Have you ever wondered what is yoga?

  Okay this should of been the first post instead of the third one in the bunch. Before starting yoga you must know what exactly is yoga in the first place. Well yoga typically means a lot of different things to different people so I will try to give you a definition that fits into most peoples understanding to what yoga is. So I will start by saying yoga is the study and discipline of movements that infuse the mind, body and spirit of the individual partaking in it. The background of yoga reaches all the way back to ancient India cultures. It was a practice that influenced the culture of healthy living and pure lifestyles. As time grew it went on and continued to expand by influencing a wealth of other cultures and nations. Then it became known in the western world and truly became a  global practice. Now it is one of the most admired activities that people like to do as a workout during their spare time.

However their are some aspects of yoga that I'm sure will interest you and here are some of them. These aspects are what form the study and practice that is yoga. You must practice techniques such as postures, forms, stretches and many of the other benefits. How they will effect your mental, spiritual, and physical abilities. So I will discuss these in a little more detail so if you are a beginner to yoga you will get a better understanding of the stuff you will be doing.  Let's dive a little deeper to find out how to do and what yoga is?

I will start off with the postures that are involved when doing yoga. Yes there are a huge number of different yoga postures that you can implement. The interesting thing about it is that you can learn a posture that will effect one part of your body and another posture that will effect another part of your body. So you can control what areas of your body you would like to tone and strengthen your body with the postures you choose to do. Here are some yoga postures and the areas of the body they effect.

Start off with some very basic yoga postures. This first pose or posture is about reducing the amount of stress and tense muscles you might have in your back that could cause or trigger back pain. So the upward facing dog pose is a basic pose you should try.It is called that because it resemble what puppies and dogs do sometimes when they stretch. This pose requires some bending in your back as effects your lower back and your front by stretching your abdomen. You get into this pose by pressing the palms of your hands to the floor. Do the same with the top of your feet as it shows in the picture. Remember to keep your arms straight as you raise your chess up and have your knees touching the ground as you raise up as well. After you get that straight to should find yourself in the upward facing dog pose.

This next pose is to help you to tone up your arms. The readers who love to show off their arms during the spring and summer seasons should try this to have better looking healthier arms. This next pose is called the four-limbed staff, it reminds me of another workout exercise. Looking at the picture it looks very similar to being in the push up positions. Instead of going up and down you stand holding your body up in that position for a time period. You would be using your weight and gravity to build muscle tone in your arms. Stay in this pose for a certain time then stop after that get back into that position until you complete your reps. Very easy and simple pose that even a beginner could catch on to very quickly.

This pose reminds of the stretches athletes do right before they are about to participate in a big sporting event. This pose helps you to work on your legs, by stretching them you teach the muscles in your legs to expand and not be so tense. It will help to reduce common problems in the legs such as soreness, cramps, and pulled muscles. By the way this pose is mainly known as the Lunge Pose. You get in this pose by bending one knee and stretching your other leg behind with the top of your foot slightly bending as shown in the picture. Keep your arms pointed straight down then lounge from your midsection up forward. Remember to keep your head up while you end the postures this stretches your chess and arm muscles. This move helps your chess, arms, legs, thighs, and groin.  Try out these postures and I bet they will make you feel better.

Now it is time to learn some basic yoga stretches that you can start as a beginner of yoga. The first yoga stretch I got for you is called the shoulder stretch and it does exactly what it says stretches your shoulder. There are plenty of shoulder stretches you can do but the one shown in the picture is very basic so you should start off with that one first. You can do it by forming your hands behind your back then lifting them up as well as bending your midsection as shown in the picture.

The next yoga stretch you can start is the yoga chair stretch. Of course in order to do this stretch a chair will need to be involved.So you will be sitting in a chair as you do this kind of yoga. The yoga chair stretch that I'm going to tell you about is called the spinal twist.When sitting down in a chair for a long time lots of tension you start to build in your back. The name of it might sound a little intimidating but it's actually relaxing once you get the hang of it.

You get into this stretch by sitting in a chair. Then take your left hand and place it on the outside of your right knee. Then take your right hand and place it on the left bag leg of the chair. Then start to slightly twist your body towards the left and there you have it you will be doing the spinal twist yoga stretch.

Now I will give you two very basic yoga forms that you can do as you start off with yoga. These two forms are called the bikram and the hatha. Now bikram is a form of yoga that is normally done from within a warm environment, not to hot or cold just the right temperature. It focuses on strengthening joints and muscles in all areas of the body. It also works on breathing and is known for helping participants avoid serious diseases. Now the hatha is a form of yoga that most beginners start with because it's easy and nice flowing form of yoga. It's about doing yoga at a very slow and gentle pace so you should be able to catch on to it. I will discuss this form a little bit more in depth at future posts.

I hope after you read this article you know a little bit more about what yoga is. Continue to read this blog because I plan on dropping more great information about yoga in the future.  Thank you!!!!