Everyone is uniquely different and nowhere is this fact important than the area of exercise.
Only you know your body and how far to push its limits.
Exercise regimes should never be based on what others are doing as their strengths will be very different from your own.
Setting out a clear plan of what you want to achieve will help you reach your target goals which should be attainable and take into consideration your lifestyle. Focus is required to stick with your daily routine so try to exercise in ways that you enjoy to avoid becoming de-motivated.
Recognize if your plan is not working and make appropriate changes, a morning jog may be better fitted in after work and extra exercise at the weekend might work better than seven days of every week. It may be easier than you think to fit a half hour walk into your lunch break.
Allow yourself down time, if your life becomes a cycle of work and exercise, you will soon get frustrated and your body will suffer too.
Drink plenty of water and ensure you eat sensibly, small regular meals are better for the body than skipping meals and subsequent snacking. Allow yourself a treat occasionally so you don’t start craving an old favorite.
After about a week you will begin to appreciate what your routine can do for you, as your whole body acclimatizes everything will be easier, including the actual exercise itself. Concentrating on exercise is a good distraction from life’s everyday worries and really is good for the soul too.
Yoga is an integrated means of synchronizing mind, spirit and body and is an essential way of life.
Yoga is an ancient Indian body of knowledge that dates back more than 5000 years ago.
The word “Yoga” came from the Sanskrit word “yuj” which means “to unite or integrate.”
Yoga is an art and takes into consideration your mind, body and soul in reaching divinity. Your body must be purified and strengthened through various practices.
Yoga focuses on harmony and body. The aim of yoga is to strike the balance between mind and body to attain self-enlightenment.
To achieve this, yoga uses breath, movement, relaxation, meditation and posture in order to establish a healthy, balanced and lively approach to life.
Yoga offers various modes of effective physical therapy that can help alleviate painful conditions such as stiffness of neck, improved blood circulation, arthritis, constipation, back and feet, improving respiratory conditions, increasing lung capacity and relieving insomnia.
The basic idea of yoga is to unite the individual or atma soul with universal or paramatma soul. By cleansing your mind and controlling your thought process, you can return to that primitive state when you are nothing but a part of the divine self.
The three main aspects of yoga are:
Asanas or poses:
The various poses of yoga give your body flexibility, strengthen the muscles and reduce the fat. Many asanas are aimed at improving the blood circulation and functioning of specific organs in your body.
Pranayama or breathing:
Pranayama is the important aspect of yoga which purifies the subtle energies flowing through the body. The breathing techniques of yoga are an effective tool to energize, harmonize, calm and tranquilize the body and mind. All poses are to be properly coordinated with exhalation, inhalation and holding of breath.
Meditation:
Meditation is a way to control the mind’s restlessness. Regular meditation trains your mind to be calm, relaxed and detached. It is extremely helpful in stressful situations. It controls overreaction, losing temper and emotional outbursts.
Meditation and pranayama have capacity to reduce the stress inducing hormones. It restores calm, promotes positivism and encourages patience. It will keep you fresh and rejuvenated both physically and mentally.
The aim of yoga is knowledge of the self. Yoga outlines methods of achieving this.
eternal vows or yamas
observances or yamas
yoga postures or yogasanas
breath control exercises or pranayama
withdrawal of senses from distractions outside the world or pratyahara
concentration on an object, place or subject or dharana
continuance of this concentration meditation or dhyana
ultimate stage of yoga meditation or samadhi
Benefits of Yoga:
There are numerous benefits of yoga. Some of the benefits of yoga include improvement in mental health, anti-aging, development of personal and social values, increase in knowledge and wealth, balance and flexibility of the body. Yoga also helps in improving sexual life, weight loss, and strength.
Yoga is a good way of relaxation. It can ease the tension building in your muscles and joints without experiencing overexertion and fatigue. Yoga makes you look younger. Yoga provides inner peace and radiant health.
Healing benefits of yoga are enormous that you feel better at the end of recovery. Yoga enhances your understanding of life. Yoga changes your perspective about life.
You can see positive effects of yoga as you practice it. The sense of feeling good envelops around you.
The driving force of yoga is aimed at monumental, life changing discovery of who and what you actually are. Yoga gives you the strength to unravel the truth with which you will begin to live with security, confidence and inner psychological peace. Yoga changes your life.
Before starting yoga remember these points:
If you want to enjoy don’t push too hard. You may hurt yourself in the process.
Know your body limits and workout.
It is recommended to start with a yoga teacher.
consult a health care professional before starting the yoga exercises if you have any medical conditions
Partners:
