Yoga Poses:

• Arm Stretch Pose

  This pose gives a wholesome stretch to the body, from head to heels. It increases endurance level & teaches breathing control & controlled body movements. The Arm Stretch Pose is very helpful in easing the joints of knees, shoulders & ankles. It relieves backaches & regularizes blood circulation. Sit on your bent knees with your feet a little wider than your hips & your toes pressing firmly on the floor. Keep your hands at the back & sit between your buttocks but widen your calf muscles to avoid sitting on them. You should be in a position where your arms are touching the floor on your sides, your ankles are outside your buttocks & your inner calves are touching the outer thighs. Slowly, raise your arms to the height of shoulders while inhaling & turn your palms to the roof while exhaling. Now, stretch your arms over your head while inhaling & lock your fingers together. Turn your palms towards the ceiling while exhaling slowly & lift up from the belly into your shoulders & chest with a powerful push. Bring your arms down while exhaling & interlock your arms behind your back. Now, bring your arms back to your sides while inhaling. Repeat this exercise for 2 to 3 times.

• Neck Stretch Pose

  Neck stretch pose is meant to relieve soreness of neck muscles which is a general complaint from people who work for long hours in their offices in front of the computers. The soreness develops & is aggravated due to lack of proper back support, improper posture while working & bending excessively & continuously on the keyboard. You can perform Neck Stretch Pose while sitting at your desk or while standing. It also improves blood circulation in the neck area. You can either sit or stand at your office desk & pull your shoulders back & up. Close your eyes & inhale & exhale slowly & then bring your chin down towards your chest. You should stay in this position for 10 to 20 seconds but only your neck should move & not your shoulders. Now, raise your chin & bend your head backwards till you are able to see the ceiling. Hold this position for another 10 to 20 seconds & then come back to your normal position. You can bend your head to either side of you & repeat this exercise similarly. At the end rotate your head slowly for 20 seconds & then return it to normal position.

• Prayer Pose

  The Prayer Pose can also be said as 'namaste'. It can be performed while you are seated or are standing. This pose develops & enhances the flexibility of the wrists & is suitable for people of all ages. It is also good for your arms, chest, shoulders & elbows. The Prayer Pose can also be done in the reverse direction but if you are suffering from arm, elbow or shoulder problems then avoid this pose. Stand in the mountain pose & bend your elbows in such a way that your palms are in the front center of your chest. Your fingers should point at the ceiling & your elbows should be kept below your wrists. While your shoulders are down, bring your chest towards the thumb. Repeat this for a couple of times.

• Shoulder Stretch Pose

  The shoulder stretch pose aims at the shoulder girdle area to ease tightness from the back of your shoulders. It involves the heels, shoulders, hips & arms. The Shoulder Stretch Pose makes the shoulder muscles more flexible & enhances the movement of the upper body. It also releases tension in the upper back, neck, chest & arms & is especially recommended for those with collapsed chest, rounded shoulders & tense neck. Sit on an exercise pad & stretch your shoulders back while inhaling. Now, exhale while moving your shoulders forward. Take care that your arm follows your shoulder movement & bring your head to the center at the end. Repeat this for 3 to 5 times.

• Spinal Roll 

  The Spinal Roll Pose is also known as Spinal Rocking or the Rocking Exercise. This pose removes stiffness & drowsiness that we feel when we wake up in the morning. The vertebrae get a good massage while doing this exercise & the flexibility of the spine increases. The Spinal Roll Pose aids in delaying old age & cures insomnia. Sit down on an exercise pad, draw your knees & bend your head down. Join your hands under your knees & round your spine. Now, swing back & forth like a rocking chair while keeping your head slightly bent. Do this exercise for 3 to 5 times & then lie down until your breath comes back to normal. Rocking can be combined with deep breathing.

Yoga and Healthy Living

You're never too young or too old to reap the health benefits of yoga. Find out how all types of yoga can improve your health.

Yoga, the Sanskrit word for "union", is a practice that uses posture and breathing techniques to induce relaxation and improve strength, and its health benefits may surpass those of any other activity. Whether you practice yoga to relax, stretch, breathe, meditate, or simply because it's in fashion, you may not realize the numerous health benefits of yoga. And while there are many different kinds of yoga, ranging from the more gentle hatha yoga to the more strenuous, like Bikram yoga (which is performed in a 105°F room) or power yoga, every form of yoga improves your health from head to toe. Here are some of yoga's many health benefits.

Benefits of Yoga to Your Bones, Muscles, and Joints

• The physical benefits of yoga are myriad. Yoga keeps your body strong, as it involves all the muscles in your body to hold and balance yoga asanas (poses). The various yoga postures strengthen your feet, legs, hands, abdominals, lower back, legs, and shoulders.
• Yoga's stretching and breathing exercises improve your flexibility, helping joints, tendons, and muscles stay limber. People suffering from osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis will see a noticeable improvement in their stiffness, pain, and other arthritic symptoms by practicing yoga poses and postures.
• Yoga improves your endurance, especially the more athletic forms of yoga such as ashtanga yoga, power yoga, vinyasa yoga, and Bikram yoga. These rigorous yoga practices follow a specific sequence of poses (asanas) that become more challenging as you progress. Unlike the more gentle hatha yoga, the forms of ashtagna yoga, power yoga, vinyasa yoga, and Bikram yoga require you to keep your body in constant motion between poses, resulting in a strenuous cardiovascular workout and improved core strength.
• Hatha yoga can relieve chronic back and neck pain, since the poses and postures gently stretch and strengthen your back and neck muscles.
• Yoga is often prescribed to help heal various injuries, including repetitive strain injuries, knee and back injuries, pulled hamstrings, even minor skin burns. Of course, you should consult your physician before using yoga as a treatment for any injury!
• Yoga is an excellent weight-bearing exercise that can improve your bone density. This is particularly beneficial for women approaching menopause, since yoga can help ward off osteoporosis, or thinning of the bone.

Benefits of Yoga to the Cardiovascular System

Yoga has tremendous health benefits for your heart. Most notably:

• The gentler forms of yoga lower your blood pressure because the asanas (yoga poses, postures, and yoga positions) keep blood flowing evenly throughout your body while you focus on your breathing.
• People suffering from hypertension can benefit from yoga tremendously, as hatha yoga can lower your heart rate and blood pressure.
• Many practitioners claim that yoga has also lowered their cholesterol.
• Power yoga is an excellent form of cardio conditioning, which strengthens core muscles while it keeps blood and oxygen circulating throughout your body.

Benefits of Yoga on Mental Health

• Yoga benefits anyone's mental health by helping him or her relax, and it is an effective form of psychological therapy. Yoga reduces anxiety and stress, resulting in better health, better mood, and better concentration throughout the day. Yoga has been used to help treat a wide variety of emotional and mental disorders, including acute anxiety, depression, and mood swings.
• Even children can benefit from yoga. Those with attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity can learn to relax and get control by using yoga breathing and yoga asanas.
• Because yoga is a form of meditation, it results in a sense of inner peace and purpose, which has far-reaching health benefits.
• Yoga has been used to help heal victims of torture or other trauma.

Benefits of Yoga on Other Health Conditions

• Do you have frequent headaches? Yoga can rid you of tension headaches and migraines because yoga circulates blood and oxygen to your head, which can often prevent headaches from starting.
• A regular yoga practice helps boost antioxidants throughout your body, resulting in a stronger immune system and improved ability to heal quickly from disease or injury.
• Yoga can help you lose weight and maintain a healthy weight throughout your life. Power yoga is a vigorous form of yoga that burns calories, resulting in weight loss.
• Many women going through menopause report an easing of symptoms when they begin practicing yoga.

Benefits of Yoga in Everyday Life

• Yoga can help cure insomnia, as regular yoga practice leads to better and deeper sleep.
• Yoga can help fight fatigue and maintain your energy throughout the day.
• Yoga is an effective treatment for a variety of autoimmune diseases because it can reduce the symptoms these diseases often cause, such as stiffness, malaise, fatigue, and weakness.

Regular yoga practice will create multiple and noticeable benefits to your health. Try some yoga postures today! And as your instructor will no doubt tell you at the end of your practice: Namaste.

7 Fastest Ways to Lose Weight …

I was always wondering if there were certain rules of a fast yet healthy weight loss.

And after doing some serious browsing, I got an answer for you – Yes, there actually are such ways!

In fact, there are 7 of them. And they all look pretty simple!

Do you think you can manage them?

1. Drink water …

No, you don’t have to fill up like a tub, but ensure that you drink 8 to 10 glasses of water every day. Don’t substitute for juice. Your body should always be hydrated. Your kidneys will thank you as it can easily flush out the waste. With adequate water intake your body will be able to metabolize fat more effectively.  And if you have a glass of water 10-15 minutes prior to your meal, you will feel full once you start eating.  Another fun fact, did you know that you can lose 62 calories by drinking ice cold water?  But it’s better to drink it between meals or before meals, so that your food gets digested properly.

2. Eat 5 times a day …

Start with breakfast. The more you eat for breakfast, the less food you will want to eat at night.  Please, don’t skip this meal as you’ll end up devouring everything in sight for the rest of the day. You don’t need to gobble up 5 large meals, just 3 meals of a sensible size and 2 delicious yet low calorie snacks. Eat sensibly so your body doesn’t crave for food. If you treat your body right it won’t demand for more attention!

3. Use weights …

Needless to say, exercise is crucial to weight loss. You can’t expect to sit on the couch all day, sip water and lose weight. Join a good gym that lets you work with weights. It will help you build muscle and your metabolism rate will increase. You’ll soon see the fat come off and in its place muscle will develop.

4. Use smaller plates in dark colors …

The hotel industry has changed the way we look at food. Today a regular burger can feed an elephant. Well, almost! Check your portions the next time you dine out. You don’t need to finish every morsel.  So, what you should do is ask your waiter to put half of your meal into a doggy bag before it even makes to the table.  This way you will not be tempted and you will feel full eating less. 

5. Read between the lines …

Food and drink products are all out to get you. They scream ‘Buy me! Buy me!’. It could be ‘fat free’ but it could still have a lot of calories. You need to analyze the nutrition label on the cover.  The number one example of this is sodas.  Find out what’s good for you and what isn’t. Knowing in advance can help you stay away from products that are calorie-enriched.  Oh, and when shopping for groceries, avoid the aisles with cookies, frozen pizzas and ice-cream – it’s not the best place to test your will-power.
See these 10 Tips on How to Read Food Labels …

6. Keep a journal …

It helps to document what you eat. This way you can keep track and evaluate your eating habits at the end of each week. And if you’re a little more tech-savvy, then you could always maintain a weight-loss blog. Ask your dietician to look at your journal and suggest improvement points.  I found it helpful to measure myself with a meter every morning.  Every time I skipped dinner, my waist was a little bit smaller – and that’s what gave me the strength to get my appetite under control.

7. Don’t punish yourself …

Go easy on yourself at least one day in a week. If you begin to dislike your diet then there’s something wrong. Find a diet that suits your body type and your lifestyle.
You will definitely see results with these 7 fastest ways to lose weight. If you’re motivated enough to stick to the regime, you’ll get there faster than ever!  Stay committed!

I can’t wait to hear from you about your weight-loss learnings, guys!  And if you know other great ways to loose weight, please share them in the comments, I’d love to hear how you tackle the weight problem!

10 Tips on How to Stay Healthy

  Tip #1. Eat a Nutritious Breakfast
After a long nights sleep it is important to refuel. It will help you do better in school. Some ideas for quick, healthy breakfast: Peanut butter on toasted whole-grain bread, Yogurt with fruit, Cheese slices on toast, and Fruit on cereals.




Tip #2. Eat a variety of foods.
Your body needs nutrients and many different vitamins and minerals from a variety of foods. Balancing food choices from the Food Guide Pyramid and checking nutrition labels will help you to get the nutrients you need.

 
Tip #3. Get moving....don’t be a couch potato
Walk, bike or jog when going somewhere. Climb stairs instead of taking an escalator. Try to do something active for a total of 30 minutes every day.

Tip #4. Participate in activities you enjoy.
Always start with warm-ups to get the muscles going. Do 20 minutes of an aerobic activity followed by activities that will make you stronger like push-ups or sit-ups.





  Tip #5. Choose healthy snacks.
It is wise to choose snacks from different food groups. Some choices would be: graham crackers, an apple or celery sticks with peanut butter and raisins.

 



   
Tip #6. Include whole grains and fiber in your diet.
Try breads such as whole-wheat, bagels and pita. Spaghetti and oatmeal are also good choices.










Tip #7. Participate in physical activities at school.
This would include physical education and sports. It will make you feel good about yourself.



 

Tip #8. Drink plenty of water.
Your body is 65% water. That shows how important water is to your body. Make sure you drink a total of 8 glasses of water each day. That can inlcude the water from foods such as fruits.

Tip #9. Include others in your activities.
Take a dog for a walk. Walk or workout with a friend.



Tip #10. Having FUN is important.
Try new things, this can be in activities or food. Never be afraid to try....who knows you might just

What is Healthy Living?

Healthy Living is about making healthy choices every day; healthy choices that keep us fit physically, mentally and spiritually. Eating well, being physically active and not smoking are three of the best things we can do to stay healthy. By staying healthy we can help prevent chronic diseases and reduce our risk of becoming ill or seriously injured.

Many factors affect the health of humans such as family history, gender, culture, education, employment, income, the environment, our coping skills and social support networks. As individuals and groups, there are many things we can do to positively influence our physical, mental, social and spiritual health and well-being.

Living healthier is a personal choice, but everyone has a role to play. Individuals, families, communities, governments and other organizations can work together to create environments and conditions that support healthy living. Some examples include creating smoke-free public spaces, making nutritious foods easily accessible or developing communities and buildings that promote physical activity.