Kripalu Yoga is a style of Hatha yoga that combines body, mind and spirit which encourages meditation and breath work with the goal of promoting physical healing as well as spiritual and psychological growth. Founded by Amrit Desai in 1966, Kripalu yoga maintains a training center in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts. Thousands of people attend retreats, classes and workshops at the Kripalu Center annually. Based on a belief that it is possible to use the body as a channel to access the spirit, Kripalu yoga focuses more strongly on the spiritual aspects of yoga practice than do other forms.

With a strong emphasis on student “honoring their body’s wisdom” this form of yoga has the potential to be particularly appropriate for the elderly and injured, although it is practiced by people of all ages. A definite focus on achieving correct postures, relaxation and introspection are all part of Kripalu’s attention to the spiritual growth of its practitioners. The complete practice proceeds through three stages. The first stage encourages proper alignment of positions and breathing techniques. The second stage moves into a prolonged holding of poses and meditation. The third stage postures are free flowing to develop a state of “meditation in motion.”

Contrary to popular belief, not all systems and styles of yoga are the same. There are actually thousands of different yoga systems and each has their own unique purpose. Of all the many styles of yoga, one of the most popular is Sivananda yoga. But, what is it about this branch of yoga that makes it so special? To understand this, a closer look is required.

The system of Sivananda yoga was developed based on the teachings of the legendary Swami Sivanda. The exercises in Sivananda yoga are intended to increase the wellness, health, and vitality of the practitioner. As such, an individual who is proficient in Sivananda yoga can reduce the risk of illness. This, of course, will contribute to living a long life that is a high quality life as well.

Some forms of yoga will place a great deal of emphasis on higher intensity training that involves a great deal of physical activity. Sivananda yoga is far removed from this methodology. Instead, it is a system based on relaxation. While performing the various relaxation exercises, concentration is placed on developing breath control and awareness. This is not minor aspect. Developing relaxed and controlled breathing can dramatically reduce negative reactions to stress. This can add to a longer, more vital life as well.

Of course, in order to properly learn Sivananda yoga, you will need a qualified instructor. Instructors that have graduated from the Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Course would be considered the most qualified. As such, seeking such an instructor is recommended for this wishing to explore this helpful ancient art.

Viniyoga is a unique term to describe a specific practice of Yoga. By definition, it means “leaving” and focuses on detachment. It also means application, so you could say that Viniyoga stands for practicing the applications of detachment. The creator of Viniyoga developed it in the 1970s, and to this day his original plans and passion for the practice are still being used. With Viniyoga you will practice deepening your self awareness, heightening your health, strengthening your core, and improving your mental well being. Like many yoga variations, the benefits of practicing it are intensified and doubled each time you take a class.

Viniyoga is special, and requires knowledge of oneself and the willingness to hand over that information to a Viniyoga practitioner and teacher of the art. When performed properly and with full belief that it will benefit you wholly, Viniyoga can change your entire life around for the positive as well as physically beneficial side effects.

Unlike other yoga practices, Viniyoga is very much an individual practice. When taking part in viniyoga sessions, you will likely be alone with a mentor or teacher and no one else. This allows you to fully focus on the asanas and poses that are taking place. It is used as a therapeutic yoga practice and is far less strenuous than other yoga forms, such as power yoga. That being said, breathing exercises are a large part of this yoga style, and breathing is incorporated into every pose and focused on as if it were the single most important thing. The deep breathing technique allows you to bend to certain degrees, and opens your body up for the healing that takes place during yoga sessions.

Four parted breaths, lengthening breathing exercises, and meditation are examples of important breathing components of Viniyoga. Individuals engaging in Viniyoga will experience relieved lower back pain, peace of mind, calm mentalities, and strong hips. This yoga style is easy enough for anyone, and highly recommended for those in physical therapy, mental therapy, and individuals who have difficult with other more intense yoga styles.

Many people practice yoga to feel more at peace, relaxed, rejuvenated and of course healthy. Unfortunately, your yoga mat may be working against you. Shared and communal yoga mats found at most yoga studios are filled with germs and bacteria that get passed from one yoga participant to another.

It is common courtesy at most gyms to spray down and clean off exercise equipment between uses, however exercise and yoga mats are often overlooked in this practice. The health risk of using an unsanitized yoga mat is great. Since yoga is done barefoot there is an increased risk of catching athletes’ foot or planter’s warts.

Your feet are not the only body part that comes into contact with your yoga mat, your arms, back and any other bare part of skin are likely to come into contact with your yoga mat during a yoga session. This means you can easily catch any skin disease or rash that the previous user of your yoga mat may have been infected with.

Using a shared yoga mat also means an increased health risk of catching the cold and flu germs. A sick yoga participant’s face comes into close contact with their yoga mat which easily spreads the cold and flu bugs to the yoga mat. The next person to use that mat will be exposed to their germs and has an increased risk of sickness, especially if yoga mat cleaner was not used between yoga sessions.

Cleaning the yoga mats between uses can help reduce the health risk of spreading the germs and bacteria from person to person. However, in order to effectively sanitize the yoga mats they must be cleaned with a strong chemical solution and must be wet enough to stay moist for over thirty seconds. Using yoga mat cleaner can help sanitize the yoga mats between uses but yoga mat cleaner can often be expensive and hard to use.

Since the cost of cleaning all the mats between yoga sessions is high, many yoga studios and gyms forgo the process in favor of daily or weekly cleanings. This means that if the studio has multiple classes during the day the yoga mats are remaining unsanitized. Some studios leave the cleaning between yoga sessions up to the users of the mats. Unfortunately, many people either neglect to clean the maps or clean them ineffectively.

The best way to protect yourself from the unwanted spread of germs and bacteria during yoga is to buy your own personal yoga mat. Having your own personal yoga mat means you will not be coming into intimate contact with another person’s germs and bacteria during your yoga session. The purchase of your own yoga mat can also save you money over the long run since many yoga studios charge yoga mat rental fees. Buying yoga mat cleaner can also be expensive and not as effective as using your own yoga mat.

Sunshineyoga.com offers a variety of personal yoga mats and cleaners that can help reduce the health risk of contracting a disease during your next yoga session.

What is Kundalini Yoga? Kundalini yoga was brought to modern Western civilization in 1969, when Yogi Bhajan created 3HO – The Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization. His vision was to bring this form of yoga to the general public, so they could partake of its many benefits.

This type of yoga focuses strengths on physical discipline through meditation, spiriting a bridge of communication between body and mind. It focuses mainly on the spine and how chakras can be drawn up through the body from the spine, awakening the life force and potential, or kundalini, that is inside everyone for greater meditative understanding. This type of yoga is practiced through a variety of poses, breath control, concentration and hushed words.

Practioners of this type of yoga believe that the prana, or energy, comes alive through asanas, or poses coupled with specific breathing patterns. The energy is often metaphorically described as a snake that lies coiled and dormant at the base of the spine, and is usually depicted as being female. Once the snake starts to uncoil, she travels through the spine, lengthening herself and awakening the seven chakras, or centers of force and energy, ending in the seventh chakra, which is not physical in nature, but mentally reaching a higher understanding of life.

Yoga is an ancient practice that imparts multiple benefits to those who experience it, uniting the mind, body and spirit. Everyone can practice yoga, and it requires nothing special in the way of equipment or clothing. Yoga enthusiasts note that their yoga practice results in increased energy, improved posture, more flexibility, increased circulation, and an inner sense of calm and fulfillment.

Holding a series of yoga postures, also known as yoga asanas, is the basic method of practicing yoga. Historically, yoga asanas served to create a stable position for prolonged meditation, which is probably why modern-day yoga has such a deep link to the mind and spirit. Asanas serve to stretch the muscles and joints of the body while opening the energy channels and chakras within the body. Classical yoga advises that asanas should be comfortable and steady, and the body should be firm, yet relaxed.

A yoga session starts with slow and deep breathing to prepare the body for the asanas. This is the time to concentrate on breathing and calming and centering the mind. Next, basic stretching poses start to warm the body and prepare for more rigorous postures. Some excellent poses for the beginning of a session are cat pose, cow pose, cobra pose, downward dog pose, and forward fold pose. As the body begins to warm up and the muscles start to stretch, a series of sun salutations incorporate many of these postures and a few more.

Moving further into the yoga session after the body is prepared, many yoga practitioners like to introduce more challenging postures, but only to the extent of their physical capabilities. It is recommended to move into each pose to the point where there is a good feeling of stretch and a slight resistance, but never pain. Postures introduced at this point in the practice can include balancing poses, bending poses, twisting poses, prone poses, seated poses, inversions, and standing poses.

Ending a yoga session is usually accomplished with a gradual slowing of the poses and a focus on stretching and breathing. The final pose is almost always Shavasana, or corpse pose, and is deeply relaxing. Most practitioners spend five to fifteen minutes at the end of their session in Shavasana.

Yoga can be an effective form of exercise for the body, mind, and spirit for those with any level of fitness. The basic yoga poses and breathing techniques help to promote radiant health, as well as inner peace.

Hot Yoga is another name for Bikram Yoga. It is a form of Yoga founded in Los Angeles with credit being given to Bikram Choudhury for his work in developing the style. Hot Yoga sets itself apart from other styles of yoga because of the environmental conditions which practitioners of Hot Yoga practice under. This style is referred to as “hot” because the room which it is practiced in is tempered to 105 degrees Fahrenheit with a 40% humidity level. Bikram teaches his Yoga system at the Yoga College of India in Los Angeles, which he founded himself, but hundreds of schools teaching the style can be found around the globe. Many followers and students of Bikram Yoga refer to Choudhury Bikram as the “Guru of Hot Yoga”.

It is believed that the increased temperature and humidity which Hot Yoga students practice under causes the body to become more flexible while at the same time increasing the number of toxins removed from the body via the sweat glands. It is believed that the twenty-six postures recognized in Bikram Yoga benefit all of the major organs of the body, joints, and blood. Bikram teachings are based on his principles of Extension and Compression. In Hot Yoga, when a posture is performed by the student, the body compresses, which temporarily shuts off blood circulation to specific parts of the body. When the body senses this temporary blood restriction, the heart springs into action to pump more blood, which is called extension. When the posture is complete, the new blood that was pumped as a result of the restriction is allowed to flow through the body and feed the temporarily compressed arteries. Bikram teaches that bacteria and toxins are released when the fresh blood is allowed to flow.

Hot Yoga may not be the best choice for beginners to Yoga because of the environmental stress which the student is put under, but Hot Yoga does offer beginner’s classes for new students. For the seasoned Yoga practitioner who may be becoming bored with their current regular routine, a few Hot Yoga sessions may be just what you need to spice up your sessions (pun intended).

Yoga products

The word yoga means the discipline for union of the mind, body and spirit through meditation. It commonly means the practice of postures or poses. Many believe that yoga is all about stretching but is actually finding the balance in the balance with strength and flexibility. Even though this practice is not attached to any objects, there are some things that will be useful. The essential yoga equipment or products include yoga mats, props like blankets, straps and blocks.

The yoga mat is usually the most important product and may be the first thing you purchase. It is very common to see mats in both gyms and yoga studios. The mat is used to create your space, provide traction for both feet and hands and give a cushion on the hard floor.

A folded blanket can be used during yoga as a prop to lie or sit on. They are commonly used under your sit bones to raise the hips above the knees. A blank can be used for many different things while practicing yoga.
Straps are in important for those poses that you need to hold on to your feet but cannot reach them. They can also be used for bound purposes when your hands cannot reach each other.

Blocks are used much like blankets in helping you be more comfortable and improve the alignment of your body. Blocks are also used in standing poses where your hands do not reach the floor.

Yoga is considered the only form of activity that massages the internal glands and organs in a thorough manner especially organs that hardly get stimulated. Yoga has so many benefits which include; increasing flexibility, increasing lubrication of joints, ligaments and tendons, massaging all organs of the body, complete detoxification, and excellent toning of muscles. The ultimate goals of yoga are improving overall health, and freedom from all worldly suffering, and the cycle of birth and death.

There are 5 major branches of Yoga: Raja, Karma, Jnana, Bhakti, and Hatha. Each form has it’s own practices and meanings. Raja Yoga practices meditation and is more involved with the enhancement of the mind to achieve mental liberation. Where Karma Yoga is about maintaining focus and discipline of action without considering the ultimate reward. Jnana Yoga practices are focused on salvation and separation of body and soul. Bhakti Yoga practices an overwhelming and selfless love of God. Hatha Yoga practices are focused on purifying the body and the mind, producing balance and a greater power in the individual. Hatha means the sun and the moon and when you practice this form of Yoga you are learning how to infuse the two.

Yoga offers a retreat for the body and mind through meditation, poses, and life. It offers a wealth of choices for the beginner to consider using and then it becomes a way of life. Yoga is considered one of the most energizing and refreshing ways to invigorate your mind, body and soul.

Yoga for Beginners

Yoga is one of the best activities for someone who is concerned about both physical fitness and mental clarity. If you’re taking your first step to understand this varied and rewarding discipline, there’s a couple things you should ask yourself when choosing how to practice.

Just like any other fitness discipline, yoga builds upon its own principles, and there are several different types of yoga to choose from. Once you’ve found a style and venue that you like, there are a couple pointers that will allow you to make the most of your time.

What to Bring
Make sure you wear form-fitting but flexible clothing. Anything too tight could rip during certain positions, but anything too loose could cause slips or trips during some of the movements. Make sure you have a water bottle handy – just like any other physical activity, it’s important to stay hydrated. Finally, you’ll probably want to practice yoga barefoot. While you’ll likely have a yoga mat, socks can still slip if your feet are being supported by other parts of your body, and shoes are too bulky to allow you to reach some of the poses easily.

Be Comfortable
Many of the poses your instructor does may not be attainable by the average beginner. Never try to force your body to do anything that causes pain or high level of discomfort. However, the point of yoga, like any discipline, is to train your body to become stronger and more flexible. So during any hold times during a position, try to hold your body on the brink of comfort and discomfort. Sometimes an instructor will prompt you to “push” for the next couple of seconds, or you can prompt yourself – during the last 5 seconds of a position, push your body so that a level of slight discomfort is reached. Nothing should ever cause pain, but you should feel yourself stretching muscles you may have never paid any attention to in the past.

Remember to Breath
Many beginners are so concerned about trying to achieve the given position that they forget that one of the tenants of yoga is mental clarity. You are working out, but you’re also focusing your mind. Listen to your instructor when they explain how to breath during the class. While the breathing may seem arbitrary at first, practicing the correct time to inhale and exhale can help you perform the position better in the future as the movement of the lungs corresponds to the movements of the body.