Top 10 Reasons To Practice Yoga

Need a reason to try and continue practicing Yoga?  Here are 10 for you:

Deeper Breath
A yoga instructor will teach you how to breathe deeply and increase the flow of oxygen in the body. Vinyasa yoga is yoga that means moving with the breath. The practice is in part about learning how to breathe with the movement of the body as you flow through the postures.

Relieves Stress and Tension
When people are stressed out they sometimes find that when they stop for a moment they recognize that they are not breathing. Sometimes we just forget to breathe but the yoga instructor will tell you when to breathe in and when to breathe out.

Fresh Oxygen
Fresh oxygen promotes faster healing. When the body is moving in unison with the breath the circulation is improved and this brings fresh oxygen and blood to every portion of your body.

Heals Pains
Pains caused by tight and improperly balanced muscles can be relieved with yoga practice.

Improved Self Awareness
This awareness of your breathing continues outside the doors of the yoga studio. The deep breathing that accompanies the movement through the postures helps to increase the awareness of the self.

Improved Flexibility
The poses in yoga gently stretch the muscles without straining them. Yoga is about stretching the entire body and with continued practice the body becomes more limber and the muscles loosen up.

Tones Muscles
Strength training with weights and machines is not necessary to build a toned figure. Yoga does not use weights or machines but the body itself to build strength and tone the muscles. A Pilates instructor can also show you how to tone the muscles without using weights or machinery.

Builds Core Strength
The abdominal muscles are the foundation for a strong body. A strong core encourages strength in the rest of the body. Pilates is another fitness practice that can increase core strength. A Pilates instructor can show you how to position your body during this type of exercise for optimal results.

Opens The Mind
The poses and positions in yoga practice are not how you typically move in everyday life. These poses open up your mind to new possibilities of how to move your body.

Improves Balance
The start of any yoga class usually begins with finding your center and your balance. With continued yoga practice you will find your center of balance more often and begin to be able to stand on one foot without quivering.

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Top-10-Reasons-To-Practice-Yoga/1477886

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Power Of Yoga For Losing Weight

Yoga is a complete science of life that originated in India many thousands of years ago, but performing yoga for losing weight, will it work?  Yoga is an ancient system of not only strengthening the body, but the mind as well.

Many people in the West are attracted to yoga because of its ability to relax both the body and the mind.  Yoga is also a wonderful way to get in or stay in shape.  The purpose of the postures is to keep the body healthy and fit.

 The physical benefits of Yoga are considerable, including:

• Improved levels of fitness
• Increased dexterity and sense of balance
• Feeling more healthy, alert, vibrant and energetic
• Developed great strength stamina and flexibility
• Better, more attractive posture
• Ease in breathing
• Improved digestion
• Improved self-esteem
• Improved sleep quality

Many people who practice yoga view it as being a great way to improve their health or improve the function of their minds.  Yoga is an ancient practice that places stress on having full control over the body and the mind, and isn’t that exactly what we need for losing weight?

From the balanced, peaceful state of mind that yoga can bring you to, it’s a lot easier to tackle problems in your life, such as being overweight.  Because it helps burn calories, using yoga for weight loss is ideal.  Think about it, have you ever met an obese yoga practitioner?  I don’t think it’s possible to be overweight and perform yoga exercises on a regular basis.

By doing yoga, like doing any other physical exercise you will burn more calories and increase your metabolic rate.  So it works like any other weight loss program that includes physical activity.  But yoga also helps you to increase the wonderful ability to focus, concentrate and at the same time relax your mind.  Combining yoga with a healthy eating plan is really a powerful combo for a healthy lifestyle.

If you start doing yoga, lifestyle changes will have to take place – the more yoga you’ll do, the more aware you’ll become of your body, your body’s reaction to foods, drugs and stress.

Yoga places a great deal focus on controlling your breath and how you can use your breathing patterns to help purify your body and mind.

Yoga involves a variety of positions and techniques.  All of these postures will be stimulating different glands in your body and your internal organs.  Yoga can help reinstate a healthy, balanced hormonal environment in your body.  And it helps stimulate your metabolism.

Does yoga for losing weight really work?  Definitely.  And more than just losing weight, you’ll be improving the function of your circulatory system and creating a healthy balance within your body and mind.

In conclusion, can yoga be very effective as one of the many ways for losing weight? Yes, it definitely can!

If you enjoyed this article about using yoga for losing weight and would like more information, please check out http://slimdownnaturally.co.uk/yoga-for-losing-weight.php

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/The-Power-of-Yoga-for-Losing-Weight/1488168

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Health Dangers of Salt

Health practitioners have been telling us for years that excessive salt is not good for us – it causes hypertension (or high blood pressure) which in turn increases the risk of heart attack and stroke.  According to researchers, reducing salt is one of the least expensive ways to help people live longer and cut down on medical costs.

New Scientist has an excellent article on the health dangers of salt.  Well worth the read.

Part of the article that I found very interesting:

Earlier this month the US Institute of Medicine recommended government intervention to reduce salt intake. However, the food industry is fighting a bitter rearguard action against any such move. The salt industry’s annual turnover is several billion dollars and it has no plans to downsize. Thus, in advance of the new US guidelines, articles have appeared in The New York Times and elsewhere claiming that the evidence for reducing salt is not clear-cut.

This controversy is fake. The evidence for salt reduction is clear and consistent. Most of the “contradictory research” comes from a very small number of scientists, most of whom are linked to the salt industry. However, it takes skill to spot misinformation and subterfuge. And so the confusion is successfully promulgated.

It is a familiar story. The tobacco industry spent decades denying that smoking caused fatal diseases. Their very successful strategies included accusations of scientific conspiracies, selective use of scientific evidence, and paying scientists to produce evidence to contradict the public health experts and confuse the public. In general, the food industry is more ethical, but it is far from squeaky clean.

Here are some additional resources for you:

• Government of Canada – http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/food-aliment/sodium-eng.php - Sodium is a nutrient found in table salt and many other foods. While the body needs some sodium to function, too much may lead to high blood pressure, a major risk factor for stroke, heart disease and kidney disease. Most Canadians consume more sodium than may be good for their health.  A diet high in sodium is associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure. High blood pressure is a major risk factor for stroke, heart disease and kidney disease.
• New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene  http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/cardio/cardio-salt-initiative.shtml - Americans consume roughly twice the recommended limit of salt each day – causing widespread high blood pressure and placing millions at risk of heart attack and stroke.

There are dozens of reputable sources of information on the internet about the dangers of salt intake.

So how do you go about reducing the amount of salt you eat?  Unfortunately as with most products purchased at grocery stores – you can’t.  Salt is added as part of the manufacturing process.  However you can certainly read labels to select those products with the least amount of sale, in addition you can choose to reduce and possibly eliminate the amount of salt used at home when preparing food from scratch.

Here are eight tips to help you:

1. Buy fresh, plain frozen, or canned “with no salt added” vegetables.
2. Use fresh poultry, fish, and lean meat, rather than canned or processed types. 
3. Use herbs, spices, and salt-free seasoning blends in cooking and at the table.
4. Cook rice, pasta, and hot cereals without salt. Cut back on instant or flavored rice, pasta, and cereal mixes, which usually have added salt.
5. Choose “convenience” foods that are lower in sodium. Cut back on frozen dinners, pizza, packaged mixes, canned soups or broths, and salad dressings — these often have a lot of sodium.
6. Rinse canned foods, such as tuna, to remove some sodium.
7. When available, buy low- or reduced-sodium, or no-salt-added versions of foods.
8. Choose ready-to-eat breakfast cereals that are lower in sodium. 

When you are grocery shopping, look for these words on packages:

1. sodium free
2. very low sodium
3. low sodium
4. reduced (or less) sodium
5. light in sodium
6. unsalted

Now I know that using salt “brightens” up the food, and brings out its flavor, but if you try you can find great substitutes for salt. Make foods tasty without using salt. Try these flavorings, spices, and herbs:

For Meat, Poultry, and Fish

For Vegetables:

And finally, here are some definitions to help you understand common sodium labels.

• sodium-free: less than 5 milligrams of sodium per serving
• very low sodium: no more than 35 milligrams of sodium per serving
• low sodium: no more than 140 milligrams of sodium per serving
• reduced sodium: at least 25 percent less sodium than a comparable product
• lite/light in sodium (including lightly salted products): at least 50 percent less sodium than a comparable product

As their names imply, salt-free products meet standard criteria for being sodium-free and no-salt-added/unsalted products have no salt added during processing.

Here is to your health!

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Does Lack Of Sleep Increase Weight?

For years I’d been told that I need to get enough sleep, in order to not gain weight.  Well, then I must have been not getting enough sleep for years.

But most recently this also appeared on the New York Times.  Here is what part of the article says on lack of sleep:

“Scientists have known for years that skimping on sleep is associated with weight gain. A good example was a study published in 2005, which looked at 8,000 adults over several years as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Sleeping fewer than seven hours a night corresponded with a greater risk of weight gain and obesity, and the risk increased for every hour of lost sleep.”

Read the full article…

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