Are you are thinking about starting up yoga in London? Would you like to understand a little bit more about the practice? Then take a look at our Yoga Wellbeing facts about the Wonderful World of Yoga;

Facts about Yoga

1.    Yoga is over 5,000 years old
2.    Yoga originated in India
3.    Yoga is inspired by practices in Hinduism, Buddhism and
4.    The earliest Yogis are said to have been intoxicated
5.    Yoga was originally practiced as a form of healing
6.    Yoga is one of the oldest physical disciplines in existence
7.    Yoga connects the mind, body and spirit
8.    Yoga combines body postures, breathing and meditation
9.    The official language of Yoga is Sanskrit
10.   The word yoga means yoke or union
11.    There are 19 different types of Yoga
12.    There are 66 official yoga postures
13.    Yoga breathing is called pranayama
14.    Yoga hand positions are called mudras
15.    Mudras affects the flow of prana (life energy) within the body
16.    Bikram or hot yoga is practiced in rooms heated to 40°C and 50% humidity
17.    Jivamukti yoga is performed to music
18.    In Mysore yoga students are invited to practice whatever postures they please
19.    Hasyayoga or Laughter Yoga is practiced in more than 60 countries
20.   Chair Yoga is practiced by seniors / people with disabilities
21.   The largest yoga center in Asia is the Markandeya Yoga City in Bali
22.   The bestselling yoga book in English is Light on Yoga: Yoga Dipika by B. K. S Iyengar
23.   Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Eat Pray Love” has sold 8 million copies worldwide

Yoga in the US & UK

24.    Yoga was first practiced in the UK in the late 19th century
25.    The most popular type of Yoga in the UK is Hatha Yoga
26.    The largest yoga center in North America is the Kripalu Center Massachusetts
27.    Americans spend $5.7 billion a year on yoga classes and products*
28.    6.9% of US adults, 15.8 million people practice yoga
29.    72.2% of US yoga practitioners are women, 27.8% are men
30.    71.4% of US yoga practitioners are college educated
31.    Yoga to the People is a donation-based yoga movement that started in New York
32.    Naked yoga is gaining in popularity across Europe and the US

Yoga Benefits

33.    Yoga relieves anxiety, depression and stress
34.    Yoga can increase self-confidence
35.    Yoga can improve your mood
36.    Yoga can lead to a more positive outlook on life
37.    Yoga can alleviate anger and hostility
38.    Yoga can improve concentration and motivation
39.    Yoga can improve memory
40.    Yoga can improve reactions times
41.    Yoga can make you live longer
42.    Yoga can help you quit smoking
43.    Yoga aids weight loss by improving metabolism
44.    Yoga reduces cellulite through muscle stretching
45.    Yoga improves posture
46.    Yoga can help you sleep better
47.    Yoga can improve sexuality through better control, relaxation and confidence
48.    Guarasana or Eagle pose can help improve male sexual performance
49.    Yoga can reduce menopausal hot flashes
50.    Yoga improves balance
51.    Yoga can make you more graceful
52.    Yoga can help prevent migraines
53.    Yoga delays aging by stimulating detoxification in the body
54.    Yoga can relieve constipation
55.    Yoga can alleviate allergy symptoms
56.    Yoga increases pain tolerance
57.    Yoga reduces blood pressure and pulse rate
58.    Yoga helps prevent disease by massaging internal organs
59.    Yoga can make you more aware of an impending health disorder or disease
60.    Yoga can help improve your immune system
61.    Yoga can heal the body and prevent injuries
62.    Yoga can help prevent Alzheimer’s disease
63.    Yoga can alleviate Asthma symptoms
64.    Yoga can reduce OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) symptoms

If you are interested in all things yogic then you should get yourself along to the Yoga Show which is taking place at Olympia from 30th October – 1st November. The show is a great way to discover and try out the many different styles of yoga that are out there. There are free workshops that you can pop along to anytime throughout the day and 1:2:1 equipment sessions, children’s yoga, demonstrations and lectures.

You can always give yourself a little break from being bendy and discover some tasty and healthy snacks. It’s also a excellent way to finding out about new music and many other things with a ‘wellbeing’ feel.

Yoga Wellbeing will be there on Sunday 1st November, we will be wearing our YW shirts so if you see us stop us and we can have a good chat.

To find out what’s in store, take a look – www.theyogashow.co.uk.

Matysasana is a classic yoga pose that traditionally follows Headstand is either a joyful experience or one that feels challenging and awkward. Learn from Dr. Robin Armstrong the fundamentals in making this back arching yoga pose safe, effective, and enjoyable.

Benefits of Matsyasana (Fish Pose)
* Opens pectoralis muscles of chest, intercostal muscles between ribs, and upper portion of psoas muscles in hips
* Improves quality of breath by opening accessory muscles of breathing
* Opens muscles in the abdomen and front of neck
* Relieves thoracic/mid back spinal tension
* Strengthens musculature in back and neck
* Traditionally thought to stimulate organs in the abdomen and throat

Read more about how to do Matysasana (Fish Pose).

No Tags

Enjoy our latest yoga lifestyle article by guest author Kino MacGregor. Kino offers an engaging view of how we can create harmony through managing our vibration of thoughts and actions.

Is each individual on Earth responsible for their own life experience? Or are other people to blame when they are angry, tired, tedious, envious, rude, selfish and just down right mean? How do you make space for other people’s roll through the rollercoaster ride of life when it bumps right up against your happy day at the park?

The truth is that you really are responsible for your own experience and that you cannot control the way other people treat you no matter how hard you try. It is easier to sit back and judge reality by saying that people should treat you a certain way and that they are wrong whenever they don’t. However as long as you sing the tune of should or should not you set yourself up on a righteous path towards the vain attempt to change other people. When you want someone in your life to act differently than they are, you create resistance to them and the way they are acting. The old statement that the more you try to change it, the more it stays the same hits you square in the face. The more you tell yourself that your friend shouldn’t speak to in that way and get angry and frustrated about it, the more your friend continues to speak to you in exactly that way. You could in fact spend the rest of your life issuing moral dictums about the way other people should or shouldn’t treat you. That would be an awful waste of the rest of your life, especially since you have absolutely no control over the way other people act.

The only thing you have any control over is yourself. You have the power to change your actions, reactions, thoughts and emotions. In fact the only real source of transformation lies in the ability to manage your inner world. Much as you would manage your choice of food at a deli counter by scanning the possible choices and choosing what suits you based on your likes and dislikes, you can manage the full scope of your thoughts by choosing consistently better feeling thoughts about yourself, your life and all the beings in your life. It is how you think, feel and act on a moment to moment and day to day basis that amounts to what’s often called your vibration. What you think right now shapes your experience of reality.

What’s often called the “Law of Attraction” is the organizational rule of the universe and it’s what orders your experience of reality in response to your vibration. It works in a similar manner as when you’re asked not to think about the pink elephant and all you see in your mind is that very pink elephant. Dealing and interacting with family, friends and coworkers is just the same. When you stand in front of a loved one and think that they should not be so selfish, hurtful and ignorant all you see in them is evidence of their egocentric, stupid, heartbreaking behavior. Now you might say that it is really true that they are acting in this way. Yet another person standing in the exact same situation might not be bothered at all. At some moment the finger that points at other people has to turn and point back an its owner. The teaching of Abraham which comes through Esther and Jerry Hicks states that “you cannot restore someone to their Connection with Source by belittling them or by punishing them, or by being disgusted with them. It is only through love that you can return anyone to love.”

As long as you remain committed to complaining about other people, fighting with politicians or reacting in outrage at a traffic jams, you remain committed to a helpless struggle of trying to change other people and outside situations. Setting the tone of your thoughts, feelings and actions to the tune of what is wrong with the world simply gets you more of what’s wrong. Just as you sort through the junk mail in your inbox to search for the good news from colleagues and friends so too must you manage your inner vibrational world to search for better feeling thoughts and emotions about your friends, colleagues and family members. No thought is absolutely, incontrovertibly true and no emotion is permanent. Every person on Earth has the power to bring you immense joy and immense pain and you hold the key to deciding which it will be.

About Kino MacGregor
Kino MacGregor is a small business owner (www.miamilifecenter.com), yoga teacher and freelance journalist who has produced two yoga DVDs and is currently working on her first book, Inner Peace, Irresistible Beauty to be released late April 2009. For complete details please see www.ashtanga-awareness.com.

No Tags

Yes yoga folks the chance to get bendy in Regent’s Park is finally here. I am really excited about seeing everyone enjoying taking part in the very first Yoga in the Park. Whopppee. The weather god is smiling on us because it looks like a lovely English summer’s day out there.

It felt very natural and relaxed to see everyone doing yoga in the park. Everyone slipped into the relaxation pose very easily, I could see all the Monday tension disappear. We had a bit of a canine encounter, Monica was mid Warrior pose when she got her leg licked by a little terrier. I thought of bringing a couple of bonios, the premier dog biscuit, but they will probably come back next week. Everyone had a bit of a chuckle after the laughter stopped we got on with the yoga.

We worked on the legs and arms this week and everyone commented how they felt they had definitely worked some of the muscles they hadn’t used for a while. One of the girl’s commented it should help her to banish her bingo wings, for all of you who not down with the term it means the fat underneath the arms. Watch this space for more tales from the green land.

My Yoga Online has posted a new nutrition article by guest author and nutritionist Karla Heintz, Top Food Nutrient Combinations. Learn about the important food combinations for optimum nutrient absorption.

Getting the most nutrition out of your kitchen fridge or backyard garden can be as easy as applying a few main principles. While some nutrients taken together improve the absorption of others, some nutrients can inhibit absorption all together.

Karla presents a list of food combinations you should incorporate and you should avoid in order to receive proper absorption of essential vitamins and minerals. Read full article Top Food Nutrient Combinations.

Learn more about our author, Karla Heintz.

No Tags

Enjoy My Yoga Online’s feature yoga pose of the month, Upavista Konasana (Wide Angled Seated Forward Bend) presented by Dr. Robin Armstong.

This classic wide forward bend offers great benefits:
*Stretches Adductor muscles of the groin
*Stretches Hamstring muscles
*Strengthens the supportive musculature of the spine
*Encourages activation of the core
*Traditionally thought to increase blood flow to the pelvis, keeping it healthy

Contraindications/ Cautions
*Low Back Pain: Sit up on a block or blanket, high enough that you can maintain the natural curve of your low back. When you are folding forward, use your hands for support on the floor. If you cannot safely enter and exit the pose without pain, it is not appropriate for you.
*Sacroiliac Joint Pain: If you have been diagnosed with Sacroiliac Joint pain, avoid wide legged poses until the pain subsides. Return with caution, using your core to support you.
*Pregnancy: The hormone Relaxin causes the bones of the pelvis to be more mobile that usual. Take your legs slightly less than 90 degrees, and gently lift and support the pelvic floor muscles (a Kiegel) to prevent unnecessary shearing in the pubic symphis. Do not allow your stomach to be compressed against the floor.

Learn how to effectively and safely perform Upavistha Konasana.

No Tags

My Yoga Online is happy to present a new yoga article by guest yoga author, Kino MacGregor. Enjoy this latest yoga writing offering inspiration in creating a strong sense of wellness through the action of mindful thought.

You create your reality in every moment with the thoughts that you think. Your attention is itself responsible for your life experience. No matter how awful the traffic jam is, how loud your neighbors are, how inconsiderate people may seem, how delayed the airplane is, you are the one who is ultimately in control of your reality. Regardless of what type of experience finds its way into your life you always have power over your reaction to reality. In doing so you are the true master of your own fate. Think that life is awful and it is…for you. Think that people are careless, blind and ignorant and they will be…to you. The power of positive thinking is a common topic of conversation, books and seminars in the yoga community. Most of yoga practitioners agree that it is a good idea to concentrate our thoughts towards a positive goal, rather than lull around in the doldrums of complaint and whine. The real question lies not in the debate about whether we can create our own reality or not, but rather in the how.

Enter the five thousand year old tradition of which you take part when you practice yoga. Yoga is a true science of the mind where you actively practice choosing a peaceful response to distressful situations, thus giving you the tools for creating your reality in each moment. When you practice yoga, you watch your mind’s reaction to touching the borders of your physical reality. Your inner dialogue in postures that seem impossible to you parallels your reaction to life situations that push the boundary of your comfortability. Pushing these limits brings up fear, anger, sadness, frustration, and numerous other insidious emotions.

It is easy to let your mind spin away into these temptations, however, with regular practice you will have the strength to remain calm, focused and aware. It’s like the difference between scratching an itch automatically and feeling the itch, acknowledging it and then choosing not to scratch. As you remain calm you are able to choose a peaceful response to your experience and thereby create your own reality. Wayne Dyer says that it is always possible to stop any life experience and say to yourself, “I can choose peace over this.” Yoga gives you a forum to practice saying to yourself that you actually can choose peace over the patterns that you have practiced in the past. You finally have the strength to stop scratching those pesky itches. Your thoughts are crystal clear in between your breath, posture, and drishti. With no one else to blame, no where else to run, nothing left to do, you can finally start where you are, in the center of your created life experience and begin the dedicated, devotional path towards creating a peaceful life in the present moment…one breath at a time.

About Kino MacGregor
Kino MacGregor is a small business owner (www.miamilifecenter.com), yoga teacher and freelance journalist who has produced two yoga DVDs and is currently working on her first book, Inner Peace, Irresistible Beauty to be released late April 2009. For complete details please see www.ashtanga-awareness.com.

Related Articles:
Energy of Positive Thinking
Five Principles of Yoga

No Tags

My Yoga Online has added a series of new short yoga flows for home and for at work to give you a quick burst of positive energy and rejuvenation. Click to view a free sample:

Yoga For Quick Energy with Kreg Weiss (Level 2 – 3.5 minutes)
Practice this short yoga flow for a quick burst of energy. Great in the morning, or during a short break in the day.

Morning Inspiration Office Yoga with Michelle Trantina (7 minutes)
Start your day with a few minutes of focused breathing and stretches to open your body and awaken your mind. Gentle but effective movements shake off tiredness and increase the flow of energy through the spine and central nervous system. Feel alert and calm at the same time, with this AM practice.

Clear and Calm Workplace Flow with Michelle Trantina (6 minutes)
Feel an immediate sense of vibrant relaxation in your body and mind. Rejuvenate your spine, open your wrists for long hours at your computer, stretch your eyes and your mind as you take a few valuable moments with this targeted practice. We are at our best when we approach work and it’s challenges from a balanced inner place.

No Tags

My Yoga Online has posted a new Yoga article by Kreg Weiss, Top Yoga Poses for Headaches. Explore 10 classical yoga exercises that will help alleviate the cause and symptoms of tension headaches.

Yoga can be a beneficial therapeutic tool for relieving headaches brought on by muscle tension and stress. The majority of headaches originate from muscle stiffness and imbalances emanating from the neck and upper back. When headaches set in, using a series of restorative yoga exercises can greatly relieve both the cause and symptoms. Here are our top yoga poses and exercises that naturally treat headaches.

Read Our: Top Yoga Poses for Headaches

Related Article:
Is Neck Tension The Origin of Your Headache

No Tags