Yoga is a family of ancient spiritual practices originating in India. It is one of the six schools of Hindu philosophy. In India and across the World, Yoga is seen as a means to both physical health and spiritual mastery. Outside India, Yoga has become primarily associated with the practice of asanas or postures of Hatha Yoga.
Like many things in life, yoga poses are cumulative. Beginner poses provide a foundation for later yoga poses. Though the only way to adequately learn a pose is from an instructor, although some can be described as examples.
The base for all standing poses is the "Mountain Pose," which strengthens your thighs and improves your posture. Stand with your big toes touching and evenly distribute your weight throughout your feet. Press your feet into the floor, while tightening your thighs to raise them. Draw in your belly, tuck in your tailbone, stack the shoulders above the pelvis, and widen your collarbones. You might want to practice against a wall to feel how the pose aligns.
The "Staff Pose" is the foundation for all seated poses and can be thought of as a seated version of the Mountain Pose. This pose strengthens legs and improves bodily alignment. Sit with your legs straight in front of you, engage the thighs, and flex your feet (your heels might leave the floor). Lengthen your spine and stack your shoulders over your hips. You might want to start while sitting on padding, and if your hamstrings are too tight, you'll have to bend your knees some.
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Did you know?
Buddha, who is estimated to have lived 563 to 483 BC, is believed to have studied what was known of yoga at that time as part of an extensive education in Hindu philosophy. It is also very likely, given the rapid growth of Buddhism after his death and before the Bhagavad Gita was composed, that Buddhism had some influence on that work. There is a considerable overlap between the Hindu yoga tradition and Buddhism.
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Besides these two base poses, a common intermediate pose to transfer you into another pose is the "Downward Facing Dog." This pose strengthens and stretches your entire body, and it's also used as both a resting and standing pose. (It's a mild inversion, so it should be avoided during pregnancy or menstruation.) From a crawling position (wrists beneath the shoulders and knees beneath the hips), curl your toes under and push back while raising the hips and strengthening your legs. Spread your fingers and press from the forearms into the floor, with your upper arms rotated outwards to widen your collarbones. Shoulder blades should be geared downwards, and you should engage your quadriceps to take pressure off the arms. Rotate your thighs inwards to keep the tail high and let your heels to the floor; though if you're not yet flexible enough for your heels to touch the floor, don't step forward so they do.
Most if not all yoga routines end with the "Corpse Pose," the traditional pose of resting and rejuvenation. With your eyes closed, lie flat on your back, with feet and arms falling out to either side, slightly separated from your body, with your palms up. Relax your entire body, face included, and breathe naturally (you should feel heavy). When leaving the pose, begin by deepening your breathing. Move your outer extremities and draw the movement inwards, bringing the knees to the chest and rolling over. Slowly sit up before opening your eyes.
Michael Saunders edits a site on Yoga and Health and maintains a Website on all elements of prosperity and abundance
Healthy Eating Tips: Test Your Food I.Q.
Copyright (c) 2006 Debbie Fontana
Healthy eating tips include more than just avoiding "bad" foods.
Did you know that some medical and scientific studies have shown that adding certain foods to your diet may help to prevent or ease certain medical conditions?
Of course, this isn't a prescription to start treating your illnesses and medical conditions with food. You should always see a doctor for medical advice and proper diagnosis before starting any treatment plan.
But you may want to discuss with your doctor if he or she thinks that eating certain foods may help you (or at least, not hurt you).
Be especially careful if you take any medications because some foods can cause adverse effects.
But with those warnings in mind, let's test your "Food I.Q."
1. Which food(s) may help with emphysema and chronic bronchitis?
a. Onions
b. Tabasco sauce
c. Chile peppers
d. Soybeans
2. Which food(s) may help to reduce "bad" LDL cholesterol?
a. Baked beans
b. Oat bran
c. Apples
d. Grapes
3. Which foods(s) may help to relieve constipation?
a. Prune juice
b. Apples
c. Wheat bran
d. Potatoes
4. Which food(s) may help to control gout?
a. Sardines
b. Cherries
c. Organ meats
d. Mussels
5. Which food(s) may be effective in treating diarrhea?
a. Baked beans
b. Onions
c. Blueberries
d. Mushrooms
6. Which food(s) may help to prevent (though not necessarily treat) ulcers?
a. Yogurt
b. Fresh cabbage juice
c. Broccoli
d. Grapefruit
7. Which foods may help to reduce high blood pressure?
a. Milk chocolate
b. Dark chocolate
c. White chocolate
d. Cranberries
8. Which foods may help to prevent (though not necessarily treat) urinary tract and bladder infections?
a. Beer
b. Cranberry juice
c. Cauliflower
d. Rice
9. Which food(s) may help to prevent cavities?
a. Milk
b. Coffee
c. Tea
d. Oat bran
10. Which food(s) may help to prevent blood clots by thinning the blood?
a. Olive oil
b. Garlic
c. Ginger
d. Cauliflower
The answers appear below the disclaimer.
Important Disclaimer: This information is presented for educational purposes only. This isn't medical advice and it's not a substitute for any advice or treatment from your physician. You should always see your doctor before starting any new diet plan for losing weight or if you have a medical condition or illness.
Answers: 1. a, b, c. 2. a, b, c. 3. a, b, c. 4. b. 5. c. 6. a, b. 7. b. 8. b.
9. a, b, c. 10. a, b, c.
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Want to find out more about the healthy effects of foods? Debbie Fontana sends Special Reports about health, weight loss, and nutrition to her subscribers. You can also discover how Debbie used an easy and delicious diet plan to reduce both weight and blood pressure in her I Love to Cheat lifestyle diet. For more information and a free subscription to her Special Reports, visit Healthy Eating Tips | Weight Loss Diet Plan
How To Build Bigger Biceps In 3 Easy Steps ANYONE Can Follow
Clint Eastwood wouldn’t have been a very intimidating Dirty Harry if all he pulled out was a little .22 caliber pistol to make his point. He knew that to really make the bad guy’s knees shake and the lady’s legs quiver, a .44 Magnum was the weapon of choice?!
So when it comes to bicep development, why should YOU settle for second rate pea-shooters when you can pack some REALLY BIG GUNS?
Let’s face it, all men want big biceps. They’re the easiest muscle to show off without getting undressed, women love to wrap their arms around them when walking down the street, and they’re SMALL.
Whoa…I didn’t mean YOURS were small. I simply mean that compared with other muscles of the body, like your chest, back, and legs, your biceps are a relatively small muscle. That’s GOOD NEWS!
That’s GOOD NEWS because it means that it’s much easier to target your biceps for growth than it is to take on larger, more complicated muscle groups.
So why aren’t YOURS the size of softballs yet?
One quick look around ANY local sweatbox and the answer becomes clear…MOST guys have absolutely NO CLUE how to effectively work their arms. But these 3 EASY STEPS are guaranteed to make sure you don’t end up on the “loser list”.
STEP 1: DIAL THE RIGHT “FREQUENCY”
Because the biceps are a smaller muscle, and because they’re used in other compound exercises when working other muscle groups, your arms are more prone to OVERTRAINING than any other muscles of the body.
I’m sure you understand by now that your muscles grow when they’re at REST rather than WORK. So if you keep your biceps at work by targeting them MORE than ONCE A WEEK, you’re setting yourself up for major disappointment!
This is where the “more is better” crowd will lose EVERY time! Stick to only ONE targeted workout per week in arms and you’ll give them the much needed recovery time to pack on new muscle.
STEP 2: UPGRADE YOUR R.O.M.
No, I’m not talking about your computer…I’m referring to your muscle’s RANGE OF MOTION.
If you ever want to grow your bi’s to their full potential, you MUST concentrate on hitting ALL of the muscle fibers. The only way to do this is to take the muscle from full pronation to full extension.
Look, you’re not impressing ANYONE, especially that cute red head over by the water cooler, by stacking up the EZ curl with massive weight and flopping your body all over the place like a hooked bass, your arms barely lowering the weight to full extension.
You MUST start EVERY SINGLE REPETITION with your arms FULLY EXTENDED. (Yes…I KNOW this makes the exercise HARDER, now grab a tissue, wipe away the tears, and get back to work.)
A little trick to help you accomplish this is to first briefly (like a split-second) flex your TRICEPS before raising the weight each rep. Since the ONLY way to do this is to FULLY extend your arm, you’ll KNOW you’ve begun each rep in the optimum starting position to stimulate new muscle growth.
STEP 3: RECRUIT YOUR “MAIN SQUEEZE”
To get your biceps to BECOME bigger, you first have to show them what it’s like to BE bigger.
Here’s how it’s done…
At the very top of your curl, when your bicep has peaked, SQUEEZE the muscle hard for approximately 1-2 seconds. Your curls will make your muscles contract, effectively setting up a “road block” in your bicep. That final squeeze you add will literally FORCE blood, water, and lactic acid into the contracted muscle, causing an intense “pump”.
In response, the muscle cells themselves begin to THICKEN, the capillaries within the muscle grow in NUMBER and SIZE to hold more fluid, and “satellite” stem cells split off to form NEW muscle fibers, already pre-programmed for growth.
SUMMARY:
Well, there you have it…but NOW comes the HARD PART. And NO, I’m NOT talking about picking the weight up and starting your curls.
The hard part will be forcing yourself to actually DECREASE the weight you currently use because chances are, you’ve been working too heavy in order to pad your ego, while sacrificing the most effective ego-booster…BIGGER BICEPS! But trust me, the growth you’ll get from incorporating these 3 principles will MORE than compensate for your initially bruised ego.