Yoga Props Today

The reasons why yoga props will always have a place in every studio and class, no matter what the skill level or flexibility of the practitioners, is because they elevate the integrity of many poses and allow those who would not otherwise be able to get into said poses, due to flexibility limitations, to access them properly.

Even the yoga mat can be considered a potent prop beyond just providing a consistent, padded, absorbent surface to practice on. The shape of the mat beneath one's feet provides a grounding focus for the eyes, while training in balancing moves. It provides a consistent means of spacing the feet out against its edges in lunges, warriors, and triangles. The edges of the mat encourage a goal point for putting weight on the outside edges of the feet and heels.

Blocks serve a great purpose for both advanced yoga practitioners and beginners. Wide-legged postures for both naturally flexible individuals, and for those who have gotten there with great effort, is pertinent to maintaining the health of the hip girdle. Regular stretching of the hips keeps the hamstrings, IT bands and calves loose to maintain the integrity of the walking stride as well as the running stride. Hard (bamboo or wooden) yoga blocks make excellent steps from which to continue calf stretching.

Yoga straps are necessary for building back flexibility, especially since doing bridges will not help create space between vertebrate. Bridges may be useful for those who have the flexibility and shoulder strength to maintain them from the get go, but yoga straps are especially necessary for those who are not to the point of doing strong bridges that maintain wrist integrity. Equal back flexibility throughout the vertebral column is important for sustaining lengthened and open pectoral, intercostal, and psoas muscles. Keeping all of these areas limber will help prevent back, shoulder and neck pain, that results from a modern technological lifestyle and sitting for long hours. A great way to start building flexibility with a yoga strap is to begin in pigeon pose with the yoga strap wrapped around the ankle of the straight leg. A yoga block under the higher hip of the bent leg will be helpful for maintaining balance. Bend the back knee, while pulling on the strap overhead, feeling stretch in your shoulders. Bend the back leg. Your back will follow.

Props Today and Tomorrow

The world of yoga is always changing. Although the basic moves and philosophy remain the same, there are great innovations when it comes to props. Many instructors and yoga enthusiasts now include props as an integral component of their yoga sessions to get the most out of their routine. When props accompany yoga exercises, participants are able to adapt their movements. This is especially helpful for individuals who are pregnant, have had injuries, or deal with chronic pain. Props can allow individuals to extend their movements as well. Many of the popular props can be seen at a glance below.

Stretch Straps

Stretch straps are always an excellent accessory for an intense yoga session. While there is nothing new about the concept of a strap or resistance band, many stretch straps have been improved with the addition of numerous handholds. As participants work their way through a stretch or move, they can continue to progress through the handholds until their flexibility improves.

Socks and Gloves with Grips

While they are not necessarily a prop, socks and gloves with grips are an excellent addition to get the most out of a yoga workout. From having more stability on the floor, to a better hold on the soles of the feet, this simple piece of footwear can prevent injury and help a person to get to the next level.

Yoga Bench Accompanied with Stretch Bands

A variety of yoga benches have been created that have versatile functions. From using it as a prop for enhanced strength and flexibility, to having a mount for a handstand, it can propel one's yoga performance to new heights. Add stretch bands to combine resistance training with traditional yoga poses.

Yoga Bolster

Yoga bolsters act as a cushion and provide comfort while performing stretches. These supportive props are available in a range of sizes. Some are inflatable, allowing users to adjust the amount of air, in order to improve each yoga pose. They are a positive addition to any routine, as they assist in creating safe conditions during exercising.

Ergonomic Seat Accessories

For a yoga teacher, the principles of using props in classes, for posture alignment, create a form of exercise that can improve skeletal health and become a way of life for students. Therefore, it is only natural that yoga props should also carry over into everyday life. Ergonomic seats have been designed to encourage good posture for this very reason. The fact is: As yoga props develop, so will every day furniture in the average office and home. Hatha yoga is good for skeletal health and props will continue to evolve, due to the number of people who are taking preventative action to reduce or eliminate pain.


Faye Martins, is a Yoga teacher and a graduate of the Yoga teacher training program at: Aura Wellness Center in, Attleboro, MA. To receive Free Yoga videos, Podcasts, e-Books, reports, and articles about Yoga, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/

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The Debate Over Yoga and Weight Loss

The debate over yoga and weight loss persists today with "fitness experts" often arguing that yoga doesn't burn enough calories to be considered "exercise" and yoga practitioners adamantly testifying to its benefits.

As a veteran of long-term sustained weight loss and a yoga devotee for eight years, here's my perspective on yoga for losing weight.

There are many different types of yoga, all requiring different energy (calorie) quotients and physical capability. Some styles of yoga (vinyasa and flow types) require students to move quite a lot throughout a yoga class; others increase demand through heat (Bikram, Forrest); and some are quite gentle and slow (yin, restorative).

Calorie usage, however is not the beginning and end of the story as far as the benefits of yoga are concerned - though much of the fitness industry wrongly insists that calorie usage is the beginning and end of the story. This is a temporary mindset, which is why 99% of the weight loss we see in the U.S. is temporary and doesn't make it to the requisite 5 year marker to qualify as permanent weight loss.

Losing weight permanently requires a broader, "big picture" perspective. What we accomplish during a yoga or workout session is not the end of the story. If you are working out effectively in the gym, you'll burn additional calories long after the workout is over and also build muscle that boosts the body's metabolism from that day forward, forever.

With yoga, we may build muscle a little more slowly and use less calories during a class but we receive other benefits such as pliability, agility, balance, coordination and flexibility. In addition, many practitioners say they receive an added bonus - mindfulness and body awareness. This is the intrinsic that cannot be measured by calories, a machine or device, or anything else known to man and, yet, it is powerful.

Shortly after beginning a consistent yoga practice (2-3x a week), many people report:

1. More awareness of their bodies and the body's communication signals like hunger, fullness, fatigue, pain, lack of energy. Learning to hear this type of communication, from within the body, is very meaningful for those who have let diets run their bodies for years.

2. Better use of food. Many yoginis report their tastes in food naturally change without effort or deprivation after establishing a yoga practice. Being more in touch with their bodies, they feel the negative impact of high fats or sugars on their bodies, and find themselves avoiding those energy-draining foods. This is the very definition of a permanent change because it comes from within the person, not from someone outside, in a book or program, telling them what to eat. When we eat according to our body's communication to us (not our minds, which is a diet), we almost always eat in a healthier manner.

3. More holistic thinking. Yoga integrates the entire being. Because it requires your body, mind, heart and spirit to be present, we are suddenly called into a new way of living - unified, instead of the diet way, in which we impose our mind/diet in opposition to our bodies in an attempt to control natural physical, emotional and spiritual needs.

The Bottom Line: Yoga is perfect for permanent weight loss, but may seem ineffective for temporary weight loss.

And, yet, one of the reasons to move more slowly through big changes like lifestyle adjustment, is that they are much more likely to remain with us forever, instead of flee at the first sign of difficulty.


Pat Barone, CPCC, MCC, earned her title "America's Weight Loss Catalyst" by coaching thousands of clients toward permanent weight loss. Her status as an expert is heightened by her own personal weight loss success. Through her company, Catalyst Coaching(TM) LLC, she offers seminars, workshops and retreats focusing on permanent weight loss. Get her free 5 part series - Key Lesson for Permanent Weight Loss at http://patbarone.com/5-key-lessons-permanent-weight-loss

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Power Yoga for Weight Loss - Sufficient Fat Burn With Weight Loss and Strengthens Your Lean Muscles

When modern teachers of yoga started transcending borders to teach yoga to their western students, they invented the word "power yoga," which was more consonant with the western synonyms and easy to explain to the students. Actually, power yoga takes its origin from Ashtanga yoga where a series of postures coordinated with breathing. This procedure detoxifies the muscles and organs due to the intense heat and profuse sweat generated during the process. It accounts for improved circulation, a calm mind and a body that is light and strong. However, power yoga is a universal term that refers to an approach to Vinyasa yoga based on fitness, and hence can vary widely in their connotations and applications.

This type of yoga involves total body workout, almost akin to cardiovascular exercises and has gained tremendous popularity for its success in improving the body toning, flexibility and strength, and extracts all the benefits that could accrue from vigorous aerobic exercises. Power yoga has drawn from the best parts of yoga and adapted its application to weight loss and body fitness. Power yoga sets a fast pace, and brings down the heart rate, instigating profuse sweating, which are features that serious yoga practitioners look forward to. Among the several benefits accruing from are calorie-burning, enhancement in strength, flexibility and stamina, enhanced metabolism, stress reduction and strength addition in inactive muscles.

The debate on the contrasting benefits of Cardio exercises viz-a-viz power yoga has raged on for a long time. Everyone agrees that you could get to burn twice the number of calories in a one-hour Cardio session when compared to yoga. However, yoga burns calories because it increases metabolism while it continues to build lean muscle, leading to the universally desired process of fat burning and consequent weight loss. The point here is that a cardio exercise can burn calories but not fat, and excess cardio can even reduce your muscle strength, while power yoga, when burning calories and fat, continues to build the muscles.

Two sessions of yoga per week will give you sufficient fat burn and weight loss. Additionally, it also strengthens your lean muscles, which is good, if you intend to go for cardio exercise later and to lift weights. Many experts profess that a right blend of cardio and yoga is an ideal solution for weight loss. For those runners and heavy weight lifters who are searching only for flexibility and strength of body in their pursuit of a body like Adonis, power yoga is the best remedy.


Yoga is the right form of exercise for both your body and mind. Click here to know more about fitness centers in Raleigh NC.

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A Review of Some Fat Burning Yoga Workouts

If you have ever watched The Biggest Loser you will know that trainer Bob Harper is a huge fan of yoga as an overall great workout for mind and body. Not a season goes by without at least one episode in which The Biggest Loser participants find themselves in yoga poses which call into action muscles they did not know they possessed while sweat rolls off them in a river. That's thanks to Bob and one of his intense yoga sessions; he does it every time.

When considering the health benefits of traditional yoga you might think first about its effects on the mental well-being of practitioners. The concentration and serenity required of those who practice yoga helps them tune in and understand their bodies in a way few other people can manage. And then there are the commonly cited physical benefits, the flexibility and increased lubrication of joints and muscles, the inner organ health, the detoxification, increased dexterity, better posture...

Yes, the list of the physiological and psychological benefits of traditional yoga goes on and on but one thing that people generally do not think of yoga is that it can be an effective fat burning exercise.

Take the Crunch - Fat Burning Yoga video by Susan Ivanhoe for example. The 45-minute tape presents a yoga class in the vinyasa style which focuses on sequential poses, flowing from one to the other. The poses themselves are classic yoga asanas that anyone with any experience of yoga at all will be familiar with, but it is the way they are linked and flow together that make this a particularly effective fat burning workout.

Another video workout called Yoga Zone - Fat Burning contains two twenty minute sessions intended for the beginner or intermediate yoga practitioner. It targets those areas on the body that tend to accumulate most fat and according to one buyer, "The tape elevates the heart rate and keeps it elevated during the entire two sessions."

Of the various types of yoga, some are known to burn more calories than others. Hatha yoga is gentle with emphasis on breathing techniques and meditation. It is a great overall exercise for flexibility and mental health but is not a great fat burner. Better is Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga which focuses on the flow of asanas, the movements between and during the poses creating a more fat burning workout.

Bikram yoga, also called hot yoga is another style of yoga which is said to melt away fat. It was begun by Bikram Choudray in the 1970's and is made up of 90 minutes of poses and breathing exercises performed in a room heated to 105°F (40°C) and with a humidity of 40%. Skeptics might say that any exercise done for 90 minutes in a hot and humid room is going to sweat off the pounds but practitioners of Bikram Yoga avidly support its ability to burn fat as well as cure or greatly improve many medical conditions.


Learn about the Acai Berry Diet and Total Health At Home from Brian Garvin & Jeff West.

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Lose 25 Pounds in 2 Months Doing Bikram Yoga

This is how I lost 25 pounds in 2 months, but first let me give you some background to my journey.

After I graduated from college back in 2000 I realized i didn't look like I did when I started college. So begin the forever long "Battle of the Bulge".

I have tried so many things and nothing really made a big enough change for me to stick with it. Just to name a few: Weight Watchers, Nutri-System Meals in the Mail, Diet Doctors/diet pills, Boot Camp, Training for a 10 miler, working out with a gym partner throughout the week, No Carb Diet. Despite always being on some sort of weight loss plan I seemed to still increase in weight each year, which made me even more frustrated.

Even though I was frustrated, I still continued to watch what I ate and realized I did have a healthy diet. I had my apple a day, dairy (low fat yogurt), my veggies, never cooked fried food instead I always baked. But still I would see no significant weight loss.

Finally in November 2007 I discovered all the right tools.

FIRST TOOL:

I started counting Calories on Friday November 9th 2007. Yep, something you hear people say all the time but never bothered to do. I went to a new Diet Dr. that gave the same pills Phentermine and b-12 shots. He also gave me something new that I never had before called Citalopram, that I only take a half a pill a day. It is supposed to put you in a good mood among other things. The previous diet Dr. I went to, just gave me a list of foods to eat and to have 3 dairy products a day. This new diet Dr. told me to only eat 1000 calories a day and I would lose 12 pounds in 4 weeks (3 pounds a week). And if I exercised I could lose an additional 4 pounds. 16 pounds in 4 weeks, yeah right!

SECOND TOOL:

A Good Friend of mine kept talking about this yoga class she had been taking and how I needed to go. She had been talking about it for over a month, but I already had gym membership at Gold's and didn't see why I should go someplace else when they had Yoga at Gold's. Plus I never really got into the Yoga thing. I was trying to lose weight so always went for the Cardio type of stuff. Well November 9th my girlfriend called me and asked again, "You should go to Bikram Yoga with me 2morrow morning". I was like "You are right on time with this, I am willing to give it a shot".

So I met her at 8:00in the morning on Saturday. I had no idea what I was in for, all I was told was to bring a yoga mat, towel, 2 bottles of frozen water, dress light(half naked) and be prepared to sweat!!!! So I walk in with my friend with an open mind. There is a small lobby and everyone takes their shoes off when they walk in and place them into cubbies. The aroma of Lavender is in the air. I see a lot of slim folks walking around with really skimpy outfits on. Anywhoooo, I take my socks and shoes off, take of my sweatshirt and head to the Yoga Room.

I walk in and this blanket of heat hits me in the face. The room is about 110 degrees and my skin already feels moist. I lay my mat down in the back row, sit my frozen waters beside my mat and take a seat on the floor. My friend and I are whispering back in forth like two school girls. I notice a lot of people are laying flat on their back, just basically chilling. My friend says we are supposed to do that so that are body can warm up and get use to the air in the room. It also helps relax you before the class starts. So the instructor walks in. He is a very lean man with some really small tight Speedo booty shorts on... That's enough about him.

On The very first exercise we did, I almost busted out laughing. We had to breath in deep with are head pushed forward (people sounded like vacuum cleaners, I have never heard such deep breathing in my life) and then breath out pushing are head far back. We did this like 10 times. 15 minutes into the class I am bending down touching my toes and a water fall of sweat comes pouring down my face, blinding my site. I pear through my lashes and noticed my legs are drenched, as if I just stepped out of the bathtub. When I stand up straight, all the blood comes rushing back to my head and my heart is pounding as if I just ran a 100 Meter dash. Several times I just had to stand there and breathe to keep myself together. The instructor tells us, whatever you do, "DONT LEAVE THE ROOM" just sit down and breathe, but "DONT LEAVE THE ROOM". So we are approaching about 45 minutes into the class and I'm thinking "thank goodness, I am just about 'WELL DONE', and ready to be taken out of the oven". I stretch a little harder and hold the poses a little longer because I know we are almost done. Then the instructor says "Ok, that concludes the warm-up, now let's start Yoga". My thoughts go blank, then I regain consciousness "WHAT THE #%@&!, THE WARMUP". I look over to my Girl and ask "How long is this class", she giggles and says "90 minutes".

30 minutes later I am laying flat on my back, just chilling in "Savasana" with an ice cold wet towel on my face that has been soaked in Lavender. I am soaking wet from head to toe and feel like I just ran 10 miles in 90 degree weather. The funny thing is, I feel GREAT!!!!! I always love that feeling you get after an intense workout, I just usually really dislike or don't enjoy the exercises you have to do to get to that point. But I actually liked doing those Yoga poses and I was eager to try it again to make sure it wasn't a fluke. I signed up for the Intro Month and went back the very next Day. After that I was hooked and going 3+ times a week. That's 600+ calories burned every class

THIRD TOOL:

I didn't believe the calorie counting thing would work when I first started, so I went out and bought a Food & Fitness journal to write everything down. I wanted to have proof, so I could say "Look, I put all the calories down, didn't go over and still no weight loss". I wrote everything I ate and drank down with the calories. I even put down when I did the Yoga and when I would take my Dog on 15 min walks (about a mile walk). The calorie counting was not difficult and since I was already eating relatively healthy I didn't have to change much about my diet. It just made me more aware of what I was eating on those days when I wanted to eat out. Something I used to think would be healthy actually has like 500 calories so I would pass it up because I wasn't going to waste 500 calories on one thing. Most of the stuff I used to eat I still kept in my diet. Like light yogurt 40-50 calories, small apple 60 calories, cup of coffee with equal and coffee mate 16 calories, frozen meals 180-380 calories, frozen mixed veggies 30 calories a cup. I don't have a sweet tooth, so no problems there. My biggest weakness was chips. But I found the Pringles light sour cream chips that are like 70 calories for 14 chips, compared to the regular kind that's like 140 calories for 10-14 chips. So there I was counting out my chips into little baggies to take to lunch, or just to have it available to grab for a snack.

THE RESULTS AFTER 4 WEEKS

After the first 4 weeks of counting calories, going to Bikram (HOT) Yoga, and writing everything down I lost 16 pounds. The only thing I could say was "WOW, IT REALLY WORKS". I lost 12 pounds in 4 weeks and an extra 4 pounds if you exercise.

THE RESULTS AFTER 8 WEEKS

It's January 7th and I have lost 25+ pounds. I did not lose the 16 pounds in the 2nd 4weeks because I couldn't afford the Yoga during the Holiday Months.

That class is expensive ($150 for a unlimited month), and if you sign up you want to be able to go to class as much as possible to get your dollars worth. So I opted out for the month of December with all the holiday parties, time off from work, shopping for gifts etc... I still continued to count my calories and even started taking Kukuwa Dance workout at Gold's Gym, since I did have a membership.

The reason I think the calorie counting worked for me is because I could calculate exactly how many calories to eat in order to lose weight. Before I never knew exactly how much of something was ok, I had nothing to calculate. With counting the calories there was no guess work. You eat over your amount, you don't lose weight, you stay on point then you will lose weight. It is just that simple.

Today I will be going back to Bikram Yoga, I miss it so much. Every time I took that class I left feeling like I could breathe so much better, the best restful sleep, tons of energy the next day, skin looking better than ever. I just felt GOOD. I will let you know if this euphoric feeling returns after the class.

AFTER BIKRAM YOGA ON JAN 7th

Wow, it was sooooo Great!!!! I was running late and rushed to get there and when I arrived, the room was packed. I have never seen so many people in the class. we usually only have 2 rows of people and today we had to squeeze in a third row. The class was great and I was sooo surprised at my performance. I have lost a little more weight since the last class I took about 3 weeks ago. I could really tell the difference...I was hitting poses I never hit before and didn't need to take as many breaks as I used to.


To find out more information about my journey with Bikram yoga and counting calories visit: http://ms-dmv.blogspot.com/

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Yoga for Belly Fat

There is widespread belief that an hour of physical yoga is enough cardiovascular activity to fulfill the average person's daily fitness needs. The truth is that many schools of yoga burn calories at a low rate and are therefore not the ideal form of exercise to target fat burn. Of course, it is also true that certain forms of yoga are considered more active and do burn calories while tightening and toning the body.

Different styles and yoga instructors vary in the physical challenge they present. A person weighing 150 pounds doing an hour of Hatha yoga burns 180 calories, for example, while an hour of Ashtanga yoga burns 350 calories. Asthanga yoga is considered one of the most physically difficult schools of yoga, but even this form is outpaced by a slow run. In an hour, a runner going at a slow 12-minute-mile pace can still burn upwards of 500 calories.

So why practice yoga for belly fat?

It is true that yoga may burn fewer calories than running, but the overall health benefits like increased flexibility, improved focus, stronger bodies and relatively low risk of injury have a lot to say in favor of practicing yoga instead of or to complement other forms of fitness activities. However, because it may not burn calories at an intense pace like running or elliptical training can, yogis who would like to use yoga to burn belly fat must practice a targeted, intentional sequence of poses.

Four Tips for Practicing Yoga to Burn Belly Fat

1. Keep it moving! Choose a series that is designed to flow easily from pose to pose. Hold each pose for a minute or two and move quickly into the next pose. The fast flowing sequence should simultaneously tax your strength and elevate your heart rate, increasing the rate of calorie burn.

2. Target your practice! Make sure to use or design a sequence that strengthens your core muscles. Chair pose, plank pose, sun salutations and forward, side and back bends all target your abs, back and sides.

3. Finish and repeat! Do the pose sequence several times in order to get the maximum benefit from your practice; make sure your focus on the second and third repetitions is on correct posture since technique often begins to lag as your muscles fatigue.

4. Go long! Ideally, it takes 40 to 60 minutes of moderate exercise for your body to start burning through its fat reserves. So don't settle for a quick 30 minute session; you need to stay active for most of an hour in order to get the best fat-burning results.

© Copyright 2012 - Aura Wellness Center - Publications Division


Faye Martins, is a Yoga teacher and a graduate of the Yoga teacher training program at: Aura Wellness Center in, Attleboro, MA. To receive Free Yoga videos, Podcasts, e-Books, reports, and articles about Yoga, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/

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Yoga to Increase Weight Loss

Stop Harming Your Body

There is an infinite amount of products on the web claiming to help people lose weight. To be honest, most of those products are dangerous to your body or simply just don't work. Yoga is a completely safe and natural way to lose weight.

Doing Yoga for Weight Loss

Yoga is one of the best and easiest ways to lose weight. Many people have been using yoga for weight loss and it is very safe. There are several yoga poses specifically designed for weight loss. Yoga triggers the metabolism and helps burn calories faster. The calories burned doing yoga may not measure up to the same amount of calories as running, but running is a lot harder. Although, running burns more calories, not everyone can run. Almost anyone can do yoga. By the way unlike other exercises yoga has no side effects.

5 Poses for Weight Loss


Crescent Pose - For this pose get in lunge position, with your weight on the back foot, keep torso upright, with arms reaching towards the sky.
Locust Pose - With this pose you will lie on your stomach with your hands to your side, look forward and lift legs and head off the ground.
Bow Pose - While doing this you'll have to lie on your stomach with your head lifted off the ground and reach back with your hands and grab your ankles.
Willow Pose - To do this pose stand in a upright position, place your right foot on the inside of the left thigh, then bring hands together in a praying motion and extend arms to the sky. Alternate legs.
Bridge Pose - Lie on your back with feet flat on the ground, bend your knees, and lift your hips towards the sky with your hands together under your body.



These yoga poses can be done at home or at a gym and the only thing you will is need is a quiet space and a yoga mat. Each pose should be held for at least 30 seconds, up to a minute if possible. The longer the pose is kept the more calories will be burned.

Doing yoga for weight loss is easily one of the best ways to stay healthy these days. You can either do yoga in addition to your other workouts, or simply just do yoga. Either way, by doing yoga you can live a very healthy life.


More articles by Andrew W. can be read at http://www.meditationmaniac.com

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