Posts Tagged ‘Flexibility’

The Physical Benefits of Hatha Yoga

You can find a lot of flexibility and stress relief that comes with the normal yoga moves in Hatha Yoga poses and will provide a lot of released tension on your body, helping you to concentrate much better and also give you a cleansed spirit that makes you feel better overall.

Cleaning the Body

Originally from India and introduced in the fifteenth century, Swatmarama created Hatha Yoga asanas to have a more relaxed state and a more clear mind overall. His intention was to find a means by which yoga could prepare the participant to purify his or her body and by using meditation it was thought that a person could physically train his or her body to achieve those goals. The Hatha form of yoga was initially called Shatkarma, but then was changed to Hatha, which is a combination of the words “ha” which means sun and “tha” which means moon.

Both Hatha yoga and Raja yoga are often confused with each other, but each have their differences although they both concentrate on achieving total control of the mind, body and spirit through mind control.

You can enjoy a relief from all of your aches, including back and neck problems, and can be a smart way to teach you how to relax your body and understand it better. Its main intention is to enable a person to release suppressed energy which will lead to further happiness as well as better health, and it also allows you to stay in touch with your feelings and the inner self.

By learning how to do the best breathing methods, you will be able to channel your energy throughout your body and prepare to achieve higher goals in Hatha Yoga. You should become more adept at the breathing techniques which are called Pranayama and also special postures that are known as asanas and finally you must learn to meditate. In Hatha yoga, you will learn how to balance the negative and positive forces that will regulate your vital forces overall, giving your mind more clarity and a better subconscious level. Hatha yoga is therefore known as one of the most physical types of yoga available.

Yoga Blocks, What Are They Good For?

You’ll remember to place your yoga blocks in your yoga bag once you’ve discovered their many benefits to your practice. But, before we review the many benefits of yoga blocks, it’s a helpful idea to review a bit about the good things Yoga, itself.

What Yoga Practice Can Do for You

Yoga helps you in awakening your inner body and enlivening your outer body! Doing each pose perfectly requires your undivided attention, and such focus enhances your mental awareness. Your “outer body” profits as each pose nourishes, energizes, and revitalizes every cell, fiber, and tissue as a result of enhanced breathing, flexibility, strength and alignment. The goal of yoga practice is to create a union between the body, mind and spirit.

Patience is not only a virtue, it is the “key” to mastering a yoga pose, especially when combined with ample time and commitment. No one is a master the first time they try to do anything. But, slowly over time, as you practice and make an effort to perform each pose perfectly, without pushing yourself too far physically or beating yourself up mentally, you will notice that you are developing flexibility, strength, and energy physically and feeling more peaceful and clear mentally.

The best environment for doing your practice is a clean, graceful place with a bare floor and available wall. Remove any distractions from your yoga environment. Ideally, you should not eat for at least 2 hours before practicing. If you find you need to eat, then try to eat something light, such as a piece of fruit, but no more than 1 hour before you start your yoga practice.

Be consistently mindful of how your body feels, and stop or pause if you encounter any pain or discomfort while trying out a pose. Then try again.

Yoga props and accessories, such as yoga mats, yoga bolsters, yoga straps, yoga blocks, yoga mat bags, and even a yoga towel are made with the intention to assist you in moving deeper into a pose, in performing a perfect pose, and in practicing in a healthful way.

Yoga Prop Benefits:

• Pain relief and body comfort

• Prevent injury

• Stress relief and relaxation

• Encourage appropriate alignment

• Ease and flexibility of movement

• Open up the joints

• Develop awareness and understanding

Yoga Blocks

Unfortunately, on occasion before a beginner can start to know the benefits to mind and body that yoga supplies, discomfort in attempting to do a few of the yoga poses will cause them to turn away from a beneficial yoga practice. Yoga blocks can assist in improving your alignment and, in the process, make you less strained during your yoga practice. Several standing yoga poses include one hand being on the floor. In other words, the floor can appear to be a long way down for a novice. Think of a yoga block as adding length to your arm. By placing your hand on the block, you will be able to do the standing poses correctly while you are in the process of developing your flexibility. A yoga block is a wonderful transitional aid.  In addition, several sitting poses make use of a yoga block.  A yoga block assists you in going a lot farther in your practice, and maybe even in your life. Who could ask for more from something so “square.”

Yoga blocks come in several different materials. To name a few: Foam blocks are durable and lightweight, an effortless add to your yoga mat bag! Wooden blocks are also lightweight and hollow, yet essentially indestructible (even Fido would find one hard to destroy!). And, then there is the environmentally friendly cork block.  An added bonus is that the natural texture of the cork gives a little extra traction.

Yoga blocks are generally sold individually but, for versatility, you’ll probably want to buy several.