Yoga, Health, and Wellness Articles + Recipes

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is not a condition of aging or the ordinary wear and tear your musculoskeletal system experiences over the decades. Rheumatoid arthritis is a serious, sometimes debilitating, disorder of the immune system. It’s often associated with severe pain, joint damage and deformity, and loss of mobility. In severe cases, rheumatoid arthritis can lead to life-threatening complications, including lung inflammation, heart attack, and stroke. What this means, ultimately, is that this condition is a fierce adversary, one not to be taken lightly. The good news is that there are things you can do to support your health, reduce your symptoms, and improve your overall quality of life while living with rheumatoid arthritis. One of the most beneficial of these self-care measures is the integration of yoga into your daily routine.

Bhramari pranayama is a calming and relaxing pranayama. Sound and vibration are an important part of this technique. Before getting into how to practice this fun breathing technique, let's look at why one would want to practice it. Here are some of the various benefits of Bhramari breath. It is stress-relieving. It can help reduce hypertension and reduce one's blood pressure.

There are many benefits of yoga and possibly more than we even know. It is a practice that is meant to benefit your entire being. Your body, mind, and soul are all connected, and each of them can benefit from practicing yoga. To many, the physical benefits of yoga are the most obvious. They are real and plentiful and increasingly backed by science and research. There is an array of benefits of yoga however and they're not all physical. Below are some key benefits, and while these are some common benefits, the benefits of yoga are certainly not limited to this list.

Working with your chakras can be highly healing. If you are interested in holistic healing, you’ve probably heard of the concept of chakras and know a little bit about chakra healing. The chakra system has origins in India, over four thousand years ago. Knowledge of chakras came to the western world through the practice of yoga. Chakra literally translates as ‘wheel’ or ‘disk’ and refers to the sphere of bioenergetic activity emanating from the nerves branching from the spine. There are seven of these wheels or chakras, and they are stacked in a column of energy that spans up from the base of the spine to the top of the head.

The main vedic-yogic system of understanding, assessing and addressing the needs of the mind and the emotions is the triguna system. This system is like a lens through which we may view everything in existence as the division into and interactions between 3 basic qualities called gunas. Tamas is metaphorically described as pertaining to darkness and heaviness, oriented towards the past and arising from it as karmic consequences of past actions.

Home workouts grew in popularity during the pandemic and continue to be a great alternative to going to a gym or class at a studio. While not everyone has the resources to build a home gym, yoga is a highly accessible form of exercise that anyone can implement — no matter your age, gender, or body type. In fact, doing yoga at home can be just as effective as going to a studio for your practice and in some ways even better than going to a public class! Here are five reasons why yoga is the perfect at-home workout and some tips to help you reap these benefits as you practice yoga at home. Practice with little to no financial investment

Dirga pranayama is a technique that increases focus and calms your mind. It's simple to do, and even those without any prior yoga experience can enjoy this rejuvenating practice. Here is how to do a three-part breath and the benefits of this practice. Even a few minutes can make a difference in your day. How to do Dirga pranayama: Take the first third of your inhalation into your lower lungs and upper belly, and pause briefly. Then breathe the second third of your inhale into your middle lungs and back, and pause again briefly. Then breathe the final part of your inhale, into the upper portion of your lungs and collarbones, and pause again.

Hot yoga isn’t necessarily new, but it’s increased in popularity over the last few years for a variety of reasons. It increases the intensity of traditional yoga by using a heated room that can range from 90-108 degrees. Some of the biggest benefits of hot yoga include reduced stress, greater calorie burn, and improved flexibility. People try out these classes for different reasons and can experience various perks. However, one thing almost everyone experiences is sweat. A lot of it.

Sleep problems are all too common for many adults. While there is not one universal cause or fix for everyone, yoga and meditation can certainly help calm your mind and nervous system to help you better prepare for a night of sound sleep. Amongst YogaDownload's vast collection of 2400+ online yoga classes, are many practices that are specially designed to help you you doze off to sleep more easily. Here are 10 of the top-rated yoga classes for more sound sleep.

Kapalabhati pranayama technique creates fire and power and is wonderfully detoxifying for you. This breathing practice builds heat in the body and raises your energy levels leaving you feeling refreshed and invigorated. If you have ever been to a Kundalini yoga class, you have most likely done Kapalabhati breathing. How to practice Kapabalbhati breathing:

One morning at my 5:30 am Mysore Ashtanga practice, I had one of those days where my body went on strike. Everybody has those days, where technically we can and have done all (or most) of these postures with grace and ease, but that day… not so much. My muscles fought back in even the simplest forward bends, my spine wouldn’t loosen up, and as a result, my inner-monologue was…well, let’s just say it was less than yogic. Asana practice has two real main functions in the yogic tradition: to prepare the body to sit and meditate, and to open and balance energy lines in the body to facilitate personal development (so one can be comfortable in meditation internally). Typically on these days of physical ‘strike’, I’m left to contemplate in my Savasana what in my body/emotional patterning is so out of whack that it causes my entire physical being to seize up.

The benefits of yoga are becoming more well-known and mainstream. That said, there is still a sizable chunk of the population who would like to practice, but get stuck on some common excuses of why they can't practice.

What is Yin Yoga? In the simplest terms, Yin Yoga is a yoga style that holds passive yoga postures for a longer duration of time. These poses are usually held for a duration of between three to ten minutes.

Every family of yoga poses has its own unique energetic benefits. While the musculoskeletal benefits of postures are more obvious, benefits like open hamstrings, strengthening the core, or opening the shoulders, the energetic and emotional benefits are more subtle but important and valuable in their own way. For example, backbends, are uplifting and energizing and a perfect remedy for sluggish depressed energy.

Your heart chakra is the place of love and connection. It is associated with the element of air. It is connected to your lungs, heart, chest, and upper back region. Emotionally, it is the place where we love.

The bandhas are energetic locks in the body that help control of the flow of energy, prana, or life force, in your body. Engaging the bandhas creates more depth and richness in your yoga practice. They can help you get into postures more deeply, and in a safer way, as well as improve the function of energy throughout your entire body. Jalandhara bandha – the throat lock

Prenatal yoga is a healthy practice to pick up during your pregnancy, but you might be wondering what specific benefits practicing yoga during pregnancy can give you - read on for our top benefits of prenatal yoga and some tips to get you started, so you can see a positive difference during your pregnancy! Supports the changes in your body

Breathing exercises can have a huge impact on your mental, physical, and emotional health. Pranayama practices of controlled yogic breathing, are an important part of the yoga practice. Yoga is really a practice of breathing and we most commonly practice ujjayi pranayama during a yoga class. Aside from practicing pranayama while doing asana, it is important to have even a basic understanding of standalone pranayama practices you can do while seated. Different techniques have different energetic effects on the practitioner. Some are energizing, some are calming, some are in between. Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing), is a common technique that brings about focus and overall balance. Here are some of this technique's profound benefits, as well as how to practice it.

The recent article on Mula bandha goes into more depth on what the bandhas are. In a brief review, the bandhas are energetic locks in the body. They are utilized to gain control of the flow of energy, prana, or life force, in your body. Understanding and engaging the bandhas creates an added depth to your yoga practice. What is Uddiyana bandha? The second bandha is Uddiyana bandha. Uddiyana bandha engages the diaphragm and inner organs. It is also beneficial for digestion and detoxification and strengthening and toning the abdominals. This bandha also creates an upward pull of energy, similar to Mula bandha, but with a little more intensity.

Yoga and CrossFit can be paired beautifully to develop a well-rounded physical routine. Yoga is a mindful practice that increases strength, flexibility, and peace of mind, while CrossFit is more intense and aggressive. When both are paired, they provide unique emotional, psychological, and physical benefits. Whether you are an avid Crossfit enthusiast, who wants to balance your regular routine or a yogi who wants more cardio and strength training, these two modalities work well together. We’ve listed 6 fantastic benefits of incorporating yoga into your CrossFit training, or vice versa to help facilitate your well-rounded development:

The bandhas are energetic locks in the body. They are utilized to gain control of the flow of energy, prana, or life force, in your body. Understanding and engaging the bandhas creates an added depth to your yoga practice. The bandhas can be extremely beneficial for the brain, the Nadis (energy channels), and the chakras. They purify, remove blockages and harmonize and balance the self.

This week we are thrilled to celebrate the 15th year of YogaDownload! This site and community would not be continuing to grow if it wasn't for all of you showing up regularly on your mats from across the globe for the past 15 years! Thank for you logging in to take care of yourselves, while also supporting this global community and resource for online yoga.

Working out every day to get toned can be hard, and not everyone's first priority in life. However, doing yoga can be a great, low-impact way to tone your body and look fitter. And there are a few ways that you can complement your yoga practice to help you get toned up. Mixing it up Most fitness trainers agree that you should add variety to your workout routine. Doing the same things day after day won’t help you to get toned any quicker. Listen to what your body needs and mix up yoga and stretching with more intense workouts and lifting to create a good balance between your workout. This will help you develop a more well-rounded fitness base, and prevent injuries from overuse, as well as keeping things fun and less boring!

According to eastern health sciences going back decades, every living being is alive and functions because of the life force (or pranic) energy that is circulating throughout their bodies - through channels known as Nadi channels. Nadi channels follow the same path around the body as our sympathetic nervous systems. There are so many energy channels that are flowing around our body, connecting every part of our bodies to each other.

The graceful gifts of yoga include the attainment of higher consciousness, health, abundance, love, and harmony. Yoga naturally yields all attributes of yogam - which means in Tamil- good luck. Yoga, in the Western sense, spearheads this awakening, even if it is considered a simple exercise for health benefits and fashion, instead of a spiritual discipline; the taste of a drop of honey will eventually lead to the honey pot of higher consciousness. The body is an effective tool to lead the mind towards the inner core of realization. By yoga, we refer to various styles of “Hatha” yoga as practiced in the West – the sequences of physical postures and the inner journey created through this practice. If you're newer to yoga, we recommend utilizing simple practices like traditional Sun Salutation sequences to experience the teachings below. Ideally, the Sun Salutation by itself is sufficient to attain core consciousness, which is the objective of our yogic practice.