Yoga  refers to traditional physical and mental disciplines originating in India. The word is associated with meditative practices in both Buddhism and Hinduism. In Hinduism, it also refers to one of the six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy, and to the goal toward which that school directs its practices.

image by myyogaonline

The definition refers to the purest form of yoga where meditation plays an important part. However, many people today use yoga as a form of exercize and the meditation part is usually very short (if at all existing) in a lesson. Although this is a pity, it has also helped yoga become more popular and nowadays there are many yoga schools to be found everywhere.

I love doing yoga and feel that my body needs it. I find that it is incredibly good for stretching out your body and becoming more flexible. This helps to prevent (sport) injuries and I’m less prone to injuries in other (sport) activities. However, as I get busier with work, yoga usually suffers and I now don’t go nearly as often as would like or should do.

In order to still get my yoga practice in, I have now put a yoga mat on the floor of my office so I can do my stretches and poses every time I need to take a computer break. Let’s highlight the benefits of yoga to remind you and me of why we really should be practicing yoga on a regular basis.

Increase flexibility

Yoga’s various positions all work to increase the flexibility in your body. 

Internal massage and lubrication

You exercize, lubricate and massage your internal organs, joints, ligaments and tendons which helps to fight of desease and increase flexibility all over your body.

You will get healthier

You become aware of any inbalances quicker and yoga also helps to improve your immune system.

You detoxify

The stretching exercises help to clear toxins from your body, which in turn helps you to stay healthier  and more energetic.

You look better

By toning your muscles you will start to look stronger and more toned. Practicing yoga on a regular basis will also help to lose weight.

You will become stronger

Although you will build up slowly, many yoga positions require a lot of strength and therefore you will definitly get stronger and steady on your feet. You will also gain a better sense of balance.

You become more relaxed

Yoga will help to decrease your pulse rate, stabilise your nervous system and lower your blood pressure. You will also become more proficient in breathing.

Your energy level and endurance increases

Yoga is not as easy as you may think and you will build up stamina as you go into more challenging poses.

Reasons enough to step up that yoga regime!

Yoga retreats

However, if you do have trouble finding the time to schedule yoga in your week, why not consider going for a yoga holiday? There are some fantastic yoga retreats around the world and you will come home completely refreshed. I have already planned my yoga retreat for this year and  if you can afford it I would encourage you to do the same.

Here is a website of some wonderful yoga retreats around the world.

I’d like to know about your yoga experiences. Has it benefited you? Have you ever attended a yoga retreat?

image by Gret@Lorenz

We all know it’s important to stay fit and healthy. Not only will you feel better and get more things done, you will also look better. Now you may have heard  that you will need to get 10,000 steps in every day in order to stay fit. But if you are like me and don’t like running or go to the fitness club what can you do to get those steps? 

First of all you may want to buy a pedometer that counts your steps. They are about $35. Or, if you have an iphone, you can buy an application that measures all your steps: http://www.edovia.com/steps/ Keep track of your steps for a few days and keep a record of it each day. Now if your daily average is too low you will need to do additional activities in order to make the 10,000. If you need to add a lot more extra steps start with a few more each day and then slowly add more.

These are some ideas for getting those steps in your weekly routine

1. Start you day off with a walk before doing anything else.
2. Instead of a tedious workout in the gym join a local sports club. I’m a great fan of tennis, but you could do soccer, hockey, hand ball, netball or even golf (just don’t get a buggy). Try to get your partner involved and play it together in the evenings and weekend.
3. Get a dog! A good excuse to go out a few times a day to walk the dog.
4. Play more with your kids outside if you have them. They will want to do races which will give you lots of steps.
5. Walk to the store instead of taking the car.
6. Get a house with lots of stairs and keep forgetting that wallet before going out that is in your office upstairs.
7. Don’t take the lift at work.
8. Take up dancing with your partner; it’s great fun and dancing salsa is a great and fun workout.
9. Start a garden and spend a lot of time in it.
10. Get some kids if you don’t have any. They will not let you sit still for one minute.
11. Get up earlier.
12. Install a break reminder on your computer. Not only will this stop you from getting repetitive strain injury (RSI) it will also remind to move away from your computer and do other things. Use the breaks as a reminder to walk around the block. RSI Guard is good, Workpace, or AntiRSI for MAC. 
13. Park a little further from the entrance whenever you go somewhere.
14. Make a weekly walking ‘date’ with a friend in a park you love.
15. Set a clear goal for this tasks and go through the exercise in the article ‘how to achieve your goals in 2009‘.

Of course if you prefer to do other exercises, like cycling, then do that. One mile of walking is equivalent (approximately) to burning 100 calories. If you exercise long enough to burn 100 calories, then that is like walking 2000 steps. To burn the equivalent of walking 10,000 steps, you would have to exercise long enough to burn 500 calories. Also remember that you don’t have to do 10,000 steps every day. Just try to get an average of 10,000 if you measure on a weekly basis.

Build up slowly and try turning walking into a habit. If you have any further ideas let me know. 

Good luck!