Yoga for Insomnia

Do you have insomnia? Read on to find out more about Yoga for Insomnia.

Sleep is essential and a good night's sleep can help you feel good, look good and think clearly.

But sleep does not always come easily. If you sometimes have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, you are not the only one. A 1991 Gallup study found that more than a third of all Americans suffer from either occasional or chronic insomnia.

More recent studies have shown that nearly a quarter of the population regularly cannot go to, or stay asleep at night, and every year doctors write out more than 14 million prescriptions for sleeping tablets.

The causes of sleeplessness are many and varied. 'It can be due to a medical condition, such as chronic pain from rheumatism or arthritis,' says Professor Jim Horne, who runs the Sleep

Research Laboratory at Loughborough University. 'Or it can be chemical, as a result of drinking tea, coffee or alcohol. Chronic or long-term insomnia is often associated with depression or anxiety, and environmental factors certainly contribute.'

Immediate relief is available, in the form of hypnotic agents, for persons who have difficulty in falling or remaining asleep or who cannot obtain restful, restorative slumber. However, long-term improvement usually involves behavioral therapy. These therapeutic approaches must be integrated if the patient's short- and long-term needs are to be addressed.

Yoga can help you if you are an insomniac. The benefits of yoga include less stress, a greater sense of well being, more oxygen in the blood stream and so the list goes on. The breathing techniques and relaxation techniques that you use in yoga can help you to fall asleep more quickly and certain yoga poses also help insomnia as they increase the blood circulation to the sleep center in the brain.

My Experience with Bikram Yoga

Everyone has heard of yoga and knows of it as a series of postures to stretch and rejuvenate your body. What is Bikram yoga and what differentiates it from other forms of yoga?

Bikram yoga is a specific style of yoga founded by Bikram Choudhury. Bikram yoga is often referred to as hot yoga as it is practiced in a room heated to 105 degrees with a humidity of 50%.

The origin of this type of yoga is spiritually derived from Hinduism and regionally from Yoga College of India. Bikram yoga consists of 26 asanas or postures and two breathing exercises.

The word asana translates to the word "seat" which refers to the spirit in relation to the divine. Asanas are intended to lead back to sitting in meditation. The practice of asanas improve flexibility and tendon strength.

Asanas are meant to be done in conjunction with pranayama or breathing work. Breathing should be through the nose and natural. To receive maximum benefit from practicing asanas, all tension and tightness in the body should consciously be let go.

A glass of water before practicing asanas enhances the experience and asanas should not be done on a full stomach. The practice of Bikram yoga is meant not only to improve muscle strength and flexibility, but also to establish a balance of our physical beings in relation to the divine.

Yoga is a path to attain a balance of the body, mind and spirit. Yoga can, if done correctly, be a means to control the ongoing complaint in all of our lives, stress. Optimum health is the ultimate goal for everyone of us. Health does not just refer to our physical beings but also to our mental attitudes and spiritual growth.

Bikram yoga addresses all of these factors of our well being. When I visited my daughter in California, she signed me up for my first experience with hot yoga. Being in my fifties, I was a little concerned about the prospect of being a complete amateur at any kind of yoga and the possibility of being the oldest participant in the class.

Well, I wasn't the oldest in the class and the instructor was patient with his teaching. I was happily surprised at my ability to do so many of the postures. My self realization during the hot yoga class was my need to "stress" or hurry up at all times.

I needed to remind myself to relax, breathe slowly and through my nose. The heated room was something I thought I would not be able to tolerate. It did add to the yoga session and is probably one of the reasons I did not have aching muscles or pulled tendons the next day.

During some of the postures, I was keenly aware of my need to improve my balance and my sense of my physical position in space. For ongoing achievement of balance, I have been practicing the art of yoga via an instructional DVD in my home.

Particularly useful to me, in addition to the improvement of balance is the yoga reminds me to slow down and relax the tension in my body. The concept of the heated room in Bikram yoga is to diminish the risk of injuries and to allow you to go deeper into each posture.

The perspiration experienced during hot yoga enhances the release of toxins. The postures consist of warm up poses that can be done prior to a yoga class. There are standing poses and seated poses. The twist yoga poses have the purpose of strengthening your back, toning the abdomen and helping with digestion.

Inverted poses help you with your circulation. There's supine and backbend poses and finally the finishing poses to end your yoga session with relaxation.

Bikram yoga is designed to assist you to lose weight, tone muscles and increase blood circulation. Since this form of yoga helps lower stress levels, it can improve mental clarity and focus. This, in turn, enhances our overall levels of performance both on the job and in our personal life pursuits.

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Danna Schneider is the cofounder of http://www.dietingmagazine.com , where you can find information on weightloss products, fitness equipment and diet reviews, and dieting tips for losing weight. She also founded http://www.fitnessnewsmagazine.com , a site dedicated to the latest offerings and breakthroughs in weight loss and fitness, updated constantly with news and tips on fitness equipment, accessories, and the hottes fitness trends.

Bikram Yoga (aka Hot Yoga)

My Experience with Bikram Yoga

Everyone has heard of yoga and knows of it as a series of postures to stretch and rejuvenate your body. What is Bikram yoga and what differentiates it from other forms of yoga?
Bikram yoga is a specific style of yoga founded by Bikram Choudhury. Bikram yoga is often referred to as hot yoga as it is practiced in a room heated to 105 degrees with a humidity of 50%.

The origin of this type of yoga is spiritually derived from Hinduism and regionally from Yoga College of India. Bikram yoga consists of 26 asanas or postures and two breathing exercises.
The word asana translates to the word "seat" which refers to the spirit in relation to the divine. Asanas are intended to lead back to sitting in meditation. The practice of asanas improve flexibility and tendon strength.

Asanas are meant to be done in conjunction with pranayama or breathing work. Breathing should be through the nose and natural. To receive maximum benefit from practicing asanas, all tension and tightness in the body should consciously be let go.

A glass of water before practicing asanas enhances the experience and asanas should not be done on a full stomach. The practice of Bikram yoga is meant not only to improve muscle strength and flexibility, but also to establish a balance of our physical beings in relation to the divine.

Yoga is a path to attain a balance of the body, mind and spirit. Yoga can, if done correctly, be a means to control the ongoing complaint in all of our lives, stress. Optimum health is the ultimate goal for everyone of us. Health does not just refer to our physical beings but also to our mental attitudes and spiritual growth.

Bikram yoga addresses all of these factors of our well being. When I visited my daughter in California, she signed me up for my first experience with hot yoga. Being in my fifties, I was a little concerned about the prospect of being a complete amateur at any kind of yoga and the possibility of being the oldest participant in the class.

Well, I wasn't the oldest in the class and the instructor was patient with his teaching. I was happily surprised at my ability to do so many of the postures. My self realization during the hot yoga class was my need to "stress" or hurry up at all times.

I needed to remind myself to relax, breathe slowly and through my nose. The heated room was something I thought I would not be able to tolerate. It did add to the yoga session and is probably one of the reasons I did not have aching muscles or pulled tendons the next day.

During some of the postures, I was keenly aware of my need to improve my balance and my sense of my physical position in space. For ongoing achievement of balance, I have been practicing the art of yoga via an instructional DVD in my home.

Particularly useful to me, in addition to the improvement of balance is the yoga reminds me to slow down and relax the tension in my body. The concept of the heated room in Bikram yoga is to diminish the risk of injuries and to allow you to go deeper into each posture.

The perspiration experienced during hot yoga enhances the release of toxins. The postures consist of warm up poses that can be done prior to a yoga class. There are standing poses and seated poses. The twist yoga poses have the purpose of strengthening your back, toning the abdomen and helping with digestion.

Inverted poses help you with your circulation. There's supine and backbend poses and finally the finishing poses to end your yoga session with relaxation.
Bikram yoga is designed to assist you to lose weight, tone muscles and increase blood circulation. Since this form of yoga helps lower stress levels, it can improve mental clarity and focus. This, in turn, enhances our overall levels of performance both on the job and in our personal life pursuits.
------------------------
Danna Schneider is the cofounder of http://www.dietingmagazine.com/ , where you can find information on weightloss products, fitness equipment and diet reviews, and dieting tips for losing weight. She also founded http://www.fitnessnewsmagazine.com/ , a site dedicated to the latest offerings and breakthroughs in weight loss and fitness, updated constantly with news and tips on fitness equipment, accessories, and the hottes fitness trends.

What is Christian Yoga?

What is Christian Yoga? Here is a great article by Tracy Renning that explains exactly what Christian Yoga is.

Christian Yoga

Although developed entirely in the ancient Hindu tradition, Yoga has become universally accepted and adopted by many different spiritual paths and cultures. One of these is western Christianity.

For many Christians, however, Yoga is viewed as a spiritual practice quite difficult to accept within the Christian belief system. They are concerned that since Yoga comes from the Hindu religion, its purpose is for the practitioner to become nearer to God. The question for those who have doubts about accepting it; is whether or not the practitioner may be led to a different God. Because of that concern, many Christians miss out on the wonderful benefits available to them through Yoga.

Though some practitioners of Yoga feel it has no place in Christianity; there are a number of Yoga instructors who practice and teach the art. Usually, they are women and they actually using the church building as a classroom. Several well known Christian denominations embrace the practice.

They view the study of yoga as a healthy way to attain peace of mind, and therefore, a way of opening the path between the church member and God. For these Christians, there seems to be no contradiction stopping them from enjoying the benefits of Yoga. In addition, they want to enjoy all the physical pluses that come with practicing Yoga.

It should also be noted that not all people practice Yoga as a means of spiritual enlightenment; just doing the stretches and positions that make up Yoga can benefit the body without necessarily embracing the practice as a means to religious growth. There are many classes held all over the world that, in fact, focus on the physical aspects of Yoga without attention to the spiritual concerns.

Several forms of Christian Yoga are taught in a variety of classes in the United States. Many are taught by formal Yoga instructors, others are led by students themselves; and when held inside a church, whether intentional or not, the class encompasses the broader spectrum of spirituality.
Yoga dates back to Upanishad's period, and the word Yoga, itself is originated from Hindu culture. According to the religious practice of Hinduism, one can achieve freedom from limiting constraints of the flesh and the pitfalls of thought, as well as the delusions of the senses by going through the various levels of discipline available in Yoga. Based on this thinking, the art has been practiced by people throughout the ages.

In fact, some of the early Christians themselves practiced Yoga in spite of, or at the expense of considerable harassment. Even in today's society, some Christians are told by their religious leaders that they must not embrace Yoga because it would lead them away from their own religion and to the belief of another god.

Other Christians are certain that the actual description of Yoga can actually be found in the New Testament account of the life of Jesus Christ. They maintain that just as He led people on a simple path that brings ultimate transformation to one's life; Yoga is a step by step process of that same path which leads to a new life within.

Fortunately, for today's generation of Christians, the love and spirit that touched the early Christian Yoga practitioners is becoming an inherent part of the Yoga practiced now. For those people, this is an exciting time because the wonderful possibilities of Yoga, which have been hidden for all these centuries, are about to unfold.

That thought goes hand in hand with the promise left by Jesus when He said that "this heaven that is new awareness of your life is not far away; if you know the way to find it, then it is already yours."

What an incredible concept!

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Yoga for Tennis Players

Tennis players need to have fast reflexes and short bursts of strength. These short movements do not allow the muscles to extend their full length and when muscles are worked in such as strenuous manner they can become very tight and can lose their elasticity unless properly stretched.

Yoga can increase the body's range of motion so it is an ideal complementary exercise for Tennis Players.

Using yoga techniques makes it possible to retrain the muscles. Most tennis athletes play in a constant state of muscle tension. Yoga trains the body to relax muscle tension. Learning to begin your game in a relaxed state could mean gaining an extra step on the ball.

When in a ready position muscles are contracted and ready for action. To move, muscles must be relaxed and then contracted again to spring in any direction. By retraining the muscles you begin from a relaxed position, giving a quickened reaction time.

Yoga breathing exercises can help improve endurance and stamina. When exerting in sports or exercise we often hold the breath as a way to create strength. Yoga trains the body to create strength through breathing control. Holding the breath at points of exertion takes a great deal of energy that could be used during long sets or matches.

Learning the correct way while doing a yoga pose is simple. Exhale during the execution of a pose until you feel the muscles' full length of stretch (maximum resistance). Never hold your breath. Breathe normally and listen to the body. Hold for 30 seconds, then release the pose slowly. By constant practice of yoga poses you'll soon apply breathing techniques in everyday routines.

Spinal twists can be excellent for rotational sports such as tennis. They can help increase needed flexibility of the shoulders and back and hips. Remember to apply the breathing technique when using these poses.

Begin a spine twist by sitting on the floor with both legs straight out in front of you. Keeping the spine straight, bend the left leg placing the left foot on the outside of the right knee. Now, place the left hand on the floor behind you with your arm straight and the right elbow bent. Positioned on the outside of the left thigh place the right hand on the left hip.

Slowly exhale while turning the head and upper body to the left, looking over the left shoulder. Pressure from the right arm should keep the left leg stationary while pressure from the left arm and torso gives you the twist. Stronger use of both arms increases the twist. Hold this pose for 30 seconds and repeat twist on the opposite side.

A total body conditioning and flexibility routine is essential for the avid tennis player. Yoga is ideal for this and it could be the edge you need in developing your tennis game.

The Healing Power of Yoga

Yoga, one of the world's oldest forms of exercise, is experiencing a rebirth in our stressful modern world. You wouldn't think that a 3000-year-old exercise could increase its popularity. But yoga is now being prescribed even by some medical practitioners for a range of health ailments and illnesses, as a stress reliever and to complement other fitness programs. It is renound for having healing powers.

Talk to anyone who practises yoga and they will quickly tell you the endless list of benefits. It seems beginners quickly become converts. They believe it is the key to good health and happiness in today's world _ a common goal for most people. But probably the greatest advertisement for yoga is the fact that it seems to have graduated from the weird and alternative ranks into a position of fairly wide community acceptance.

Housewives, businessmen, sportspeople, teenagers and the aged are all practising a variety of yoga positions, meditation and associated breathing exercises. For many, yoga becomes a way of life _ often giving a more spiritual side to people's lives, although not necessarily linked to religion. One school of belief maintains that chronic and accumulated stress is the reason for many of our modern illnesses.

Supporters of yoga argue that it has a multiplicity of techniques to counter that cause and, unlike drug therapy, attack the cause, not just the symptoms. It offers, they say, a holistic approach to health and fitness. Many professional athletes, looking for the edge have turned to yoga as a supplementary form of training. They have found that yoga aids their state of mental and physical relaxation between training sessions, and their crucial build-up to big meets, where a competition is usually won or lost in the mind.

Perhaps one of yoga's major attractions is that it combines physical and mental exercise. It is excellent for posture and flexibility, both key physical elements for most sports-people, and in some respects, there are strength benefits to be gained. Yoga teachers say that the approach of yoga therapy is one of the most effective ways of achieving the mental edge that athletes seek.

Yoga can play a substantial supporting role to modern medicine, and complement other fitness and exercise programs. While there is no great component of aerobic fitness in yoga therapy, it complements aerobic exercise because of breathing techniques that can be learned. So there are advantages for even the most demanding of aerobic sports - swimming, cycling and running.

There are numerous documented cases of yoga relieving or curing serious illnesses - such as Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, and respiratory illnesses like asthma and emphysema.