Yoga Pilates: April 2006 
Yoga Pilates: April 2006

Sunday, April 30, 2006

Big Advantages in Taking Regular Pilates Classes

The benefits of a Pilates class... Pilates is a technique of exercising devised by Joseph Pilates, a German National who as a frail child turned to exercise to strengthen his body... When he introduced the technique to America, it instantly became a favorite among the dancers, who needed flexibility without bulking the muscles.

From there, the exercise grew to generally everyone who wants a low intensity workout... The benefits if a Pilates class is endless, not only does it help tone your body, it also helps your mind, kind of like yoga, but Pilates is most popular for its application to rehabilitation as well as to those people that are becoming weak with aging.

Pilates and Pilates classes have been done for over 90 years since its introduction in the 1910’s and the benefits have been manifesting themselves since then... Here are a few of the benefits you’ll get when you take a Pilates class.

Improvement in Flexibility - A Pilates class improves your flexibility, it focuses on stretching after all... With every day starting to get something like a picture, nobody moving, stretching is very essential to help tone your body.

Because we tend not to move so much, the muscles become stiff restricting muscle movement, Pilates classes help with flexibility by stretching your muscles, and for all those who does gym work or weights, stretching also help avoid injuries.

Better Posture - Most of the time, we only do exercises that focus on certain muscles, the abs the arms the legs, this makes some parts developed and some slightly lagging behind... A Pilates class helps you exercise all of your body parts and it can correct all the imbalances that you may find in your body.

The core muscle groups, the pelvis abdomen and buttocks, are being exercise more often giving making the body more symmetrical and aligned... Pilates classes essentially strengthen your muscles and lengthens it as well which improves your body shape as well as your posture, and with stretching exercises, it also makes your muscle elastic.

Stress Management - Stress is probably one of the most observable cons of modern day living, Pilates classes improves the body as well as the mind to help it cope with stress, it focuses your mind while doing relaxing breathing exercises, which relaxes the body and eases stress.

Mind and Mental Health - One other benefits of a Pilates Class is the overall mental wellness that it provides... By breathing correctly, you improve blood supply and flow to the brain... With the improve circulation, toxins that are in the body gets released, giving the brain more, for the lack of a better word, 'breathing room' giving you a sounder, more alert mind.

Develops Your Core - The body’s core, is one of the main focuses of a Pilates class, simply because since it is the core muscles of your body, (near the spine and the lower pelvis) it facilitates movement and carries most of parts of the body, a stronger core means as stronger body.

Smoother Motion - Pilates classes, unlike yoga, improve motion and make it, smoother to move from one position to another... By working many muscle groups at once in a continuous motion, the muscles get used to working together, making the pattern smother, and less strenuous... This smoother movement helps you avoid injuries as well as good posture.

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Saturday, April 29, 2006

Yoga Practice Benefits Go Far Beyond Time in Poses

The benefit of yoga practice goes far beyond the actual time you spend in the poses... One of the most common reasons why people begin practicing yoga is to improve their health and well-being... Yoga means union, it is a union of the mind, body and breath, so all aspects of your life are impacted by your practice.

A major benefit of yoga is physical...

Yoga improves your flexibility, the stretching that you engage in during every practice helps lengthen and stretch muscles, which helps reduce the risk of injuries.

It helps to improve your balance - The majority of yoga practices include some type of balancing in the poses... A significant number of people, especially as they began to get older, start to have problems with balance, which can lead to major injuries due to falls... By having a greater sense of balance, you are able to move more easily and safely.

Yoga can help reduce pain - Tense muscles often contribute to pain. Relaxing muscles helps to minimize muscle tension and the pain that is associated with it. Also, breathing deeply into muscles helps lessen pain by altering your perception of it.

It tones your muscles - Yoga works all the muscles in your body, it helps strengthen and tone them and also builds endurance and stamina.

It helps to increase your level of energy - Carrying tension in your body takes an enormous toll on your energy reserves... By learning how to relax through your yoga practice, you benefit by enjoying higher levels of energy so you can more thoroughly enjoy your daily activities.

Yoga helps promote a sense of relaxation - Most people breathe high in their chests... This not only does not allow them to get sufficient oxygen, it also triggers the stress response, which contributes to feelings of anxiety... Breathing deeply as practiced in yoga, helps relax your muscles and also brings much needed oxygen to your cells... The deep sense of relaxation also leads to better quality sleep.

Each yoga practice ends with some type of relaxation... Since your body and mind are one, by relaxing your body you also relax your mind... Many yoga experts believe that a relaxation pose is the most beneficial pose in any yoga practice.

Another benefit of yoga is mental...

Yoga clears your mind and helps you focus your attention - During your practice, you are focusing your attention on your breath and turning inward... This concentration allows you to withdraw from the distractions in your environment, a significant benefit of yoga practice is that you can take this ability to focus your attention into every aspect of your life... You can be fully present with whatever you are doing instead of worrying about tomorrow or regretting yesterday... Not only will your actions be more productive, you can also enjoy them in a greater way.

Yoga helps reduces stress - Deep breathing helps reduce the hormones that are released when you are feeling overwhelmed, overloaded, and frazzled... The internal focus that accompanies the poses helps create a relaxation response in your body.

Yoga can help release stuck emotions - Often stuck emotions find their way into our bodies... Remember, your mind and body are one, and if you are suppressing any painful emotions, you will often experience that as pain in some part of your body... A benefit of yoga is that by breathing deeply into places in your body that hold tension, you can help release the emotions that may be buried there... You can then examine these emotions and let go of those that do not serve you.

Also, as you take your body past the limits of where it has been, you start to feel that you can move past other limitations in your life as well.

You gain a sense of peace and tranquility - Most yoga practices include some time for meditation, regular meditation helps your mind reach a state of inner calm... It helps you gain control over your thinking instead of being at the mercy of wayward thoughts.

As you can see, the benefit of yoga has far reaching effects in every area of your life... Maintain a regular yoga practice, and you will see for yourself, how yoga can benefit you too.

Della Menechella is a yoga and fitness enthusiast who has been involved in fitness for over thirty years... Her website found at Beauty-Fitness-Yoga-Source.com is filled with practical information about how you can make yoga and fitness a positive part of your life... Visit the site and get your free meditation e-book, and more information about the benefits of yoga practice.

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Friday, April 28, 2006

Basics of Pilates Exercise and How it Can Help You

If you're highly informed or even if you're one of those people that just stay home, no doubt you have heard of the 'Pilates' exercise... Pilates exercises sometimes used an acronym for Proximal Integrating Latent Agile Toning Exercise; it aims to stretch and to strengthen your body that is why most contortionists and ballet dancers get into it.

But just because people are taking it for physical improvement, and weight loss, it doesn't mean that a Pilates exercise is a cardiovascular exercise... Pilates is basically a low intensity exercise, but you could still exert a bit, but not like how much you exert during an aerobics class... Most instructors recommend Pilates with aerobics and other forms of exercise for best effects.

The Pilates Exercise was invented by Joseph Pilates, a German National, as a self exercise... Pilates was born a fragile child, sickly and asthmatic, so he took to exercise to improve his body... When he was a bit older, he was living in France, and was arrested as an 'enemy alien'.

During his internment, he was assigned in the medical facilities of the prison and this is where he put the power of Pilates into use, as rehabilitation exercises for the sick... He attached springs to Hospital beds for Later he moved to the United States and opened his own Studio.

Since then the Pilates exercises has gained its reputation for helping improve the overall physical state of the body... Pilates exercise is a series of breathing techniques combined with stretching and a simple machine... Pilates exercises improve the body’s core, which includes the muscles in the abdomen, back, and buttocks.

Some say it is better than yoga overall because it strengthens the body through improving posture strength and flexibility through stretching... The machines used in Pilates, are there to challenge the body, by making it stay in certain positions while moving the other parts in differing directions, thereby training the body to endure strain, thus increasing strength.

The basic ideology of the 'Pilates' exercise is the use of the body's mental ability to improve movement, efficiency and muscle control, which is also why they say that Pilate exercise somehow improves one's mental state... Pilates also makes you aware of proper posture, due to the exercises that you do, it also develops the muscles in the back and abdomen, further contributing to your good posture.

Pilate exercise also uses breathing techniques, which further increases mental focus... And probably one of the greatest focuses of Pilates is flexibility strength of the muscles, it is this ideology that made Pilates popular among dancers when it first started out.

Many Pilates enthusiasts and users have testified to the effectiveness of Pilates... With regular classes, the bodies become well balanced and stronger... Some say that after each workout, you can instantly feel the difference it has made to the parts of the body, mainly the legs back and abs.

Aside from increased strength, there is also the topic of weight loss, this is what most people aim for when they do Pilates exercises, and this is achieved indeed when you do Pilates... Other results of Pilates practice include increased energy levels, higher endurance, better flexibility, great abdominal workouts, and overall physical well being.

Pilates exercises are also used for the rehabilitation of physical injuries, because of its low intensity level and focused form of exercise, some doctors say that it is best for the treatment of injuries on the limbs.

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Thursday, April 27, 2006

Understanding the Different Types of Yoga Practiced

Yoga is becoming a more and more popular activity in the Western world today... The number of places holding Yoga classes is on the increase and there is a plethora of different types of Yoga... With a choice of Hatha Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, Power Yoga, Iyengar Yoga, Bikram Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga and many more it can be easy to get confused.

This article will hopefully help you to understand the difference between the most popular types of Yoga so you can choose which type is right for you.

Hatha Yoga - Pronounced in Sanskrit (an ancient classical language of India) "Ha" means "sun" and "tha" means "moon". This type of Yoga is relatively slow paced, gentle type of Yoga and is a good place to start if you are completely new to Yoga and don't know any of the asanas (poses)... Like all types of Yoga, Hatha Yoga aims to unite the mind, body and spirit.

Ashtanga Yoga - This is the type of Yoga that I practice on a regular basis and means "eight limbs" in Sanskrit... It's a fast moving, intense style of Yoga practice and is based on a progressive set sequence of asanas, synchronized with the breath... Ashtanga Yoga can be quite physically demanding as you constantly move from one asana in the sequence to the next, so you'll find that it will improve your stamina as well as your flexibility and strength.

Power Yoga - This is a western interpretation of Yoga and is based on Ashtanga Yoga... A Power Yoga class may not necessarily stick to the exact sequence of poses like Ashtanga Yoga does, but it does involve practicing a series of poses without stopping and starting.

Iyengar Yoga - This type of Yoga is based on teachings by B.K.S Igengar and concentrates on the correct alignment and form of the body... Unlike Ashtanga Yoga, there is an emphasis on holding each pose for a long period of time rather than moving constantly from one pose to the next... Iyengar Yoga uses props such as blocks and straps to help align the body into the different poses.

Vinyasa Yoga - Put simply, Vinyasa means breath synchronized movement and is another fast paced type of Yoga, with an emphasis on breathing... A practice typically starts with sun salutations and moves on to more intense stretching, throughout the practice each pose is balanced with a counter pose.

Bikram Yoga - otherwise known as "Hot Yoga", is practiced in a room heated to 105 degrees, with a humidity of around 40%... Generally a sequence of 26 different poses is practiced during a Bikram Yoga class and the hot temperature helps to loosen muscles... Due to the high temperature most people sweat a lot during the class and this helps to cleanse the body of toxins.

If you're just starting out or have never done any Yoga before, I recommend trying a few different types of yoga to find out what you like best... Remember, there's no rule that says you have to stick to one type of Yoga... I like Ashtanga Yoga best, but I also go to occasional Iyengar and Hatha Yoga classes for a bit of variety.

To find out more about the different types of Yoga please visit the Free Online Yoga Guide at YogaMentor.com

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Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Hello there! Welcome to Yoga Pilates Information

Hello there! Welcome to Yoga Pilates Information... Here you will learn about yoga and pilates, yoga poses, yoga books, yoga instruction, yoga music, yoga accessories, plus yoga clothing, yoga dvds, yoga equipment, yoga vhs video and much more.

- Yoga Pilates

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