...Yoga exercises and techniques have many benefits, and practitioners often talk about the unification of body, mind and spirit achieved through yoga. The belief that the mind and body are a unified structure is fundamental to yoga, and leads on to the belief that when the body is in harmony, healing can be achieved. These principles, and the many positive results obtained by yoga enthusiasts over the years, has led many doctors to believe that yoga has therapeutic results. Some even recommend it to help cure various illnesses, particularly those related to the nervous system.

Many new age therapies have sprung up in recent years, but yoga is not one of them. Yoga has been practiced for thousands of years, and in that time countless numbers of people have benefited from the positive results. A great deal of research has been done into the benefits that can be gained from yoga if it's practiced for an extended period. The benefits of yoga have been classified into three main categories, which are: physiological, psychological and biochemical. Yoga practitioners have regularly observed improvements in all three areas.

On the physiological level, practicing yoga for a pr...more

How to Use Yoga DVDs and Videos to Round Out Your Practice

...Modify Postures
Lately, I have been dealing with an injured foot that occurred while I was running. As a result, I cant put any pressure on the front of my foot. That means I have to modify a number of poses such as Plank Pose -- I need to put my knees down so I dont bear my entire body weight on my forefoot. Sometimes it takes a lot of extra movements to get into a posture because of this injury. I would find it very uncomfortable to have to do all of these modifications in a regular class with other people around. By using one of my yoga DVDs, I can easily modify the posture to meet my physical needs and I can do it in the privacy of my own home.

Now you can see why I think yoga DVDs and videos are so great. They are easy, convenient, and they can add breadth to your practice. Try some and see for yourself. You might grow to love them too.<...more

How To Ease Back pain

...ter I met one of the leading yoga instructors from Australia. She had studied extensively in the Far East and at that point had been teaching yoga for 40 years. Even though she was in her 60' she moved with the lightness and grace of a young ballet dancer. She was perfectly ageless. She confirmed what I had suspected. This twist-into- -a-pretzel, contortionistic, competitive, painful "yoga" was not what she knew as yoga either. Yoga is about relaxing muscles, not stressing them out in some ego driven competition. If you enjoy this style of yoga, great. If you are trying to get rid of pain in your back, then try something more back to basics.

After looking for 30 years, I finally found the yoga I was looking for. After your first session you will feel like you did nothing, but your back will feel like new. It is all about relaxation.

Using Yoga for Round Bodies:

The tape I recommend...more

Yoga For Kids

...n their visualized surroundings. Ask them also to share what place have they imagined they where in.

Another approach is to create a guided imagination by telling them a story with a calming theme of some sort.

As you know children have the most active imagination, they imagine all sorts of things. And at this point of imagination it makes them feel calm. So when doing yoga for kids let them think that they are walking on a green pasture.

You can even let them think that they are butterflies in a beautiful garden. The main idea in here is to instill a sense of peace and feeling of oneness with nature.

Yoga for kids should be taught more often and in different places. It is important to teach children the meaning of union of mind, body and spirit.

There is such a wealth of knowledge that we can offer to our children with the practice of Yoga.

...more

Downtown Houston Yoga