Step 1: Yoga! Living in New York all my life I found as I became older my language became dirtier, my volume got louder, and my stress levels got higher and all three was a recipe to what, an instant heart attack!
Step 2: Test Your Body. Some people like to run into Yoga. My fact is Yoga is for everyone, but not everyone can do it right. Here is an example of doing it right and doing it wrong.
Step 3: Different types (choose your own). Did you know there are 5 types of yoga! Hatha (the most common), Vinyasa (this is based on breathing , the Indian style of yoga), Ashtanga (the muscle relaxer), Iyengar (muscle builder), and last Bikram ( the hot yoga!). I choose Hatha because it in the most common and it is basically a beginners start to yoga.
Hatha originated in India in the 15th century. This type of yoga is slow-paced, gentle, and focused on breathing and meditation. ■Purpose: To introduce beginners to yoga with basic poses and relaxation techniques ■Benefits: Relieves stress, provides physical exercise, and improves breathing ■Good for: Beginners and people wanting to learn the basics of yoga
Vinyasa Much like Hatha, Vinyasa covers basic poses and breath-synchronized movement. This variety of Hatha yoga emphasizes on the Sun Salutation, a series of 12 poses where movement is matched to the breath. ■Purpose: To link the breath with movement and to build lean muscle mass throughout the body ■Benefits: Helps improve strength and flexibility, tones the abdominal muscles, and reduces the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes ■Good for: Beginners and advanced yogis alike seeking to strengthen their bodies
Ashtanga Ashtanga yoga metaphorically focuses on eight limbs. Considered a form of power yoga, Ashtanga is fast-paced and intense with lunges and push-ups. ■Purpose: To help improve one’s spiritual self ■Benefits: Relieves stress, improves coordination, and helps with weight loss ■Good for: Fit people looking to maintain strength and stamina, and those who want to get in touch with their spiritual side
Iyengar Iyengar covers all eight aspects of Ashtanga yoga and focuses on bodily alignment. Different props like straps, blankets, and blocks are used to assist in strengthening the body. Standing poses are emphasized, and are often held for long periods of time. ■Purpose: To strengthen and bring the body into alignment ■Benefits: Helps improve balance, speeds up recovery from an injury, and builds up body strength ■Good for: Beginners who want to learn the correct alignments in each pose and those with injuries, balance issues, and chronic medical conditions like arthritis
Bikram Also known as hot yoga, Bikram is practiced in a 95 to 100 degree room. It’s typically a series of 26 poses that allows for a loosening of tight muscles and sweating. ■Purpose: To flush out toxins and to deeply stretch the muscles ■Benefits: Speeds up recovery from an injury, enhances flexibility, and cleanses the body ■Good for: Beginners and advanced yogis alike who want to push themselves and those with physical injuries Those are the meanings.
Step 4: Free your Mind !Remember En Vogue's Free Your Mind, that song always had my mind in yoga. Though it is not a song for yoga, it has a message. Yoga is an exercise that should open your mind and just get your life together. Yoga is a stress reliever and it should help you clear your mind and go into a calm and happy place. When doing yoga play relaxing music such as the ocean, the woods, the amazon. It puts you in a place that you never been.
Step 5: Enjoy! Now go ahead be spiritual, be free, and be happy !
