Relaxation Moments

Relaxation, Peace and Serenity for the Mind and Body

Morning Yoga Can Improve Your Day

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Yoga In The Morning

The National Institutes of Health say that yoga is an ancient practice which originated in India. Initially used as a spiritual practice, it has since become a popular regular workout. Traditional yoga focuses greatly on spiritual enlightenment and often features chanting as well as physical elements. The more modern equivalent focuses more on the physical aspects of the practice. (https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/yoga-what-you-need-to-know).

This is often a light impact way to get exercise making it a perfect early morning practice. Without expending too much energy 30-60 minutes of yoga each morning can have a number of benefits which can improve your day as a whole. 

Improves Strength And Flexibility

According to WebMD light daily yoga can greatly improve your flexibility. This is because the poses and stretches work the muscles improving their elasticity. With more relaxed muscles this also helps to minimize stiffness and tiredness within the muscles as well. (https://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/the-health-benefits-of-yoga#:~:text=The%20Health%20Benefits%20of%20Yoga%201%20Yoga%20for,blood%20pressure%20and%20slow%20the%20heart%20rate.).

More intense so-called power yoga, such as Ashtanga, can help to improve muscle tone and strength. There are a wide variety of poses meaning that potentially all of your muscle groups can be worked. If performed properly most of these poses will work your core muscles along with the other targeted areas. 

Helps Your Posture

The way a person holds themself can often have an effect on how people perceive them. Poor posture on a subconscious level can cause people to judge you as lazy or unmotivated. Daily morning yoga sessions can help you develop a more proud, confident posture.

As core strength improves our ability to stand tall without excess effort grows. Additionally, as we get to know our bodies through yoga we can better realize when our posture is poor and we can consciously adjust. 

Heart Health Benefits

Yoga by nature is not an aerobic exercise so you might imagine it does little for your cardiovascular system. However, there are elements of yoga that can help improve your heart health over time which is obviously beneficial.

Daily morning yoga helps us learn breathing techniques that relax the body which in turn help us to lower our heart rate and blood pressure. When we improve our circulatory health, this can gradually assist in fighting heart disease.

The low impact nature of most types of yoga means that they can be done easily while still receiving beneficial health boosts. People coming back from a heart attack or stroke who may not be able to work out vigorously can find yoga a gentle way to get in shape.

Stress Management

Those people who have a stressful job to face daily may find that yoga each morning could really help them cope with their day ahead. According to WebMD the benefits of yoga include not only strength, balance and flexibility but also stress relief.

It is believed that the practice’s emphasis on the connection between mind, body and spirit can have powerful emotional benefits. (https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/yoga-for-stress-management#1).

Practitioners of yoga often claim to get better sleep at night and to feel less stressed in general. When we are well rested, we have more energy and feel more capable of facing the day ahead. This combined with the release of feel good hormones in the brain post workout, make people happier and more relaxed to face the day ahead. 

Final Thoughts

When you factor in the cumulative effects of daily morning yoga with the positive feelings of working out each morning there are a great many benefits to your day. Not only does yoga help you be more emotionally ready to face the day but it also makes you feel stronger and more energized as well.

Evening Yoga for a Peaceful, Restful Bedtime

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Hoping to increase peaceful feelings in your household as everyone settles down for the evening? If you have a family, bed time can be anything but peaceful. There’s likely a nightly protest from the kids about getting to sleep on time. There could be arguments over having to put smart phones or ipads away; or maybe someone has neglected to finish homework on time.

If you live with a partner, you might have different ideas about what the evening routine should involve for enjoying some peace before bedtime. Maybe he or she enjoys turning up the volume on loud, violent movies just as you are settling in with some light reading. Or perhaps your to-do list is what summons you after-hours, which is stressful.

If you are looking for an evening self-care routine to carry you away from the pressures of family life and make the pre-bedtime hours more relaxing, then think about this series of yoga poses designed to help you relax for a more restful sleep.

Practices these poses slowly and in this specific order, taking deep, cleansing belly breaths throughout. Hold each pose for about 6 deep breaths to release tension in the body.

Mountain pose. Stand with feet positioned hip-width apart. Place arms at sides and press shoulders down as you exhale. Inhale through the nose, letting the chest rise as the feet press down into the ground and the top of the head rises proudly skyward. The trick to releasing tension in mountain pose is planting the feet firmly, and imagining the top of the head spiraling to the heavens as you pull your stomach muscles in and breathe deeply.

Forward fold. From mountain pose, sweep the arms overhead and out to the sides. Then bend down as though you were about to touch your toes. You are folded in half at the waist, with head toward the ground. As you breathe through this pose, pull your abdominals in. Hands can dangle freely, or if you’re more flexible you can try to place them on either side, behind the calves.

Downward-facing dog. From forward fold, step backward with one foot and then the other while planting the palms flat on the floor in front of you. You are now bent in half with feet and palms supporting you. This pose resembles a dog stretching. Tummy pulls in as you breathe and imagine pinning your bellybutton to the back of your spine.

Plank pose. Plank is like a gentler version of a pushup. It’s a great pose to relieve stress from the entire body while engaging all of the long muscles. Lower yourself from downward-facing dog into plank pose. Hands are beneath shoulders, pressed into the floor on either side of you. You’re using your chest muscles to support your body. Imagine you are a plank of wood, everything flat and straight, with tummy pulled in and backside tucked downward. Breathe through plank pose, then move on to upward facing dog.

From plank, come into upward-facing dog by placing your body in the prone position (facing the floor) with palms under shoulders, ready to support you. Next, lift only the torso (your hips stay pressed into the ground). Lift your torso, shoulders, neck, chin and face upward while pressing the lower half of your body (hips, front of legs and feet) to the floor. Rest between breaths and then resume the pose again if you need to.

Child’s pose. Come into child’s pose from plank. Sit on your knees, then lower your head to the floor so that your forehead touches the ground. Arms can be on either side, hugging your knees, or stretched out past your head. Focus on elongating your spine, keeping hips pulled back in their sockets and reaching forward with hands if you can.

This series represents just a few of the basic, relaxing yoga poses that you can do to increase relaxation in the evening hours, relieve stress, and sleep better. Not only will you get to sleep more quickly, but you are more likely to stay asleep through the night. And if you do wake up? Try doing some more relaxing yoga.

Why You Should Consider Online Yoga

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Online Yoga

If you have decided to increase your physical activity or mix up your workouts, you may be taking a closer look at some of the online yoga classes and videos available. These classes and videos are available for all skill levels and all physical fitness levels, and they are free for you to download and view. However, before you decide to try a few of these videos and classes at home, you need to understand the many benefits that you can enjoy by doing so.

The Physical Health Benefits

People have been practicing various forms of yoga for more than 5,000 years, which is a testament to how effective this form of exercise is. While there are dozens of types of yoga, you can generally expect to benefit from a toning, strengthening and stretching workout that targets all of your major muscle groups from all styles. Everything from focused breathing to balance, awareness of your positioning and more add to the physical benefits that you can enjoy when you practice regularly. Keep in mind that the poses become increasingly challenging as your skills and abilities improve. Therefore, you can customize your experience perfectly.

The Mental Health Benefits

While many people practice online yoga at home for physical health benefits, others do so because of the calming, relaxing effect it has. This is a type of exercise that can help you to unwind and let go of stress. It can leave you feeling more grounded and peaceful. Some people even notice that their overall mood improves when they practice yoga regularly. This is a quiet activity that lets you settle your mind, but the active movement and stretching gets your blood pumping with amazing total body results.

The Ability to Exercise in Private

You could enjoy the many benefits of yoga by taking a class in your local area, but there are benefits associated with taking online yoga classes. Online classes can be enjoyed at any time of day that is most convenient for you. You can easily find videos and classes that are customized to your skill level. If you have trouble getting into any poses initially, you do not have to feel self-conscious in the privacy of your own home. Remember that regular practice will help you to maneuver into different poses more easily. In addition, online videos are free for you to access, which is in contrast to expensive fees you may have to pay at a local yoga studio.

With so many benefits associated with taking online yoga classes, now is an excellent time to begin searching for the right classes for your skills and abilities. You may need to try several classes from different instructors before you find a good fit for you.

 

Tips for Finding Free Online Yoga Classes

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Online Yoga Classes

 

Taking online yoga classes in the privacy of your own home can be a rewarding, relaxing activity. This is something beneficial you on many levels, you can feel great about spending your time in a constructive manner. In fact, you may find that you feel stronger and more flexible physically and that you feel more grounded and relaxed mentally when you practice yoga regularly. Before you can begin taking online yoga classes, however, you will need to find the right classes that are best-suited for you.

Focus on Your Skill Level

There are an extensive range of yoga classes available for you to take online. Some are designed for beginners who have never taken yoga or who have not taken a yoga classes in years. These move at a slower pace, require less skill and may provide more instruction to you. Other online classes are designed for intermediate or advanced individuals with considerable strength and flexibility. These classes are also designed for those who know how to do the poses correctly, and the instructor may advance through very strenuous poses quickly and with minimal instruction on how to do them. When searching through online classes, pay attention to the classes that are ideal for your skill level.

Think About Your Time Availability

As you research the many online classes available, you may notice that some of the classes are less than 30 minutes long and others are more than 60 minutes long. Consider your time availability each day. While you could stop a long class before it is finished when necessary, you may find it more relaxing and productive to choose a class that is well-suited for the amount of time that you have available in your schedule. The last thing that you may want is to feel as though you left your yoga practice unfinished because you ran out of time.

Explore the Many Options

Now that you have a better understanding about the classes that are well-suited for your needs, take time to research all of the options available. Some online yoga classes are only available with a paid subscription or download. However, there are many excellent classes are available to you free of charge as well. There is no need to pay for classes to enjoy an amazing yoga experience at home. You may need to try several to find a few instructors that you enjoy practicing yoga with on a regular basis.

By spending time finding the right online yoga classes to take from home, you will be ready to start your practice as soon as today or tomorrow. Remember that you can adjust your classes if your schedule changes or as your abilities and skills improve.