Do you love your legs? You should! No matter what they may look like, thin or muscled, long or short, you need to love your legs because together with your feet and thighs, they are the ones that support your lower body and bring you to all of those places that you want to go.

In Hatha Yoga, the Triangle Pose is one of the best fitness exercises for the legs.

Qualities of the Triangle Pose

If you are like most average people (read: not yet exceptionally fit), you know the “burnt out candle” feeling that you can get at the end of an exhausting working day. Your job doesn’t even have to be physically taxing to get that feeling.

Far too often, it is stress and anxiety on the job that can cause you to feel enervated. Students and homemakers are also susceptible to such feelings.

In Hatha Yoga, we have the Triangle Pose, or Trikonasana in Sanskrit (trikona = three angled, asana = pose) as the perfect solution against the formation of such feelings.

The Triangle Pose is a powerful fitness exercise that can expand your torso and assemble evenness, balanced control of the legs and feet, with the arms acting as the ideal complement or foil.

The Mountain Pose, also know as the Triangle Pose, is a gentle basic and much liked pose that is useful for introducing your body to stretching and to breathing rhythmically. Think of a mountain as being sturdy and solid, not suddenly collapsing even when buffeted by strong winds or roaring flash floods. Imagine yourself as a mountain rising up and reaching for the glorious sky.

Benefits of the Triangle Pose

• Mental – the Triangle Pose is restorative when the mind is overburdened by anxiety.
• Physical –the focus of the Triangle Pose is on the shoulders, spine, chest, thighs, legs, abdomen, knees, and ankles. It can assist towards improved digestion, and the lessening of back pains, and aches associated with flat feet. Menopausal women have reported that this pose helps to relieve many of their symptoms.
• Spiritual – the Triangle Pose is beneficial when you want to feel centered and in control of your reactions to life’s daily stresses.

Safety Alert

The Triangle Pose is not recommended for those with low blood pressure, bouts of diarrhea, and headache. It is possible for those who have neck problems, heart conditions, and hypertension to practice this pose under certain conditions, but prior clearance from a medical doctor would still be best.

Demonstration of the Triangle Pose

Half Moon Pose – Banishing Life’s Dark Elements with Light

As mentioned in the introduction article to this guide, Hatha Yoga strives for the union of two separate entities, the body and the mind, as symbolized by the sun and the moon. While the concept may seem extremely esoteric or obscure to Western minds, it is actually a very practical representation of what goes on as a matter of course in daily life.

In Hatha Yoga, we have the Half Moon Pose, or Ardha Chandrasana in Sanskrit (ardha = half, candra or Chandra = glittering, moon, and asana = pose) as a health and wellness strategy to help us cope better with the dark elements of life (fatigue, frustration, stress, anxiety, fear) by putting additional brilliance in our existence.

Qualities of the Half Moon Pose

How many stress hormones do you have floating around in your body, affecting not just the physical side of you, but just as importantly, affecting your mind and emotions? These stress hormones can inflict havoc in the way our body functions, leading to conditions as varied as sciatica, indigestion, anxiety, and constipation among others.

The Half Moon Pose combines both balancing efforts with timed breathing to draw out stress hormones such as cortisol and norepinephrine from the body, thereby addressing the medical conditions cited above.

Benefits of the Half Moon Pose

• Mental – the Half Moon Pose is ideal for relaxing the mind, as it focuses on keeping an alignment of the body. In the process of doing so, external cares and worries are pushed away from the mind.
• Physical –the focus of the Half Moon Pose encompasses the shoulders down to the ankles. The pose is great for alleviating symptoms of osteoporosis, fatigue, gastritis and mental pain.
• Spiritual – the Half Moon Pose is beneficial for those who deal with stress on a daily basis and need gentle relief in order to stay physically, mentally, and emotionally fit.

Safety Alert

The Half Moon Pose is not recommended for those with migraines, insomnia, low blood pressure, and loose bowel movements.

At the top of this article we’ve discussed seeing your legs in a new light by means of the “Triangle Pose” and provided a demonstration video to help you get started. Next we talked a little bit about the benefits of the “Half Moon Pose” and how it can help your mental, physical and spiritual being.

Remember that you can get all of the demonstration videos that goes with this guide by subscribing to the MyFitnessNut.com Newsletter. Next, we’ll delve into challenging the limits set by your mind with the “Yoga Plank Pose” and talk about the associated benefits.

If you’re ready to let your imagination run free and obtain some physical stability in your life, you’ll want to read on and check out what doing “Chair Yoga Poses” can do for you.

Think back to the time when you were young, and your imagination was a dominant force in your life. What you could imagine was real and had power. You can still do that now with the Chair Yoga Poses.

Qualities of the Chair Yoga Pose

To those unfamiliar with the gentle ways of Hatha Yoga, the pose might seem to be an extremely painful position to assume. After all, the first impression that one gets upon seeing a yogi using the Chair Yoga Poses is that he or she is starting to sit, does get seated, and will then start to rise from a chair – an imaginary chair.

It looks as if a gigantic or intense effort is being made to do the postures involved, and that’s why in Hatha Yoga, we have the Chair Yoga Poses, or Utkatasana in Sanskrit (utkata = intense, gigantic, and asana = pose) as being representative or symbolic of the actions of the mind to control one’s surroundings through physical exertion.

Demonstration of One of the Chair Yoga Poses

Benefits of the Chair Yoga Poses

• Mental – this yoga pose shifts the interest of the mind to maintaining balance, thereby giving life to the concept of willpower, or striving for success amidst great odds.
• Physical – the center of attention of this pose is on the thighs, but it can also benefit other parts of the body such as the chest and shoulders, the spine, the thighs and the legs, while stimulating the diaphragm, the heart, and the organs in the abdomen.
• Spiritual – holding this yoga posture requires intense concentration. The more frequent that high levels of concentration are achieved, the more that portals leading to enlightenment become opened.

Safety Alert

This pose is not recommended for people with low blood pressure, recurrent headaches or insomnia.

See the two other “Chair Yoga Poses” that you get when you subscribe to the MyFitnessNut.com Newsletter. Do that now and then move on to the “Triangle Pose” if you’d like to start seeing your legs in a new light.

It may seem absurdly contradictory for the word “warrior” to be associated with a gentle fitness discipline like Hatha Yoga. However, it is not the extreme belligerence or even ferocious cruelty that is connected to a fighter that is advocated or implied in the Warrior Pose.

In Hatha Yoga, we have the Warrior Pose, also known as Virabhadra’s Pose (Virabhadra is a “super-being,” a Spiritual Warrior), to remind practitioners of the need to cultivate a strong dislike for self-ignorance.

Of the Hatha Yoga poses, it can be said that the Warrior Pose is among those which strongly nurture the importance of having a clear mind and a strong body to achieve a high spiritual level.

Qualities of the Warrior Pose

In the article that discussed the four basic yoga poses, it was clarified how there is nothing even remotely threatening about the warrior pose…

Does this sound more like what you were expecting, or does the sound of this basic Hatha Yoga pose raise your hackles? Whatever your initial reaction may be, you will find out once you practice this pose that there is nothing even remotely threatening about it. As far as basic yoga poses go, the Warrior pose is meant for making your arms, shoulders, thighs, muscles of the back, as well as your ankles, stronger, thereby putting you in the right groove for further fitness development.

The truth behind this statement can be proven in the extensiveness of body parts toward which this pose can prove beneficial, from the head to the feet:

• Neck
• Shoulders
• Lungs
• Chest
• Back
• Abdomen
• Groin
• Thighs
• Legs
• Ankles

The Warrior Pose takes care of the body’s welfare, to allow you to be able to concentrate more fully on your main task at hand; the arousal of knowledge and wisdom, and the strengthening of your spirituality.

Demonstration of the Hatha Yoga Warrior Pose

Benefits of the Warrior Pose

• Mental – fuller concentration and higher levels of determination
• Physical – expands chest and lungs, stretches neck and shoulders, develops back muscles, and makes the thighs, legs and feet stronger
• Spiritual – develops endurance of spirit

Safety Alert

The Warrior Pose is not recommended for people who have cardiovascular problems, hypertension, and preexisting shoulder and neck problems. Preexisting problems should be cleared only upon the advice of a medical doctor. Of course, that goes for any of the poses discussed in this Hatha Yoga guide.

That wraps up this section on the “Warrior Pose” so be sure to head over to our home page and subscribe to the MyFitnessNut.com Newsletter to get access to the video above as well as 69 other Hath Yoga pose videos and get started with these postures. Next, we’ll dive into doing “Chair Yoga Poses” and open your mind to obtaining more stability in your life.

There’s a natural high that comes from dedicated running, and this is due to the production and release of endorphins that can alter your mood and make you feel extremely happy. That’s why many runners push themselves to the limit, and even beyond, to fully enjoy the highly pleasurable effects that come during and after exertion.

But the thing is, too much pushing can lead to physical problems – pulled muscles, cramped nerves, exhaustion, to name but a few. That’s where yoga for runners can step in to prevent such problems from occurring.

Yoga for Runners: The Need for Speed

While not all runs are competitive, runners for the most part, often feel a need for speed. That’s why there are runners who ask how something that’s relatively slow and gentle like Hatha Yoga can benefit people like them who thrive on the adrenaline rush that comes from a strenuous and fast-paced activity like running.

The fact is, there isn’t really much of a contradiction to begin with. That’s because even the most well-conditioned and professional runners still have to contend with the limitations of their physical bodies.

Everything involved in running, every part of your body that receives an impact when you run can get damaged over time by such a demanding activity. Your neck, shoulders, arms, elbows, spine, thighs, knees, legs, ankles, and even the soles of your feet have to put up with the pounding rhythms of a run.

Yoga for Runners: A Therapeutic Exercise

In that regard, think of yoga for runners as a therapeutic break from all the jarring that your body takes each time you go on a run. Yoga deep breathing exercises are good for the lungs and the cardiovascular system. Yoga stretches can promote flexibility and endurance. Yoga meditation can improve focus which leads to steady thought processes. All of these contribute hugely to fine-tuning your runner’s body.

The videos that are an integral part of this guide will guide you on which poses are best to practice on. Familiarize yourself with poses such as the Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana in Sanskrit) and keep on practicing to gain the full benefits of using yoga for runners.

Below is a demonstration video with the yoga pose “Low Runners Lunge”. When doing this runners pose, be sure to work on both your right and left side. You wouldn’t want to be running in circles would you?

Video Demonstration of the Low Runners Lunge – Right:

If you’ve been reading our other Hatha Yoga articles then you already know that you can get access to our full set of yoga poses on video when you subscribe to the MyFitnessNut.com Newsletter. Next we’ll work on helping you learn the “Warrior Pose” which like the Runners Pose, cultivates strength and endurance.

Sometimes, there exists a small, yet niggling, level of confusion regarding the difference between a yoga pose and a yoga style. This has been specifically evident when it comes to discussing Flow Yoga.

Is flow yoga a pose under Hatha Yoga, or are they two radically different styles? To understand better, let’s first familiarize ourselves with the nature of each.

Hatha Yoga vis-à-vis Flow Yoga

As you have previously read, Hatha Yoga is all about the union of two disparate or dissimilar elements, specifically the mind and the body. When both are working in harmony, a greater level of spiritual equilibrium is achieved. Overall fitness then results.

Meanwhile, Flow Yoga, or Ashtanga Vinyasa in Sanskrit (ashtanga = eight limbs of yoga, vinyasa = breathing), refers to the action of connecting breathing with each yoga pose’s movement, as it transitions from one to the other. Flow or vinyasa yoga has six poses, each one flowing or transitioning gently to the other.

Hatha Yoga’s poses are mostly static and timed. Transitional breathing is not a major feature, unlike in vinyasa or flow yoga.

Flow yoga is derived from Hatha Yoga but they have certain noticeable differences:

• Hatha Yoga is more deliberate or slower in execution, compared to flow yoga that is slightly faster, because of the transitory poses that appear to the uninitiated as one flowing posture
• vinyasa or flow yoga does not involve solitary postures, but a series of poses that flow smoothly
• the gentler and slower pace of Hatha Yoga makes it perfect for those who are simply starting to learn yoga. In contrast, the fast pace of flow yoga makes it seem similar to an invigorating cardiovascular workout, particularly when you factor in the fact that rhythmic breathing is greatly involved. Rhythmic breathing refers to inhalation and exhalation that is timed and/or synchronized with the start or release of a pose (the “flow) into another pose.

Video Demonstration of Flow Yoga:

Eight Limbs of Yoga

Yoga is not simply about posing this way and that, as a form of exercise. There is a whole philosophy behind yoga, and that is why it is important to know at this point the eight limbs of yoga – characteristics that point towards the fulfillment of life, in terms of physical, mental and spiritual fitness.

Yama – ethical guidelines or moral directions that you need to observe, as far as relating to your fellow humans is concerned.

These yamas include:

• ahimsa or non-violence in actions, words, and thoughts
• satya or truthfulness
• asteya or not stealing/taking what is not yours
• brahmacharya or purity (some interpret this as sexual abstinence, while others believe it to be about abstaining from acting out on impure sexual impulses)
• aparigraha or not coveting

Niyama – while the yamas are outward-directed, niyamas are directed towards the self: they are ethical guidelines or moral directions that you need to observe, in relation to how you regard yourself:

• saucha or cleanliness of body and thoughts
• santosa or self-contentment
• tapas or continued practice
• svadhyaya or self-study
• isvara pranidhana or yielding to a higher power

Asana – the yoga postures that need to be practiced:

• Pranayama – breathing exercises
• Pratyahara – ingress into your internal self, not allowing external distractions to take hold of you
• Dharana – total focus or concentration
• Dhayana – meditation or all-inclusive concentration
• Samadhi – transcendence or mastery of the self; total fitness of mind, body, spirit leading to enlightenment.

The sample demonstration video above gives you a look at Flow Yoga and the movement or transition into various poses. Be sure to subscribe to the MyFitnessNut.com Newsletter to get access to the Flow Yoga video above plus 69 additional demonstration poses. Next, we’ll investigate how “Yoga for Runners” can add value to your life.

Even those who are not dog lovers will surely have noticed the comforting, easy way that canines fully stretch out with their muzzles close to the ground, rebounding with a graceful sense of purpose, as shown in the level lift of their spine and neck.

In Hatha Yoga, we have the Downward Dog Pose, or Adho Mukha Svanasana in Sanskrit (adho = downward, mukha = face, svana = dog), which is the human counterpart to the pose exhibited by dogs everywhere, no matter what the breed.

Qualities of the Downward Dog Pose

Also known as Downward Facing Dog, the Downward Dog Pose is a positive acknowledgment of the egalitarian or equality principle unknowingly advocated by canines all over the world.

Whether mongrel or pure bred, dogs perform and display several key mannerisms that are unique to their kind. For example, when they are feeling warm or they lack hydration, they breathe with their mouths open and tongue hanging out. All of them wag their tails in the same way to communicate friendliness. And of course, after being curled tight or after having slept balled up, dogs do their distinctive stretch to get rid of feelings of stiffness and feeling cramped.

The key difference between an ordinary human stretch and the Downward Dog Pose of Hatha Yoga lies in the fact that the former merely attempts to set loose muscles that are tense, while the latter aims to do that, too, as well as:

• have a helpful effect on the circulatory system
• restore alertness straight out of sluggishness or weariness
• serve as a “self-diagnostic” awareness method because by stretching properly, you get to notice which part of your body feels awkward, out of place, or otherwise cramped
• encourage fast recovery of a weary body and mind, in order to stave off the arrival of a dejected spirit

It’s no wonder then, that the Downward Dog Pose is highly popular among Hatha Yoga practitioners.

Dogs are known for being highly alert beings, sensitive to changes in their environment and vigilant in responding. It is this very same vigilance and clarity of mind that is advocated by the Downward Dog Pose in Hatha Yoga.

Benefits of the Downward Dog Pose

• Mental – at least 60 seconds of doing the Downward Dog Pose can restore nearly depleted energy levels (after a physically taxing activity) to levels that are near-average for you. Fatigue can severely affect mental processes. This means that when you are tired, you simply assume the pose and wait briefly to recover your sense of alertness and keen thinking.
• Physical – balancing on the arms while stretching during the Downward Dog Pose can strengthen the upper torso, as well as remove back pain and stiffness. The risks of having brittle bones are also minimized because the pose can help maintain bone mass. The pose also promotes good circulation, keeping blood pressure in check, helping the blood to remove contaminants, and preserving the integrity of your immune system.
• Spiritual – when you are alert, you are more attuned to your spiritual nature. There is less room in your inner thoughts for doubt, and the sense of vigilance initially developed in your mind, translates to tranquility in your inner self due to feeling secure that you can handle situations as they arrive.

Video Demonstration of the Downward Dog Pose:

Safety Alert

The Downward Dog Pose is not recommended without doing prior warm-up poses, such as the Child’s Pose. If you have weak or shaky knees, or you lack proper arm coordination because of a preexisting medical condition, ask for the advice of a yoga master about the best action to take.

Next we’ll move into doing the “Upward Facing Dog Pose” but if you haven’t already gained access to the 70 plus Hatha Yoga videos that are available to you by subscribing to the MyFitnessNut.com Newsletter, you should go do it now.

Have you ever observed how limber most children are? How are they able to assume positions that seem difficult?

At first glance, most of the postures assumed by children, especially during play, do seem slightly out of the league of most grown-ups. But when adults actually try to do them, it would turn out that not all of the positions assumed by children are that challenging after all.

In Hatha Yoga, we have the Child’s Pose or Balasana in Sanskrit (bala = child, asana = pose).

Warmly welcome the Child’s Pose as your first Hatha Yoga pose, because it is a major stress reliever and will greatly encourage you to go on and on with your Hatha Yoga lessons.

Qualities of the Child’s Pose

The Child’s Pose is simplicity personified. Children generally have an unaffected manner in facing life. They are mostly free of pretensions, and as such are able to direct their energies towards the pursuit of what they are really after. They don’t spend energy wasting it on cover-ups, an overblown sense of self-importance and other attitudes that can be obstacles to their quest for happiness and serenity.

The Child’s Pose has been named in honor of the down-to-earth and unaffected nature of children, as a whole.

Benefits of the Child’s Pose

• Mental – the Child’s Pose makes the mind settle down and detach from the worries of life.
• Physical – while the focal point of the Child’s Pose is on the thighs, it is also beneficial for the ankles and hips. When you assume the Child’s Pose, make sure that you have support for your trunk and head, in order to drive away the aches that affect your neck and back.
• Spiritual – the Child’s Pose requires the kind of breathing that makes the back of torso feel as if it is rising, with spinal widening and lengthening being achieved. These, in turn, lessen stress and fatigue, and give you a calmer inner balance.

Video Demonstration of the Child’s Pose:

Right now is a good time to subscribe to the MyFitnessNut.com Newsletter so that you can gain access to all 70 Hatha Yoga demonstration videos. You will also find 7 sets of 10 Hatha Yoga poses set up to show you some samples of yoga workout routines that you can use as is; or as an example to put together your own yoga workout routine using the individual yoga exercises on the separate videos.

Safety Alert

The Child’s Pose is not recommended for people who are pregnant or have digestive problems, specifically, loose bowel movement (diarrhea).

In the previous article you learned about how you can gain a pro-active advantage learning yoga at home. Now that you have a grasp on the Child’s Pose, let’s ease into the “Cat-Cow Pose” to enhance flexibility and your inner calm.

Have you ever experienced repeatedly going all the way to a yoga class, only to find it impossible to reach total Nirvana? While it isn’t really that easy to become enlightened, it can be a pain having to deal with packed studios, traffic and parking nightmares.

And of course, if you’ve taken up yoga only recently, it will take some time before you can stop comparing yourself to other practitioners who can practically balance off their noses, while you struggle to stand straight and hold a pose.

It’s great that the option to learn yoga at home is always a possibility for everyone.

To fully maximize and harness the power of the Yoga experience, you must be careful with preparations, including getting an easy-to-understand guidebook like this one, along with its accompanying videos.

Once you have your guide materials in hand, you can turn to preparing other requirements such as the ones listed below:

• Space

A dedicated space for your yoga exercises should be prioritized. It is your Zen, a place where you can relax. Just remember to move furniture away as they could be potential hazards.

• Props

Choose a mat with a sticky underside home yoga experience. Consider a blanket to keep you warm and fuzzy, with a secondary purpose of being rolled up to help you balance in different positions. A bolster would also be really handy.

• Instructions

Whether or not you prefer to watch the accompanying videos first, then try out the exercises or poses later, or do you skip the pre-watch and go straight into following the audiovisual dimonstations – that’s a matter of personal choice. What’s important is for you to feel at ease while going through the poses. Keep in mind that you are not competing with anyone. As such, you can be as focused or as relaxed as you want.

Learn Yoga at Home: Maximize Opportunities to Practice

When you have chosen to learn yoga at home, it doesn’t mean that you only have to be in your residence while doing the poses. Yoga is versatile, and for the most part, you can do some of the preliminaries on the go. For example, you can practice your deep breathing techniques while driving or taking walks.

Once you have familiarized yourself with meditation, embrace the tranquility of the discipline and be at one with yourself. During your break at work, you can sit with a straight spine and close your eyes, then focus on your breathing to meditate. Good meditation can lower your blood pressure and relieve stress, as well as improve your mood.

Learn Yoga at Home: Your Body, Your Temple

In sum, remember that yoga is a practice that lets you honor yourself and your temple – your body. Take the time to rediscover yourself and take away those stresses that’s been hounding you all day long. Feel the slight muscle burn as you flex and assume various poses, then feel the gentleness, and watch your spirit soar to new heights.

Overall, yoga doesn’t require any specific location, or any kind of environmental conditions. All yoga requires is a temperate location where you can be really focused. Whatever makes you relax or focused is what you would need, but don’t forget the importance of a smooth and level place to exercise on. These are all that matter when you are determined to learn yoga at home.

Integral Hatha Yoga Poses Overview

Now that we’ve gone through the basics of Hatha Yoga, it’s time to go much deeper and get acquainted with some of the most integral Hatha Yoga poses that you will need to practice on your way to becoming fit and maintaining your health and wellness.

Remember that Hatha Yoga poses will not only develop your physical fitness, they will also increase your capacity to be more understanding of what’s actually going on around you, instead of just seeing it and reacting to it from a surface level which could be stressful to you.

Relax and have fun while you are trying out the poses described in the articles that follow. Keep in mind that the accompanying videos of the Hatha Yoga poses can be referred to, as you go along. You can get the full set of Hatha Yoga poses on video when you subscribe to the MyFitnessNut.com Newsletter.

Remember to take your time and avoid rushing. Dedicated practice will lead you to perfecting your yoga exercises and attaining your fitness goals. If you’re ready to learn yoga at home, grab the videos and follow along with the “Child’s Pose” to begin your workout routine.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can be quite tiresome, especially when it involves having to cope with your daily routines, and dealing with aching bodies brought about by hard exertion. Even then, it is not wise to abandon exercise completely. Is there a middle ground, an effective way to get physically active without stressing yourself?

Yes! Yoga exercises are what you need!

Yoga Exercises for an Alternative Healing Method

Used as an alternative healing method, yoga poses can help decrease, or even dissipate body pains, as it also contributes to stress relief. Here are seven examples of yoga poses or exercises:

1. The raised arms posed
2. The standing forward bend
3. The mountain pose
4. The staff pose
5. The seated forward bend
6. The head to knee pose
7. The plank pose

Just going by their names, these exercises may seem hard to do, but some can actually be quite simple. There are many other yoga poses that you can try, although it would be best to start with simple exercises like the ones already stated above.

Remember that the more than 70 accompanying videos provide clear verbal and visual demonstrations to help you do the postures more competently.

For those wanting to progress to doing a more advanced level of yoga, practice is the key. It should be noted, however, that the advanced yoga exercises are not recommended for everyone, as the poses have different requirements. If you are concerned as to whether or not you can actually do the poses, it’s best to consult with your doctor first.

Getting Body and Mind Synchronized with Yoga Exercises

Yoga has been used for a variety of reasons, such as for improving concentration, developing spirituality, providing stress relief, adding to flexibility, practicing self-regulation, and achieving overall well-being.

Hatha Yoga, a more physical approach to yoga, is the combination of Asanas (postures) and Pranayama (breathing techniques) that aim to better the individual through synchronization of the body and mind. This leads to having a better grasp of one’s inner self and emotions, lessening physical, as well as mental stress.

Getting your mind and body in sync through yoga is beneficial as this helps create positive psychology which helps to reduce anxiety, depression and the like, by helping you to control your feelings and emotions.

Potential and Promise of Yoga Exercises

Many people have turned to yoga for a more natural way of reducing body pains, incorporating such exercises into their daily routines. Even athletes routinely practice yoga exercises as a way to maximize overall performance, lessen injuries, and to further improve conditioning.

Scientific studies see promising results in yoga as applied to various medical scenarios, some of which are:

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, more well-known as ADHD
• Dementia
• Anxiety and Depression
• Stress
• Back pains
• Cancer

Although as of yet, there is insufficient evidence as to whether such exercises can already be considered a form of treatment, the use of yoga to alleviate symptoms for such conditions continues to be studied for its potential and promise.

So, if you feel like you need to do a workout or simply want to relax, yoga exercises can be a good choice. There are many poses to choose from, to help you achieve your fitness, health, and wellness goals. Simply subscribe to the MyFitnessNut.com Newsletter to get access to the entire set of 70 Hatha Yoga videos demonstrating the yoga exercises and poses then read on about “Yoga Workouts” and putting the exercises to work.

In our introduction we mentioned the three key elements of Hatha Yoga: meditation, posture or poses, and breathing. We’ll discuss hata yoga breathing in this article and reveal why this kind of breathing is more than just simple inhalation and exhalation.

Yoga Breathing Benefits – The Value of Oxygen

Those who are very much adept in the ways of yoga know that breathing (Pranayama in Sanskrit) is intimately linked to our mental processes. That is to say, the way you think and perceive the world around you can be affected when you have breathing disturbances that may be caused by:

• illness (such as emphysema or even the common cold),
• environmental factors (such as cigarette smoke and/or air pollution), and,
• location-related factors (such as when you are in high altitudes and only “thin air” is available).

There’s a physiological reason for this. Your brain, which is where your mental processes happen, is an organ that’s only about 3% of your whole body mass. Yet, it is the organ that consumes or uses more than 20% of your body’s total oxygen content.

When your brain is deprived of oxygen (delivered through the bloodstream), conditions such as failing memory, inability to maintain balance, and deficient focus can result. You may also experience distorted perceptions of reality or hallucinations.

Yoga Breathing Benefits – Staying Fit and Balanced

Stress can also affect your breathing, which may become too rapid for comfort. Some people even pass out from improper breathing, and while the effect on your inner stability may not be readily apparent, the results of wrong methods of inhaling and exhaling will show up over time (depression, a dour disposition, and lack of interest in living—just to name a few).

Yoga breathing addresses these problems.

Rhythmic, Slow, and Deep

Through rhythmic, slow, and deep breathing, you will be able to ensure that cells in your body get all the oxygen they need. Waste and toxins in your body are eliminated with less difficulty, as well. Most important of all, the regular practice of yoga breathing in your life can calm excessive desires, such as a strong yearning to eat even when already full.

It is in those perspectives that breathing the Hatha Yoga way can be highly beneficial towards the achievement of health and wellness. When you begin practicing yoga poses, like the ones we provide to you when you subscribe to our MyFitness.com Newsletter, you’ll appreciate understanding yoga breathing techniques to enhance your yoga workout sessions. Next up, we’ll look at doing yoga exercises and provide a few examples.