At Home Yoga Routines
Hello,
In our last blog, we talked about working out with an ordinary jump rope.
Talk about inexpensive!
Today, we’ll use our yoga mats and look at some basics of the practice. If you’re brand new to yoga, it can all seem quite intimidating.
Which branch should you choose?
Where do you go? How should you begin?
Most of the “yoga” you’ll see here in the Western world is Hatha yoga, which uses postures (asanas), breathing (pranayama), gestures (mudra) and internal cleansing (shatkarma) to reach a state of mind-body-spirit
harmony.
Often, modern yoga even dispenses on the harmony aspect and simply focuses on the exercise of the postures and breathing.
Yoga’s right for just about anybody. It doesn’t matter how old you are, how overweight you may be, or how out of shape you’ve gotten.
You may need to start off more slowly, but yoga will give you a safe workout that will improve your flexibility, stamina, and muscle tone. Of course, if you’ve suffered a recent injury, ask your physician before starting any exercise program.
Yoga is typically practiced in bare feet, while wearing loose-fitting clothing and using a mat and sometimes various additional props.
You may want to begin with the appropriately named Easy Pose (Sukasana). This is the one where you sit cross-legged to learn how to sit and breathe properly.
Nowadays, people often don’t know how to sit still and just be in the moment, so this pose can be anything but easy for them.
You may feel an intensity in various muscles and tendons, but you should never feel actual pain in any yoga pose.
If your legs feel achy in this pose, try supporting them with blankets or blocks. You might also try sitting on a cushion or folded blanket. Take deep breaths.
Cat and Cow poses are good for stretching the back. For the cat pose, imagine you’re a Halloween cat arching its back. While on hands and knees, exhale and tuck your tail
bone down under.
Round your back and let your head drop down. Press into your palms to drop your shoulders and reach your middle and upper-back towards the ceiling.
Breathe and hold it for four to eight breaths. To release, inhale and flatten the back. For cow pose, you start the same, on hands and knees. Inhale and reach your tailbone
towards the ceiling. Arch your spine and let your belly drop down.
Spread your fingers apart and press into your hands to drop your shoulders down from your ears. Reach the crown of your head towards the ceiling and look up as far as
possible without straining. Breathe and hold it for four to eight breaths.
To release, exhale and flatten the back.
Yoga poses are great for stretching and working out. Use your mat and try some out.
In our next blog, we’ll talk about some workouts with your medicine ball.
Until Then,
Stay safe, Stay healthy
A J Paul
