Inversions, or poses that get the feet in the air, are yoga's fountain of youth and this article from Real Beauty Explains why.
How does it work? First, inverting reverses the force of gravity — that pesky little universal necessity that wreaks such havoc on our bodies over the years. In a sense, spending time upside down temporarily suspends aging since you aren't susceptible to gravity in the same way that you are for the vast majority of your life. You also give your heart a break, as it doesn't have to work so hard to get blood to and from your extremities when you are upside-down. This little breather helps your heart gather its strength — and if you had to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week for your entire life, wouldn't you appreciate a little slacking off now and then?
Finally, inversions help the flow of lymphatic fluid, which is an important component of the immune system. A sister to the circulatory system, the lymphatic system is a series of ducts and glands that gathers waste products from and delivers immune cells to the entire body. But unlike the circulatory system — which has the heart — the lymphatic system has no pump, so it relies on gravity and muscular contraction to keep it moving to and from the extremities. When you go upside-down, the lymph can flow more easily. And when you return to right-side up, lymph flow gets another big boost (think of turning an hourglass upside down). And when your immunity is high, you are less likely to get sick, meaning you are less likely to look run down and bedraggled — two instant agers.
To See the whole article and pose recommendations go here.
Yoga is a panacea for good mental, physical and spiritual fitness. Whatever goal you have, there is a yoga that can help you with it. Here is a great video from Dashama on getting 6 pack abs. For more videos like this, check out Dashama's You Tube channel.
Giveaway in effect for anyone interested in teaching yoga or wanting tips that will improve your yoga practice. Go Here for details
There is new research that presents the true state of America's health and healthcare. I would like to say I was surprised by this but I would be lying. More reason to practice yoga and keep yourself healthy.
According to Reuters and MSNBC:
-U.S. ranks 49th in life expectancy
-U.S. less healthy than nations with universal healthcare
-Americans die sooner than citizens of a dozen other developed nations
-They found that 15-year survival rates for men and women aged 45 to 65 have fallen in the United States relative to the other 12 countries over the past 30 years.
-Researchers believe that the U. S. Healthcare System is to blame
-Americans spend twice as much on healthcare as residents of other developed countries -- $7,290 per person -- but get lower quality and less efficiency.
Dumb Little Man-This isn't a specific action but a belief to be addressed. It doesn't matter if you know something or nothing. If you have a goal, you set it and you go out there and get it. As simple as that. Knowing nothing should never be a reason for not pursuing a goal, unless you don't even want the goal to begin with. After all, all of us once started from a position of knowing nothing. Think when we were born and we were babies. None of us knew anything then. It was growing up that we acquired the skills and knowledge.
Wellness From Inside-Yoga is for everyone. It is not necessary to be flexible, strong or coordinated. All of these traits are developed over time. The only requirement is the determination to learn. Everything starts in the mind. If you start with a positive attitude and embrace the process of learning, you will not be frustrated.Everyone starts somewhere. All those people in class and teachers with incredible stamina and grace started exactly where you are. With practice and patience, you will be there some day too.
2. Read up about the topic
Wellness From Inside: Great Sources For Information on Yoga Besides This Blog
Workshops and privates are also great ways to learn more about yoga. Workshops usually give more in depth instruction on specific yoga poses and skills. If you have the money, asking your favorite teacher for a private is also another way to get in depth instruction on specific poses or skills you may have problems with. To find out about workshops, subscribe to the e-newsletters for the studios in your local area. For privates, just talk to the teacher or studio.
3. Create a plan to start off
Dumb Little Man-After I did the research, I created a plan on how I was going to move forward.
Wellness From Inside-Figure out what you are trying to accomplish from your yoga practice and plan how you are going to reach it.
Common Yoga Intentions and How To Reach Them
Lose Weight, Tone Up, Strength. You will need to practice a rigorous form of yoga like Ashtanga or Power Yoga for at least an hour 4-6 days a week. You will will need to slowly build up stamina and endurance so that you can practice with very few breaks.
Flexibility. You will need to practice at least 4-6 days a week to keep the muscles from tightening up and reverting back. All physical types of yoga have a flexibility component so the type is not as important. The stamina and endurance is not as big a factor either. As long as the stretch is held for 30 seconds you will get benefit. The length of the class is not a big factor either. Frequency is really the most important component.
Stress Relief. Practice any type of yoga that floats your boat as many times a week as you need it. It is more important that the practice is internalized to help deal with day to day stressors.
Pose Mastery. Rather you are trying to master Ashtanga or a particular movement, you will need to perform it 4-6 days per week.
In order to stick to yoga, it cannot be an accidental event or something that happens "when you get a chance". At the beginning of every week, look at your schedule and plan it out and stick to your goal.
Dumb Little Man-I found from experience that you should just plan whatever is necessary to move forward. The objective of a plan is to empower you, not to hold you back. Some people let themselves be paralyzed by the whole planning process. They keep planning, and tweaking, and planning, to the point where they never take action at all. That shouldn't be the case! Just plan to the extent where you're comfortable, then get started
4. Study people who have already made it
Dumb Little Man-There are so many people around the world that there's bound to be someone who's already doing what you want to do. Look out there and identify the people who have already succeeded in this goal. Then, learn from them. Study what they are doing and how they are doing it. Because they've been doing this for longer than you have, there will be something valuable to learn from each and every one of them.
Wellness From Inside-It is important to study from teachers who have similar goals. These teachers take what they learn from their own practices and pass it down to you and they totally understand where you are coming from.
Attend 1 or 2 classes a week at least one level up from your current practice. While it feels good to be with people in the same level and to share your struggles, they can't help you get to the next level. They can only tell you about the level they are already on. If you can do all the poses in the classes without a hitch, it may be time to add on a more challenging class or pose.
Great You Tube Channels For Advancing Your Practice At Any Level
Dumb Little Man: If possible, connect with the people in #4. With the internet, it's easy to reach out to such people. Drop them a friendly email to say hi and to express your intentions. If they don't reply, that's okay; if they do, then that's terrific. As a matter of practicality, A-list folks are usually busy and unavailable, so try the B-list or C-list folks, who are very knowledgeable and more approachable. (By A-list, I refer to the best people in their respective fields.) A great way is to arrange for a lunch meet-up (if they live in the same country as you), get to know them better, then treat them to lunch as a thank you. Some of them have services you can sign up for, which is a sure way to get to them. Of course, only engage their services if you find value in them, and not just to get air time.
For myself, I find that doing steps 2-4 are more than sufficient to get me started (step #6). I see step 5 as a bonus step, but not the determining one, since you shouldn't depend on others to help you (after all, they have their own responsibilities and projects).
Wellness From Inside: Get the e-mail addresses and Facebook/ Twitter Id's for your favorite teachers and fellow yoga students and keep in touch. I have sent e-mails to A-list teachers and gotten responses too. You just never know.
6. Take the first, immediate step Dumb Little Man-Read all you want and plan all you want, but if you don't take the step, nothing will ever happen. It's only when you take action that your goal will begin manifesting itself.
Don't worry about getting it right. As long as you do something, you're making more progress than doing nothing. Even if you do it "wrongly", you still get to learn from the experience, so it's still a gain. For the goal you want to achieve, think about what's the immediate thing you can do that will move yourself forward. Do it. Then, repeat the process. If you keep doing this, you're going to be closer to the goal than before. It's a matter of time before you're living and breathing it.
Recent studies have found cancer survivors who participated in a regular program of yoga recovered more easily, both physically and emotionally than those who did not.
The American Yoga Association (AYA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing yoga education, explains that yoga practices are based upon exercise, breathing and meditation which help the body heal from physical and emotional stressors.
"Regular daily practice of all three parts of this structure of Yoga produce a clear, bright mind and a strong, capable body," the American Yoga Association stated.
Several studies have shown massage therapy and other touch techniques are effective at reducing fibromyalgia symptoms. including pain and fatigue. New research shows that another complementary health therapy, yoga, benefits fibromyalgia patients as well.
Fibromyalgia that affects 11 million individuals in the U.S., and carries an annual direct cost for care of more than $20 billion, according to a press release fromElsevier, which published the study results.
Standard care includes medications accompanied by exercise and coping skills approaches, yet drug therapies are generally only 30-percent effective in relieving symptoms and 20-percent effective in improving function, the press release noted.
In the new study, patients participating in a Yoga of Awareness program showed significantly greater improvement in fibromyalgia symptoms and functioning compared to patients on a standard fibromyalgia-care program.
My hubby is on a strict muscle building program so we talk about this often. I often joke that he eats a cow a day. I often run into great articles that explain that you can be vegan and meet your protein requirements to build muscle. Basically, if you do the proper planning you can get high quality protein from plant sources. You can get cut and have a nice physique. Below are a few articles addressing this.
The new book 21 Pounds in 21 Days is burning up the web. Even radio show host Steve Harvey decided to try it. It basically says that our bodies are full of toxins that cause us to hold onto extra weight and that detoxing gets rid of those so the pounds can melt off.
I have not tried this but I do believe in detoxing. I saw amazing weight and health results from the Master Cleanse and this probably has similar results. I absolutely believe in the theory that toxins and additives in our food wound up stored in the body and cause havoc. This idea is not new. Many people who cut common allergens like dairy, wheat and gluten out of their diets see an immediate drop in their weight without having to cut calories or work out. The book You on a Diet by Dr Mehmet Oz is also based on this concept. He believes that additives like high fructose corn syrup block the bodies signals to stop eating causing people to gain weight.
For More Information on Detox Diets and Weight Loss Check out:
