YogaHealthtips
Exercise Yoga for Health
Yoga exercises
strengthen your body and make it more flexible. Yoga also calms
your mind and gives you energy. In active sports or strenuous
exercises, you use up energy. In yoga classes, students report
that they feel tranquil after a class, yet have more energy.
Slow and steady motion is
the key to going into or coming out of the postures. You hold a
yoga pose for several seconds or even minutes and give attention
to full, quiet breath. Your yoga instructor will always
encourage you to relax as the exercises are being done.
You gently place your body into
yoga postures. Done correctly, there's very little chance of
injury or muscle stress. A particular asana is not repeated
dozens of times, nor are you ever encouraged to push yourself
too much.
A yoga session is designed for
balance. You stretch to the right and then to the left. You bend
back and then forward. You learn to recognize when one side is
stronger or more flexible than the other. Thus harmony and
balance are achieved with yoga practice.
People of all ages can practice
yoga exercises. They are easily modified to meet your needs and
physical condition. Don't be put off by the difficult looking
postures you may see in a yoga book. A skilled teacher can adapt
most asanas by using chairs, cushions, even a wall or other
props.
A yoga practice can be
tailor-made just for you. If something is really impossible for
you to do, just forget it. Never compete with yourself or
others. Yoga is a stress-free but powerful way to exercise.
Yoga is good for
increasing your flexibility and relieving stress, but it doesn't
take the place of aerobic exercise. You should still do regular,
aerobic exercise, which increases your cardiovascular fitness,
helps you lose weight, and, for people with
non-insulin-dependent (type II) diabetes at least, improves
blood glucose control.
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