Yoga

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What is Yoga?
Yoga is a gentle workout made up of poses, stretches and breathing techniques designed to strengthen your bum, tum, thighs, back and pelvic muscles, improve flexibility and help you relax.

Who is Yoga good for?
Yoga is good for people of all ages, mobility and fitness levels because it's a slow and gentle practice with low risk of injury.

The health benefits are endless and can help the following:

Stress, high blood pressure, headaches, insomnia: Yoga is especially good for people suffering from stress and stress-related illnesses because of the way it brings the body and mind into deep relaxation, causing the heart rate to drop and breathing to slow down.
Asthma: The breathing techniques and stretching open up the lungs and improve breathing.
Joint pain, back pain: Yoga eases joint pain by improving flexibility, mobility and building strength in muscles around the joints.
Depression: Yoga promotes self-confidence and lifts your mood to help combat depression.
Indigestion, constipation: Twisting poses massage internal organs helping digestion.
Memory and concentration: Yoga can improve concentration so it's great if you want to keep your brain young.
Detox: Breathing techniques, stretching and sweating all help to detox the body.

Types of Yoga
Finding the right one for you can be tricky. It's important to know your limits and to start off with something easy, working your way up once your flexibility and strength improves with experience.

The main forms of Yoga are:

Easy:

Hatha: The most common form of Yoga focuses on your posture and breathing and is great for beginners.
Bikram: Also known as Hot Yoga and takes place in a heated studio. Gets rid of toxins in the body and is excellent for beginners as the heat makes it easier to stretch into the positions.

Medium:

Ashtanga: A fast-paced style of Hatha Yoga and good if you want to lose weight, improve flexibility and strength.
Vinyasa: Similar to Ashtanga, this style has lots of movement and a variety of poses and stretching. Great if you want a bit more of a workout.

Hard:

Iyengar: Another form of Hatha Yoga. It encourages the use of Yoga props to perfect poses. It's harder than other forms and is best for people who are more experienced in Yoga although it's safe for beginners to try.

How long does it take?
Classes only last for an hour to an hour-and-a-half so it's easy to fit one into your day and you'll feel so relaxed afterwards!

Where can I do it?
Find your local yoga class at www.yoga.co.uk
For more information about yoga and courses visit The British Wheel of Yoga (BWY) at www.bwy.org.uk

Read on: Yoga book and DVDs

By Jennifer Shepherd