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REFRESHING FLEXES
A Guide To The Various Kinds Of Yoga Pose
Copyright 2005 Free Online Yoga Site

The discipline of yoga is defined by the performance of a yoga pose, also known as asanas. A yoga pose is meant to stretch and open up the body to improve its flexibility. Each yoga pose has a specific function, but all aim to provide physical and spiritual benefits.

If you are a beginner, you must master the following basic yoga poses:
1.) Lotus Pose - this pose focuses on the hips.
2.) Standing Forward Bend Pose - a pose that strengthens the spine

3.) Mountain Pose - makes the spine more elastic

4.) Tree Pose - this yoga pose focuses on the legs
5.) Downward-Facing Dog - full-body stretch
6.) Triangle Pose - targets on the ankles and legs
7.) Cobra Pose - opens up chest and stretches the spine

8.) Staff Pose - This yoga pose focuses on the legs

Though yoga poses target different parts of the body, most of them has the spine is the primary focus. The spine is strengthened, thus enabling the body to perform progressively harder yoga poses. After several sessions of yoga, the body - particularly the back - is stronger and more pliant. Because of this, physical therapists have incorporated some yoga poses to their treatment of patients suffering from back problems.

Yoga poses are not meant to cause pain. If you are feeling major discomfort when performing yoga poses, there are some items you can use to alleviate the discomfort. These items are called yoga props. One example of a prop is a block, which is held in each hand and acts to shorten the distance between your hands and the floor, lessening the strain in your arms. Another prop is a rubber strap, which is used to assist you in stretching by helping you pull your limbs.

The huge yoga ball, a prop made of vinyl and filled with air, is propped underneath your back to support when doing a yoga pose involving backbends. For headstands, a pillow can be used to support your head. If you still feel major discomfort in performing a certain yoga pose, it’s possible that you’re not doing it correctly or you’re body is still not on a level to execute that yoga pose. If you’re not used to exercise, or if you have a medical condition, it is best not to perform yoga poses on your own. Enroll in a yoga class and surely, all you’ll be reaping are benefits.

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THE PRINCIPLES OF ASHTANGA YOGA
Copyright 2005 Free Online Yoga Site

Ashtanga yoga is also known as the “eight-limbed yoga” because it incorporates in its discipline the eight spiritual practices recognized by the yogis and yoginis today. The first four are:

1. the yama (moral codes)

2. the niyama (self-purification)

3. the asana (posture)

4. the pranayama (control of breath)

They are the cleansing practices of Ashtanga yoga which are external in nature. These four limbs can be corrected by means of study and application, as they are concentrated on the physical aspects of one’s being.

The other four limbs are:

5. the pratyahara (sense control)

6. the dharana (concentration),

7. the dhyana (meditation)

8. the samadhi (contemplation)

These cannot be easily corrected because their nature is internal and they focus mainly on the manipulation of the mind and the promotion of its healthy development.

The difference between Ashtanga Yoga and other yoga classes is in the type of learning environment involved. Ashtanga Yoga students are taught on an individual basis, that is, one teacher for one student. These students, however, are responsible for their own practice and spiritual growth, and the teacher’s job is to merely facilitate the instructions. Additionally, silence is a pre-requisite in Ashtanga Yoga. It is important that no outside sound should be heard inside the room.

The most important factors of Ashtanga Yoga are the asanas (posture) and vinsayas (breathing with movement). In each asana comes a corresponding count of vinsayas. Postures cannot be completed without breathing and movements.

Perfecting the joint of asanas and vinsayas will be of help in correcting the four limbs which are internal in nature as we have discussed earler. How? Once asanas and vinsayas are done appropriately, the relaxation process will be achieved, and the same effect will occur in the mind. The mind must fully be attentive to realize the turmoil going on in a person’s spirit so that it may be able to correct it. Only then can the full mental and spiritual effect of Ashtanga Yoga be felt.

Ashtanga Yoga helps in improving blood circulation and relieves joint pains. It can also clear out the toxins out of the body. Ashtanga Yoga serves as a cleansing agent that works on the body, mind and spirit of a person – achieving the universal goal of general yoga practice.

If Ashtanga Yoga is done correctly, with a mind free from any unpurified thoughts, the practitioner may have a full realization of what the eight-limbed yoga is all about.

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WORK YOUR BODY AND SOUL
The Discipline Of Bikram Yoga
Copyright 2005 Free Online Yoga Site

If you want to experience the relaxing meditation of yoga and avail of an aggressive workout at the same time, then Bikram yoga is the best choice for you. Bikram yoga is developed by Bikram Choudhury. Choudhury studied yoga with the brother of Paramahansa Yogananda, Bishnu Ghosh, and believed his Bikram yoga is the exclusively authentic form of yoga among all others that have popped up in modern Western culture.

Bikram yoga is known to be the most pedantic kind, with meticulous movements meant to make the body lithe and flexible. That alone is difficult, but the real defining characteristic of Bikram yoga is its being performed in a room with humid temperature of at least 95 degrees. The heat in which Bikram yoga is practiced produces sweat which acts as a cleansing agent and makes muscles more elastic. As a consequence of this elasticity, poses that can’t be normally done can be executed in the heated room. Therefore, with Bikram yoga, injuries such as strains and sprains happen less frequently.

Anyone who does Bikram yoga would agree that this kind is very demanding. Bikram yoga has twenty-six poses, also known as asana, and a couple of breathing exercises. These poses, meant to open up the body and to prepare it for more complex ones, grow harder with each progression. Each pose is held for a certain amount of time to develop endurance, and performed twice to develop flexibility. The heat does not make the poses and exercises any easier.

Bikram yoga is very popular in Western cultures. In fact, Bikram yoga is considered trendy since many celebrities favor this form. But it’s definitely more than trend. It has a scientific purpose—the poses are strategically designed to deliver one hundred percent supply of oxygen to all parts of the body, thus improving blood circulation. Bikram yoga is said to be effective for healing, or at least lessening, the symptoms of such illnesses as hyperthyroidism, diabetes, and arthritis.

Anyone can benefit from Bikram yoga, even a beginner. If you are discouraged due to reports of Bikram yoga’s difficulty, take heart. This form of yoga begins with easy poses so by the time you get to the difficult part, your body would have adjusted by then. In fact, you should not try Bikram yoga despite your body’s weakness, but rather, because of it. This form of yoga strengthens your body, and by the time you are finished with this form, you no longer will consider yourself weak.

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Different types of Yoga are being developed all the time as more and more people in both the East and West practice the various forms.

Hatha Yoga - Although Hatha yoga refers to ALL physical Yoga it has generally come to refer to the gentle form of Yoga practice. Hatha focuses of gentle stretches and deep breathing techniques.

Kundalini Yoga - This practice is arguably the most comprehensive form of Yoga and focuses on Prayer/Meditation, also the Physical and Breathing exercises that we have mentioned above in Hatha Yoga.

Vinyasa Yoga - This is the most active of the types of Yoag and is guaranteed to give you a great workout. Unlike Hatha Yoga, Vinyasa takes you through the various Asanas or Poses in quicktime.

We will cover these different forms of Yoga in much more detail in future articles.

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Yoga breathing practice or Pranayama as the exercies are termed is one of the most important aspects of Yoga and also one of the 5 principles of Yoga.

The breathing should be slow and steady and breathed through the nose and deep into the lower abdomen. Breathing in this way help you maintain a calm and alert mind and eventually you should aim to bring your breathing into alignment with your Yoga Poses.

Effective Yoga breathing can also help with the release of toxins from your body and ensures a ready supply of oxygen as your performs the Yoga asanas.

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