Yoga for Hip and Spine !

1. From table pose, inhale and reach the tailbone up towards the ceiling, arching the spine and letting the belly drop down.

2. Spread the fingers wide apart and press the palms into the floor. Drop the shoulders down from the ears and to reach the crown of the head up towards the ceiling. Look up as high as you can towards the ceiling without straining.

3. Breathe and hold for 4-8 breaths, or vinyasa between cat tilt and dog tilt, inhaling into dog and exhaling into cat.

4. To release, exhale and flatten the back moving into Table or Child pose.

Benefits + Contraindications

Benefits: Dog tilt pose stretches the middle to low back and hips, lengthens the spine, and stimulates the kidneys and adrenal glands.

Contradictions: Recent or chronic back pain or injury.

7 Steps To Weight Loss

1. Buy a Scale
To change your body, you need to know where you stand. A recent study by Brown University Medical School showed that daily weigh-ins are key. Place your scale on a flat, uncarpeted surface and weigh yourself at the same time every day. (First thing in the morning is best.) Use the number as a way to track your progress. A realistic goal is a weight loss of 1 to 2 pounds a week.

2. Clean out Your Cupboards

Toss all those naughty little goodies that might prove too tempting when you're tired or hungry. Or put them at the back of the cupboard or refrigerator so you won't be faced with them every time you open the door. And divide large bags of snacks into single-portion baggies or buy prepackaged 100-calorie options.

3. Keep a Journal

Write down your weight each day, plus everything you eat. You're the only one who has to see this - so be honest. Estimate the calories of each entry as you write it down. Buy a book of calorie counts or use our tools at Parade.com.

4. Tell Everyone

Sit your family down and tell them your goals. Be clear that losing weight is important to you and that you would appreciate their support. A weight-loss buddy also can improve your chances of success. If you don't know anyone who fits the bill, consider joining an online support group.

5. Eat Several Small Meals a Day

It's natural to be a little hungry during the first few days of any diet. Remind yourself that it is just a physical sensation, and you can handle it. Still, any diet that leaves you hungry all the time will lead to overeating. Many people find that having five or six small meals a day works best for them.

6. Give Yourself Treats

If you deprive yourself endlessly, you'll end up going on a world-class binge at some point. Consider adding a treat to your daily or weekly plan, but pay attention to portion size and calorie count. A 1/2 cup of low-fat ice cream or three pieces of chocolate can work as long as you limit yourself to that. 7

7. Start Yoga Exercise Plan

Besides burning calories, exercise also builds muscle and boosts your metabolism as you progress. One of the best things you can do is walk. Invest in a pedometer and aim for a goal of 10,000 steps or more a day. It's the only number you want to see go up, up, up!

Abdomen Fitness by Yoga

If you wish to work on one body part more like the hips or abdomen or thighs or arms or legs or chest you can incorporate the asnas specific to your requirement in the above plan.
Yogic Asans to tighten the abdomen are:
Abdominal lift, Child pose, Cobra pose, Wind releasing pose, Yogic seal pose, Spinal twist, Lying on back pose - baat pose, Naval Move Asana (lying on back).
Yogic asans for arms and legs:
Tree pose, Hero pose, Dog pose (face up), Dog pose (face down), Swinging lotus pose, Bridge pose (face up), Bridge pose (face down), Celebacy pose, Squat and rise pose.
Yoga plan to tighten the chest:
Triangle pose, Hero pose, Baat pose (lying on back), Cobra pose, Wind releasing pose, Dog pose (face upand down), Lumbar wheel pose, Spinal twist.
Yoga Asans to tone up thighs and hips:
Sun salute, Hero pose I + II, Triangle pose, Angle pose, Dog pose (face up), Dog pose (face down), Celebacy pose, Advanced wind releasing pose, Butterfly pose.

Low Fat Diets for Weight Loss

Basic concept
Ornish promotes low-fat vegetarian eating to reverse or prevent heart disease. Exercising and managing stress are equally important in this lifestyle program.
How it works
There are two versions of the Life Choice Diet. The "reversal diet" is for people who have diagnosed heart disease or high cholesterol levels. Because you are trying to reverse damage to your body, you must follow strict guidelines. The "prevention diet" is less structured. You still eat a diet very low in fat, but you have more flexibility in what you can eat.

Guidelines for both versions of Ornish's diet include eating a vegetarian diet high in complex carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in their natural forms). About 10% of your calories come from fat in the reversal diet. You may have more fat in the prevention diet as long as your weight or your cholesterol levels don't begin to rise. Oils are limited to 3 teaspoons a day. Mostly, you eat foods that have less than 3 grams of fat per serving, and stay away from saturated fat and sugar.
On the menu
· High-fiber grains, legumes (beans and peas)
· Fruits
· Vegetables
· Nonfat dairy products
· Egg whites
· Small amounts of alcohol
Off the menu
· Meat and all animal products
· Caffeine
· Nuts, seeds, olives
· Chocolate, coconut
· Avocado
· Oils, except for small amounts of canola oil for cooking
Pritikin
Nathan Pritikin, PhD, developed the Pritikin diet in the 1970s. It’s similar to the Ornish program, with no more than 10% of calories coming from fat. Pritikin does allow some lean meat and seafood that is rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
Basic concept
Pritikin encourages eating natural, nutrient-rich, high-fiber foods. Daily exercise is part of the program.
How it works
The theory is that when you limit fat to 10% of your daily calories, there’s no need to count calories. Eat often to keep from feeling hungry—six or seven meals a day. You can eat as much as you want of whole grains, vegetables, and fruit. Exercise every day: For example, take a 45-minute walk.
On the menu
· Whole grains
· Unprocessed vegetables
· Unprocessed fruits
· Nonfat dairy products
· Egg whites
· Lean meats
· Omega-3 fatty acids (fat like that found in fish) in very small amounts
Off the menu
· White pasta
· White bread
· Egg yolks
· Caffeine
· Processed foods
· Most fats

Health Benefits From Yoga

Yoga offers a good tool for stress management and relaxation. Left unchecked, stress can lead to a variety of health problems, including headache, insomnia, back pain, burnout, weight gain, anger and substance abuse. Yoga, with its quiet, precise movements can draw your focus away from your busy, chaotic day and more on the calming moment as you move your body through poses that require balance and concentration.
But the benefits of yoga surpass stress relief. Other health benefits of yoga may include:
Increased flexibility.
As you learn and refine new poses — such as touching your toes — you'll find that each time you practice, you can reach a little farther. Increased range of motion means you're less likely to injure yourself in other physical endeavors or in your daily activities.
Management of chronic health conditions.
The breathing and relaxation methods used in yoga might help you if you have asthma, carpal tunnel syndrome, depression, low back pain, multiple sclerosis, osteoarthritis of the knees or memory problems. Yoga can also be helpful when combined with other treatments for heart disease and high blood pressure. Yoga, when combined with a vegetarian diet, aerobic exercise and medication, has reduced cardiovascular disease rates and blood pressure levels. However, yoga is not a substitute for traditional medical care and treatment.
Weight loss.
If you're overweight, yoga may help you make the healthy lifestyle changes necessary to drop those extra pounds.
Balance.
Yoga classes tailored for older adults can help them stay steady on their feet and avoid falls and hip fractures.
Coping with cancer.
People with cancer and their caregivers who practice yoga may improve their quality of life and sleep better at night.
Alzheimer's caregiver stress and fatigue.
Yoga practice may help family caregivers by boosting their mood and improving their ability to cope and manage stress.
While you shouldn't expect yoga to cure you, it can help some health conditions when combined with treatment recommended by your doctor. And if you already enjoy good health, yoga can be an enjoyable supplement to your regular exercise routine.

Beginning with hatha yoga

There are several versions of hatha yoga, too. Which version you choose depends on your personal preferences. But all varieties of hatha yoga include two basic components — poses and breathing. Coordination of mind, body and breathing through hatha yoga can improve physical, psychological and spiritual well-being.
Poses

Yoga is suitable for people of all abilities. In a typical hatha yoga class, you may learn anywhere from 10 to 30 poses. Poses range from the easier corpse pose, which involves lying on the floor while completely relaxed, to the most difficult poses that take years of practice to master.
Regardless of which type of yoga you practice, you don't have to do every pose your instructor demonstrates. If a pose is uncomfortable or you can't hold it as long as the instructor requests, don't do it. Good instructors will understand and encourage you not to exceed your personal limits. Spend time sitting quietly, breathing deeply until your instructor moves the class on to another pose that's more comfortable for you.
Breathing

Controlling your breathing is an important part of yoga. In yoga, breath signifies your vital energy. Yoga teaches that controlling your breathing can help you control your body and gain control of your mind — reining in thoughts that may otherwise hamper stress management and relaxation.
Through yoga, you learn to control your breathing by paying attention to it. Your instructor might ask you to take deep, loud breaths as you concentrate on your breathing. Other breathing techniques involve paying attention to your breath as it moves into your body and fills your lungs, or alternately breathing through one nostril.

Understanding yoga !

The ultimate goal of yoga is to reach complete peacefulness of body and mind, helping you relax and manage stress and anxiety. Traditional yoga philosophy requires that students adhere to this mission through behavior, diet and meditation. But if you're simply looking for better stress management and not an entire lifestyle change, yoga can still help.

Yoga has many styles, forms and intensities. But hatha yoga, in particular, may be a good choice for stress management. This style of yoga is designed to encourage a calmer mind, along with improved flexibility.

Yoga poses, such as the warrior seen here, involve precise alignments of your arms, legs and torso while taking deep breaths. The balance of poses and breathing help you achieve stress management and relaxation

5 Major Eating Mistakes !

We checked with some of the top US nutrition experts, who admitted they secretly spy on the rest of us as we make real-world choices in restaurants and grocery stores. Here are their top five gripes.

1. We can't tell the good fats from the bad ones.

"Most people still don't get that some fats are actually good for you," says Alice Lichtenstein, DSc, an American Heart Association spokesperson. "You want to avoid saturated and trans fats, but you need more monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Good sources are fish, nuts, avocados, and soybean and canola oils."

Smarter: Fit in good fats. "If you keep track of total calories, you don't have to worry about how much fat you eat, just what kind," explains Dr. Lichtenstein. Grandpa Po's Slightly Spicy Nutra Nuts use only canola oil (160 cal, 10 g fat, 1 g sat. fat, 2 g fiber, 60 mg sodium); at healthy food supermarkets.

2. We supersize to save money. "People think that supersizing a restaurant meal is a money saver, but it's not a health bargain if it has way too many calories," says Karen Weber Cullen, DPH, RD, research nutritionist at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Smarter: Judge with your palm, not your purse. A serving size is about what fits into the palm of your hand (larger for men than women, smaller for children). For most meals, pick one protein, one starch, one veggie, and one fruit based on the serving that will fit into your palm.

3. We think anything liquid has no calories.

"What freaks me out is the amount of sugared soda and juice we drink," says Judith Stern, ScD, RD, professor of nutrition and internal medicine at the University of California, Davis. "I'd like to see all the sugared drinks sent out into space, where they could orbit the Earth forever." Sugared drinks balloon your calorie intake and squeeze out more nutritious foods.

Smarter: Try a cup of tea. Available in myriad varieties, the calorie-free brew promotes heart health, staves off several types of cancer, strengthens bones and teeth, and protects the skin.

4. We don't know how "hungry" really feels.

"If you don't know when you're hungry, you don't know when you're full, so you won't know when to stop eating," says Elisabetta Politi, RD, nutrition manager of the Duke University Diet & Fitness Center in Durham, NC.

Smarter: Tune in with mindful eating. Here's how.1. Before you eat, relax, and rate your hunger from 1 (hungriest) to 7 (fullest).2. Eat slowly, pausing often to rate how your hunger changes.3. When finished, rate yourself one more time. Try to stay between 2 1/2 and 5 1/2: not too ravenous when you start and not completely full when you stop.

5. We have a microwave addiction. Many women come home from work and pop a frozen entrée into the microwave.

"Eating too many heavily processed foods can leave you short on fiber and antioxidants such as vitamin C," explains Jo Ann Hattner, RD, clinical dietitian at Stanford University Medical Center.

Smarter: Complement a frozen entrée with a green salad, a 100 percent whole wheat roll, and fruit for dessert. Stock up on the freshest fruit for maximum flavor.

How to Cut Calories in Food

1.Eating out? Halve it, and bag the rest. A typical restaurant entree has 1,000 to 2,000 calories, not even counting the bread, appetizer, beverage, and dessert.

2. When dining out, make it automatic: Order one dessert to share.

3. Use a salad plate instead of a dinner plate.

4. See what you eat. Plate your food instead of eating out of the jar or bag.

5. Eat the low-cal items on your plate first, then graduate. Start with salads, veggies, and broth soups, and eat meats and starches last. By the time you get to them, you'll be full enough to be content with smaller portions of the high-calorie choices.

6. Instead of whole milk, switch to 1 percent. If you drink one 8-oz glass a day, you'll lose 5 lb in a year.

7. Juice has as many calories, ounce for ounce, as soda. Set a limit of one 8-oz glass of fruit juice a day.

8. Get calories from foods you chew, not beverages. Have fresh fruit instead of fruit juice.

9. Keep a food journal. It really works wonders.16. Follow the Chinese saying: "Eat until you are eight-tenths full."

10. Use mustard instead of mayo.

11. Eat more soup. The noncreamy ones are filling but low-cal.

12. Cut back on or cut out caloric drinks such as soda, sweet tea, lemonade, etc. People have lost weight by making just this one change. If you have a 20-oz bottle of Coca-Cola every day, switch to Diet Coke. You should lose 25 lb in a year.

13. Take your lunch to work.

14. Sit when you eat.

15. Dilute juice with water.

16. Have mostly veggies for lunch.

17. Eat at home.

18. Limit alcohol to weekends.

Diet Tips for Healthy life

1. Add just one fruit or veggie serving daily. Get comfortable with that, then add an extra serving until you reach 8 to 10 a day.
2. Eat at least two servings of a fruit or veggie at every meal.
3. Resolve never to supersize your food portions—unless you want to supersize your clothes.
4. Make eating purposeful, not mindless. Whenever you put food in your mouth, peel it, unwrap it, plate it, and sit. Engage all of the senses in the pleasure of nourishing your body.
5. Start eating a big breakfast. It helps you eat fewer total calories throughout the day.
6. Make sure your plate is half veggies and/or fruit at both lunch and dinner.

Finding a yoga class

If you've decided to try yoga for stress management or relaxation, look around for classes in your area to see what's offered. You can also learn yoga from books and videos. But beginners usually find it helpful to learn with an instructor. Classes also offer camaraderie and friendship, which are also important to overall well-being.
When you find a class that sounds interesting, contact the instructor and get all of your questions answered so that you know what to expect. Questions to ask can include:
1.What are the instructor's qualifications?

2.Where did he or she learn yoga, and how long has he or she been teaching?

3.Does the instructor have experience working with students with your needs or health concerns? If you have a sore knee or an aching shoulder, can the instructor help you find poses that won't aggravate your condition?

4.Is the class suitable for beginners? Will it be easy enough to follow along if it's your first time? Can you observe a class before signing up?

5.What is the focus of the class? Is it aimed at your needs, such as stress management or relaxation, or is it geared for people who want to reap other benefits?

6.What do you need to take along to class? Some classes require you to bring a mat or towel to sit or stand on while doing poses. Other classes will provide a mat.

At the end of a yoga class, you should feel invigorated, yet relaxed and calm. If this isn't the case, talk to your instructor. He or she might have suggestions for you. Otherwise there may be another yoga class better suited to your needs for stress management and relaxation.

Natural Weight Loss !

Add on years by shedding some extra pounds! These days, upwards of 60 percent of Americans are obese or overweight.
Correspondingly, the rates of heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes are skyrocketing. Here are some ways to cut your risk of being counted among the statistics and lose the weight.Slimming SolutionsTraditional Chinese medicine works to maintain a healthy and balanced body system. A healthy weight can be maintained when the body is working optimally, stress is low, and spirits are peaceful and content. It is when the body is out of balance that digestive weaknesses arise, your metabolism shifts, and adipose tissue (fat cells) accumulates. Here is what you can do to achieve a healthy weight:

1. First of all, avoid any fad diets and fast-acting solutions that guarantee incredible weight loss while you watch television and eat deserts.

2. Focus on being fit rather than being thin. Aiming to be thin often means restricted eating, over-exercising, and anxious obsessing about weight - there is nothing healthy about this mindset.

3. Eat five small meals per day. Find a small bowl the size of your two palms when they are placed next to each other - this should be the size of each meal. Eating throughout the day keeps you from becoming famished and overeating at your next meal.

4. Your last meal of the day should be no later than 7 p.m.

5. Eliminate candy, sugar, and soda from your diet. Instead of candy, chew on some fresh peppermint leaves or cinnamon sticks. Use honey sparingly as a replacement for sugar.

6. Eat more complex carbohydrates and ample quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables. Keep dairy to a minimum because most dairy products are high in saturated fat, which is not healthy for your cardiovascular system when consumed in larger amounts. Opt for the lower fat dairy products such as low-fat or non-fat milks, cheeses, and yogurt. Avoid fatty foods, processed or fried foods.

7. Drink plenty of water - at least 60 ounces a day. It is especially beneficial to drink plain hot water, as if you are drinking tea without the tea or sugar. Also, drink a tea made from boiling a lemon (with the peel).

8. Eat soup at least once a day. A low-salt nutritious soup rehydrates the body while also nourishing and flushing waste from the body. It has been found that people who eat one or more soups each day lose more weight than those who eat the same number of calories but don't eat soup. (Seek out homemade soup, because canned soups are filled with salt and chemicals.)

9. A 30-minute daily walk can do wonders for your metabolism. Try taking a walk 30 minutes in the morning or 30 minutes in the evening, two hours before bed. For toning you might replace one of the walks with some stretching activities such as tai chi or a mild form of yoga. Cut the Fat with L-carnitineL-carnitine, an amino acid produced in your liver, helps regulate fat metabolism and promotes fat loss making it essential in any weight loss program. L-carnitine also helps reduce triglycerides and increase good cholesterol, thereby protecting the heart. Rich sources of L-carnitine include meats, fish, poultry, wheat, avocado, milk, and fermented soybeans.

Yoga Help to Reduce Weight !

Question: Will Doing Yoga Help Me Lose Weight?

Doing yoga regularly can make you feel better about your body as you become stronger and more flexible, tone your muscles, reduce stress, and improve your mental and physical well-being. But will it help you lose weight?

Answer: Practicing any type of yoga will build strength, but some types may not raise your heart rate enough to make them the only form of exercise you need to include in your weight loss regime. It depends on the type of yoga you select and how frequently you practice it. In order to lose weight, you must eat right and burn calories by doing exercise that raises your heart rate on a regular basis. Some types of yoga, such as Iyengar in which yoga poses are held for several minutes with rest in between each pose, will build muscles and improve your posture. But they will not give you the cardiovascular workout you need to lose weight. If you plan to make yoga your primary form of exercise, you must do a vigorous, 90-minute yoga class at least three times a week. Many people also choose to combine yoga with running, walking, or other aerobic exercise in order to reach their weight loss goals. What Kind of Yoga Will Help Me Lose Weight?The type of yoga you need to do is called Vinyasa-style yoga. Vinyasa is a flowing style of yoga based on the performance of a series of poses called Sun Salutations. Vinyasa includes many popular, athletic, sweat-drenched yoga styles. For weight loss purposes, try:

Ashtanga: Ashtanga Yoga is a very vigorous style of practice with a few distinct advantages for those who want to lose weight. Ashtanga practitioners are among the most dedicated of yogis, and beginners are often encouraged to sign up for a series of classes, which will help with motivation. Another advantage is that Ashtanga Yoga is ideal for the home practitioners, once you learn the poses.

Power Yoga: Power Yoga is extremely popular, one of the reasons being that it provides a very vigorous cardiovascular workout.

Hot Yoga: Vinyasa Yoga done in a hot room ups the ante by guaranteeing you’ll sweat buckets. Keep in mind that if you are just starting to do yoga or are quite out of shape, always choose a beginning level class.

Physiological Benefits of Yoga !

The yoga practice acts as a therapeutic tool to heal the body and the mind. When you practice yoga regularly, the numerous health benefits become apparent. The yoga postures (asanas), breathing exercises (pranayama), and meditation come together to yield a large number of physiological changes:

Physiological Benefits of Yoga
* increases muscle flexibility and joint range of motion
* increases muscular strength, endurance, and joint stability
* improves posture, steadiness, coordination, and balance
* decreases joint and back pain
* increases immunity
* improves sleep and increases energy levels
* decreases heart rate and increase cardiovascular efficiency
* decreases respiratory rate and improves respiratory efficiency
* reduces high blood pressure
* improves digestion and normalizes gastrointestinal function
* improves excretory functions and reduces constipation and Irritable Bowel Syndrome
* improves flow of lymphatic system, thus helps in removal of toxins
* normalizes endocrine (hormone) function
* normalizes weight and body composition
* increases bone density and decreases onset of osteoporosis
* decreases blood sugar levels
* decreases sodium
* decreases total cholesterol
* increases HDL (good) cholesterol /decreases LDL and VLDL (bad) cholesterol
* decreases triglycerides
* increases grip strength
* EEG - alpha brain waves increase leading to a restful mental state
* brings autonomic nervous system to stable equilibrium
* improves dexterity, reaction time, and depth perception
* increases Galvanic Skin Response (GSR)

8 Ways to Weight Loss !

Weight loss is something that concerns everyone as less work and easy lifestyle is making every one overweight. Losing weight is not tough, but losing weight systematically is something which takes time and proper care. There could be many side effects if someone loses weight in a hurry. According to a study, it’s proved that about 65 kg weight is enough for a person of height 5 feets and 8 intches tall. From this you can make a rough estimate of your height and weight relation.
Methods of losing weight:

1) The best method so far I have gone through is, losing weight from diet. Control your diet and don’t finish it. This is a critical thing you should think, before you start it. What is your daily diet? Don’t decrease it too much. Just do it slowly, lessen your diet by the day. You will see the results slowly.

2) Lose weight in 2 weeks: this is a simple way to lose weight, and it works. Wake up early in the morning, brush you teeth and drink a glass of water. In the water put one teaspoon of honey and one lemon half cut. Just drink it and the go to toilet. Then go to a walk not to far, just about one kilometer, that’s it. It is really simple, and easy way to lose weight, and am telling you, my friend has already lost a lot of weight by this method.

3) Stop eating oily food, too much oil is the worst thing you can have if you are anything around a decent health conscious person.

4) What next, exercise! Right, but it is not the easiest to do. And if you are thinking about weight exercise, you are wrong. You have to do aerobics, and for that you need better shoes, as you have to jump a lot, and if you don’t wear proper shoes and do jumping, you may develop some other problems regarding your muscles and bones. Jump and hop, sort of exercise, but you need a trainer to guide you through.

5) Yoga, but then you will have to read other articles on yoga, and always have a yoga trainer with you when you do yoga.

6) If you are gaining a lot of weight, in some quick time, get a thyroid test, you may have a mal-function in your thyroid gland, this disease is not curable and it’s not a big deal, you have to take some medicines, and it will be all right. Stop eating the mediations and your weight will again start to rise, and with it other problems will also rise. So go to a doctor and tell him that you want to do a thyroid test, and insist him to refer for that test. Read more articles to know about this thyroid more, and believe me, thyroid is a major reason why people gain a lot of weight.

7) After a meal, say lunch, take a slow walk, or roam about here and there, but don’t sleep. After any meal for about one hour, don’t take go to sleep. This will help you a lot. In case you want to gain weight you can sleep after any meal. Specially after lunch if you sleep for about 2 hours atleast, you will gain quick weight, good for those of you who wants to gain instant weight, and for those who wants to lose weight, don’t sleep after meals.

8) Take proper bath daily, these things are good for health, and moreover take bath in cold water; this will also help in losing weight. Now you may be thinking how taking a bath helps losing weight, actually some glands work well when we take daily bath, some hormones are there for regulation of over weight, so this is also not a bad idea to follow, after all taking bath daily is not bad either

Abdominal Yoga's for Weight loss

Yoga is a great part of any wellness routine, as it has the ability to both reduce stress and exercise the body. If you are trying to use yoga to target your midsection, well, that can be done. There are a number of yoga positions (called asanas) which exercise the abdominal muscles. Bear in mind that some of these are more advanced than other. Assess your own skill and comfort level before trying certain asanas. If you are not sure you are able to do one asana, start with one that seems easier and work your way up once you have belt some strength and flexibility. As with any workout routine, be sure to consult a professional before beginning and always warm up properly to avoid injury.

Pavan-Muktasan

To perform this abdominal-exercising asana, first lie flat on your back. Use a yoga mat of towel to cushion the spine. Bend both knees up to your chest so that your thigh touches the abdominal. Hug your knees in place and lock your fingers. Now lift your head up so your nose meets your knees. Take a deep breath and hold it for thirty seconds before releasing and slowly lowering back to start. This exercise can also be done one leg at a time.

Bhujangasan

For this abdominal exercise, remain on the floor, but roll over on to your abdominal. Position your hand under your shoulders. Now, using your back muscles, raise your upper torso off the ground to that your head is upright. Be careful not to push with your hands. You want the muscles in your back to be doing the work. Hold this posture for thirty seconds, then lower yourself back to start. Even though you are using your back muscles to lift your upper body, performing the asana will assist in reducing belly fat and flattening your tummy.

The Bow

This abdominal exercise is pretty similar to the previous asana, but more involved. It starts from the same position lying on your abdominal, but in this exercise you curl your legs upward in addition to lifting your upper torso. Bend your knees so that the soles of your feet come up toward your head. Grab your ankles and pull with your hands and push with your legs until only your abdominal is on the floor. Your body should feel sort of like it is making a circle. Your knees should remain together throughout the exercise. Hold this position for thirty seconds before releasing and returning to starting position.

Paad-Pashchimottanasan

Now that you have read the name of this asana, try not to be intimidated-- it is less complicated in practice than in pronunciation. It does, however, require a fair amount of flexibility, so you may want to start with something easier and build up to this one. Start by lying on your back with your legs straight and arms overhead. Your body should be straight from head to toe with all limbs extended. Point your palms up to the ceiling and put your hands together. Contract your abdominal muscles to sit up, keeping your back straight and hands overhead. Bend forward and grab your toes with your hands, putting your head between your arms so it touches your knees. Hold the position for two minutes before releasing

Best Tips to Weight Loss Without Medicine

Yoga has long been advertised as a relaxation technique that tones the body, mind, and spirit into working in equilibrium. But many fitness experts and yoga teachers now say that yoga also leads to successful and lasting weight loss where other techniques have either botched or shown minimal results.
Any weight loss program comprise of regular exercise and a healthy diet. But what's even more significant is sticking to the program. This is hard for most people as frantic schedules hinder exercise time, and routine stress brings on emotional eating. In this condition yoga can be extremely fruitful.
Yoga is primarily a very effective form of deep relaxation. Even the most basic breathing exercises and poses (asanas) that define your first yoga session will help you clear your mind and better deal with stress. This completely affects your state of mind toward yourself and your life. As you are more relaxed, you will find it comfortable to control and ultimately eliminate emotional binges and eating between meals. The deep breathing exercises i.e. pranayama improves concentration and inner strength, that help you stick to a diet or an alternative exercise routine.
Yoga tones and fortifies every muscle in your body. It also stimulates glands that secrete hormones that increase metabolism and fades depression. As you reach more advanced levels of yoga, you get more quick and find it easier to work off excess fat. The pranayamas increase oxygen intake, thus ease smoother functioning of every organ in your body. An hour of yoga leaves you feeling rejuvenated, that means that you feel better throughout the day and undertake even ordinary household chores more energetically, thus burning more calories.
If you are obese or extremely overweight, yoga is only a circuitous way of getting in shape. It prepares your mind and body for weight loss. So, if you start the other required steps in addition to your yoga sessions, you will soon be on your way to a lighter you and much better lifestyle.