students. But all the hard work and the discipline is well worth the effort just thinking abut what the student can achieve once he has maximize the benefits of Ashtanga to his life.

Source: Software Bronze Club

How the Internet and Marketing Go Hand-in-Hand

Image representing YouTube as depicted in Crun...
Image via CrunchBase

It's hard to think of a better combination than the Internet and marketing. Where else can you reach the hundreds, thousands, or even millions who make up your target market. Whether you are a small, local business, or a large corporation, internet marketing is indispensible. It's been proven that most folks don't even glance at a yellow pages book anymore to find a local business. Nor do they go on the online yellow pages. Now, the average consumer just types their need into their search engine, whether it be Google, Yahoo, Bing, or any of the other hundreds out there. If you want to come up in their searches, you need to learn how to take advantage of the Internet and marketing, or hire someone to do it for you.

If you're a local business, you don't even need a website to come up in Google, Yahoo, or Bing searches. All you need to do is fill in your information on their Local Business pages. You can include your company name, contact details, directions, photos, and a website if you have one. You can also choose to offer coupons for your customers, which brings you up in popularity and rankings. These pages also offer users the chance to review what it is that you offer. Ask your happy customers to review you, and you are also boosted in ranking. And the best part of all? This listing is completely free! Think of how much you save on yellow pages or newspaper ads that are no longer even getting results. If you run a local business, take the few minutes it will take you to get listed on the search engine local results and you can start seeing traffic immediately. Other free options include setting up accounts on Twitter, FaceBook, and YouTube, or any of the other social media sites. Blogging is another way to create interest and establish credibility in your field.

If you haven't yet merged the Internet and marketing for your larger company or corporation, luckily you can get in on the game very quickly whether you hire staff to handle this for you or you outsource the job to someone else. One of the major sources of income for larger companies who take advantage of internet marketing is pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. While this type of advertising is not free, you only pay when someone actually clicks on your ad. This is one of the huge advantages of pay-per-click versus offline advertising. You only pay when you get results. Large companies are also taking advantage of FaceBook, Twitter, YouTube, and blogging. If they are using these free methods even though they have millions of dollars to spend on marketing, you better believe that this is working for them.

The Internet and marketing really are two extremely compatible terms--make sure that you are teaming them up in your business.

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