...Indeed if someone were to say they thought Yoga was just stretching after they saw a student leave a Yoga class and later on eating at McDonalds or something, they probably would be right.

Why?

Well, Yoga, in its entirety, includes a proper diet. One doesnt exist without the other. This is THE factor that anyone seriously interested in taking up Yoga must understand. If one wants to do Yoga, youve got to include all its principles.

When I started doing yoga some 6 years back, I did extensive research on the subject of diet and Yoga. Perhaps this was fate, as co-incidentally, this was around the time that an associate had told me to look into fasting and a natural diet as a means to cure my horrendous acne at that time.

I stumbled on a book called The Complete Illustrated book of Yoga by Swami Vishnu-Devananda, and this had a whole chapter on diet. What he explained here made it clear that as beneficial as most- if not all- yoga poses could be for overall health, if one constantly subsists on unhealthy foods, it defeats the purpose of exercising in the first place.

This is perhaps even more important in regards to Yoga.

Why? Well, Yoga is more than just a physical exercise as Meditation, Breathing Exercises and even some Poses such as the Peacock, Shoulder-Stand and the Sun Salutations are known to have an ef...more

Basic Yoga Relaxation Techniques

...e are three ways in which to do this:

The first position- Hold both of your hands palm-side up. Now place one hand on top of the other hand and lay both of them on the heels of your feet.

The second position- Keep the palms of your hands down and place both hands on your knees.

The third position- Place the palms of both hands face-up. Then place both hands on your knees and form a circle with your thumb and index finger. Keep the remaining fingers straight outward.

Another common technique that can help you relax and de-stress your body is called "alternate nostril breathing." It is, of course, performed by breathing through one nostril at a time. In order to do this, use your thumb and the little finger of your right hand. Use the r...more

What is Ashtanga Yoga and is it Right For You?

...Ashtanga Yoga is one of many branches of yoga and was developed by Master Vamana Rishi who described his method in a hand written work named Korune Yoga. The modern branch of Ashtanga Yoga was founded by Master K. Pattabhi Jois who received his initiation from Sri Krishnamacharia and is usually categorised under Hatha Yoga, which has evolved from the original Sutras of patanjali. Ashtanga Yoga is also known as Eight Limb Yoga. It postulates that the path of purification is made up of eight limbs of spiritual practice.

The first four limbs that Ashtanga Yoga proposes to master are - yama (do, attached to a moral code), niyama (don't do, attached to purifyin...more

Hatha Yoga

...One of the many subsets of the 5000 year old system used to increase the well being of the mind, body and spirit, is known as Hatha Yoga.

In Hatha Yoga participants combine a series of stretching exercises referred to as asanas, specialized breathing techniques and mental concentration. In fact, the famous Lotus position is one of the many asanas used in Hatha Yoga.

The goal of the using Hatha Yoga, and most certainly the other forms of Yoga as well, is to ...more