Why practice yoga? Yoga has a rejuvenating effect that is both mental and physical.
It nourishes your body mind and spirit and the end result is a new energizing attitude to life.
The benefits of yoga are both mental and physical it allows you to focus inwardly and that in turn inspires a profound sense of relaxation, whilst employing breathing exercises and concentration and physically it makes your body more supple flexible and therefore relaxed, it helps some cancer sufferers from feeling tired during their cancer treatment.
It has an energizing and rejuvenating effect that will nourish your body, mind, and spirit.
Below are a few explanations of simple yoga exercises that you can try out at home.
However most people benefit from going to a yoga class, especially if they are a complete beginner to the concept of yoga.
Here is an Example of a simple pose to assist you to relive stress.
Salutation seal (Anjali mudra) Benefits Physically it creates flexible arms, wrists hands and fingers.
Mentally it reduces stress by calming the mind.
The effect of physically completing the circuit between the arms and the heart harmonize the two sides of the brain.
This exercise can be done sitting or standing.
Inhale and at the same time bring your palms together and rest your thumbs together on the sternum or breast bone.
Press your hands together with equal pressure, if you are right handed make sure that your right hand is not pushing harder because it's stronger, if you are left handed equalize the pressure so that both hands are pushing with equal force.
Bow the head very slightly and then press towards the thumbs to lift the sternum, and at the same time let the elbows droop as if very heavy.
Hold for a few minutes, when starting try and hold for five minutes.
This exercise is often used to start a meditation class as it increases your state of awareness.
The Downward Facing Dog or Adho Mukha Svanasana Benefits: Strengthens the back and relieves back pain.
The Downward facing dog has many uses during yoga.
It is use to change position, and is also a resting pose, but it strengthens the spine in its own right.
The object is to have the feet and the hands on the floor and the body in an inverted "v".
Put your hands on the floor so that your body is in an inverted v with your wrists underneath your shoulders and the knees underneath the hips.
Spread your palms, and turn your toes under.
Exhale and lift your knees away from the floor with the heels lifting from the floor and the knees slightly bent.
Lengthen the base of your spine away from the rear of the pelvis and press it lightly towards the pubis, which is the bone that forms the front lower section of your hips.
This will create a slight resistance and against this resistance raise the sitting bones to the ceiling.
Engage the quadriceps to take the weight off your arms, to form a resting pose.
Exhale and push your top thighs backwards and stretch your heels towards the floor and rest them on the floor, without taking a step forward, then straighten the knees.
You may not be able to reach the floor at first it may take practise and time for the muscles to lengthen.
Roll the upper thighs slightly inwards and also narrow the front of the pelvic girdle and firm and roll the upper thighs.
Keep this position for three minutes.