Yoga Sun Salutation - The Perfect Way To Start Your Day

Yoga as we all know it has a lot of beneficial effects to the body, mind, and spirit. Yoga unites these three elements to help keep our bodies stay one with nature. There are a lot of different yoga positions and styles, each one varying not just in form but also in purpose. It may get confusing at first and trying to find out which type of yoga best fits your needs may become a challenge. Having to sort through different styles and techniques may take quite a bit of time and if you don't really have a lot of spare time for research and not a lot of extra time to actually practice several different yoga types per day, just do the yoga sun salutation.

Sun salutation or also known as Surya Namaskara is an olden form of Indian exercise. Practiced as a way of honoring the sun, the yoga sun salutation combines prayer, worship, and motion. The different positions of the sun salutation every muscle and joints in the body while also stimulating the major organs in the body. With the use of the body, both wisdom and knowledge are achieved.

It has 12 simple and continuous poses that are done together with five deep breaths. Today the yoga sun salutation is commonly used as a warm-up exercise but may also be used as the main exercise as well. When used as a warm-up for other longer and more difficult yoga poses, the it serves these functions: prepares the body for next poses to come; makes heat in the body which helps increase blood flow to the muscles; and establishes the basic rhythm for the whole yoga practice. On the other hand, when used as a work out by itself, it serves these functions: helps build body strength and flexibility; exerts every major muscle; and exercises the respiratory system.

The 12 step routine is best practiced in clean open airy spaces, during sunrise or sundown, and should be regularly done. It is also advisable to increase fluid intake when practicing this yoga technique for it helps enhance the effect of removing toxins in the body. For better results, remember to do the steps slowly and consciously.

Yoga sun salutation is fairly easy to perform and may be practiced by people of all ages. With the right attitude, training, and practice, one may be able to reap the benefits that even the ancient people of India have long known about. When done as a daily ritual, it is a sure way for you to correctly start your day right!

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Yoga Conference, Getting Into the Virtual Age

The number of workshops and presenters is mind-boggling and the expense of this 3-day function is about the equivalent of a one-day workshop. And when you register, you get a lot of free goodies; which includes a home practice DVD, entry to a private discussion forum meant for conference-goers, and finding out applications to enhance your virtual conference experience.

The world has moved to virtual events in a very major way. The reasons seem pretty certain. To start with you can save up to 90% of the event budget when compared to a physical event. But most likely it's the techie in many of us that could love this concept of going virtual. Or it might be the accessibility of this function, even people on a budget can attend. The fact that if you cannot attend live, there will be recordings of the sessions available for two weeks after the function is a big plus.

The yoga professionals who distinguish themselves with an approach or style that stands apart is going to have a distinctive advantage. While ten years ago people asked, "What is yoga?," the question today is "How is this yoga distinctive from other yogas?" Yoga's cup will overflow as growth continues. Much more teachers are turning out to be certified and more sites offering yoga equals a lot more competition among teachers and studios. Responding to yoga's escalating availability as well as the wide variety of yoga choices, consolidation and focus will occur, with big participants becoming even bigger and solo practitioners cultivating specialized niches.

We are in a high-tech digital era, where we could communicate with one another in just a few seconds. However we also reside in times of great uncertainty - people have hectic and stress filled lives, with earnings decreasing and bills increasing. So the last thing anyone would like to do is spend some money to attend a live conference. A virtual yoga conference will give us to be able to communicate with thousands, or even millions of people and pass on the news about the benefits of yoga and various health and fitness routines. Together with the power of the internet and individual conference phone lines which could accommodate many people from around the globe at the same time, you can engage in yoga online and come in contact with leaders in yoga and mind/body science in the comfort of your respective living room or any place else you decide to be.

Yoga Conference is a huge business. If you've had the fortune and misfortune of having been to one, you realize the experience could be equally amazing and awful. The wonderful part concerning yoga conferences is you get to check out lots of teachers in a place in a limited time frame. The awful component of yoga conferences is you've got to book the flight, get the accommodation, pay for the conferences, the meals, the impulse purchases, etc, that is why lots of aficionado use other options just like virtual conferences.

Yogafit has a lot of very informative advice in all aspects of yogafit.com yoga poses, training, and everything else. She also has a number of yogafit.com yoga conference meetups several times a year and is known yoga guru and mogul around the world.

Yoga in Practice: Teaching Yoga

When most people consider the idea of teaching Yoga, they usually perceive the superficial physical requirements of a Hatha Yoga instructor. There are many styles of Yoga, and Hatha Yoga is just one of them. In fact, within the sub-styles of Hatha Yoga, there are a number of "gentle" styles. So, being really flexible, young, and having the body of a super model, are not required in order to teach Yoga.

The above attributes can be used to your advantage, if you have them, but let's go over a prime ingredient within all Yoga teachers. "In a nut shell," it is the passion to help others. This is the common denominator among Yoga instructors, regardless of which style of Yoga is taught. Teaching others the benefits of Yoga, becomes a "calling" for students who aspire to teach Yoga.

A Yogic lifestyle will improve any person's life. Interestingly, a quality life is founded upon positive thought. Therefore, Yoga has "all the bases covered," when it comes down to helping people.

When you look at your own life - reflect on the following questions. How do you want to be remembered? Do you feel complete satisfaction in your accomplishments, so far? What do you stand for?

How we are remembered is through our actions. This relates to Karma Yoga: Union by selfless service. When we help people, that action helps people who we never meet because a single action creates a chain reaction. Just look at all the coincidences that add up to you reading these words, at this moment.

What we accomplish in life is, for the most part, based upon our own actions. There are exceptions to this such as: poverty, illness, and bad luck. However, the person who never gives up will realize achievement, success, and goal realization. When we stop trying, we "short circuit" our potential.

Satisfaction with your life depends upon finding your purpose (dharma). When you have found your purpose in life, you are living a fulfilled life. Whatever you do in life, helping friends, family, and associates will give you the greatest satisfaction.

If you are feeling incomplete, at this time, write down your passions, reflect on them, and notice that one will stir an overriding desire within you. This is most likely your dharma. When we leave this life, it is gratifying to know that we helped people along the way, as this also gives us a deeper sense of purpose.

Getting back to teaching Yoga - there are many excuses to avoid becoming a Yoga teacher, but when you feel the calling, all you have to do is share the gift of Yoga with others to find out if that is your purpose in life.

© Copyright 2006 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. He is a master instructor of martial arts, with multiple Black Belts, four martial arts teaching credentials, and was recently inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness to children, adults, and seniors in the greater Providence area. Recently he wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students, who may be considering a new career as a Yoga teacher. yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

Mindfulness 101: Should Meditation Be Taught In College?

A recent article published in The Chronicle of Higher Education about teaching meditation in college has created a great deal of buzz. Several media folks contacted me for my opinion, and they were surprised by my response.

I am sure there are plenty of meditation teachers who are grinning on their cushions at the notion of meditation being offered at universities for academic college credit.

Not me. I think it is a misguided idea--and I'd like to suggest a much better one.

It's not that I don't wholeheartedly believe that meditation is a powerful way to reduce stress, increase concentration, and develop greater awareness and compassion. It's not that I don't agree that college students could benefit from meditation--especially during those stressful finals weeks.

But making meditation an academic college course perpetuates a dangerous notion: that meditation is for highly intelligent, educated people only. ANYONE can benefit from meditation, and the more elite we make it appear, the more people will assume that they are somehow not the "right kind of person" to meditate.

Is a college professor the "right kind of person" to teach meditation? While there are certainly those who have studied meditation personally and professionally, they are not necessarily the ones who can teach it as a valuable wellness tool instead of a Religion or Philosophy course.

As much as I believe in the power of meditation, I'm not sure that paying $4000 (the going rate for one class at a private university in the U.S.) for a one-semester academic course in sitting-and-breathing is an appropriate addition to the curriculum.

Credit for sitting and breathing. Cha-ching! The universities find a new income stream.

Sure, I'm biased. After all, I have four teenage daughters, two of whom are taking college classes, so I tend to be rather mindful of the bang-for-buck quotient.

I'm also wary of turning the practice of nonjudgmental awareness into yet another adult task to be evaluated, another achievement to enable us to get ahead in a competitive world. Judging one's ability to be nonjudgmental seems counterproductive.

The alternative--offering pass/fail grades only--is equally problematic. A pass/fail class that consists of mostly sitting and breathing would be a shoo-in for the no-brainer credit award. We don't need to create more elitism around meditation, but neither do we want it to become the leading bonehead course on campus.

I believe meditation should be offered on every college campus--but make it an activity credit, like yoga or tai chi, instead of an academic credit. Or better yet, offer it at no charge in every student union building as a helpful skill for stress reduction.

Jon Kabat-Zinn, widely regarded as the maestro of meditation-as-medicine, has developed an outstanding program--Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction--which is being taught in communities all over North America. We need much more of that--in workplaces, clinics, hospitals, fitness clubs, retirement communities, HeadStart programs and drug rehabilitation centers.

Yes, we need to bring meditation to the masses. But the most critical element is this: we must open the world of mindfulness to include activities OTHER than meditation.

Those who are most dedicated to the practice and promotion of meditation tend to be Buddhists, whether they are teaching in a temple or a prestigious university. The irony is that if those who are most committed to creating a peaceful world could release their attachment to meditation, they would be far more likely to spread the message of mindfulness to the masses.

It's time to bring meditation down---WAY down.

In fact, we'd do well to shift gears entirely. Instead of focusing on teaching meditation in college, we should jump into playing with mindfulness in kindergarten.

We know that there are certain skills that are learned more quickly and easily by young children than adults--music, foreign languages, sharing--and I propose that mindfulness is one of them.

After all, five-year-olds are much more likely to stay fully present--that's what kids DO! And we want them to view it as an awe-inspiring way to see the world around them with greater awareness and wonder.

Kindergarteners learn by playing, so there's no need to force any particular sitting position or limit oneself to traditional props. In fact, if five-year-olds were encouraged to play with the idea of paying attention, I guarantee that they would be far more creative about it than any 18-year-old.

We don't need gongs in the kindergarten classroom--a kazoo would work just as well. We don't need to incorporate cushions, esoteric language, or religion of any kind.

What we do need are creative teachers who recognize the value of having students who are able to focus calmly in order to play well with others, listen, and learn.

Step away from the idea of meditation as an academic area of study, and jump into the notion that playing with preschoolers is a far more effective and enjoyable way to make mindfulness a lifelong practice.

Maya Talisman Frost has taught thousands of people how to pay attention. Her playful, powerful eyes-wide-open approach to mindfulness has been featured in over 100 publications around the world. She has been meditating for 30 years. To read her free special report, "The Dirty Little Secret About Meditation" visit her website at Real-WorldMindfulness.com Real-WorldMindfulness.com

Yoga - Could This Be the Best Exercise Around?

The benefits of Yoga are greater than many people realize. With simple and effective body movements, the exercises can help to strengthen your back, firm your stomach and redistribute your body weight. Additional benefits from practicing yoga are increased endurance and improved flexibility of your body, making it easier to move and live the life you desire.

In fact, Yoga Asanas or positions are the absolute best exercises for toning the muscles, lubricating the joints and massaging the body. All of this in addition to mental stability, health and vigor ... what are you waiting for?!

Realizing that a weak and tired body is a hindrance to emotional peace, yoga exercises work to bring the body and mind together. It is very important to maintain awareness of your breathing while performing the exercises, a practice which allows you to train and discipline your mind.

The various yoga postures and Asanas are designed to exercise every part of your body. The stretching of the positions affects your entire skeletal system including your spine by toning each of your muscles and joints. They also work together to keep your glands, nerves and other internal organs in peak functioning mode. This results in radiant health and peacefulness of mind.

Unlike many types of exercise, Yoga can be practiced by anyone. And since no special equipment, clothes or lessons are required, it is a great form of exercise for anyone on a budget. Developed thousands of years ago and evolving over the centuries, these Asanas work wonders in keeping the body healthy and the mind peaceful. What better way to control the stress in your life!

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Weight Training for Women- Exercise and Workout!

Weight training has a lot to say for itself and should be adopted as a part of one's daily life, at home and while working around the house. Weight bearing exercises not only retain muscular strength but also delay the loss of muscle mass and bone density as well.

. Biceps Curls: Stand with feet apart. Carry dumbbells or two water bottles(one in each hand). Flex the elbow, lift the water bottle or dumbbell towards the shoulder and bring it back to the starting point without locking the elbow. Exhale as you take the arm up and inhale when you bring the arm down. Repeat it 16-24 times. This exercise will strengthen the muscles of the arm.

. Shoulder Press: Standing in the same position, take both arms overhead taking the weights towards the ceiling. Bring the arms back to the shoulder level. Repeat it 16-24 times. This exercise will strengthen the shoulders.

. Squats: Standing in the same position, place the water bottle or dumbbell on the shoulder. Lower the hips toward the floor making sure that the hips are pushed back, like you are trying to sit on a chair. Repeat it 16-24 times. This exercise will strengthen all the muscles in the lower body.

Random Tip: Weight train at home using stability ball is an effective and cheap way to exercise.

Muscular soreness port-exercises is the bane of some of the women. Women just hate to be sore the day after a workout. Weight Training effects muscles in a positive way but it does result in DOMS or a delayed onset of muscular soreness. this is a natural physiological response to weight training and goes away the day after.

Madonna's Fitness Mantra-

. Practice ashtanga yoga for four days a week.

. Goes for a twice-weekly pilates session. Gets hooked to Gyrotonics machine, which helps to strengthen and stretch the muscles.

. For burning calories, runs with her minders and cycles around town, which keeps her bottom and thighs trim.

. Uses a Stairmaster and a powerplate.

. Active lifestyle.

. Eats healthy- whole grains, seasonal eatings, nonbioengineered food.

Must Read: Workout and Exercise Tips for Firm Breast at weightloss-health.com/exercise%20firm%20breast.htm weightloss-health.com/exercise%20firm%20breast.htm

As one ages, the muscle mass starts reducing in size and strength as does the density of bones.

Post menopausal women get tired very fast and cant cope with day-to-day activities as easily as they could in younger years. These women are also plagued with inexplicable pain in the joints or the back. Weight bearing exercises are a boon for women of this age.

Random Fact: Weight training helps in more ways than one. It makes you stronger and slimmer without making you look like a wrestler.

About the Author:

Ashley Green: for [weightloss-health.com/muscle_building.html] your complete and most comprehensive guide on Muscle Building.

Look out for highly effective women muscle building programs from the best in this field and a chance to go through muscle building articles directory at Weight Training for Women- Workouts and Tips [weightloss-health.com/woman%20muscle%20exercise.htm]

If you wish to reproduce the above article you are welcome to do so, provided the article is reproduced in its entirety, including this resource box and LIVE link to our website.

Kettlebell Training - How to Evaluate a New Program

You can hardly miss it...over the past year or so, kettlebell training has popped up everywhere -- from gyms to outdoor groups to YouTube videos to workout DVDs endorsed by just about anyone. As a certified trainer and fitness instructor, I'm a little disappointed that my 'secret' weapon for effective and efficient training has gone mainstream. But more than that, I'm concerned with the dodgy quality and safety of so many of these programs, clearly wanting to cash into the latest 'craze'. A few improperly trained folks getting injured and blaming the tool is the last thing we need. This article explores how you can evaluate a particular kettlebell program or trainer and what to do if they don't measure up.

1. Certification. As kettlebells have gained popularity, so to have the number of certification programs. However, they are not all made equal. Some trainers just watched a few videos, read a book and, maybe, wrote an online exam. Others took a 4-hour workshop that sped them though as many moves as possible. Still others were put through a grueling series of instructional sessions (lasting from 1-3 days) that ensured they could both execute exercises safely and teach them effectively. Which one would you prefer?

How to evaluate? Ask your trainer where he/she was certified and, if the source is unknown to you, google it. After all, it is a hunk of iron that you'll be swinging around. Make sure your person knows more than just how to do it...he/she needs to know how to teach you to do it well, and correct you when you don't. A dance teacher isn't a kettlebell instructor, nor is a personal trainer without proper kettlebell certification. Note that in my original personal training certification (going back a few years), there wasn't one mention of a kettlebell. Check them out.

2. Initial assessment. A good instructor will not only inquire about your health, fitness level, past injuries and goals, he/she will perform an initial assessment for flexibility, mobility and movement screens. How can they possibly know how heavy a kettlebell you can start with without one and what movements may be contraindicated until you build up the ability to execute them safely?

How to evaluate? Consider how the instructor greeted you. Did he/she ask about the above? Did he/she perform any basic functional movement screens? If you're evaluating a video or DVD, did they provide a self-assessment checklist?

3. Proper progression. I checked out a park program several months ago without telling the trainer that I was certified. Whammo...within the first 20 minutes he had us doing snatches, overhead squats and clean-press combos. Kettlebell training, like yoga, martial arts, golf, etc., is a practice. It's progressive. You need to build up strength, joint mobility (hips, shoulders), flexibility and proper muscle firing patterns to execute more complex moves with proper technique. Essentially, you earn the right to learn the next move when you can show you've got the basics correct.

How to evaluate? The foundational movement of kettlebell training is the swing. If your instructor (in person or on a DVD) doesn't spend significant time teaching the proper progression of the swing and it's derivatives (1 hand, hand to hand), doesn't provide you with clear corrective cues, or gets into complex movements quickly (snatch, clean, jerk, windmill, overhead moves, etc.), then beware you are at risk of an injury.

OK, so your local trainer or program doesn't score so well. What can you do? First, look for an RKC or HKC kettlebell instructor in your area (dragondoor.com/dv074.html&apid=kerrFIT dragondoor.com). If no one is local, try IKFF as your next best option. At the very least, you can book a few sessions with one of them to learn how to do the exercises properly (if not a little differently due to their specific focus). Then you can take your good technique to a class. And if there are no good certified trainers locally, then consider buying an instructional DVD/Book by an RKC certified instructor. It won't be as good as having someone personally teach you, but at least you'll understand the right way to do it, in theory, and will know the pitfalls of doing things incorrectly.

Learning how to execute kettlebell exercises correctly isn't only a question of safety. It's also a question of results. The better you do the moves, the more you'll see the results kettlebells can bring to your body and fitness.

To learn more about kettlebells, kettlebell workouts and how you can benefit from them, visit insidekettlebellworkouts.com insidekettlebellworkouts.com.

Martine Kerr is a personal trainer, group fitness instructor and Hardstyle Kettlebell Certified instructor. With 15 years of experience transforming bodies with fitness and lifestyle coaching, having done so 3 times for herself following injury and pregnancies, Martine is passionate about living FIT. She is Canadian and lives in Dubai.

Insanity Vs P90X - Which One is Tougher?

On one side you have Shaun T and his INSANITY crew, leaping and lunging and sweating and doing football drills non-stop in their basketball gym. On the other side you have Tony Horton and his test group, drilling each muscle group at a brutal rate, practicing kempo and yoga, lifting weights and doing pull ups. Both are billed as extreme, both are said to be the most intense work out ever put on DVD-but which is really the toughest? If you want the ultimate challenge, which should you do?

First let's try to define by what we mean when we say the 'toughest'. For the sake of this article, we're going to define it as requiring the most physical preparation beforehand, the most willpower and dedication to complete the entirety of the program, and the highest sustained intensity during the workout itself. Some disclaimers: different people might find each of these workouts easier or harder depending on their own strengths. So while INSANITY might be incredibly hard for a weight lifter, it will be easier for someone in track and field. Keep that in mind!

Let's take a look at each program. P90X is a three month program. It's designed to be implemented in three phases, with the end of each phase/month involving a cool down week during which your body is meant to recover from the 'muscle confusion' that the change in workouts is meant to deliver. There are 12 workouts, and they range from resistance workouts for the major muscle groups to cardio/plyometrics to kempo/yoga/stretching and core. It's a total body workout, and is meant to be practiced six days a week. The workouts can range from 45 minutes to an hour and a half, and require that you own weights, resistance bands and/or a pull up bar.

INSANITY is simpler. Designed to be accomplished in 60 days, it's broken into two main phases, with the second being the 'MAX' phase where the workouts become even more intense and an intermediary week in-between where you focus on Core Cardio and Balance for 6 days in a row, a period Shaun T calls 'Recovery Week'. The workouts are a combination of cardio, plyometrics, calisthenics and different sports drills. There are 10 workouts, and they range from about 45 minutes to over an hour. No equipment is needed, since you use your own body weight throughout.

Which requires the greater physical preparation going in? INSANITY. The INSANITY workouts start at an incredibly intense pace, and don't let up. Even the warm-ups are brutal, and if you don't have that base line conditioning you simply won't be able to keep up. Further, you need to ensure that your joints are resilient and flexible going in; if they're not, the constant pounding that six days/week of jumping, squatting, jogging on the spot and more will simply wear them out. P90X is also incredibly tough, but the bar to enter isn't as high; you can start in a lower state of preparation, and work your way up over the course of the three months.

Which requires the most will power to complete the entire program? P90X. Three months of sustained extreme effort is incredibly draining. Not only that, but most people find INSANITY to be more of a rush; Shaun T is incredibly motivating, and the sheer pace of the program keeps people going on overdrive. Tony Horton breaks up the P90X pace with such slower, more grueling workouts like the hour and a half yoga. The longer, slower pace of P90X requires more willpower to adhere to than INSANITY.

Finally, which has the most intense workouts? This one is a toss-up. Try getting through a Max Cardio session of INSANITY, or keeping up with Tony during the entirety of a Chest & Back workout. Both of these are brutal, and your level of dedication and how hard you push yourself will determine how intense your workout is.

So which is tougher? For my money, I'd say INSANITY. However, P90X is probably harder to complete, and both will kick your butt from here to Sunday if you do them right. In a way, this is like asking, which will kill you faster, a tiger or a lion? Determine what your goals are, and then pick the right program. For maximum cardio/calisthenics development, go for INSANITY. If you're looking to bulk up some as well as get in shape, go for P90X. Either way, good luck. You're going to need it.

Click here if you are interested in reading blog.extremefitnessresults.com/product-reviews/insanity-workout-reviews Insanity Workout Reviews, from video testimonials from Test Group participants to an explanation from Shaun T himself about what Insanity is all about. If you want the best booty ever, then take advice from a Victoria Secret model trainer and check out extremefitnessresults.com/brazil-butt-lift.html Brazil Butt Lift.

Easy to Learn Tips For Losing Weight - Build That Muscle

Turn Fat Into MUSCLE, Not Just a # on the Scale

Being overweight affects just about everything in your life. If you are one of these overweight folks and would like to lose extra pounds quickly then listen up. The idea to lose pounds is to turn your flab into muscle. Extra strength helps you lose the pounds because muscle consumes more calories than fat by a 20 to 1 ratio. Greater strength goes hand in hand with fewer pounds. But your priority needs to be clear: do you just want to see the results on your scale in the morning or do you want to see it when you lift up a heavy bag of groceries.

What's the Key? Build up STRENGTH

Strength is the key to having a stream-lined, healthy-looking figure. Strength-building is also the key to losing the pounds, even when you're taking a sleeping or napping. You can convert caloric energy while taking a stroll, playing with your dog, doing the laundry or even just digesting a fiber packed food.

Let the Weights Do the Talking

A steak or a trip to Jamba Juice is a good way to bolster your strength (through the added protein), but this can still add to the weight. There are some other ways to increase your strength conditioning. If you just eat normally, a trip to the weight room at your local gym every other day should insure that you burn off those pounds, while toning those pectorals and quads at the same time.

Cardio + Weight Resistance = Weight Loss

A good kick-boxing or yoga class in combination with this straight strength training will also have the dual strength building/pound shedding effect. A good idea is to try to schedule your strength training and your aerobic classes back to back so that you get more bang for your buck in the strength building/pounding cutting department. But if this sounds too strenuous to you, feel free do them on different days or with a nice rest period in between.

Balance in Diet Will Help Give You That Edge

In terms of altering your eating habits, you might consider fiber packed veggies, spaghetti, noodles and multi-grain breads. You need to eat well to lose the pounds. A well thought out weekly menu should be sure to cover a range of foods. Look up that old food pyramid that you might vaguely remember from school and be sure that you don't spend all of your time at base or the tip, eat from all over it.

You Still Get To Eat A Ton (6-7 small meals)

Eat steaks, chicken, tuna and omelets. Add apples and oranges and veggies as snacks and side dishes. Don't skimp on the H2O. Ensure you consume about 40% of your body weight in terms of ounces and amount of water you drink. All of this is the perfect formula for maximizing strength and decimating pounds. Remember to eat 6-7 smaller meals a day while eating a variety of foods.

Be Sure To Get Enough Fuel For the Workout Road

Make sure you work out exactly how much protein you need to take in a day and make sure that you eat enough. It can be extremely unhealthy to not get enough energy while increasing your workouts. People get light-headed and lose their balance. Some even need to be hospitalized in extreme cases. You may even want to consult a nutritionist. Regardless, look to enjoy the process and watch those pounds evaporate as your body becomes more tone and athletic.

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Horse Rider Exercises

An easy way for horse riders to become supple and balanced is through practicing a few yoga poses each day before going horseriding to stretch and balance ourselves. I have chosen five of my favourite poses that have given me most value to improve my horse's suppleness and balance.

I am not a yoga teacher though I have been using yoga to improve my riding over the last 5 years with great success. Invest 10 minutes of your day to do these exercises for the horse rider so you can really enjoy your ride.

Horse Rider Exercise #1. Stand and stretch mountain pose

In this pose, you feel a stretch all the way through your body from your feet firm on the ground to your hands pressing skywards.

Stand very straight with your hands by your sides, with your legs together. Feel that you are centered and connected to the ground through your feet.
Interlock your hands together in front of you looking at the back of your hands.
Inhale and stretch your arms up above your head. Exhale. Imagine you are pushing the sky a little higher.
Count up to 5 in this position, then inhale and unlock your hands, exhale and lower them back to the start position.
Repeat the exercise with the hands intertwined with the other thumb on top!

Horse Rider Exercise #2. Head to Knee Posture

In this pose, you feel a stretch through your legs and back. Because one leg is forward, it eases the back and allows more stretch of the spine. Feel if you are even through the stretch by comparing how you feel with one foot forward compared to the other.

Stand straight with your legs together and your hands by your side. Put one leg forward about 2-3 feet.
Inhale and lift your arms above your head. Keep the palms of your hands together.
Exhale and stretch your arms and hands forward so that your hands reach down onto your legs.
Aim for your head to rest on your thighs!
Inhale and as you exhale, stretch and reach your hands further down your legs without straining. Count up to 5 in this position.
Inhale and return to your start position.
Repeat the exercise with the other leg forward.

Horse Rider Exercise #3 The Tree Pose

This pose will start you thinking about how balanced you as rider really are! Are you able to do this pose on both sides evenly? If not, perhaps this is why your horse feels one-sided when you ride - because you are one-sided!

Stand tall and straight with both feet on the ground.
Inhale and lift one foot up and place on your opposite thigh (or knee or calf). Exhale and hold that position.
Inhale and lift your arms up into the air with your palms together.
Hold for a count of 5 in that position.
Exhale, lower your arms and place both feet back on the floor.
Repeat with the other foot.

Horse Rider Exercise # 4 Rishis Pose

This is another pose that flexes the spine with some twist through your trunk and the lower back. Thus it combines the stretch as well as a check of how even you are. Is one side easier than the other to do this stretch? If so, do an extra stretch on this side. Never strain though.

Stand straight with your feet about 3 feet apart.
Inhale and stretch up with your arms in the air.
Exhale, lean forward, keeping your legs straight, and reach for your left foot with your right hand.
Inhale and lift your left hand up and reach for the sky.
Exhale and return your arms toward your body'.
Inhale and lift your arms back up to the sky.
Repeat the exercise on the other side of your body.

Horse Rider Exercise #5 Leg and toe balance

This pose is great to check and strengthen your balance. You can progress through bent knee, hand supporting knee to holding on to your toe with a fully extended leg. Certainly a challenge!

Stand straight with your legs together.
Inhale and lift one leg with a bent knee with hands on hip or supported by your hands underneath the leg.
Exhale and bring the leg closer to your body.
Inhale and as you exhale, move the leg around to 90 degrees from out in front of the body to the side of the body.
Inhale and bring the leg back to the front.
Exhale and return the leg to the ground.
Repeat the sequence with your other leg.

These 5 horse riding exercises are an easy sequence to commit to memory. Feel the rhythm of your breathing and how it helps you in the poses. As you improve, you can increase either the time or number of repetitions to develop so you are more supple and balanced. There are many more yoga poses that you could add as you progress.

In traditional yoga, the session is completed by deep relaxation. This can be achieved in this short session by standing or sitting quietly with your eyes closed and fingers touching in a circle on each hand, and listening to your breathing in and out for 10-20 breaths.

Enjoy and have a great ride!

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Sarah Myles

How To Get A Top Notch Yoga Teacher Training Certification At Home

The rising interest in holistic and alternative medical care has created an increase in the demand and need for yoga teachers. By becoming a teacher, you not only teach others yoga, but you also maintain your body and health through it. However, students are no longer forced to study outside of home to become certified. This article will explain how easy it is to become a fully certified instructor at home. There is today no need for you to attend any training school to become a qualified teacher. You can save lots of time and money by getting yourself a teacher training diploma at home through the internet and books that are readily available at an affordable price.

There are many yoga books and videos that you can buy to practice the different moves of yoga. To become a teacher and master, you have to practice all these moves to perfection so that you will be adept enough to impart this knowledge to your prospective students. As there are many types to learn, you have to decide which form of yoga you want to learn and teach. Some types of yoga are Astanga and Bikram yoga and it is up to you to choose the specific training to become the instructor you aspire to become.

Once you have decided on the type you want to learn, and have gotten the necessary CDs, DVDs, e-books and books to help you master the art, you have to learn the necessary steps for certification of a yoga instructor in your area. Different states have different requirements for a yoga instructor qualification. Once this is done, you can get your training certificate while sitting at home.

Copyright 2007. Yoga Instructors Course Certification

Are you wanting to become certified as a yoga instructor? Not all yoga instructor certification courses are the same. I spent hours researching the range of yoga instructor certification courses available and have announced my number one choice at my yoga training website. Yoga Master With 5000 Hours Of Training Under His Belt Teaches Future Yoga Instructors How They Can Earn $150.00 Per Hour As A Professional Yoga Instructor And Be Certified Within Just 3 Months In His World Class Yoga Teacher Training Course Online. Start your certification today at yogainstructorscoursecertification.com yogainstructorscoursecertification.com

Yogic Pranayama Methods for Anxiety Relief

Yoga has many methods to keep your mind occupied. Anxiety often stems from leaving the mind unsupervised, while letting negative energy, within the mind, "take the helm." We all have dark thoughts, which can rise to the surface in the form of worry, anxiety, stress, or a panic attack. Now, let's take a closer look at Pranayama methods to prevent anxiety in everyday life.

Pranayama or Pranayam: These are Yogic breathing techniques for cultivation of life energy. Pranayama improves your mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health.

For people in good health: Take the time to learn at least seven different forms of Pranayama. There are many more, but seven will give you plenty of alternatives to work with.

Learn Pranayama from a competent Yoga teacher, or Ayurvedic doctor, and continue your practice at home. As a general suggestion, Kapalabhati Pranayama, Bhastrika Pranayama, Ujjayi Pranayama, Nadi Shodhana Pranayama, Brahmari Pranayama, Bahaya Pranayama, and Udgeeth Pranayama are a good start.

If you have a medical condition, you need to let your physician know exactly which Pranayama techniques you are practicing. If you have a pre-existing medical condition, please do not self-prescribe Pranayama techniques without a professional opinion. Your doctor will likely refer you to a competent Yoga teacher for Pranayama instruction. If not, you can still seek out a Yoga teacher, or Ayurvedic doctor, for advice.

Never practice Pranayama to the point of feeling faint. If you feel any dizziness, slow down and resume later. Listen to, and follow, the specific instructions your Yoga teacher, or Ayurvedic doctor, recommends for each specific Pranayama technique.

© Copyright 2007 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, has written many books on the subject of Yoga. He is a co-owner and the Director of Yoga Teacher Training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA. riyoga.com riyoga.com

He has been a certified Master Yoga Teacher since 1995. To receive a Free Yoga e-Book: "Yoga in Practice," and a Free Yoga Newsletter, please visit: yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html