Yoga can be practiced anywhere by anyone. It’s one of the few fitness programs that do not limit you by your ability, fitness level, age, gender, gear, or location. If you are trying Yoga for the first time in your home, you’ll need a quiet space with enough room for a mat or small blanket. Wearing something that is loose fitting is usually accommodating enough for those who are in the process of learning Yoga. Traditionally, Yoga is practiced while barefoot, but socks and shoes can be worn. Most teachers will also advise you against eating a couple of hours before you begin your Yoga workout.
Even though Yoga is not a high impact exercise, you should still start slowly. Perform poses that are easier for a beginner to master so that your body will have a chance to condition itself prior to moving on to more complex poses. Be sure to stop if at any time you feel any pain or fatigue. Remember, Yoga is meant to be pain free!
Yoga sessions can start with as little as only 15 minutes of exercise and 15 minutes of breathing. There are seven basic types of movements that your body can make during the exercises: Flexion, extension, hyperextension, abduction, circumduction, adduction, and rotation.
A typical session will consist of warm up exercises to help prepare your body and help to open your shoulder muscles, spine, lower back and your hips. Standing poses follow and help to facilitate digestion, and circulation. These poses are very useful for those who want to lose weight. Sitting poses allow you to revitalize yourself with a calm feeling as your breath through the movements. You can also add twists to help alleviate the tension in your spine; supine poses which will help with the tension in your abdomen; inverted or balance poses to help hone your coordination and helps to increase your strength; and finishing poses to help you cool down from your session.
To get you started, let’s walk through the Corpse Pose (or Savasana) which can be practiced before, in between, or during the finishing poses of your workout. While on your back, rotate your legs in and out and then let them lay gently out to the sides. Allow your arms to fall alongside your body, palms facing up and slightly apart from your body. Turn your head from side to side to rotate your spine. Begin to stretch yourself out. Think of someone standing at your head gently pulling your head away from your shoulders. Keep your shoulders down and away from your neck and breathe deeply. Think of someone at your feet pulling your legs down and away from your pelvis. Hold this pose for several minutes and keep your mind quiet while you concentrate on your breathing.
One important thing to remember while performing Yoga is to concentrate on each movement and pose. It is very important that each movement be performed correctly so that you will elicit the most benefit from the routine.
You are well on your way to bringing your mind and body some much deserved inner peace.
It’s simple, your brain is at the center of everything you do, all you feel and think, and every nuance of how you relate to people. It’s both the supercomputer that runs your complex life and the tender organ that houses your soul. So it is very important to focus on keeping your brain in shape.
This guest post is by Leo from 
