Keep Health Up

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How to start doing Yoga? It is not recommended without a qualified yoga teacher. but first you have to why do you neet this, what is the goal – build strength, reduce stress, obtain flexibility or lose weight.

You must know also when you have not to do yoga – while menstruation, pregnancy, high blood pressure and injuries to the knees, shoulders, and neck are all conditions where certain postures must be avoided and special care must be taken in all postures. In case you have any medical condition you should check with your health care professional before starting a yoga practice.

You can make your yoga practice as challenging and vigorous as you want. Start slowly and make sure you understand the alignment of postures.

There are 3 ways to increase the intensity of your practice.

1. Hold postures for longer and longer periods of time.
2. Slowly build your practice up to more advanced and challenging postures,
3. Move quickly between postures.

Your daily practice should be between 15 to 90 minutes long and done 3-6 times per week depending on your schedule, goals and ability.

Choose to practice postures that look like you can do them. Postures done on the floor are going to be easier that standing postures as they do not require as much strength or balance. Also, postures that have longer recommended hold times (in breaths) are going to be easier to do. See yoga posture sequences for info on how to arrange the postures.

It is not advisable to eat or drink right before a yoga practice (especially if you are practicing inversions). eat 1-3 hours before and drink only small amounts of water before practice, and do not drink during your practice.

Start your practice with a brief meditation. Come into easy pose close your eyes and breathe deeply. you can alternately practice a pranayama as you meditate.

End your practice with savasana, relaxation posture. This allows the body to integrate all of the postures and to balance and absorb the prana / energy that has been created and released during your practice. this is also an important practice for stress reduction.

Daily yoga practice is an investment in improving your health. Twelve minutes a day will help you tone your muscles and improve the functioning of the digestive, circulatory and respiratory systems. Yoga and health are synonymous with each other as well as Yoga and mental health and practicing Yoga for mental health.

Psychologists recognise that moderate exercise is good for depression and anxiety. Yoga practice provides one with such exercise. Yoga postures are developed to promote physical strength, flexibility and balance. Any Yoga posture has cardio/heart benefits associated with it. Heart rate is frequently up while performing these postures. Between various yoga postures, you also get rest periods. So practicing Yoga postures becomes much easier than doing conventional exercise.

The following exercises will provide a well-balanced program, which should be supplemented, of course, by any other postures that are particularly good for your needs as per your personal constitution (available in My Soul):

First Day: Complete Breathing Exercises, Spinal Roll, Cobra Pose, Sun Salutation, Corpse Pose.
Second Day: Complete Breathing Exercises, Sun Salutation, Corpse Pose.
Third Day: Complete Breathing Exercises, Bow Pose, Cobra Pose, Posterior Stretch, Corpse Pose