Feel Great with Bikram Yoga

Hot Yoga or what is also known as Bikram Yoga is getting more and more popular. So what are the benefits of this form of Yoga?

Some of the many benefits of Bikram Yoga include, body strengthening, building endurance and emotional balance as well as improving your health. Some of these benefits can be contributed to the use of heat while performing the posture series.

With the help of a heated room, you are able to get into your postures better, and your muscles stretch more readily. In a heated room you will also find that you will lose weight more rapidly if this is your goal. Another advantage is that your metabolism speeds up and this helps to breakdown glucose and fatty acids.

The heat also helps to move oxygen to your body tissue and organs, which promotes healing as well as aids in removing harmful toxins. Another great benefit of Bikram Yoga is unlike many other forms of Yoga; it will raise your heart rate and promote cardiovascular health.
Beyond the obvious benefits of Yoga, this form has been known to actually help repair damaged tissue and ligaments as well as helping to cure those who are plagued with chronic ailments.

The health benefits alone may be a good reason to try Bikram Yoga, but this is by far not the only benefit to this form of Yoga. There are many others, including a means in which we can find balance in our lives.

Additional areas in which Bikram Yoga may be helpful include, relieving stress. This is important in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Stress can be a killer and the better we learn to manage our stress, the better our health can be.

The endurance required in Bikram Yoga helps you to learn how to focus your energies. This is undoubtedly a good trait to master. The better we can focus in our everyday lives, the more we can accomplish and the better we will feel about ourselves.

Though Bikram Yoga is not necessarily a highly spiritual form of Yoga, it can help in spiritual transformation. When we feel better about ourselves, it is easier to reach to a higher spiritual self.

Bikram Yoga is a wonderful form of Yoga, but it may not be for everyone. Essentially, the postures can be performed by most anyone of any age, though you may find it difficult at first unless you are in good shape and have a high tolerance for heat. It might be a good idea to begin with Hatha Yoga first and then move on to Bikram Yoga. Once you have mastered Hatha Yoga, you can be fairly certain you are ready for Bikram Yoga.

Yoga Poses For Strength and Stability

When I think of balancing poses in yoga, I immediately picture someone standing serenely on one leg in Tree Pose, but there are so many other poses that help improve your balance.

A strong sense of balance encourages stillness in yoga poses, as well as stillness in your mind. Improve your balance and you'll also strengthen your muscles and improve flexibility and muscular control, as well as body awareness. Off the mat, improved balance will encourage proper posture, make simple tasks a cinch (like walking in heels), as well as help with other forms of fitness, like skiing or surfing. Practice these balancing poses and you'll feel more balanced physically as well as mentally.

The Best Yoga Poses For Improved Fertility

Whether you've tried it all and are at your wit's end or are just at the start of the your quest to become pregnant, restorative yoga can have tremendous benefits to improving your chances at conceiving. In addition to its physical benefits, practicing yoga relaxes the mind and spirit. Try out any or all of these five recommended poses for improving fertility from Yoga Journal. Whether the results are instantaneous or not, their benefits are well worth the time.

Yoga Sequence For Slimmer, Sculpted Inner Thighs

Warmer weather means wearing less and ditching the long pants for shorts — are you ready to bare your legs? Here's a yoga sequence specifically designed to tone the inner thighs so you'll feel confident slipping on those short skirts and bikini bottoms.

Lengthen Tight Hamstrings With Yoga

I feel like everything I do from running and biking to gardening and simply sitting, shortens my hamstrings. But I find yoga is good medicine for loosening up the backs of my legs. I have rounded up some yoga poses to lengthen tight hamstrings, which can also ease knee, hip, and low back pain and hopefully prevent injuries too. The first four poses are definitely suitable for beginners, with the final three poses being a bit more challenging.

A Quick Yoga Sequence to Tame Holiday Stress

While the holidays are full of fun, they always manage to lay the stress on thick. Instead of getting caught up, take a few minutes to reconnect and get centered; it will keep you sane through the height of the season. Even if you only have 15 minutes to spare, moving through this yoga sequence will help you keep calm and carry on.

Strike a Yoga Pose: Sugarcane

If you love Half Moon Pose, then it's time to include Sugarcane Pose into your yoga practice. This variation on the more common balancing posture gives your back and quads a huge stretch while helping tone your tush. It's an essential asana for any runner or dancer who needs to give her legs and back a little love.

#Float into Half Moon Pose with your right hand planted firmly on the floor and your left leg lifted in the air. Stay for a few breaths to relax into the posture.

#On your inhale, bend your left leg in toward your chest. On the exhale, reach back for your left foot with your left arm. Your left hand will catch the top of your left foot.

#Once you've got a firm grip and you're stabilized in the pose, imagine you're kicking back. Press the top of your left foot into your left hand, while your hand attempts to pull the foot in toward your body. This push-pull motion will deepen the posture and give your quads a deeper stretch.

#Hold for five breaths before releasing the left foot back into Half Moon Pose. Return the foot to the floor, and try it on the other side.

Postrun Yoga Poses Your Legs Will Love

After a long run, cooling down properly is essential. Slowing your pace gradually starts the process, and once you hop off that treadmill, there's no better time to hit the floor and move through a few yoga poses. Giving some extra attention to your legs, hips, and lower back will lovingly prep your body for your next run.

Reasons to Grab a Blanket During Yoga

While blocks and yoga straps are standard in a beginner yoga class, many students shy away from using a blanket. For one, they're not sure why they'd need to take a nap in class! However, a blanket can be a help to any yoga practice for getting grounded, offering support, and more.

Have a strong seat: Even from your first and final seated meditation postures, sitting up tall on a blanket will help give your spine a little extra lift and your hips a little more room to relax. Sitting on the blanket will help your pelvis tip forward and prevent your back from rounding. Your strong pranayama breathing will move through your body with a new kind of intensity. Once this shift is made, it's hard to go back.

Make space for growth: Whether your knees or hips need a little extra love, beginners or even intermediate yogis will benefit from using a blanket. Instead of focusing on knee pain in Crescent Warrior, the blanket takes the pressure off your joints, allowing focus to be placed on holding the shape comfortably. Using a blanket in Pigeon is another big help. Rolling a blanket up and threading it under a bent leg offers comfort and support.

Settle in Savasana: After a tough yoga practice, there's nothing more luxurious than draping yourself in a blanket during your final relaxation pose. Placing a blanket on your lower body will help you relax deeper into the mat and take some of the edge off of the lower back. If you ever find yourself uncomfortable in Savasana, this shift can make the whole experience more pleasant and restful.

Restorative Yoga Poses Everyone Will Love

At the end of a long day, taking a little time for some rest and relaxation can make huge difference in lowering your high stress levels — not to mention your quality of sleep. Each of these poses is worth a shot, regardless of your yoga level or experience.

Relax and Renew: A Restorative Yoga Sequence

This restorative yoga sequence will help open your heart and relieve tension after a long day. If you're feeling stressed out, then you might notice that your breath is a little shallower than you'd realized. Place emphasis on deep, full breaths, and each of these poses will feel easier and easier.

The Negative Ways Running Can Affect a Yoga Practice

Running is your passion, but you decided to try a yoga class because you know stretching and strengthening the muscles helps to prevent injury and increase performance. After that first class, you fell in love, and instead of lacing up your sneakers for most workouts, you're bare-footing it on a mat. Running has suddenly become a complement to your yoga practice. Yoga is great for running, but unfortunately, running isn't always great for your yoga practice; here's why.

# I can touch my toes, too: Runners can be a competitive group — if not with fellow runners, then often with themselves. Heart rate monitors and running apps are commonly used to measure progress. An athlete mind-set can sometimes transfer to the mat, causing individuals to push harder by doing poses their bodies may not be ready for. Instead of trying to master Crow during your first class, focus on your own body, celebrating its abilities instead of pushing it too far.

# Ouch, my back: Burning calories while strengthening your core and lower body is one perk of running, but unfortunately, tight hips and hamstrings also come with the territory, which can cause lower back pain. To prevent this, spend extra time after your runs stretching these areas. Here are three stretches runners should do every day.

# Let's move already: Yoga is often about stillness and reveling in the present moment, but if you're used to a workout that constantly has you on the go and moving with maximum intensity, it can be really tough to remain still or to just be happy relaxing. You may find your toes tapping, your eyes shifting, and your muscles eager and ready to do the next pose or to move faster. Being anxious to pick up the pace or switch positions means missing out on what yoga is all about. Getting in a good run before hitting a yoga class can help encourage calmness when stepping into a studio. Also, choosing faster-paced yoga classes such as Vinyasa, Jivamukti, or Ashtanga may be better suited for your type-A running personality.