About.com Yoga

Since I left you guys hanging in plank pose for a week, I’m sure you’re ready to lower to the floor. The question is, how are you going to get there? There are basically two options. Knees, chest, and chin is a perfect description of the first option, since those are the parts of your body (plus your toes) that are touching the floor in this pose. If you’re going that route, drop your knees first, then lower the chest and chin while bending your elbows straight back and keeping your butt up in the air.

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Categories: chest, chin, floor, Knees, pose

About.com Yoga

As we continue our in-depth look at the poses in the sun salutation sequence, we come to plank pose. Last week, we looked at lunge. More experienced students may choose skip the lunge, jumping directly back into plank. However you arrive, take a moment to adjust your alignment, making sure that your shoulders are directly over your wrists, you are not sagging in the hips, and your heels are pressing back. When you start to prepare to lower into the next pose, shift your weight forward onto your toes. We’ll talk more about why next week.

Categories: lunge, Plank, pose, sagging, week

Bloated and Gassy? Stop Feeling Sofa-Bound and Try Yoga!

Feeling bloated and gassy is one health concern that affects everyone at some point in life, and, man, is it embarrassing. Gas and acid reflux can really have a negative impact on your overall sense of wellbeing, causing you to reach for the Tums and lie on the sofa until it goes away . However, according to Boston-based yoga instructor Zayna Gold, long-time Crohn’s disease sufferer and creator of Healing Through Movement, a more subtle, natural way to deal with that bloated feeling is yoga. ‘Fifteen minutes of yoga will help ease your pain,’ she says. But how exactly does yoga benefit your digestive wellness?

 

Gold points out that starting from a reclining position ‘gives you a chance to take a deep breath and feel energized.’ After this, she recommends that you progress from seated to standing positions, such as the bridge pose that stretches your body and stimulates your abdominal organs. Once you’ve done a few stretch poses, you should move on to twist poses that tone your abdomen – which is essential for eliminating gas, bloating and constipation. The other poses work and relax your nervous system, which is comprised of your back, neck and spine. Gold explains, ‘You will feel less stress when your nervous system is relaxed. The health benefits will spread to the rest of your body and ease your digestion.’ So which poses should you try?

 

1. The Apanasana: This is a great starting pose in which you lie on your back, relax, inhale and place your hands on your knees. From there, you exhale and hug your knees to your chest. To maximise the stretch, rock your knees from side to side and stay for five to 10 breaths before you release your knees, and repeat the movement a few more times. To vary the stretch, you can do one side at a time, leaving the other leg extended. This simple stretch is also known as the wind-relieving pose, as it helps you to gain relief from bloating and gas pains.

 

2. The Spinal Twist: You might want to try this pose if you need to soothe and tone your abdomen. Again, start by lying down, hugging your knees and breathing in. Then, as you exhale, drop your knees to the left, using your left hand to push them down gently. From here, turn your head and stretch your arm out to the right, staying for five to ten breaths. Once this is completed, inhale, return your hands and knees to centre and repeat on the other side. For variation, you can have a go at the one-legged seated spinal twist which, as you do it from a seated position, gives you more control over your stretch.

 

3. The Bridge Pose: Also known as the “Setu Bandha Sarvangasana”, a mild inversion like the bridge pose helps your blood flow, making you feel more energised and get over that post-dinner bloat. Lying on the floor with your knees bent, arms beside your body and feet flat on the floor, move your hips up so that you give your chest a good stretch. For an even better aid to digestion, Gold recommends the following variation, ‘Press one hip up and hold the pose. Take five breaths, then switch to the other side.’ However, this isn’t the only modification you can try. For another version of the Setu Bandha Sarvangasana or Bridge Pose, start as you did before but keep your hands under you as you arch your back and open your chest. It’s also a good idea to clasp your hands and interlace your fingers under your back.

Categories: bandha sarvangasana, bloating, bridge, bridge pose, gas, Knees, pose, setu bandha, spinal twist, stretch, yoga

About.com Yoga

Our in-depth look at the sun salutation sequence continues with ardha uttanasana. And here’s the thing about this pose: your hands do not have to be on the floor. Use block under your hands or bring them to your shins if that allows you to draw your shoulders back and get a nice straight spine. When you do this pose correctly, it feels really amazing.

Categories: draw, hands, pose, shins, shoulders

How To Perform Yoga Positions If You’re Not Flexible

Yoga is often associated with lithe, young women but they aren’t the only people who can enjoy this form of exercise. Just because you’re not as flexible as you’d like, that’s not to say that there isn’t a form of yoga to suit you. Age and gender play a role in flexibility, but if you’re clever about the type of yoga positions you choose, you may find that you can increase your flexibility with yoga and go on to practice more of this fantastic activity. There are a number of health benefits to yoga, from reducing your stress levels to helping you to sleep better, and increasing your flexibility as well. For each of these positions you should hold the pose for five to ten breaths; seated positions can be held for longer, so long as you feel comfortable. You need to remember to hold a smooth and even breath throughout the poses, and don’t try and hold the position if you don’t feel able to as you may risk injury. As you practice and your flexibility improves, you can begin to hold the poses for longer.

Mountain Pose

The mountain pose may seem simple, but it is the most basic template for all of the other positions. It’s a welcoming way to begin connecting with your breathing pattern and to begin your yoga practice. It is performed by standing tall with your feet together, perhaps with your big toes touching. Close your eyes and let your arms rest by your sides with your fingers together. If standing is too difficult or challenging, you can lay on your back with the soles of your feet pressed up against a wall. You’ll feel as though you’re standing on the floor, but your lower back will still be stretched slightly.

Child’s Pose

An incredibly basic move which you can stay in for a few minutes at a time, this is a resting pose. You begin with your knees and the tops of your feet on the floor, with your feet together and touching. With your knees apart, rest your belly and chest between the legs and place your head on the floor, with your arms stretched out in front of you. You can rest your head on a pillow if it doesn’t reach to the floor with ease.

Downward-Facing Dog

A challenging pose for beginners, this can be made easier by increasing the distance between your feet. With your feet hip-width apart, hinge forward at the waist and press your palms on the ground, with your hips in the air. Keep your hands shoulder-width apart and your arms, shoulders and back in a straight and diagonal line. Your hands should be at the front of your mat and your toes should be facing forward near the back of your mat; at any time, you may take a break in the child’s resting post and then come back into the downward dog position again. Beginners may find it easier to bend their knees to keep the spine long and to take off some of the body weight into the legs.

Chair Pose

A symmetrical pose, meaning both sides of your body will move in and out of the pose at the same time, this heats your body up and increases the strength in your legs. You begin with your feet together or hip-width apart in a standing position. Bend your knees as though you’re sitting in a chair and raise your arms up alongside your ears at the same time. This can be a difficult position to maintain if you’re new to yoga so feel free to move into the mountain pose on alternating breaths, which also makes the pose more dynamic.

Categories: feel, Feet, hip width, mountain pose, pose, positions, suppleness, technique, yoga, yoga positions

About.com Yoga

Continuing our in-depth look at the Sun Salutation sequence, we move to the second pose, raised arms pose – urdhva hastasana. The thing that helps me out the most in this pose is remembering that it’s not all about stretching upward. The lower part of the body and the shoulders especially move down to provide a solid foundation. People with tight shoulders may prefer to keep their upraised arms apart instead of bringing the palms to touch.

Categories: arms, people, pose, shoulders, solid

Stubborn Cellulite? Target Problem Areas with Yoga

When there’s something you don’t like about your body, there’s often a simple – if not easy – way to solve it. Weight wellness not what it should be? Change your exercise and eating habits. Stress making your skin sag? Take care of your wellbeing with better relaxation strategies. However, there’s one nasty little beauty problem that’s an absolute nightmare to get rid of; cellulite. One day you look in the mirror and those tiny bumps and lumps are creeping all over your legs and bum, and nothing you do seems to work. However, there is now a somewhat surprising solution to your cellulite problem; yoga. It may not seem like the obvious choice, but the right routine – and a bit of cardio – can target the areas most prone to dimpling, and free your bum and thighs from cellulite.

 

1. The standing forward bend: With your feet hip-distance apart, stand and hinge forward at your hips, making sure there’s a slight bend in your knees. As you let your head fall towards the ground, lay your chest on your upper thighs, engage your quadriceps muscles and slowly straighten your legs. Be sure that your knees don’t lock and your hips stay over the centre of your feet. Hold this pose for five to eight slow, deep breaths.

 

2. The chair pose: Standing with your feet together, big toes touching, and ankles slightly apart, bend your knees and set your hips back as if you’re sitting in a chair. At the same time, lift your chest up to the sky, reach your arms up by your ears and lengthen through the fingertips, keeping your shoulders relaxed and ab muscles held in. You should aim to make a 90-degree angle with your legs in the long run, but just sit back as far as you can until your flexibility improves. You back should be straight and your knees shouldn’t go past your toes. Before you stand up, hold this pose for five to eight breaths. Return to the starting position, and repeat another three times.

 

3. The eagle pose: Standing up, bend your knees slightly. Cross your right leg over your left leg high at the thigh, and then try to double cross it behind your left calf or ankle. Wrapping your right arm under your left and back over top, press your palms together. Then, sink lower while you squeeze your thighs tight and pull your belly to your spine, bending slightly at the knee and a bit forward at the waist. Hold this for five breaths, reverse your arms and legs, and repeat. If you’re finding the eagle pose too tricky, there are easier versions you can try. If the double leg cross is giving you trouble, just cross your legs once at the thigh and rest your top foot’s toes on the ground for balance. If you find double-crossing your arms too challenging, wrap under only and press the backs of your hands together, until your shoulders loosen up enough to do the full pose.

 

4. The warrior III pose: Stand with your feet together, point your left toe behind you, and tip your weight forward onto your right leg. Keeping your hands at your sides, continue to lift your left leg and drop your head and torso until you are in a straight horizontal line from head to toe. To ensure that your left thigh, hip, and toes (pointed or flexed) stay facing downward, many posers find it helpful to imagine balancing a tea cup on your lower back. Make sure that your right kneecap is lifted, but not locked, and your balance is centred mid-foot. Hold this pose for give breaths, slowly return to the standing position, then switch legs and repeat.

Categories: Cellulite, eagle pose, hold, Knees, left, left leg, legs, pose, pose standing, warrior iii

Yogue, Strike a Pose: How Desk Yoga Can Keep You Going

A lot of us spend all day sitting at a desk, but did you know this is wreaking havoc on your mental and physical wellbeing. You may be more concerned about corporate wellness, and so don’t care that you’re sitting and typing away all day. However, no matter how productive all that desk time is, it can cause aches, strain and tension in every muscle in your body, and you may need a hard-earned yoga break. Stopping to strike a pose can help you to relieve that stress, and get your overall wellness back on track to tackle the rest of the long workday. Here are seven yoga postures to get you started.

 

1. Konasana. Also known as the right angle pose, konasana is a simple and effective way to relieve your tight back and legs. It works to open and stretch your hamstrings and calves, elongate your spine and torso and strengthen your arms. With your arms placed on a wall at shoulder-height, shoulder-width apart, slowly walk your feet back until they are directly under your hips (hip-width apart). Bending at your hips, walk your hands down the wall until they are in line with your shoulders again. Your hands should be flat on the wall with your fingers evenly spaced and all pointing upwards. Hopefully, your body is now in a right angle (hence the name of the pose) but if you start to feel contractions or tightness in your lower back or hamstrings, bend your knees and arch your back so that you lift your sit bones up towards the ceiling. This should open up the lower back and sacral area.

 

2. Vidalasana: Otherwise titled the Cat-Cow pose, the vidalasana gently massages your spine, and opens your upper back, chest and shoulder areas. You start on your hands and knees, with the respective limbs directly under your shoulders and hips, shoulder-width/hip-width apart. Throughout this sequence, the tops of your feet should remain flat on the floor, your arms should be kept straight and firm and you should breathe in and out through the nostrils. Move your shoulders back and your sit bones up towards the ceiling, arching you lower back and inhaling as you do so. Then, exhale and round your back up towards the ceiling and bow your head. Repeat this several times, making sure your movement and breathing is synchronised.

 

3. Deep breathing: Ok, this one isn’t technically a poses but as deep breathing frees your mind, opens your senses and gives you a feeling of self-sufficiency, I think we can let that slide. Plus, you can easily do this in the office without getting any funny looks, so you may be onto a winner here. All you need to do is sit upright, cross-legged like a yogi, or just in a chair if you don’t fancy flooring it. Make sure your spine is not compressed by lifting up and lengthening your body. Again you breathe in and out through your nose for this exercise. Simply inhale into your lower belly so that it naturally fills and puffs up a little bit. Using your abdominal tone, expand your ribs and widen your torso. This will already give you a sensation and motion in your breath that you may have never felt. Breathe up into your chest and lungs until the area expands so much that it stretched to your collarbone. Then, exhale deeply down through your body until all of the air is pushed out. If you’re a beginner, just do this for a few minutes, but build up to longer periods of time of this breathing.

 

Categories: body, Breathing, Deep Breathing, hip width, pose, poses, shoulder, shoulder width, sit bones, width, yoga

Get Back to Being a Sex Goddess Through the Power of Yoga

When your love life goes from sizzle to fizzle, it takes its toll on your emotional health and wellbeing. After all, nothing gives you a confidence boost like a good romp between the sheets, so how can you get things heated up again? According to a new study, published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, taking up yoga and practicing mindfulness techniques helps sexually dissatisfied women to experience better orgasms, arousal and desire. So, if you could set aside 10 minutes, three times a week, to do a few poses, your sex life could go from rubbish to racy in no time at all. Check out the libido-boosting poses in a bit more detail below, and look online for more information about how it’s done.

 

1. Upavistha Konasana: This is known as the wide-legged straddle pose and, as yoga instructor Kate Hanley, author of The Anywhere, Anytime Chill Guide, explains, ‘This move is good for low libido. It improves blood flow to the pelvic area, and where the blood goes, so do energy and vitality.’ Getting good circulation below-the-belt is directly connected to arousal; the more blood in your pelvic area, the more you feel like using it!

 

2. Salamba Sarvangasana: Gravity does more to your wellness than making your skin sag; it also makes the circulation in the lower half of your body more sluggish. However, this upside-down shoulder stand can help you beat the Earth’s downward pull. Hanley notes, ‘It relieves fatigue, calms the mind, lessens symptoms of depression and anxiety, and eases digestive problems,’ all of which can impact your sex life.

 

3. Balasana: Also known as the Child’s pose, the Balasana is really relaxing and can help your mind and body become in sync. ‘Many women are so in their head that they can’t get into their body,’ says yoga instructor Ellen Barrett, author of Sexy Yoga. ‘Everything that helps you to be in the moment is going to help you be more sensual.’

 

4. Utthan Pristhasana: The key to this position, also known as the Lizard pose, is taking long, deep breaths. Yoga instructor Tara Stiles, author of Slim Calm Sexy Yoga, comments, ‘Lizard is a great way to ease the hips open and calm the mind. When your attention is focused on your breath instead of your thoughts, you are brought right into the moment, which helps for all sort of things, including time in between the sheets.’

 

5. Supta Baddha Konasana: Hanley recommends this “Goddess Pose” for PMS and menopause sufferers, as both of these lady ailments can make you feel as sexy as Ed Balls. She notes that not only does this pose promote a more healthy function in your reproductive organs, ‘it teaches you how to get comfortable with being vulnerable, which true, mind-blowing intimacy requires.’

 

6. Eka Pada Rajakapotasana: Although the “Pigeon Pose” may not sound sexy, Stiles asserts that it ‘is the best way to release deep tension in the hips and put the mind in total chill mode.’ While guys store their tension in their shoulders, we girls tend to hang onto it in the hip area, and so this pose can help to relive your tightness and restore flexibility where you need it most.

 

7. Adho Mukha Svanasana: More popularly known as the Downward Dog, this pose is both relaxing and energising. Hanley notes, ‘Downward dog calms the mind and invigorates the body, both important ingredients in good sex. You can almost feel the tension sliding off your back when you do this pose. Plus, you’ve got your butt up in the air, which is about as “come hither” as it gets!’

Categories: Downward Dog, hanley notes, nbsp, pelvic area, pose, sex life, sexy yoga, The Goddess, yoga, yoga instructor

About.com Yoga

We always do a lot of forward bends and backbends in yoga, but finding a side bend is a bit more difficult. Parivrtta janu sirsasana is a great way to stretch and open the intercostal muscles between the ribs. I especially recommend including this pose in prenatal yoga practices, when you’re in need of any little extra space in there you can get.

Categories: muscles, pose, recommend, ribs, yoga