Celebrities That Swear By Yoga

One of the growing reasons why yoga is gaining popularity in the modern Western world, is the fact that celebrities are adopting and introducing to public this ancient practice. A lot of people try yoga for the first time just because their favorite star is doing it. And though for many, the primary focus is yoga’s physical benefits, some become interested in the spiritual side of the discipline as well. Perhaps one of the most attractive features of yoga for celebrities, is that yoga helps to quickly relieve pressure and provide new energy within their stressful lives.

Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz, Jane Fonda, Angelina Jolie, Madonna, Ricky Martin, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sarah Jessica Parker, Meg Ryan, Sting, Tina Turner, Oprah Winfrey… are just some of the names of the long list of celebrities who practice and swear by yoga. When discussing the benefits of yoga, these celebrities usually describe this practice as not only a way to tone the muscles of their body, but more importantly to calm their spirit and obtain inner strength.

Here’s a closer look at Celebrity Yoga lover and what they have to say about it:

Meg Ryan, 49, American actress and producer, practices yoga every day at home. The most important aspect for her is a meditation as it helps to concentrate on what is really important in life. Ryan declares that yoga made her calmer as it puts you in the place of witness. And this is what supposed to be the right focus of living.

Jennifer Aniston, 41, American actress, does yoga sessions several times a week. She credits yoga with helping her to survive difficult times after the divorce. Aniston also used yoga to help her to quit smoking. Mostly for her yoga is the way to relaxation and breaking from the busy life.

Ricky Martin, 39, popular singer, says he is using yoga as a technique to restore inner peace and to relax. Martin practices Hatha yoga and prefers to exercise at home rather than to go to a studio. In interviews Ricky Martin declared that yoga is the perfect way to get to know yourself, to link heart and mind. This is what keeps him from making compulsive decisions in life.

Christy Turlington, 42, American top model in the past, is one of the most devoted to yoga celebrities. She also incorporates principles of Ayurveda and Vastu in her life. Having studied religion and philosophy at New York University she is a serious student of six branches of yoga in all its physical, spiritual and intellectual aspects. For the first time Turlington took yoga classes at the age of 18. For many years since she practices at home three mornings a week and additionally attends classes. As she says, it was interest in cleaning the body on a deeper level which attracted her to yoga first. But now she believes that the real lesson yoga gives you is how to be present. Some time ago she started up with German company Puma a line of clothing ‘Nuala’ for sports like yoga, tai chi and chi gong. The line was inspired by dance, movement and yoga.

Sting, 59, famous singer, and his wife Trudie Styler practice yoga daily. Sting was introduced to yoga at his late 30s which now he considers too late. Since then he has mastered complex asanas of Ashtanga Yoga while also practicing special variety of Jivamukti yoga. Sting says his aging process is reversing thanks to yoga. Overall, he and his wife praise yoga for maintaining their well-being and the high energy levels. Today Sting is famous as an active promoter of yoga.

Madonna, 52, pop diva, began to practice Ashtanga yoga in 1996 to get back in shape after delivery. Apparently she became worldwide known fan of yoga and has experimented with several forms of it including Hatha yoga. She states that yoga is an active force in her life, workout for body, mind and soul combined. According to Madonna, there are several values in yoga which should be accepted in everyday life like ‘take it slow’, ‘don`t skip to the next position’, ‘don`t judge yourself’, ‘let it go’.

Overall, yoga as a fulfilling path of relaxation which helps these and other celebrities to overcome the anxiety, stress, depression of their lifestyle. So why not for you?

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Yoga Asanas To Avoid For Certain Medical Conditions

While yoga can help alleviate many ailments as we saw in our last post- Yoga: A Route To Health & Vitality, not all poses are advisable if you have some medical conditions or are recovering from an injury.

First of all there are common rules like, never forcing your body into a position that causes discomfort, distress, or pain in order to avoid injury. Always start gradually with yoga.  Do not neglect warm-up exercises to avoid strain. Take into consideration the characteristics of environment in which you are practicing. For eg.  if you are practicing in a hot environment (105 degrees Fahrenheit and more) your heart rate, respiration rate and blood pressure increases, muscles expand and one can stretch the body more. This may harm the muscles if you stretch them too far. Moreover, there are general principles regarding sequences of yoga asanas which are advised to be followed through. So you should consider starting yoga with good professional to learn those sequences.

Yoga can also be  practiced even while you suffer some health problems However, in this case the affected region of your medical condition, whatever it may be should be placed correctly in an asana/pose. That’s the only way you will get relief and benefit from it. If not, it may worsen the problem.

Here’s a closer look at some yoga asanas and poses to avoid if you have the following medical conditions:

• Yoga exercises like Sun Salutation, Cobra pose, Locust pose, Bow pose, Standing Forward Bend, Kapalabhati and Ashtanga yoga series (which involves jumping) are strictly not recommended if the person is diagnosed with hernia.
• It is inadvisable to do the inverted poses (headstand, shoulder stand and reverse posture) with conditions like high blood pressure, dizziness, serious eye problems, ear problems, glaucoma, head and neck injury and osteoporosis.
• Women are advised not to do yoga asanas during menstrual period though they are still allowed to do pranayama and shavasana; for more advanced students it is enough to avoid inverted poses during this period of time.
• Pranayama should be practiced with precautions if you have asthma or other breathing problems.
• Avoid standing poses and back bends if you have heart disease or high blood pressure.
• Sitting poses should be avoided when you have had a hip replacement or knee injuries.
• Avoid twists and bends if you have a prolapsed disk
• You should not start practicing yoga for the first time during pregnancy; if you were advanced before pregnancy you will still need qualified instructor to guide you.

Overall, it is always sensible to check with your physician embarking on any exercise program including yoga if you suffer from any medical conditions no matter how little or grave they may be.

*Image credits: photos by Cocoa Dream and katca_78 on flickr

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Yoga: A Route To Health & Vitality

Yoga definitely can help you to find your own route to health and vitality. The well-being which you get from the practice of yoga, not only  has physical benefits, but also affects your spiritual and emotional aspects.

Today many of us accept yoga as an alternative medicine. But yoga is not a used as a substitute for medical care. Although, it can be of great assistance in the treatment of many conditions,  it is better to consider yoga as a kind of preventive medicine rather than a treatment.

There are numerous health benefits you can get from practicing yoga as we’ve previously seen in our posts such as Nourishing Yoga: Body, Mind and Spirit. Besides the well known effect of boosting the immune system, yoga has proved to provide better concentration, co-ordination and sleep, to lower blood pressure and control cholesterol, improve flexibility and the digestive system. Compared to other forms of exercise, while practicing yoga asanas all the joints of body are used to a full extent and kept mobile, and yoga poses have a tremendous effect on abdominal organs and thoracic organs.

There is also evidences that yoga helps to treat medical conditions like allergies and skin problems, menopause, menstrual cramps, heart problems,  slip disc, knee and hip problems, hypertension, acidity, anemia, depression, obesity, insomnia, Alzheimer disease to name a few.

To be more specific-

• Seated postures are used to treat constipation, diabetes, arthritis, and genital diseases.
• Standing poses are beneficial for improving your posture, strengthening your muscles and opening the hips.
• Balancing poses are great for improving balance and strengthen specific body parts, for example shoulders and back.
• Back bends which shouldn’t be done unsupervised, helps people with back problems, pain or injury, improves spinal flexibility and strengthens the back. It also benefits the abdominal organs, energizes the heart and soul by opening the chest.
• Inverted yoga poses are beneficial for women to normalize their menstruation cycles as corrects the displacement of the fallopian tubes or uterus if any. It also rejuvenates pituitary and thyroid glands and stimulates the nervous centers of your brain. Inverted poses can proven an effective tool in preventing as well as treating varicose veins.
• Forward bends keep your spine strong, release tension and soothe the nervous system.
• Finally, relaxation and restorative poses are also useful when you are sick, stressed or recovering from childbirth.

Some people say they feel worse for up to two weeks after starting practicing yoga. The reason for this is elimination of toxins from your body. After this initial period of body cleansing, the way you feel will considerably improve. The change you’ll feel in terms of health and vitality will be the most fulfilling, you’ll see.

*Image credits: photos by rivieramaya26, Jason Verwey on flickr

For special Yoga Apparel, yoga inspired clothing, comfort clothing clothing designed according to the Colors of the Chakras and the best trendy, high quality and comfortable  Fitness Apparel do visit YogacaraShop.com

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Brought to you by www.yogacarashop.com, lifestyle clothing line inspired by color and yoga.

5 Tips To Making and Keeping Your New Year’s Resolutions

It’s that time of the year again year, the past is in the past and it’s time to begin anew. It’s easier to make changes in the new year, as it’s a fresh start, a new chapter so to say. However keeping those new years resolutions is a whole different ball game and much tougher one, I may add. So here are a few tips to making and sticking to your new year’s resolutions for 2011:

1. Be realistic and set an obtainable goal. Yes, we’d all like to look like the famous faces that grace the covers of magazines or that are splashed across billboards. But how about just setting a goal for losing 20lbs in the first quarter of the year. Take baby steps, don’t set yourself for failure, instead work towards a very doable easy goal. Maybe even forget the 20lbs goal, vow to eat healthier, or substitute sodas for juices, cut down your alcohol intake to 3 glasses a wine a week or whatever you think is easily achievable.  It becomes harder to follow through, if you’re struggling the whole way. So think of it like a marathon and pace yourself so your not charging at it the first few days of the new year, but are conserving energy to make it to the end.

2. Instead of one or two big resolutions, break it up into smaller ones. Forget the bigger picture for a minute and jot down step by step smaller to-do’s that will help make your year brighter, better and happier. Don’t forget the happier, it’s a key. Being able to check off these smaller things is encouraging and builds up momentum and determination to for the bigger things. So, setting smaller actionable steps can really make a difference.

3. Shout it from the roof tops. Studies show that making a resolution public is a great motivator. So tweet it, make it your facebook status, or say it out loud to your friends and family. Now, you don’t want to fail in the eyes of everyone right?…that’s what I thought. Plus the encouragement from your loved ones it just the thing you’ll need to stick to it. That takes us to point 4….

4. Get help. You don’t have to go at your goals alone you know. And if you aren’t comfortable having someone help you, don’t worry. Today’s the world of technology and there’s a website, program or application to provide you the help, no matter what your goal is. If it’s financial ‘mint.com’ could be very handy. If it’s dieting, there are a dozen apps for your phone to help you shape up. Point is, get help, however you want to.

5. Visualize success. Just close your eyes and imagine the feeling of elation and pride swelling in you that you achieved your goal. Picture those savings in your account, that your feeling healthier, you finally finished a project you’ve been putting off. Whatever the goal, visualize finishing it. Now isn’t that motivating….

Whatever you’re goals or resolutions for the year, remember one thing…they are for the better. That said, don’t be upset or discouraged if everything doesn’t go by plan. Be flexible and let life happen to you. Sometimes things happen for a reason and while it may seem like a roadblock, it may be aligning you for better things to come. Everyday is a new day and if you happen to muck up a few, don’t worry, it’s how you pick yourself up and go on that will get you to the end happy and content.

Here’s Wishing you A Happy New Year and a Better, Brighter and Fuller Future!
~ From everyone at Comfort In Style Magazine and Yogacara

This article is brought to you by YogacaraShop.com – your source for special Yoga Apparel, yoga inspired clothing, comfort clothing clothing designed according to the Colors of the Chakras and the best trendy, high quality and comfortable  Fitness Apparel do visit YogacaraShop.com

*Image credits: photos by [ Mooi ] and storem on flickr