Unlock the Benefits of Forward Bends with Iyengar Yoga

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These courses highlight the unique benefits of forward bends, such as improved flexibility, enhanced spinal health, and stress relief. Iyengar Yoga’s emphasis on precision and alignment transforms these seated asanas into powerful tools for mind-body balance. By understanding the intricacies of each pose, our courses empower you to achieve a deeper, more mindful practice, paving the way for a transformative yoga experience.

Understanding Forward Bends

Forward bends are a group of yoga asanas where the body bends forward from the hip joints, stretching the back and leg muscles. These poses range from simple to complex, targeting flexibility in the hamstrings, spine, and hips. They are known for their calming effect on the mind and can be beneficial for relieving stress.

Intermediate Forward Bends: Bridging Basics to Advanced in Iyengar Yoga

The Intermediate Iyengar Yoga Forward Bends 10-Part Online Course is designed as a bridge between beginner and advanced practices. It focuses on building a solid foundation in essential forward bend poses like Paschimottanasana, Triang Mukhaikapada Paschimottanasana, Upavistha Konasana and Janu Sirsasana, while introducing students to more complex variations. The course emphasises proper alignment, the use of props for enhanced flexibility, and techniques to safely progress in practice, making it ideal for those looking to deepen their understanding and execution of forward bends.

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Forward Bends 101

The first class in the intermediate cour[……]

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Can Hot Yoga Make You Lose Weight?

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Hot yoga is not for the faint of heart. Classes lasting 60 to 90 minutes in rooms as hot as 105 degrees Fahrenheit are no easy feat. You’ll build muscle, you’ll gain flexibility, you’ll sweat and chances are good that you’ll lose weight. But weight loss and calories burned in hot yoga depend on many factors, only some of which are within your control.

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The type of hot yoga you practice, how hard you work during the class, how many calories you consume and other lifestyle factors play a role in whether you’ll lose weight and just how much weight you’ll lose.

Weight-Loss Basics

First things first: Weight loss and fat loss are two different things. Weight loss refers to a number on the scale; fat loss means losing adipose tissue. You might lose fat mass but gain muscle mass and actually see your weight increase.

Sweating a lot during a workout can lead to water loss, and you might see that reflected on the scale immediately afterwards. But as you rehydrate those pounds will come back.

To lose body fat, you have to burn more calories than you take in through your diet on a regular basis. Lowering your calorie intake and increasing your activity level typically results in fat loss. The more calories you cut out of your diet and burn through exercise, the bigger the deficit and the more fat you’ll shed.

Types of Hot Yoga

When many people think of hot yoga, they think of Bikram yoga, a style of yoga created in the 1970s by Bikram Choudhury. In classes of 90 minutes, students per[……]

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Benefits Of Hatha Yoga You Need To Know About

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What Is Hatha Yoga?

Hatha yoga is a type of yoga practise. Hatha is a Sanskrit word that means ‘force’ and refers to a set of physical techniques. Hatha yoga is related to the Yogis of the Natha Sampradaya and is part of popular culture in India according to its traditional founder Matsyendranath, who is revered as a saint in both Hindu and Buddhist tantric and Hatha yoga traditions.

Hatha Yoga is based on a thorough study of the body’s mechanics, and it incorporates yogic postures, or yogasanas, to help the system maintain higher energy dimensions. One may modify and improve their way of thinking, feeling, and experiencing life by practicing this fundamental science.

How Is Hatha Yoga Different From Other Forms Of Yoga?

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Hatha yoga is said to be good for harmonising the body and mind. The sun is represented by the letter ‘ha,’ and the moon is represented by the letter ‘tha,’ therefore it implies uniting and balancing the energy of the sun and moon. Asanas, pranayama, mantras, mudras and visualisation are some of the physical techniques. Poses in Hatha yoga are maintained for five or more breaths, to establish the breath while remaining in a position.

This yoga is a seven-fold yoga that helps in cleansing, improving, and regulating the body, relaxing the mind, freeing yourself, and achieving inner peace and radiance, according to a yoga scripture published in Sanskrit, the Gheranda Samhita.

Hatha yoga incorporates a healthy diet for detoxifying the body, asanas for toning th[……]

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What Is Bikram Yoga? 26 Yoga Asanas To Do In This Session

What Is Bikram Yoga? 26 Yoga Asanas To Do In This Session

A special set of asanas put together by Bikram Choudhury that claims to change your life.

Bikram yoga consists of a set of asanas practiced in a controlled environment (a studio). This yogic method is highly popular in the United States, and practicing it is said to be a life-changing experience. So, what is this method all about? What yoga poses does it comprise? How does it benefit your health? Read on to know the answers.

What Is Bikram Yoga?

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Back in the 70s, a young lad, armed with yoga championship laurels from India, went to the USA and popularized a new way of practicing yoga. He devised a suitable method that he put together after years of experimenting and practicing. His name is Bikram Choudhury, and he called the method he devised Bikram Yoga. It became a big hit in the United States, and soon, people were flocking to join his classes across the world called the Bikram Yoga Studios.

The method entails practicing a set of predesigned exercises synthesized from the traditional Hatha Yoga asanas in a studio with a temperature of about 40°C and 40% humidity. The session includes the practice of 26 asanas for 90 minutes; it is synonymously known as hot yoga.

Below, we compiled a list of all the 26 yoga asanas done in a Bikram Yoga session. Take a look at them.

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What is Bhakti Yoga? Why You Should Try the Yoga of Devotion

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Four days a week, Nancy Seitz unrolls her yoga mat for a 90-minute asana practice in the Sivananda Yoga tradition. But her “yoga” doesn’t end when Savasana does. By ardently embracing some of yoga’s devotional practices, Seitz—a 55-year-old editor in Manhattan—has developed a sweet sense of connection with the Divine that permeates her entire life through Bhakti Yoga.

Each morning she practices a 30-minute devotional mantra meditation. Before she leaves for work, she repeats a mantra for safe passage. She offers gratitude before each meal. She attends a weekly arati (light) ceremony at her local Sivananda center.

At home she performs a puja ceremony at her altar—offering milk, rice, flowers, and water to Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of music, arts, and knowledge, as well as to other deities. She devotes her yoga practice to the spirit of the leader of the lineage she follows, the late Swami Sivananda.

“Bhakti just gives my practice a different dimension,” Seitz says. “It’s really hard in the day-to-day world to keep awareness and stay positive, and this awareness of the Divine helps.”

Like other modern yogis, Seitz has found bhakti yoga, known as the yoga of devotion, to be a lifesaver as she navigates a hectic modern existence.

What Does Bhakti Yoga Mean?

The Sanskrit word bhakti comes from the root bhaj, which means “to adore or worship God.” Bhakti yoga has been called “love for love’s sake” and “union through love and devotion.” Bhakti yoga, like any other form of yoga,[……]

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ASHTANGA VINYASA YOGA- A BRIEF HISTORY

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Ashtanga vinyasa yoga is a traditional system of practice with its roots being passed down through a lineage of teachers (Parampara).

Parampara

The Traditional Style of Spreading Right Knowledge

“Acknowledging the student/teacher lineage”

The Sanskrit word, Parampara, describes how to pass on the right knowledge from a teacher to a dedicated student. This system follows a strict code of honoring the line of teachers that have come before. In this tradition, knowledge must be shared with the student by building up slowly towards a personal practice. According to this system, the foundation and survival of a lineage depend on the connection and devotion between the student and teacher. One can see the teacher and student as links in an ever-growing chain. The student needs to practice with the total surrender of the mind, body, and ultimately one‘s ego. The only way that this valuable knowledge of Yoga can be acquired is through persistence, patience, sincere dedication, and trust in the teacher. Only after several years of study and practice under the guidance and support of the teacher, can the student progress on the path of sharing Parampara (right knowledge) with future students. The teacher‘s goal must be to share what they have learned exactly as their teacher shared the knowledge. The teacher has the responsibility to guide and support the student when they are stumbling on the path of yoga. This tradition of passing on knowledge through a clear lineage is practiced in[……]

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Anusara yoga – Yoga with heart and soul

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Anusara yoga is a type of Hatha Yoga i.e. you hold the yoga poses for a few breaths as opposed to vinyasa yoga that moves and flows with the breath.

I like to think of Anusara yoga as yoga with heart and soul. Each class has a meaningful heart-theme that gives Anusara yoga a spiritual quality that is woven throughout the yoga sequence. This enables Anusara yoga students to connect with their physical practice on a deeper level. Anusara® means to flow with Grace. In this context, this is not a girl’s name or the expectation of being able to perform each yoga pose with balletic poise and beauty. Anusara aims to unite with the Divine. – the soul in the flow with the universe, following your heart.

Anusara yoga honours the non-dual Tantric philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism. Essentially, this means that everything in this world is an embodiment of Supreme Consciousness. Everything is Supreme Consciousness. Non-dual tantra is inclusive and embraces both Shiva and Shakta traditions. It looks at the intrinsic goodness in everyone, every thing and every situation. I find this life affirming, positive and inspiring. You can take this positivity off the yoga mat and apply it to ups and downs of life and the world outside. Embrace everything whether it is good or bad. Don’t run from life! This is definitely a glass half full type of feel-good yoga.

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Anusara yoga is also characterised by its strong emphasis on correct alignment. Anusara yoga ’s unique methodology of alignment is known as th[……]

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