Yoga Class

Numerous yoga studios providing yoga classes have emerged with the increased popularity for yoga in particular over the last decade or so. Even though you can find at least half a dozen yoga studios offering yoga classes in your neighborhood, it is not easy to find the right class and right yoga instructor.

Finding the Right Yoga Classes

The best places for finding information about yoga classes are the telephone book, local newspaper, community newspapers, and ad boards at your local health food store or organic grocery store.

However, if you are unable to find information on yoga classes, then Internet is the best place for finding information or, if you want to find some additional information.

Appropriate Time for Practicing Yoga Classes

Some people prefer to do practice yoga classes early in the morning. And, some people like to wind down after work with a long, relaxing class and still others prefer to pop in a 20 minute yoga class every day during lunch or once a week on Saturday mornings.

It will be helpful for you to narrow down your choices by determining when a class will best fit into your schedule.

Yoga classes that are Convenient to You

Once you have chosen the appropriate time for take your classes, then you must consider where you will be just before yoga practice. Are you coming from home or work? It is advisable to find yoga class that is near to place where you are at the time that you want to take the yoga class will help you maintain an effective, consistent practice.

Type of Yoga Taught

You should also consider the type of yoga taught at the schools that are close to where you want to be when you want to take your yoga classes. It is not advisable for you to jump into a dynamic Ashtanga yoga class if you are a beginner.

A mild Kripalu yoga course may not be what you’re looking for if you are more advanced. Therefore, get the list of yoga classes offered by the yoga schools and centers that are left on your list. This can help you to see what is available during the time slots you think more comfortable for you.

Demo Class

Most of the yoga schools or studios permit you take one class without signing up for 10 weeks worth of practice. Experiment and try out all the classes that interest you. You can switch back and forth if you find more than one that appeals to you.

If you are not satisfied with this, then you can go back to your original list and expand your parameters or see if there are any yoga schools that you have overlooked. In no time you find the right yoga classes and a perfect yoga instructor for your yoga practice by following these steps.

Maybe you want to try yoga out. Maybe you practiced it before and want to start again. If you want to do yoga, you probably want to find a yoga class. You can use the following methods to find a local yoga class.

Local Gym - In addition to their weight rooms and cardio machines, many gyms offer a large assortment of fitness classes. Some gyms offer brochures that list and describe all of their different classes. Nonetheless, you can more easily find out whether or not a local gym offers any yoga classes simply by calling them and asking. When you call, remember to ask for the price. Try calling more than one gym and writing down the different prices and other details. That way you can choose the best class for you. You can usually find a whole bunch of gyms in any given community, so you most likely can find a few that have yoga classes.

Yoga Studio - Yoga studios are basically places dedicated to practicing yoga. They are to yoga practice what a martial arts studio is to martial arts. Depending on where you live, you may not be able to find a yoga studio nearby. Even if you find one or more, they may not meet your budget or your needs.

Craigslist - You can read and post local classified ads on craigslist for free. If you do not see anything on there about yoga classes, post a classified ad asking about yoga classes in your neighborhood. You can also use this method to find a yoga partner, but be very careful meeting anyone from the internet. Craiglist lets you remain anonymous when posting ads.

Ask Your Friends - If you know other people who practice yoga, ask them where they practice yoga. This will not only help you find places that offer classes, but it will also let you get immediate first-hand information about those places. You can ask the person if they recommend the classes. You can also ask friends and other people you know about yoga classes. Even if they do not practice yoga, they may happen to know of local places that offer yoga classes.

Before looking for yoga classes, you want to figure out what you want out of the classes. Figure out how much you are willing to spend. Also, figure out what type of class you want. For example, do you want one that focuses on the spiritual aspects of yoga, or do you simply want an exercise class?

Some gyms and studios may want you to sign up for a long-running class and pay upfront. Avoid doing this unless you have tried the class out, especially if you are new to yoga. You do not want to pay hundreds of dollars for months of yoga classes only to find out that you do not like yoga or the class.

You can also start practicing yoga by getting a yoga video. A video would allow you to practice yoga at home.

Whatever you do, good luck and have fun!

If you’re new to yoga, you might not know what to expect when you walk in the doors of a beginner’s yoga class for the first time. You might not even know how to start in choosing a beginner’s yoga class to attend. Here’s a “how to” checklist.

1. Nail down your goals and find the right style for you.

Everyone comes to yoga for different reasons. Sometimes these differences are slight, other times they’re vast.

For instance, are you interested in an intense physical workout to throbbing music, or are you on more of a spiritual path towards (quiet) enlightenment? Are you attracted to yoga because of its health benefits, and if so, is it physical or emotional health you are most interested in?

Are you interested in the philosophy and rich traditions of yoga, or are you on the other extreme and wouldn’t be caught dead reciting a mantra?

Whatever your personal needs and proclivities, there’s a yoga for you. If several flavors of yoga are offered in your area, do your research online or in the library to find which style would be the best fit for you.

Once you know what it is you’re looking for, you can set some goals. Call the teacher of the beginner yoga class you’re considering and ask if your expectations are reasonable.

2. Choose a drop-in or series beginner yoga class

A drop-in yoga class allows you to pay-as-you go. There will likely be some turnover week to week as to which students show up for class. The teacher is likely to keep this class on the mild side, because students will be at such differing ability levels.

This may be just what you’re looking for if you just want a taste of yoga but don’t want to buy an expensive package of classes. This may also be a good choice for you if your schedule won’t allow you to attend a class every week. Keep in mind there are significant drawbacks.

One, because the class is ongoing, you will never get to start at “the beginning.” You may be a little lost at first while you learn the culture of the class. Also, drop-in beginner yoga classes tend to be repetitive.

A series yoga class is different in that you buy a set number of classes and each class builds on what you learned in the previous week. A good series class is repetitive only in that there is some review each time, but then the teacher introduces new material.

You can learn much more much faster in a series class, but again there are drawbacks. First, if you miss a class it may be difficult to make up the material that you missed. Also, you will be asked to pay for the whole series up front.

Take a look at your level of commitment, your schedule and your budget and decide whether a drop-in or a series class is better for your needs.

3. Make sure the teacher has adequate training.

Yoga is now a significant contributor to sports injuries. This can be attributed to two things: students pushing themselves too hard for perfection and inadequate training of instructors.

Don’t be shy in asking your potential instructor about their background. There are certifications for teaching “gym yoga” that an instructor can get in a long weekend. A three day training is just enough to make someone dangerous. That’s not to say that some of the people who start with such certifications don’t turn out to be excellent instructors by dedicating themselves to practice and increasing their knowledge over the course of months and years.

There are of course people who teach yoga with no formal certification whatsoever, and though it might be difficult for these teachers to get liability insurance, there’s nothing illegal about it. Keep in mind that yoga is a spiritual tradition thousands of years old, and the idea of giving someone a certificate for learning a few poses and breathing techniques would have been an odd idea indeed even seventy years ago. It is one thing to wake up one morning and decide to teach yoga with little to no experience. It is quite another to teach after living for years under the tutelage of a master yogi who just doesn’t believe in certificates.

As a general rule, seek out yoga teachers with at the very least 200 hours of training. In the United States there’s an organization called the Yoga Alliance that offers a registry of teachers who attended training programs that meet certain standards. Someone can have the Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) designation from the Yoga Alliance and still be a crummy teacher, but usually RYTs are a safe bet.

4. Look into additional costs of the yoga class.

Sometimes there are additional costs involved in taking a beginner’s yoga class besides the registration fee. You may need to buy your own yoga mat, strap, or other props, for instance. In some classes you may need to buy certain books for study or even special clothing of a certain color.

It is important to know what the related costs are up front so that you and your bank account won’t encounter any surprises later on.

I hope this checklist will help you find a beginner’s yoga class that’s right for you.

Let’s face it: a lot of people have a severe misunderstanding of yoga. For every one person who knows how effective yoga can be in maintaining a positive outlook, improving posture and digestion, staying in good health, and maintaining a high level energy just to get you through the day, there are probably a dozen skeptics who think it is all just new age baloney.

Maybe we can’t convince everybody that yoga is much more than ineffective hippie stuff, but if we can summarize the concept of the traditional yoga culture real quick, it might just be a start.

A Brief History of Yoga

It’s not clear exactly when the practice of Yoga first began in India, but it may have been as early as 3300 BC.

There are five major branches in yoga: Raja, Hatha, Jnana, Bhakti and Karma, but Hatha yoga is probably the only one we really need to discuss in relation to health and fitness.

Yogi Swatmarama, a fifteenth century Indian sage, developed Hatha yoga as a way to prepare oneself for intense meditation, by first subjecting oneself to intensive physical training. Whether or not a person’s end goal is enlightenment, the physical benefits of the practice have proven to be effective.

Yoga for Weight Loss

Even if you believe in the potential yoga has to keep your body healthy, you may still be asking “Is yoga really all that effective in helping one to lose weight?”

Let’s start by saying that Hatha yoga is an intensive, low impact exercise, involving lots of stretching and conditioning that helps the blood flow more smoothly, and which aids in healthy digestion.

One of the main goals of yoga is to maintain the intestinal organs in order to improve digestion and minimize the amount of undigested food or waste in our bodies without having to resort to invasive cleansing routines.

A low-intensity yoga session will not burn as many calories as other workouts. An average woman may burn 150 calories in a one-hour Hatha yoga session and 300 calories from walking briskly for one hour. Ashtanga Yoga and Power Yoga, on the other hand, will burn about 300 calories per hour and Vinyasa Yoga (also known as flow yoga) can burn even more.

If you are just starting out with Yoga and plan to keep your routine slow and steady to start, the quickest way you are going to see weight loss results is to combine your yoga practice with a healthy diet plan and an aerobic exercise.

Still, it’s important to understand that weight loss is about a lot more than calories. Yoga can really give you a better relationship with your body, which can really help you on the weight loss journey. As you deepen your understanding of the way the mind and body relate to one another through a dedicated Yoga practice, don’t be surprised if your mindset and habits begin to change, which, in turn, can make it much easier for to make healthy changes in your body.

Why ARE Yogis so Thin?

One of the reasons yoga masters are so thin is generally because of their diet.

The traditional yogi diet is strictly vegetarian and free of caffeine, however, you can still learn how to eat well from yoga without becoming a monk. Here are some simple rules for those of us not willing to give up on hamburgers and coffee just yet:

The Yoga Diet for the Everyday Yogi

- Drink lots of water

- Eat lots of vegetables and fruit

- Eat spicy foods and red meat only in moderation

And that’s it. A healthier diet plus intensive Hatha workout sessions, and you are sure to see results, both in your body and your mind. If you want to ramp up your weight loss and calorie burning, try Power Yoga, which can give you an aerobic exercise, too.

Starting your Yoga Routine

What you’ll need to start yoga will be some comfortable clothes (nothing fancy, just some old sweats will do), and a mat. (Some yoga schools provide yoga mats.)

You can easily take a couple lessons and just practice yoga at home, but one of the greatest motivators for any exercise program is to be a part of a group, sharing knowledge with one another and pushing each other to really dedicate the time and energy it takes.

Understanding yoga is not easy. In fact, anything that had been in existence for more than about thousands of years is not easy. The origins of this unique form of physical act or exercise are not very clear. However, experts feel that the origins of yoga were found either in ancient Egypt or ancient India.

As we all know, yoga has gained tremendous popularity since last few decades. The different types of postures of yoga have helped many people to promote healthy mind, body, and soul. It has been proved as an excellent means of relaxation, which proffers a sense of inner peace and balance.

These days, the art of yoga has become a never ending rage among youngsters, children and the old. With celebrities like Madonna embracing yoga for health benefits, the craze for this unique form of exercise is here to stay.

A) What is yoga?

Yoga involves a series of different postures in conjunction with stretches. This is practiced within a holistic mindset and deep concentration that results in emotional, spiritual mental, physical and health benefits.

Most people who have been practicing yoga for a long time have understood yoga as a form of meditation. The more one tends to practice this art, the more one feels enlightened and experience transforming effects. Yoga works towards gifting and developing an individual’s inner as well as outer personality. It also helps in transforming one into a good human.

B) Yoga as a way of life

Yoga can be understood as a lifestyle or a way of life. It is an art of righteous living. Experts would like to refer it as an effective system to benefit the body mind and inner spirit. This unique are was originated ancient years back.

You can find some excellent references to yoga in ‘Puranas’ and ‘Upanishads’. These were beautifully composed by Indian Aryans in the later vedic and post vedic period.

The principles of yoga were described in full fledged eight fold yogic discipline. This is explained by Patanjali in his ‘yoga sutra’. It was composed almost two thousand years ago! The eight important stages of yoga recommended by Patanjali are as follows:

These are the stages of yoga discipline:

a) Yamas - Restrains and abstentions

b) Asanas - Physical exercises or postures.

c) Pranayama - Total control over vital energy or breathing pattern.

d) Niyamas - Observances such as contentment, study, austerities, purity and surrender of the ego.

e) Dhyana - Meditation

f) Partyahara - Withdrawal of the senses.

g) Samadhi - Attainment of the super conscious state

h) Dharana - Contemplation or concentration of the mind.

C) Superb health benefits of yoga

There are several health benefits of practicing yoga.

a) Weight loss and Weight control

b) Enhances immune system and blood circulation in the body

c) Control over anxiety

d) Relief from asthma, multiple sclerosis, headaches, blood pressure and carpal tunnel syndrome.

e) Reduces arthritis pain, depression, stress, heart disease, chronic fatigue and back pain.

f) Helps in removing toxins from the body.

g) Heals several diseases and body ailments

h) Enhances concentration power and creativity; Reduces stress and tension

i) Allows better thinking, enhances flexibility and balance.

j) Leads to spiritual fulfillment.

Yoga comes from the Sanskrit word yuk (literally meaning “yoke” which gave rise to the modern English words yoke and union).  In yoga, your objective is to gain control of the body and the mind.  By controlling the body through yogic exercises, you eventually learn to control your mind.  Unless you can control both body and mind, you will not reap the real benefits of yoga and meditation.

You may have heard others talk about yoga and meditation, but there may still be something mysterious about what it involves.  One common perception is that you can essentially practise yoga by simply doing the series of physical yoga positions.  There is indeed a refined system of yoga positions to be followed, but it is important to realise that yoga is immensely more than physical exercise if you really wish to maximise the benefits of holistic yoga.

The meaning of yoga, and the ultimate objective of yoga meditation, is to achieve the union of body, mind, and spirit; union of the individual with the entirety of creation; and unity of the individual with the creative force, the divinity in all there is.  By helping you achieve unity with this life force, you discover who you truly are.

One of yoga’s most important benefits comes from the use of meditation for stress relief.  Health experts believe that stress can give rise to many of the common illnesses.  Stress can lead to elevated blood pressure, faster heart rate, and production of toxic substances.  Yoga meditation induces opposite effects, relieving stress and promoting relaxation.

Yoga positions stretch and tone most of your muscles, helping you achieve overall fitness.  The exercises increase the range of motion in joints and help protect muscle from injury during more strenuous physical activities such as sports and athletics.  Many yoga positions enhance the flexibility and improve the alignment of your spine.  If you suffer from chronic back problems, you can well appreciate the relief to mind and body this can bring.

A number of yoga positions are designed to improve circulation, enhance digestion and promote more efficient elimination of toxic wastes.  Internal organs are tenderly massaged and toned, helping them to function more optimally.  It is easy to see that yoga can become the core of your health and wellness program.

Yoga has developed a rich system of exercises and techniques that are used to promote harmony and well-being of body, mind, and spirit.  By regularly performing the various yoga positions, you enhance the functioning of your musculoskeletal and circulatory systems.  By regularly practicing yoga meditation, you achieve deeper levels of relaxation and strengthen your mind’s power of concentration.  The system helps you gain soundness of body, clarity of mind, and vitality of spirit.

If you follow the holistic yoga practices regularly, you will soon find that they open up opportunities to reconnect with the self and to learn self-acceptance.  Through sustained practice of yoga and meditation, you can experience the invaluable benefits of inner peace and joy that can come with a healthier body and more self-awareness.

For a full guide to holistic yoga and yoga meditation techniques “Enrich Your Mind, Body and Soul with the Power of Yoga” at http://digitalinformationdownloads.com/wellness/yoga will enable you to practice the proven system in the comfort of your own home.

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Yoga in a popular position Yoga, one of the world’s oldest forms of exercise, is experiencing a rebirth in our stressful modern world. You wouldn’t think that a 3000-year-old exercise could increase its popularity. But yoga is now being prescribed even by some medical practitioners for a range of health ailments and illnesses, as a stress reliever and to complement other fitness programs.

Talk to anyone who practises yoga and they will quickly extoll an endless list of benefits. It seems beginners quickly become converts. They believe it is the key to good health and happiness in today’s world _ a common goal for most people. But probably the greatest advertisement for yoga is the fact that it seems to have graduated from the weird and alternative ranks into a position of fairly wide community acceptance.

Housewives, businessmen, sportspeople, teenagers and the aged are all practising a variety of yoga positions, meditation and associated breathing exercises. For many, yoga becomes a way of life _ often giving a more spiritual side to people’s lives, although not necessarily linked to religion. One school of belief maintains that chronic and accumulated stress is the reason for many of our modern illnesses.

Proponents of yoga argue that it has a multiplicity of techniques to counter that cause and, unlike drug therapy, attack the cause, not just the symptoms. It offers, they say, a holistic approach to health and fitness. Many professional athletes, looking for the edge have turned to yoga as a supplementary form of training. They have found that yoga aids their state of mental and physical relaxation between training sessions, and their crucial build-up to big meets, where a competition is usually won or lost in the mind.

Perhaps one of yoga’s major attractions is that it combines physical and mental exercise. It is excellent for posture and flexibility, both key physical elements for most sports-people, and in some respects, there are strength benefits to be gained. Yoga teachers say that the approach of yoga therapy is one of the most effective ways of achieving the mental edge that athletes seek.

Marian Fenlon, one of Brisbane’s leading yoga teachers of the past 20 years, is the author of two books on the subject and has had thousands of yoga pupils. Many of them have, in turn, become teachers. Believe it or not, she has even taught yoga to footballers. Many years ago, she took Brisbane Souths rugby league team for an eight-week course and, amazingly, it was well-received. She says there are eight components to yoga therapy - attitudes, disciplines, posture and flexibility, breathing, sensory awareness, concentration, contemplation and meditation. Yoga can play a substantial supporting role to modern medicine, and complement other fitness and exercise programs. While there is no great component of aerobic fitness in yoga therapy, it complements aerobic exercise because of breathing techniques that can be learned. So there are advantages for even the most demanding of aerobic sports - swimming, cycling and running. There are numerous documented cases of yoga relieving or curing serious illnesses - such as Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, and respiratory illnesses like asthma and emphysema.

Suresh Nigam, chairman of MetJet, one of the leading trainers of computer hardware engineers in India, not only practices yoga but preaches it at his 35 centers.

So what is it and how does it work.

At the heart of it is something which translates as the stoppage of mind modification. For example when we hear music we get distracted. We must stay aware and conscious but not get distracted from our goal.

How then does yoga, an ancient, essentially private activity, help in the work environment.

Suresh believes that the collective is an entity just as much as an individual is. If individuals are happy, calm and alert then the collective consciousness is harmonious and dynamic and will produce better results. If people are tense and unhappy it will reflect in their productivity.

At MetJet all managers and employees are sent to the Yoga Institute at Santa Cruz (in Mumbai) which was founded in 1989. There people are shown a path, how to control your mind and not to run after sensual pleasures. You learn not to run away from your responsibilities.

The root cause of these afflictions is ignorance. That leads to a grandiose sense of self-importance and misunderstanding. We love and hate in extremes. By getting up and finding out what is happening, we reduce stress. Once you are aware of what is going on you have won half the battle.

There are actually several branches of yoga, including bhakti, the yoga of devotion, and jnana, the yoga of knowledge. The most widely practiced branch in the US, the one typically offered at gyms and exercise studios, is hatha yoga, which is physical yoga. But there also are different styles of hatha yoga, from the exercise-intense power yoga to the gentle chair poses used in svaroopa yoga.

Many of the instructors offer integral yoga, which involves stretching and bending into various positions called asanas, as well as breathing exercises and deep relaxation. By practicing and learning asanas, students can gain flexibility, strength, stamina and improved circulation.

Integral yoga is not religious, but it does offer an introspective, spiritual component that you won’t find in most exercise programs.

A typical adult class lasts 1 hour. First, the students center themselves through breathing, then come together as a group with a collective om. They do a quick series of cardiovascular movements, an hour of stretching and 20 minutes of relaxation while lying on their backs.

The relaxation period gives students a chance to turn inward. Some people are making lists in their head. Some people are asleep. Some people are just in a really great space, where they’re conscious of what’s going on in the room, and yet at the same time, completely and unequivocally out.

1. THE COBRA Do this in easy stages. Lie down, face prone, legs tightly together and stretched back, forehead on the floor. Put your hands, palm down, just under your shoulders. Inhale and raise your head, pressing your neck back, now use your hands to push your trunk up until you are bending in a beautiful arc from your lower spine to the back of your neck. You need go no further than this. However, if you are supple enough, you can now straighten your arms completely, bend the legs at the knees and drop your head back to touch your feet. Even if your head goes nowhere near your feet, drop it back as far as possible and hold the posture with deep breathing. Come out of the posture very slowly, returning to the face prone posture. Relax with your head to one side. Repeat.

2. THE BOW This is also an extreme version of the simple bow. It is surprising how many children can do it immediately. Take it, once again, in easy stages. Lie face prone on your mat. If you are very slim have a nice thick, padded mat for this one. Inhale and bend your knees up. Stretch back with your arms and catch hold of your ankles, keeping fingers and thumbs all together on the outside. Inhale and at the same time raise your head and chest, pulling at your ankles and lifting knees and thighs off the floor. Breathe normally, trying to kick up your legs higher and lifting your head up. You are now bent like a bow, balancing the weight of your body on your abdomen. You can stop right here but if you can still stretch further, then slide your hands down your legs, lift them higher, keep the knees together and pull back as much as you can. Hold for a few normal deep breaths, then relax back to the face-prone position, head to one side.

3. THE SHOOTING BOW In Sanskrit this is known as Akarna Dhanurasana and one leg is drawn up like a shooting bow. Sit with both legs stretched out in front and back straight. Reach forward with both hands and clasp your feet, catching the right foot with the left hand and the left foot with the right hand. Inhale, bend the left knee and pull the foot across the body, close to your chest, pointing the elbow up and twisting the body slightly to the right. The left hand stays firm and tight, holding the right foot. Hold posture with normal breathing, release slowly, and relax. Repeat on other side. In the beginning it is enough to hold the bent left leg with the right hand. When this is easy, stretch down and hold the left foot with the right hand. Continue to pull on the left foot, lifting it higher on each exhalation.