October 15th, 2008 by joyntheir
Here we have four of the basic yoga positions. They are simple, and you can easily transition from one to the other.
Set in a kneeling position with your bottom on your feet and back straight; then take 3 cleansing breaths. Lean forward over your legs into a child pose (much like a fetal position), head on floor.
Reach your arms out in front of you, then unfold to a prone position, and raise your head and torso up into the cobra position. If possible, do not let your front touch the floor during the transition.
Now bring your head and torso back towards the floor and lift your legs up with your arms stretched down the sides of your body into the grasshopper position.
Now, lift your legs higher, bending at the knees. Reach back with your arms and catch your ankles. This is the bow position.
Slowly lower back into the bow position, down and forward into the cobra position, then shift back into the child pose. Slowly pull up into the kneeling position and breath. Repeat 3 or 4 times.
See how simple it is to make a routine? Until you feel knowledgeable about yoga, I suggest you get a good set of yoga DVDs such as Wai Lana’s (see right column).
August 13th, 2008 by joyntheir
It is easy to be confused on where to begin when you decide to use Yoga for your exercise. As with any exercise program, you have some steps to consider:
What type of exercise routine do you want to do? The different types of Yoga are discussed in my post Yoga for Fitness and Weight Loss . For weight loss, power Yoga is the best. Power yoga is a movement from one pose to another in a faster flow than ‘regular’ yoga. Instead of holding a pose for minutes, you may hold it for seconds or for one minute before flowing into the next pose.
Where will you do your exercise? As a beginner, you will need to learn the poses and the routines. You will want a routine that is set up to flow from one pose to the next. Once you learn the poses and feel comfortable with them, you may choose to re-arrange the poses. Some flow quite nicely into others, while some are more difficult to flow from one to another. You can either find a yoga class to attended, or you can get DVD’s with the instructions and routines. There are also written routines. I prefer the DVD’s. I can do them in my home on my schedule, and I do not need to feel embarrassed while learning the poses. The DVD’s show the correct poses plus the correct timing. In contrast, in a class the teacher can observe your pose and give you suggestions to improve your performance in a pose.
What clothing and equipment will you need? You will need a mat and comfortable clothes, not too tight, but not loose enough to flop around. Yoga is normally done barefooted – no shoes or socks.
Optional equipment would be blankets or blocks to help achieve the proper placement of hands, hips, and/or feet during poses – such as in a pose where the hands are not to reach to the floor. Straps are good for poses where the hands are to touch, but you are not able to yet, and when you are to touch your feet, and again you are not able to reach them yet.
What can you expect? I would suggest either watching the Yoga DVD through prior to attempting the poses/routines at home, or asking to observe a class prior to signing up for it. These will both give you the feel for how the class flows and what will be expected of you. It also helps to become familiar with some of the terms used. My Yoga Jargon post gives many of the terms you will hear and be expected to know.
In my next post I will start describing some of the basic poses.