The practice of yoga has been around for over 5,000 years. Millions of Americans are currently practicing yoga and experiencing a multitude of health benefits from it. Yoga is anything but a trend; it is far and away one of the best exercise programs anyone can subscribe to.

Firstly, yoga improves flexibility. When some people think of yoga, they think they are too old, too fat, or not flexible enough to be any good at it. The truth is, anyone can improve their flexibility! Yoga is made up of moves called asanas, or poses. These asanas are held for a period of time, which gently stretches and loosens the muscles, releasing the lactic acid build up. Yoga asanas also increase the range of motion in the joints, and is also thought to help lubricate the joints as well. Yoga even stretches the fascia which is the first layer underneath your skin!

Some forms of yoga, like power yoga, will really increase your strength and muscle tone, but even less aggressive forms of yoga will definitely give your muscle strength some benefits. Many of the poses, such as downward dog, upward dog, and plank, will improve upper body strength, which is extremely important as we age. Standing poses, especially if they are held for a good length of time, will really strengthen the leg muscles. Nearly all yoga poses will strengthen the abdominal and back muscles.

Because of increased flexibility and muscle strength, our posture improves as well. Muscles are more able to adjust to correct posture positions, which is going to alleviate headaches, muscle tension, back pain, and increased body awareness. Yoga teaches you to be aware of your body positions at all times, so hunching or slouching will usually be self-corrected immediately by the experienced yoga student.

Practicing yoga involves deep, regular breathing. This improves lung capacity and teaches self-relaxation techniques. The deep breathing teaches you to be mindful of the breath and relaxes the mind. Your overall mood therefore improves. Yoga also improves heart health by improving circulation, reducing cholesterol, lowering blood pressure, and lowering the heart rate. Yoga has also recently been used in therapies to ease such problems as asthma, back pain, arthritis, fibromyalgia, CFS, insomnia, and multiple sclerosis.

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The practice of yoga and meditation go hand in hand. Both practices date back thousands of years and are interconnected. Yoga incorporates the positive effects of meditation on both the body and mind.

Physiological Benefits of Yoga and Meditation

Performing a regular yoga meditation routine has many positive physiological effects on the body:

• There is a notable decrease in blood pressure and heart rate.
• The metabolic rate decreases as does the stress hormone cortisol.
• Cholesterol is lowered through yoga and breathing becomes easier for those who have asthma.
• If you suffer from any kind of persistent pain, doing these practices release endorphins that naturally ease pain.
• Both practices give the immune system a boost, helping guard you against disease.

You will also be able to stabilize your metabolism if you practice yoga with meditation. The digestive system even runs smoother when you do both or either of these ancient practices. Yoga strengthens the body and allows for more flexibility. Meditation strengthens and clears the mind simultaneously. Together, they have limitless positive effects on the body.

Psychological Benefits of Yoga and Meditation

Psychologically, more and more people are beginning to see how yoga meditation can help everyone live a little bit better. For those who experience anxiety or depression, as well as panic attacks, meditating and practicing yoga on a regular basis can alleviate many symptoms. Once you do these practices on a regular basis, you carry the positive effects with you long after you are done stretching and chanting a mantra.

People who do both practices notice an increase in creativity, improved memory, a better feeling of stability, and they are quite simply happier. The calmness that comes over the mind, and literally calms the body is unlike other forms of relaxation.

When and Where to Practice Yoga with Meditation

Both are practices you either do separately or together. As you hold a yoga pose and move into the next, breathing slow and deep is a must. This increases your oxygen and allows you to stretch further. It also helps calm the mind as you quiet everything internally and focus on your movements. You can practice yoga meditation in the privacy of your own home or a class where others are enjoying the same benefits. You need to be in a place where you feel comfortable and have enough room to stretch fully. The quieter the spot for yoga meditation, the better you will be able to focus.

You should wear comfortable and loose fitting clothing. Unlike other forms of exercise, you do not need any special equipment, and the yoga meditation techniques are not difficult. It is recommended you do both of these barefoot. You can invest in a yoga mat, but a blanket or towel also works well for yoga and meditation. Morning is the best time of the day for yoga and meditation as most people have clearer minds and are the least stressed or distracted. You are also more likely to have an empty stomach in the morning.

While all forms of exercise lifts the spirits and helps the body, yoga and meditation lead to deeper spiritual growth over time. The positive effects that transcend the stress put on the body and mind can help you deal with anything life brings your way.

Please click here for some other benefits of yoga.

Want to get fit and lean with Yoga? Then what do you imagine Yoga to be?

Yes it’s a series of body extensions can be one aspect the other is that is develops the mind when you merge the two it becomes a very complete healthy routine. It is common knowledge yoga poses improves flexibility but some still question how does it improve fitness.

YOGA BODY AND MIND FITNESS (I like to call it Muscle Mind Link.)

There are many Yoga styles which can help you get in shape. One model is Ashtanga Yoga; it’s a style which supports dynamic movements and flowing transitions between postures. It can be conducted as a very powerful cardio workout and isometric body weight training. World famous Madonna practices Ashtanga yoga, she began to practice Ashtanga after the birth of her first daughter. That’s more than 12 years ago, now she has a great figure as a 51 year old. Boyer Coe (World Pro Grand Prix Champion) says about Yoga stretching; “it builds bigger, better-quality muscles.”

THE OBVIOUS BENEFITS ARE:

• Helps prevent postural problems. (after I do yoga I sit and stand straighter)
• Increases your range of motion. (especially after lifting weights)
• Enhances appearance of Muscle
• Lengthens muscles,
• Gives that lean, toned look
• Calms your mind and help you to focus.

THE NOT SO OBVIOUS BENEFITS ARE;

• After weight lifting it will minimise soreness, allowing for quicker recovery and improved muscle growth. It gets the blood flowing into those muscular areas that necessitate repair.
• It develops core strength (try a hand stand and feel those abs working)
• It stimulates the circulatory, respiratory and neuromuscular systems. (Heavy weight lifting damages the nervous system you will need to rest, Yoga aids greatly in this recovery).

PROOF IS IN THE YOGA PUDDING

In a analysis done at the University of California at Davis in the US, they studied the relationship between yoga and fitness. The researchers tested the muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, cardiorespiratory fitness, body composition, and lung function of 10 college students before and after eight weeks of yoga training.

Each week, the students attended four sessions that included

• 10 minutes of pranayama (breath control),
• 15 minutes of warm-up exercises,
• 50 minutes of asanas (Yoga Poses),
• 10 minutes of meditation.

After eight weeks, the students:

• muscular strength had increased by as much as 31 percent,
• muscular endurance by 57 percent,
• flexibility by as much as 188 percent,
• and VO2max by 7 percent

A very respectable increase, given the brevity of the experiment.

MORE PUDDING?

A related study done at Ball State University offers further evidence for yoga and it’s fitness benefits. This research looked at how 15 weeks of twice-weekly yoga classes changed the lung capacity of 287 college students. All of the students involved, including athletes, asthmatics, and smokers,significantly improved lung capacity by the end of the semester.

Jack England, an 81-year-old yoga and yoga instructor at the Club Med in Port Saint Lucie, Florida, says more than 30 years of yoga have kept him flexible, healthy, and strong. He has the very same weight and height as he was in high school, and his outstanding health continues to amaze his doctor. He delights audiences at Club Med by performing Shoulderstand and other poses while balancing on a float board in a water ski show. He is an inspiration to people of all ages, he says.” I do things that 14-year-old can’t do”.

Stephanie Griffin, a 33-year-old director of business development for a pharmaceutical research company in San Francisco, discovered yoga after years of running marathons, spinning, and weight lifting. Before finding yoga, she thought her Intensive exercise habits had turned her into a poster child for health and fitness. During the last four years, however, Griffin began doing more yoga and less running, weight lifting, and aerobics. As she reduced back on her hardcore fitness pursuits, she worried she might gain weight or lose her muscle tone or exercise capacity.She didn’t ‘”I have maintained my fitness and even enhanced it through yoga,” says Griffin, who no longer has a gym membership. “And I like the way my body looks and feels now better than the way it did before”.

HOW TO PROCEED?

Always stretch after you warm up! Warm muscles Stretch out much easier than cold muscles.

Best case scenario is to stretch every single day for a minimum of 10-15 minutes. At the least, 3-4 times per week. A 10-15 minute stretching warmup is better. In addition, recuperation can greatly be accelerated when one stretches 10-15 minutes as a cool down. Another good time to stretch is right before bed. It relaxes the muscles and will help you unwind from the strain of the day and have a good night sleep.

So if you would like to become and stay physically and mentally fit, make sure your yoga practice includes a balance of poses that build strength, stamina, and flexibility, along with breath-work and meditation to help develop body awareness.

In particular, include a series of standing poses in your practice. As your practice expands, add more challenging asanas such as balancing poses and inversions. If you’re just doing 15 minutes of gentle yoga stretches three to four times a week, you will also require to do some other form of exercise to stay fit. You will need to do something additionally to yoga for a while until they can practice more robustly.

ENJOY What ever you do!

But the right form of exercise is whatever you enjoy most and will prolong doing it on a regular and almost daily basis. Yoga has a lot of benefits, so do yoga regularly and enjoy it. Going past the fitness aspects, yoga offers many other gifts.

It improves your health, reduces stress, improves sleep, and typically acts like a powerful therapy to help heal relationships, improve your career, and advance your overall outlook on life.

Hi my name is Raymond Ho.

Please feel free to visit my holistic blog called Zen My Fitness where it combines Zen, Yoga, Body Building and Nutrition to enhance performance and fitness.

On my blog I have freely downloadable body weight, body building and body improvement posture workouts, also information on where to learn all about Yoga. Thanks for taking the time to read this.