Practice Yoga and Remain Young

Yoga has distinctively proved itself as a natural tool to maintain juvenility. Juvenility does not mean that an individual would become immortal and totally resistant to disease but could acquire immunity to several harmful toxins which leads to aging.

Almost all individuals whether men or women has the desire to remain young but in today's world where there are toxins (harmful agent) in our foods, drinks etc. It's not possible to maintain the health in such a hazardous environment. Today people are more prone to diseases as earlier because of extreme pollution and usage of unwanted materials. As a result the frequent diseases degrade the health of an individual and he or she show the sign of aging even in their 20's.

A brief summary explaining why there are so much of healths hazards are mentioned below:

o Insufficient food intake (Balanced diet is missing)

o Exposure to hazardous or polluted environment

o Depression due to work pressure

o Anxiety due to work pressure

o Stress due to work pressure

o Intake of alcohols and drugs

o Excessive smoking etc.

It is almost clear that in one way or the other we are victims to the aforesaid pinpoints. So what's solution - Thorough medical treatment, physiotherapy etc. There might be several remedies for this problem but a remedy though ancient but has proved itself to the best weapon to cope with such sorts of deformities is "YOGA". Yoga in itself is a system which involves the maintaining the coordination between mind and body.

By practicing yoga regularly an individual could maintain his / her health at the most perfect level. Yoga helps in stabilizing the immunity of the body thereby helpful in fighting against the diseases.

Tips and techniques used in Yoga -

Body postures (Asanas - it involves the movement of body in several postures to relax the body nerves etc.)

Breathing (Pranayama - it involves the special breathing techniques to calm down the mental nerves and coordinate the nervous system)

Meditation (Dhyana - it involves the positioning of mind over one point thereby increasing the concentration and resistance to the surroundings)

Above said techniques if followed and practiced regularly in supervision of a trained Yoga personnel will lead to more healthier body and sound mind which will ultimately retards aging and the youth is maintained throughout. Also the resistance towards certain diseases will increase and a person may develop immunity to several diseases even while working in hazardous environment.

So the main mantra of today's world is "YOGA" which is the best weapon to cope aging without any side effects.

The author is a contributor writer for Health. To get the latest aggarwaloverseas.com books from India & aggarwaloverseas.com books on yoga log on to ? Aggarwaloverseas.com Aggarwaloverseas.com

Measurable Results For the Length of a Breath Using Yoga? The Answer - Yes!

Maybe you've been wondering what kind of results you can expect from practicing a yoga breathing technique.

Well, I sure did and I ended up doing an informal study of my yoga students to find out if indeed, measurable results were possible. I'll explain the design of my study, some of the results, the benefits, and then you can try out the first technique we practiced.

The Design

In our study, we collected data from two college PE (Functional Yoga Training) classes; 63 students taking class with me twice a week for a full semester (roughly 16 weeks).

This twice a week practice was critical to achieving a measurable result!

We measured over 11 significant parameters involving strength, flexibility, lung capacity, sleep levels and the ability to relax; performing assessments at the beginning, middle and end of the semester.

The first measurement we took was the 'length of a breath'. And I'm going to share the framework of this parameter with you.

To extend breathing capacity we worked with three very specific Functional Yoga Training breathing techniques, known in yoga as 'pranayama'. Part of this practice also included using these specialized breathing techniques while working in twisting poses, to increase respiratory capacity.

Here are some of the results:

At the beginning of the semester Group I (34 students) started out with a class average of 22.6 seconds - from the beginning of the inhale to the end of the exhale - that's roughly an 11 second inhale and an 11 second exhale.
Some of the students in the group had a total breath length of only nine seconds from inhale to exhale. That's roughly a four second inhale and a five second exhale, not unusual for a person who's never been introduced to breathing techniques.

Take a moment right now, to measure your breath from the beginning of the inhale to the end of the exhale, and find out the length of your breath. Grab a stopwatch or use a count of 1 - 1000, 2 - 1000, 3 - 1000... Make of note of this for later.
By the end of the semester, practicing the Functional Yoga Training breathing techniques we learned in class; the length of a breath (class average) was 32.2 seconds! That's a 43% increase!

Combining the results from both groups, a startling 40% (25 out of 63) of these students achieved greater than a 50% increase in the length of a breath! These 25 students had an impressive breath length at the end of the semester that ranged from 22 - 60 seconds!

These results are entirely possible for you, if you're willing to practice at least twice a week. And, if you practice even more frequently, your results can surpass what we observed in the study.

So by now I'm sure you're ready to learn one of these techniques. This first one we'll cover is a building block for all the other breathing techniques we used. This is the start of acquiring a relaxed longer breath, like the students in the study and it's called an Ujayi breath.

The Technique

Ujayi Breath:

Seated comfortably
Inhale through the nose to the back of your throat
Stay with your inhale as long as comfortable
Feel and listen to the sound of your breath as it passes the throat
Exhale from the back of your throat back out through the nose
Feel and listen to the sound of your breath as it passes the throat
Try to match the length of your exhale with the length of your inhale
Repeat for five breaths

This type of breathing conserves energy and calms the nervous system by stimulating the vagus nerve while breathing. You might wonder why that's important, I'll explain:

The vagus nerve is the tenth of twelve paired cranial nerves. It is a remarkable nerve that supplies nerve fibers to the pharynx (throat), larynx (voice box), trachea (windpipe), lungs, heart, esophagus, and the intestinal tract as far as the transverse portion of the colon.

The vagus nerve also brings sensory information back to the brain from the ear, tongue, pharynx, and larynx.

Information travels through this nerve to and from your central nervous system.

Since 1997 there's been a form of therapy available for severe clinical depression, when standard drug therapy fails, known as Vagal Nerve Stimulation. A pacemaker type of device known as a pulse generator is surgically implanted into the chest wall with a wire attached to the left vagus nerve in order to send electrical signals along the vagus nerve to the mood centers in the brain. With this therapy the hope is that these signals will improve the symptoms of depression.

Did you know you can stimulate your own Vagus nerve with Ujayi breathing by having a focus on the sound of your breath as it passes the throat?!

Try the technique again. It's listed above, and focus once again on the sound of your breath, and the feeling it creates within your body.

How do you feel now compared to before practicing the Ujayi breath?

With a calmer nervous system, your body can take in additional oxygen and metabolize it more efficiently, leading to all kinds of positive benefits, including those signals back to the brain affecting your mood centers.

With this breath you can literally calm your own nervous system. Aside from learning how to lengthen your breath, a calmer nervous system will allow you to feel more relaxed, and we all want that!

Save the breath measurement you took at the beginning of this article, you'll need it for reference as you continue your practice.

Copyright 2010 Julie Downey - Functional Yoga Training, All Rights Reserved Worldwide

Julie Downey

juliedowney.com juliedowney.com

Julie Downey is a pioneer in the field of yoga training for athletics. She's been teaching yoga techniques to professional and college sports teams and athletes since 2003.

Her instruction focuses on Functional Yoga Training; addressing the unique needs athletes have for increasing strength, flexibility and energy, while reducing the incidence of injury.

Click on the link above to find out how Julie can help you bring in the missing link to your training with cutting edge Functional Yoga Training techniques for you, your team or your school!

Yoga's Formula For Happiness - Living Life to Maximum Potential

How many times have you heard someone say, "If I lose 20 pounds, then I will join a Yoga class?" What does 20 pounds have to do with starting your first Yoga class? Absolutely nothing! People practice this self-destructive method of restraint all the time, and not just in the case of Yoga.

People will think, "After I earn a million dollars, then I will be happy." They see themselves enjoying life after going through an ordeal. The sad truth is - we unconsciously create our obstacles to sow the seeds of failure.

Whether you want to paint, write, sing, dance, or practice Yoga - Just do it as soon as you can. Do not wait, procrastinate, or make excuses. We have to take responsibility for our own happiness. Happiness clearly starts from within, so do not stop yourself from enjoying life.

If today was your last day on earth, would you place an obstacle in the path of happiness? Hopefully, you see my point. The path to happiness does not have to be a long and winding road. You can choose to surround yourself with happy people. You can choose to avoid the company of negative people.

This is not a complicated method for enjoying life. You will notice when you often think happy thoughts, positive and happy people are magnetized to you. Take the time to absorb the positive energy and laughter around you. In turn, your outlook on life will become an optimistic one.

You can create this positive cycle every day - through acts of loving kindness. Thank, love, forgive, and give to others. Notice that it always comes back to you, even if you do not seek a reward. With the prospect of happiness, "just around the corner;" why would anyone wait to take a Yoga class?

© 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

Things To Consider Before You Become a Yoga Instructor

Becoming a Yoga teacher can be a rewarding career in all aspects. You can help impart knowledge that will help develop inner strength and well being of your students. But before making that crucial decision about becoming a Yoga instructor, there are a few things which you must consider.

Since you will need to teach people, you need to access the needs of the environment you reside in and determine if there is demand for Yoga lessons. You can also search the web for Yoga schools in your surrounding and also in hotels and fitness centers to determine the level of employment for any Yoga professional.

After ascertaining that there is demand, you will require the necessary certifications to enable you deliver better services to your clients and students. Although you can start teaching Yoga before getting the certifications, it's imperative that you get certified. This will require that you master the theory part of it and teach a class of students while being supervised to ensure that you attain the necessary certifications. It's imperative that you master the general concepts that will enable you teach any type of Yoga and also cultivate a culture that will enable you make it part and parcel of your life.

Ensure that your students take a process at a time as they may get injured if you make a rush switch from one program to another. Ensure that you have enough confidence by practicing with your family members before you deal with your students.

If you want to become a Yoga teacher you will need to take your happinesslifetime.com Yoga teacher training. There are many Yoga schools offering happinesslifetime.com Yoga teacher training but you will want to make sure it is a school registered with the Yoga Alliance because many Yoga studios will not hire teachers who are not registered with the Yoga Alliance.

As the Yogi Coach, Sergio DiazGranados is a marketing and business development consultant to Yoga teachers and studios. He works with many new aspiring teachers with their marketing and is also a regular writer for yogatrainingguide.com yogatrainingguide.com

Laughter Yoga Clubs - Why I Am Running a Laughter Club

It was May 2005 and Dr Kataria was coming to Melbourne to run a laughter workshop at Williamstown. A friend had emailed to tell me that the 'laughter guru' was coming and I was thrilled to hear that, as I had seen about the idea of getting people to laugh together on a current affairs program on television, as a service to mankind. What a fantastic notion indeed. What's more, they are usually free.

Excitedly I climbed into my little car and drove across the big West Gate Bridge, which was a big thing for me to do at the time. Well, it was fantastic and I had the best day. People were enthusiastically involved in the talk and then the laughter and breathing exercises. After that I decided to be involved and start a club and so booked into the upcoming Laughter Leader Training Workshop.

And so 'my' Laughter Club was born! We got off to a good start, with the local Knox Leader community newspaper running a wonderful article to promote it, as World Laughter Day was coming up. From there it has fluctuated, people coming and going, some turning up even only once a year. Yet, every year the three local newspapers run free articles with a photograph when it is World Laughter Day. This certainly is very kind and helpful to increase membership and many people are quite inhibited, keeping the newspaper cutting for quite a while before suddenly deciding to come. Usually that follows a week or so of feeling down in the dumps and realising they could benefit from laughter and so turn up unexpectedly.

I encourage people to never, ever give up running a club and instead to hang in there, because from my experience, when there is media coverage, a lot of new people come along. For some it is only once and for others they become regular attendees. I found that if it was too cold, or too hot, or on a Sunday when they could come on Saturday, or for whatever reason, people are slow to commit to something that is most beneficial for them to do. However that is the name of the game, people are given this wondrous opportunity and it is their choice to come and taste it and return for more or to decide that it is not for them. Isn't that a fabulous thing, we do have free choice to do with our time what we wish to, on the whole.

Many times it felt like it was time to throw in the towel when something would happen, such as a phone enquiry or one lady coming when I shared that I was stopping after that particular day. One little thing kept up my hope and desire to serve the community with something that I strongly believed in. The last time I seriously was going to give it up, I mused to myself, what if I instead found another place more suitable for me and do not make a big deal out of it, just do it?

After two and a half years we changed from the lovely Arboretum park to a nice park in the Ferntree Gully area. The Arboretum was in hindsight was not the best place to be. It was rather open with people walking through where we laughed, apparently causing some participants to feel self conscious. Instead we found a new lovely park, alongside running water, with beautiful large gum and oak trees. We have been at this venue for two and a half years months now and the club is really becoming grounded and strong. Only this Sunday one lady came who had not been for over a year. We laugh uproariously, having lots of fun, deep breathing and role plays. Being a community club, it is free and everyone is welcome.

A helpful thing to do since we do not meet weekly, is to send a reminder email to people who come along from time to time.

It is very rewarding being involved as a Laughter Club Leader. There exists an opportunity to encourage people to take turns leading the laughter exercises, which helps them to feel it is the member's club and not my club. We have a lot of fun and welcome people with love and laughter every time, whether they are regular attendees, once off, or attend only occasionally.

In addition and not to be sneezed at, I have found it a significant opportunity for me to experience personal growth, with all the ups and downs. It has helped my confidence and from humble beginnings I am asked to facilitate laughter therapy for a business or community group. This would not have occurred had it not been for the leadership skills that were developed by running the a community Laughter Club.

Finishing up I would like to thank Dr Kataria and Mrs Madhuri Kataria for instigating this great movement and am particularly pleased that I hung in there when the going got tough. The rewards are many of facilitating a club and it is uplifting to see members so totally involved and enthusiastic, coming right out of their shell.

The world could do with more laughter, could it not? Perhaps if you feel moved by this article you can Google where your nearest laughter club is. Dr Kataria encourages everyone to think about starting a laughter club in their community, as his motto is 'world peace through laughter' and it is a wonderful experience coming together with open hearts. Laughter yoga has many positive health benefits and the power of laughter cannot be under-estimated when done on a regular basis. I encourage you to experience a focused laughter therapy session for yourself!

Lynette Mitchell is a Master of Laughter & Spiritual Mentoring. She leads the Ferntree Gully Laughter Club and facilitates laughter yoga therapy sessions for groups and businesses. Lynette is a mentor, life coach and facilitates life coaching and weekly self mastery classes and workshops. She is a regular contributor to The New Age Tribune, an online spiritual site.

Lynette's website is lynettemitchell.com.au lynettemitchell.com.au.

Treat Osteoporosis With Yoga

Osteoporosis is the disease of bones and is found most commonly in menopausal women and in men in some of the cases. The word osteoporosis is made up of two words, the word osteo' refers to bones and 'porosis' means porous. The density of bone is decreased in this disease and the bone becomes very fragile due to this.

Although it is a part of the natural aging process, but in some individuals this process is very fast. The main factors responsible for this are calcium deficiency and hormonal changes in the body. The best way to stay away with this disease is to have a balanced diet, consumption of diets rich in calcium and Vitamin D and to practice proper muscle strengthening exercises daily.

Regular practicing of Yogic exercises is very good for improving the strength of muscles and it also helps the bones to retain their density. In some of the cases it is seen that yoga is beneficial in bringing back the lost bone density due to osteoporosis. Many patients suffering with osteoporosis have joined yoga training institutes so that they can get enjoy the same health as before. Yoga teachers guide their patients in doing the series of yoga poses which helps to buildup strong muscles around the bones which are more weak and porous.

In addition to that, yoga also helps in maintaining a balance between organs and glands so that a steady supply of hormones is maintained which are helpful in providing density to the bones. Yoga also helps in toning of skeletal system and overall bodily processes. Most of the yoga trainers guide their students with muscles loosening poses and basic stretches in the beginning. Then they move to yogic breathing techniques or yogasanas.

Yoga is the natural and unique way to combat with many ailments of the body. There are no side effects of yoga if it is performed properly or under the supervision of the yoga trainer. There can be no remedy as economic as yoga as there is no investment in it.

mamaherb.com/yogic-breathing-exercises Yoga is very advantageous for mamaherb.com/osteoporosis osteoporosis patients, but it should always be performed with common sense and carefulness when practicing it.

5 Yoga Styles For Beginners - Which Type is Best For You?

With the development of our society, there is a trend that more and more people, especially some modern women, have realized of the importance of Yoga. Yes, nowadays, Yoga has become a way of our daily life and many people tend to pay more attention to the relationship between Yoga and their health.

However, if you a newbie at the area of Yoga, you may not know the fact that there are many different styles of yoga that are practiced and you should choose one following your needs. For example, if you just want to follow the fashion, your choice must be some quite popular styles; Some people try to lose weight with Yoga training while others just want to improve their strength and balance. If you haven't gotten familiar with Yoga but want to enjoy a better life with the help of it, then here is a detailed guide to the basic styles of Yoga:

Ashtanga Yoga

Ashtanga Yoga is a traditional style of yoga. As far as I know, if you a beginner at Yoga, then you can try it indeed. Mainly, it focuses on the flow of postures in order to improve strength, stamina and flexibility of the body. The idea is to create heat inside the body to burn off toxins, release tight muscles and joints, and focus your mind. If you are interested in improving your strength, flexibility and stamina and you are fit enough to deal with an hour of jumping from one posture to another, Asthanga Yoga can suit you.

However, according to some studies, Ashtanga Yoga is not the ideal for beginners because people who are not well fit may find it too difficult and demanding. So, you can decide whether it is your first your choice through your personal needs.

Bikram Yoga

Nowadays, This style of Yoga is very popular in the Chicago area.

As a modern form that was developed in Los Angeles, it is often practiced in a heated environment for increased circulation. Usually, it is practiced in a heated room with the temperature at approximately 105?F and the humidity set to 40%. This focuses on muscular strength, endurance and cardio exercises.

Hatha Yoga

The word Hatha is a compound of the words Ha and Tha meaning sun and moon. Hatha yoga originally meant the physical practice of yoga. It meant doing the pose, vs. doing the breathing exercises called pranayama or following the philosophical or ethical practices of some styles of yoga.

If you see a class described as Hatha, it will likely be a slow-paced stretching class with some simple breathing exercises and perhaps seated meditation.

Power Yoga

Power Yoga is hugely popular in health clubs and among athletes, which is closely modeled on the Ashtanga style of practice. This kind of Yoga focuses on strengthening the body by performing Hatha Yoga postures for a longer time to improve both physical flexibility and mental focus. So, if you want to lose weight easily and healthily, this is your best choice.

Vini Yoga

Compared with Iyengar Yoga (a form of Hatha Yoga), Vini Yoga has a more relaxed approach to placement of the body.

Generally speaking, it focuses on how your breath moves through your body and affects each pose. As a therapeutically oriented yoga, this style Yoga was more effective than traditional exercise or a patient education book for improving function and pain in patients with chronic low back pain.

If you have been familiar with various styles of Yoga, this article may be useless to you. But you are a beginner at Yoga, just read this article carefully and make your best choice following your needs. Remember to get down to choosing what you really want other than following a kind of trend hurriedly. If you want to attend Yoga classes, try your best to find out that they do not suit your expectations, which is very important if you want to gain a better body with the help of Yoga.

If you want to gain more useful information about healthtips4.us/category/yoga-tips Yoga, visit my healthtips4.us health tips blog.