What is Yoga Really All About?

Yoga is something you may or may not have tried. Perhaps you practice yoga all of the time and wouldn’t want to live without it. Or maybe you find it a little strange and put it into the category of “new age” therapies that are not for you. It helps to gain a better understanding of what it is really all about in order to demystify it. Let us delve into the philosophy that underlies yoga.

Yoga is a holistic therapy that has as its purpose the redirecting of negative energy and stress in order that stress will not have the opportunity to build up in the body and lead to problems in the form of disease and illness. In fact the preventative approach is what makes up most holistic practices.

Yoga practitioners (also sometimes referred to as yogis) feel that what we want most from life is to find joy and happiness.

However they believe that many people settle for so much less. They feel that at some point in time the desire for deeper and lasting happiness is something that everyone wants to find. This is what yoga seeks to do – discover a deeper feeling of bliss that comes from inside, as opposed to fleeting pleasures that come from the outside.

If a person feels that their life is lacking in bliss, joy and a sense of purpose then yoga can help them to find meaning that comes from within, as opposed to meaning that is sought through external avenues such as their work or the money they earn. Yoga is something that can be practiced at any age but many people do not make it a part of their lives until they find themselves needing more from their lives then they presently are receiving.

As the spirit evolves in your life (which is what yoga taps into – the spirit that lies within everyone) an individual can discover a greater sense of both peace and tranquility within themselves. This comes from the core of what makes you who you are.

As your life progresses and your spirit grows wiser and more insightful you are brought to a new stage of your life in which you yearn for a greater sense of well-being, and want more happiness, joy and peace. Yoga can help bring you that. You can work towards renewing and enriching your spirit and this can motivate you to higher stages of growth.

Yoga comes out of a Buddhist tradition and got its start in China. It has been practiced there for centuries where it is widely popular. Here we have looked at yoga in an abstract manner. If you are the kind of person who prefers concrete concepts then yoga can best be described as being “an applied science of the body and the mind.”

Practicing yoga regularly and not just once in a while can benefit you physically in that it helps with balance and poise as well as helping to keep the body strong and healthy. It helps you to grow, develop and thrive. It works well when combined with a healthy lifestyle of eating nutritiously and getting plenty of physical activity. Yoga can center your mind and keep it calm, serene and clear which will enable you to turn your focus inwardly to listen to your spirit.

Yoga can help many to discover a path they didn’t know existed and which leads to true happiness and fulfillment.

Samantha

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Top 10 Ways to Reduce Stress and Anxiety in Your Life

Stress and anxiety is very real and there’s no escaping it entirely. The key isn’t to try to rid stress and anxiety but to find ways to manage it effectively.

Here we look at the top 10 ways help you control anxiety and stress better so you don’t feel so overwhelmed and drained.

1.    Eat healthy foods:

Eat foods rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. It is also important to consume fiber and essential amino acids. Consume fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, low fat dairy products and fish. Stay yourself away from foods that can do you nothing but harm.

2.    Exercise on a regular basis:

Exercise is good for more than just keeping your heart strong and keeping your body in shape. Exercise is excellent for relieving stress and anxiety. Look for opportunities to add more physical activity to your life. Not only will exercise help to relax you but it will also help you sleep better at night. For those who feel they’re so far out of shape or don’t have time consider a program like the Pace 12 Minute Fitness Revolution Progam.

3.    Meditate your stress away:

Meditation involves a state similar to sleep where the body and mind are quieted and become completely focused on a person’s internal world. Meditation is a type of inner consciousness where you must block out everything in your surroundings in order to concentrate on your breathing.

4.    Add yoga to your life:

Yoga is a physical and mental discipline that is an amazing stress/anxiety reliever. Yoga is a set of exercises made up of stationary poses as well as a variety of movements. It also combines deep breathing to lend itself to a manner of relaxing the mind, body and soul. Use this Ancient Practice to Create Harmonious Living in Your 21st Century Life.

5.    Be mindful of the present:

Mindfulness is all about living in the present moment and relishing it with no thoughts of the past or future intruding on your mindset. Mindfulness as stress relief can be as simple as going for a walk and focusing on every step you take, to the exclusion of everything else. Mindfulness is often thought to be a type of meditation.

6.    Use EFT for stress reduction:

EFT stands for Emotional Freedom Technique (or Emotional Freedom Tapping). It is an alternative treatment with psycho-therapeutic roots that is based on a theory in which stress and negative emotions disrupt the body’s energy field and therefore need to be released. The release comes by way of tapping the fingers on specific points of the body. Discover more about EFT Tapping and How to Train Your Fingers to Perform Therapy here.

7.    Visualize a calmer state:

Close your eyes and focus on a particular scene in your mind. Imagine yourself placed in a stressful situation where you remain calm, cool and collected. The power to visualize yourself being relaxed and able to cope well with stress is not easy to do but it can become easier the more you work at it. Visualization can help you to imagine stress disappearing from your life!

8.    Try deep breathing exercises:

Deep breathing comes from deep down in the abdomen as opposed to more constrictive breathing that comes from the chest. Deep breathing is a stress buster that can bring instant stress relief. The good thing about deep breathing exercises is that they are easy to learn and they can be practiced anywhere. You can find more information about Breathing for Meditation here.

9.    Relax with progressive muscle relaxation:

Progressive muscle relaxation involves tensing and relaxing the different muscle groups throughout the body, just not all at the same time. Begin with your face muscles. Tense them and hold the muscles in place for approximately 10 seconds and then allow total relaxation to set in for 10 seconds. Continue to do the same thing as you work your way down your body. This is a very basic way to let tension go.

10.    Be realistic about the realities of life:

Be realistic about what you can and cannot do. It is easy to become overwhelmed if you say yes to everything that is asked of you. Practice the art of saying no. Don’t take on more than you can handle as this can lead to a tremendous stress overload.

Samantha

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Seeking Out Yoga for Back Pain

If you have back pain and cannot find relief, then it is time to consider yoga for back pain.

Yoga for back pain is a viable alternative option as it is effective at reducing and relieving many types of back pain. It is important that you first go see your doctor in order for the source of your back pain to be diagnosed. There are a multitude of causes for back pain and it is essential that you first determine if medically yoga is safe for you.

Practitioners believe that yoga for back pain works because it improves balance, flexibility and strength when it is done on a regular basis. The movements performed in yoga start at the most basic for beginners and build to higher levels. This allows the body to gradually learn how to distribute weight evenly on both sides. This also serves to improve posture in a natural kind of fashion.

Stress on the back is often caused from too much pressure being placed on one side as opposed to the other. In particular, this can happen to the sacroiliac joint. Yoga balances out the movements of the body and helps to realign weight distribution so your left side carries the same amount of pressure as your right.

In the same way, many kinds of back pain are caused by tightness in the back and muscles that are weak. Not to worry- yoga for back pain can help with this! Yoga works to counteract tightness that often comes from sitting too long at work and/or not sitting in an ergonomically friendly chair. It also helps those who tend to slouch and therefore scrunch up their back muscles. Weak muscles often arise because of muscles that are not used very often in day-to-day activities. Yoga for back pain can work to improve this problem and have your back feeling much better in no time!

There are many different types of yoga poses. For a student of yoga, the poses are aimed at making them more aware of their bodies and how they move before then teaching the repositioning of the body.

To learn some beginner yoga poses that can improve the health of your back, visit http://yoga.about.com/od/yogaandbackpain/ss/backpain01.htm.  If you are more at the intermediary level of yoga and want to learn ways to prevent back pain in regards to flexibility and strength then visit http://yoga.about.com/od/yogaandbackpain/ss/backpain02.htm.

Yoga and back pain can help you to improve the overall health of your spine. Participating in yoga on a regular basis can give way to a more supple and graceful form that is less prone to injuries.

Samantha

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