Search Results for: yoga journal

DVD Review: Yoga Journal’s Yoga for Strength and Energy

Yoga is well known as an effective way to get energy flowing through the body and increase strength. Yoga Journal’s Yoga for Strength and Energy offers two separate practices on one DVD, Yoga Practice for Strength and Yoga Practice for Energy. Yoga Practice for Energy is a unique practice that includes sessions that follow the cycle of the sun. You can use the entire practice or try a specific session. The sessions include Awakening, Centering, Creativity, Reflection and Surrender. Select the practice session that best fits your needs on a given day or at a given time of day. For … Continue reading →

Christian Perspective: Is Yoga a Conflict?

Yoga is a controversial issue among Christians. Some say it is simply a form of exercise while others say it is a physical representation of worship to another god. As an exercise separated from the roots of its spiritual beginnings there should be nothing wrong with the poses. However, many say the separation of spirituality and exercise is not possible based on what yoga means. Since yoga is thought of as just another aerobics class many have laughed at the idea that yoga could somehow conflict with their spiritual beliefs. It would be like saying a treadmill conflicts with your … Continue reading →

The Benefits of Yoga

One of the exercise components to my Wii Fit Plus is yoga. I never thought that I would really enjoy yoga but I do. I will admit that I’m not into the psychological stuff of yoga but I have found some other benefits to yoga. The two biggest things that I have noticed are my posture has improved and my balance is much better. I have never been a very coordinated person, yet I seem to be doing better in that area. Yoga has also stretched muscles in my body that haven’t been stretched in a long time making my … Continue reading →

Yoga for Heart Disease Prevention

Heart disease has many causes and affects millions each year. It is the leading cause of death in the United States. Yoga has been shown to have positive benefits for prevention of heart disease and improving heart health in people diagnosed with heart disease. While yoga won’t reverse heredity, it can help lower other risk factors, such as high blood pressure, stress and other lifestyle factors. Several medical studies have demonstrated the benefits of yoga and meditation on heart disease. One study at Yale University showed practicing yoga and meditation reduced the risk of heart disease by lowering the pulse … Continue reading →

Yoga for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition of the wrist in which the median nerve of the wrist becomes compressed due to swelling of the surrounding tendons. Symptoms include pain, numbness and tingling. It is believed that the cause is repetitive movements of the hand and wrist, often related to work. This is a serious problem for people affected with carpal tunnel. The US Department of Labor reports that carpal tunnel syndrome is the most common medical problem reported in the workplace. There are over a quarter of a million surgeries performed for carpal tunnel syndrome each year in the United … Continue reading →

DVD Review: Rodney Yee’s Family Yoga

Yoga is a great way for families to have fun together, enhance bonds and exercise. If you don’t have a family yoga class in your area, you can enjoy yoga at home with a DVD. While, many adult yoga DVDs are too advanced or complicated for kids, there are DVDs on the market that are specifically designed for families. One good choice is Rodney Yee’s Yoga Journal’s Family Yoga. Rodney Yee is one of the best known yoga instructors and his DVDs are known for providing a quality practice. This one is no different. Family Yoga is a 40 minute … Continue reading →

Choosing a Yoga Therapist

Various studies, published in medical journals that include the Journal of the American Medical Association have demonstrated the value of yoga therapy for a variety of conditions. Because yoga therapy is designed and adapted for the individual needs of each student, the program is not conducted in a typical class format. Rather than a full class of students, the professional yoga therapist works with individuals or very small groups. This allows each person to get the benefit of an individualized program, similar to physical therapy. When selecting a yoga therapist, there are some important things to consider. One is the … Continue reading →

Creating Yoga Sequences at Home

At some point in your practice, you may decide you want to create your own practice at home, and not using a DVD or download. You can create your own sequences and use yoga music or nature sounds in the background. Many people get nervous at the idea of beginning a yoga practice because they don’t know where to start in creating their own sequences. There are many schools of thought for creating yoga sequences, depending on the type of practice. For example, the sequences in kundalini yoga are different than in Iyengar. While there aren’t any standard rules, there … Continue reading →

Book Review: Yoga as Medicine: The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing

People who are interested in the health benefits of yoga or how the therapeutic benefits of yoga help specific health problems will love Yoga as Medicine: The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing by Dr. Timothy McCall, internal medicine specialist and medical editor of Yoga Journal magazine. McCall has been focusing his practice on the therapeutic aspects of yoga. The author combines eastern and western philosophies in discussing health and healing. The concepts in this book are useful for anyone interested in exploring the general health benefits of yoga, as well as people with specific health problems for which yoga … Continue reading →

The Yoga Path: Finding My Headstand

After going to my Level 3 YogaFit Training, I was determined to work my way into a headstand away from the wall. Reading Light on Yoga by B.K.S. Iyengar and talking to students and other teachers of yoga, I realized that I would need to be patient with myself and not rush it. I had heard that using a corner, rather than just being up against the wall, would encourage proper alignment. I didn’t try it in a corner for several months after my Level 3 training, however, perhaps because of being stubborn. It wasn’t until I had a more … Continue reading →