Yoga is for Everyone – Try a Yoga Class

These ancient yoga and meditation practices have been a part of human culture for thousands of years. Surprisingly, many people are not aware of the benefits that even light yoga exercise provides for the body.

These benefits extend beyond flexibility and affect the entire body and mind.

First, yoga increases the flexibility of the body. This flexibility improves the strength of muscles and tendons.

The fluid motions of yoga poses provide postural strength without causing stress on joints like the knees and shoulders. With proper practice, yoga works each muscle in every direction. This means that your body is provided with a balanced workout.

Yoga also benefits the cardiovascular system. Some yoga poses are shown to lower blood pressure and triglycerides. Inverted poses, like Downward Facing Dog, improve the flow of oxygenated blood to the brain.

Consistent practice of yogic exercise can slow your resting heart rate and cause your body to consume less oxygen. It also lowers respiratory rates because of the breathing exercises involved in many poses.

Your body learns to use oxygen more efficiently when you control your breathing. This combination of respiratory control and lower heart rate dramatically increases cardiovascular endurance.

People who practice yoga daily also enjoy an improved digestive system. Although practicing yoga is not necessarily a fast way to lose weight, it creates a mentality that encourages healthy eating. Many people experience weight loss through their yoga exercises.

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Pain tolerance is also increased through the slow stretching movements of yogic poses. Many physicians recommend yoga as a way to alleviate back, shoulder, and neck pain.

Yoga is often prescribed with massage to treat chronic lower back pain.

Yoga increases core strength and lowers the amount of cellulite that accumulates around the muscle. Creating long and lean muscles tends to decrease total body weight.

Yoga also alters metabolism. Increasing the metabolic rate in the human body makes it much easier to maintain a healthy weight, especially as a person ages.

Yoga promotes restful sleep and peaceful moods. Combining body, mind, and breathing exercises contributes to a more relaxed state of being. Along with a lowered heart rate and blood pressure, this state boosts your immune system.

Yoga is used to help strengthen a person’s immune response. The inclusion of meditation in yoga practice creates a peaceful feeling throughout the body and mind. This peace can help to elevate mood and lower cortisol levels in the body.

Many people who practice yoga feel a sense of connection with their body that is not attained through any other type of exercise.

Yoga is good for the mind as well as the body. Combining meditation and exercise creates an improved connection between the mind and body.

This helps to improve memory retention, coordination, and balance.

Yoga is truly an exercise for all ages.

Choosing A Yoga Class

Everyone seems to have a different idea about which yoga class is the best. You will likely get several different answers if you ask a few friends.

Lately, yoga classes seem to be popping up in every gym and community center. This gives you a spectacular opportunity to give yoga a try.

Choosing the right class for you will take just a little patience.

When picking an instructor for any learning experience, it is always advantageous to ask questions. While you are choosing your new yoga class, consider talking to the instructor before joining the class.

So, before signing up for a yoga class, ask the teacher these three questions.

How long have you been teaching yoga?

Find out if they are a professional instructor or if she has just recently joined the ranks of yoga teachers. Make sure that she has experience with your chosen style of yoga. Let her know why you are considering joining her yoga class.

Explain to the instructor that your goal is weight loss or relaxation so that she knows what you expect from her class. The Yoga Alliance recommends that all instructors have at least 200 hours of training before teaching.

If she does not meet these minimum standards, it might be time to search for another yoga class.

How large are your yoga classes?

Learning complicated poses in a yoga class of fifty students can be intimidating. If any of the students are more advanced than you are, how will you keep up with the class?

Large classes might make you feel a little more comfortable if you are the type to blend into the background.

Small classes give the instructor more time to concentrate on each student. Choosing a smaller yoga class might give you the results you are looking for, at a much faster rate.

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Are you still actively practicing yoga outside of the classroom?

Yoga instructors should have a love of the discipline. If the instructor is into yoga purely to create a financial income, he or she is less likely to combine both the spiritual and physical aspects of yoga into a class.

The teacher must explain each pose step to get the full benefit of yogic poses. Many poses include positions that stimulate the body and the mind. An excellent instructor understands the poses and explains them to the class.

The more she practices yoga, the better she understands yogic principles.

It is also an excellent idea to audit at least one yoga session.

This will allow you to see how the instructor handles the class. Even someone who practices yoga daily might not be adept at teaching the skills.

A good teacher will build a relationship with each student. Yoga is not only a physical pursuit; it also affects the mind.

Having the right teacher you can trust is a wonderful way to begin the practice of your yoga class.