Yoga for Women

If a woman wants to live a healthy life devoid of any stress, she should start her day with some gentle yoga practise.

First of all, when you roll out of your bed, sit on a yoga mat on the floor and hug your knees to your chest. Then raise your legs in the air and stay this way until your head clears. Then stand up and drop your forehead as near to your shins as possible until you feel ready to tackle the day ahead.

Waking up doesn't have to consist of pouring coffee down your throat to shock yourself into life.
Many women start working against themselves as soon as they wake up - caffeine, cigarettes, intensive exercises or no exercise at all. There are a lot of faddish like get fit programs around today have a very violent approach - e.g. do 50 leg raises or pound your body jogging on the pavement or jump around to a rhythm not of your own making.

Your approach to fitness and well-being and to life in general should be a more gentle one - working with concentration and determination at your own pace without competing with anyone else. Don't be ruthless with yourself and you won't be ruthless with other people.

Your routine should ideally center on 28 postures drawn from the 5,000-year-old technique whose name comes from the Sanskrit for sun, moon and join together. The exercises should range from deep breathing to pretzel-like stretches.

Yoga provides many benefits and is a great start to your day because:

- It helps you maintain flexibility, build strength and muscle definition and even
- It is strenuous, but not painful, and it gives every inch of your body a terrific workout.
- It is very helpful in strengthening a body that has been plagued by injury.

Try to spend 30 to 90 minutes on your yoga routine, before you have breakfast, five or six days a week.

Avoid the temptation to only go with your strong points - like weight-lifting if you've got great muscles. It's the thing that you find the hardest that you need to work on the most.

Don't space out during your yoga practise. Use that time to have a private conversation with yourself: 'How is my balance and coordination today?' , 'How do I feel physically and mentally?', 'Is there something I should pay special attention to?'