Easy Yoga Techniques For Women
Women can benefit a lot from yoga, no matter what stage of their life they are in. There are even yoga programs and DVDs for pregnant women, but we'll just stick with non-pregnant women here. If you are pregnant or think you may be pregnant and taking yoga classes or performing your usual yoga technique, it has to change. Let your instructor know or stop your regular yoga routines so you can still exercise, but in positions that won't aggravate the baby.
Pre-Routine Breathing
As you would stretch your muscles before an exercise routine, so you should do cleansing breath exercises before attempting any yoga techniques. Breathing deep, cleansing breaths is also a yoga technique called "kapalabhati". Going into the lotus position is optional. You can sit in a chair and do this.
Take two normal breaths. Then inhale deeply and exhale just as deeply, using your abdomen muscles. Repeat for as long as you are comfortable with it. This yoga technique is to help your subconscious to clear itself of worries and concentrate on the yoga to come.
Familiar Poses
Some yoga techniques will look very familiar to any woman who's ever taken an aerobics class or watched a Richard Simmons's video. There are side-stretches, which are exactly as you think they are, where you bend to the side with the opposite arm curled over your head. There is a more complex version of touching your toes where you grab the bottom of your feet. There is also a yoga technique similar to a sit up, where you gab one leg at a time and touch your knee to your head.
The best thing to do to learn how to properly do any of these yoga techniques for women is to take a few yoga classes at the YMCA or from your local community college. You will learn how to do these and any other yoga technique in a way that will not give your pulled muscles or neck sprains.
Remember, learning any yoga technique is not a competition. Everyone learns at their own time and their own rate. Try not to compare yourselves to others in the class. Your goals are to improve your bone strength, keep your physical flexibility and lower stress levels. Most yoga techniques can't be learned by reading them out of a book or a web site; you have to try and do them before you can figure out how to do them.
