transformyoga.com

The festive season will be soon upon us and the sparkly dreses will ne dust down and brought out again for the office party.

But as you try it on…yikes, the zip just doesn’t quite get to the top and its a little tight. Oh no I hear you cry, what do you do with no time to go shopping for a new one, and the party in less than a weeks time…fear not Yoga is apparently the key.

Actress Rachel McAdams has sweared by Yoga to help her fit into the dresses she has to wear in the new SHerlock Holmes series.

So there you go no needs to starve yourself for the next few weeks – just stretch a bit and you’ll soon fir into your LBD and look amazing!

Now I know that Yoga is good for you and that it’s all a matter of mind over matter and breathing and finding harmony an dpeace within your inner mind. But to me if I’m going to spend time exercising I need to feel like i’ve done something – so I need to be dripping with sweat and out of breath at the end of it.

Yoga – chilled session of stretching your muscles, no rise in your heart rate, nothing to strenuous that all can join in with.

V’s

Trip to the gym – increase in heartbeat, dripping in sweat, out of breath, adrenalin rush of completeing a 5 mile uphill run???

The gym’s by choice what’s yous?

So you want to get fit, lose a couple of pounds ready for that work’s Christmas do, but you don’t quite fancy a trip down the gym for yoga class.

Well now the latest craze is Wii Fit and it comes with a Yoga instructor in built, so you don’t need to worry about showing yourself up in front of a roomful of strangers. You get the choice of a male or female instructor to talk you through a variety of moves, which develop as you learn more over time.

I think the laid back approach and doing it in the comfort of your own house has helped with the popularity of it. To date Nintendo has announced sales of in excess of 20 million units worldwide of Wii Fit alone. This can be put down to the fact that it is also fun as well as being a healthy activity.

The main benefits of yoga are related to the improvement in core stability that will not only aid weight loss and general fitness, but will also improve posture which will help all areas of life. Maybe you will find yourself feeling less lethargic at work, thus making you more effective in the working day.

All in all, yoga has many positives and is a worthwhile activity for young and old !!!

Can you imagine a room full of men (tasty in my mind) all in comprimising positions whilst practising yoga? And, so it seems following some research recently carried out in India it’s all in the name of a healthier heart and a stronger nervous system!

The explanation of how they’ve achievd this result gets a bit too technical and confusing my my little brain but as yoga concentrates on regulating breathing, your posture, actually being able to realx and mediation, many yoga practioners believe this is why Yoga can improve your health.

So lads – time to get your joggers on, your yoga mat ready and egt ready for your first yoga stretch!!

My question is though this research has been done for men – what about women? Is it as healthy for us too?

I’ve never tried Yoga before, well I tell a lie really – I have tried Yoga before but only for 10 minutes and then watched the rest of the DVD whilst ironing. I think I got more out of Ironing than I did trying out Yoga.

I’m all for keeping fit but I personally enjoy going to the gym or out in the fresh air for a run where I can feel my bottom wobble back to some kind of shape and end up in a sweaty out of breath mess!

If it is for you though and you alsoa fan of Jarvis Cocker – why not join him in his 3 day workshops in London, which are starting today (November 9). You can choose to join in with Yoga or you can even shimmy your way round and a go at pole dancing!

The great thing about yoga is that it can benefit anyone and everyone. From older people who are looking to keep fit and healthy to younger people and athletes who are looking for more challenging exercises to strengthen their body and mind.

Many people start yoga in order to help improve their health, whether that is as simple as digestion or more serious illnesses such as osteoarthritis. And that’s the great thing; Yoga is an exercise technique which can easily be adapted for whatever your capabilities, and from which many people can benefit. Obviously the exercises need to be performed regularly in order for them to have an effect, but with more and more people taking up yoga every day, why not try it yourself?

When thinking about where you would like to go for your next holiday why not consider going on a yoga retreat. After all the whole reason for getting away is to enjoy some rest and relaxation time and what could be better than yoga.

As you would expect, these retreats are set in peaceful and tranquil locations with many retreats situated in mountains, forest areas and even on secluded beaches. The retreats run on a timetable basis where in a typical day meditation and yoga normally compromises the morning activities. The afternoons are usually where you get free time and then the evenings are taken up with chanting.

Most of these activities are optional so you can choose what to take part in, so ultimately your holiday is still your own.

If you want to come away from a holiday feeling fully relaxed instead of feeling like you need another holiday in which to recover, then a yoga retreat could be just what you need.

Many people prefer to do yoga in their own home rather than going to a class. Much of this is due to time and feeling uncomfortable in a room full of people. Therefore yoga videos are a really useful tool to reap the benefits of yoga in your time and at your own pace. So what should you look for in a good yoga video? Well to help you I have included some tips here:

Does the video have good explanations and demonstrations of each of the poses?

Does the video cover a variety of exercises? You want to make sure that you get a whole body workout.
Does the video contain poses that go from easy, beginner poses, to more challenging exercises?

If you make sure to check for all these things you can be sure of a good yoga workout.

If you feel better doing regular yoga exercises then you might want to combine laughter with it and reap even further benefits. It is said that laughter makes your chances of experiencing happiness much greater and new yoga classes combined with laughter aim at helping with this.

Throughout these yoga classes you will experience laughter eruptions from members of the class. Some of them are scripted and others are just spontaneous and usually in response to the scripted outbursts.

It has been documented that laughter helps with giving you a sense of well being but it has also been used in the past to help with pain relief as some people have found that just ten minutes of genuine laughter can leave them with a few hours pain relief often helping them to sleep better.

Although there are still not many classes which employ this technique it may be worth reading up on the technique and trying it out yourself.

Being pregnant is no reason to stop doing your yoga exercises. Of course you will not be able to perform some of the more advanced extreme body contortions but as long as you take the correct precautions you can continue to benefit physically and emotionally from your yoga practise.

Some of the exercises to avoid when pregnant are those that involve stretching your body too strenuously, in particular your abdominal muscles. Also, be sensible; If any particular pose is causing you discomfort then do not continue to perform it. Throughout your pregnancy you will probably find that you need to adjust your exercises in line with your changing body.

Yoga exercises can benefit both you and your baby, as long as you remain aware of your limits.