Your yoga practice and your goal for that given session determine how you breathe, says Claudia Cummins in her Yoga Journal article "Breathing for Relaxation." The breath work you do in yoga is referred to as Pranayama, a compound Hindu word made...
Yoga provides an opportunity to focus the mind and body together. While traditional yoga incorporates diet, meditation practice and behavior, you don't have to combine all these elements to realize the benefits of yoga. Calming yoga poses use a...
Yoga, an ancient mind and body practice, originated in India over 5,000 years ago. While all types of yoga focus on breathing and body postures, different practices emphasize distinct aspects and approaches. Some practices physically challenge...
Though traditional yoga consists of eight different limbs, here in the West the focus is on the asanas, or yoga positions. These make up the physical practice of yoga and despite a variation from discipline to discipline, the categories of yoga...
Easing moodiness, shortness of breath and swollen ankles are just some of the benefits that women experience when practicing yoga through their pregnancies, according to Yoga Journal. Whether you choose to continue attending your regular yoga...
Exercise is as important as diet in any weight-loss program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise each day simply to maintain a healthy weight. For weight loss, the USDA recommends as...
"Stand up straight" and "stop slouching" are likely two admonishments you may have heard regularly growing up. Most children ignore these comments, and today you'll probably find yourself still slumping when seated or standing. Poor posture makes...
Mastering yoga positions in order of difficulty can help prevent injury while helping you advance your yoga skills gradually. A solid grasp of beginner poses helps you perform more difficult poses, because beginner poses are often starting...
Neck tension is a chronic problem in America, according to "Yoga Journal." Sitting in front of computers for long periods of time combined with the economic stress prevalent in many people's lives today causes tension to be trapped in the throat,...
Stress may quadruple your chances of developing Alzhemier's, according to Helpguide.org. Lowering your stress through breathing exercises may therefore prevent Alzhemier's. Marc Schoen, PhD., in a 2002 "Yoga Journal" article, "The Downside of...
TMJ, or temporomandibular joint, disorder affects the joint where the mandible, or jaw bone, joins the temporal bone of the skull. Injury or trauma to the tempormandibular joint is the most common cause, but people can also develop the disorder...
Gaining flexibility in your legs for the lotus position involves stretching muscles throughout your upper and lower legs. Prepare for the lotus position with yoga poses that stretch the same muscles that require flexibility for the lotus pose....
The breath, or prana, is considered to be the life force or energy in yoga. Breathing exercises can help the body by increasing blood circulation and oxygen efficiency and improving alertness and concentration, according to the University of...
Shallow breathing can create tension and also create fatigue as we literally are taking in less oxygen into the lungs. The remedy? A simple series of breathing exercises that can train you to breathe more deeply through the nose. These can reduce...
Jelly-like discs cushion the 26 vertebrae in your back and help protect your spine. A herniated disc occurs when one or more of your discs ruptures or slips out of alignment. Symptoms include back pain and neck pain, sciatica, weakness and...
Yoga poses, or asanas, are the physical part of a yoga practice. They serve to strengthen your body, increase your endurance and elongate your muscles. The University of Maryland Medical Center reports that yoga asanas also contain physiological...
Becoming a yoga instructor is a rewarding educational experience that will prepare you to teach yoga anywhere in the world. Los Angeles is a hotbed of yoga practice, culture and history, filled with studios teaching myriad yoga styles and home to...
Yoga is an excellent exercise to increase height over time. Doing poses that create traction along the length of the spine decompresses the discs, and there are anecdotal reports of regular yoga practitioners gaining one inch in height. Do poses...
Hormones get out of whack for a variety of reasons, ranging from stress to menopause. Hormone imbalances often make you weary, irritable, depressed or downright cranky. Yoga offers myriad postures to help balance your hormones, with a few top...
Capoeira is a dance-based martial art that originated in Brazil. Traditional Capoeira sparring occurs in a circle, or rota, accompanied by drumming and chanting. The practice incorporates side-stepping motions, leg sweeps and handstands and...
Yoga practitioners have long used breathing exercises to help alleviate numerous medical conditions. Breathing is considered the life force in yoga and many yoga-breathing exercises are designed to control the breath. Familydoctor.org reports that...
After sitting at a computer desk all day, you may come home with a serious case of stiff, aching shoulders. Poor posture combined with repetitive motions is a recipe for developing stiff shoulders. According to "Yoga Journal," the shoulder joint...
Although the ancient art of yoga, which encompasses exercise, nutrition, meditation and relaxation techniques, is more than just another form of physical fitness, it does teach certain postures designed to help the practitioner lose weight and...
Bursitis, the swelling of the bursa near your joints, can be painful enough to make you want to abandon your yoga practice altogether. While MayoClinic.com notes that the best remedy for bursitis is resting until the swelling subsides, your...
Exercises that make you feel grounded bring a sense of feeling rooted to the earth. Grounding exercises help keep you in the moment, instill a sense of safety and confidence, and may reduce panic attacks, according to an article in "Yoga Journal."...
Stress and anxiety can have a profound affect on your blood pressure. When you are stressed out, the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system, known as the fight-or-flight response, tends to take over while the parasympathetic nervous...
Anyone looking for one of the most pure and traditional forms of yoga will find it with hatha yoga, Times Online reports. The ancient practice of hatha yoga uses three different elements to combine opposites and achieve balance. These elements are...
The plank is a handstand and balance pose that strengthens the abdominal and lower-back muscles as well as the shoulders and upper back. The plank has variations that provide different levels of challenge and work diverse muscle groups. For...
Poor posture, tight hip flexors or weakness in the hip and core area can all be signs of pelvic instability. The website Elite Physio explains that the pelvic muscles are responsible for keeping the spine and pelvis in alignment, which in turn...
