Cy-Yo Or Cycle Yoga: The New Fusion Yoga In Town

Everyone looks for a fitness workout which brings together the mind, body, and spirit. If you believe that there is one goal but different paths, you should try Cy-Yo or Cycle Yoga. This is the kind of fitness program that could especially be beneficial for people who prefer to combine both Eastern and Western practices and philosophies – yoga and cardio. It helps to improve muscle toning and body mechanics, as well as stretching and concentration on proper breathing and energy flow.  However, remember to dress for the occasion with good quality active wear when performing this kind of fitness routine.

Cy-Yo classes entail a one hour holistic cardio workout which combines the elements of yoga and cycling. It was first introduced by a fitness instructor – Curt Dalton. The ultimate aim of this fusion yoga is to focus all aspects of our being to achieve optimal physical and spiritual results. It is a known fact that cycling is an effective way to lose weight and burn calories really fast.  And it’s combination of yoga breathing and visualization techniques help with directing life force energy through the body optimally.

A class begins with 10 minutes of  yoga for energizing the muscles, warming joints and opening up the energy centers. This is followed by 40 minutes of an indoor cycling class which involves visualization techniques and breathing patterns so participants are clued in to find their stress zones. The aim of this part of exercise is to release negative energy, detoxify your body and increase higher energy fields. A class usually ends with another 10 minute yoga session and meditation to calm the body, relax and refocus the mind.  Overall, you treat your muscles right -  with a warm up before spinning and stretching afterwards.

Music is one of the significant elements of Cy-Yo classes. It is designed to speed up the heart rate and help to pedal against your negative energy replacing it with positive energy. As compared to the soothing music found in traditional yoga classes, here you will find more upbeat and energetic tempos. Typically the most popular choice are different Celtic music tunes.

Cy-Yo is a great way to increase flexibility, physical fitness and mental wellness. It is a combination of  the cleansing and static strength of yoga and the cardiovascular workout of spinning. Yoga fans  experience a harder work out to burn fat  while cyclists learn new ways of warming up and cooling down  using their mind along with attuning themselves to the energy flow within them. Cy-Yo is recommended for intermediate yoga practitioners as it is considered to be one of more advanced yoga styles which takes a certain amount of balance. It is should also be avoided by those who are trying to treat an injury through yoga.

*Image credits: photo by adifansnet on flickr

5 Yoga Poses for Better Arms

Get lean, strong arms with yoga.

As well as balancing the body, mind and spirit, the toning and strengthening aspects of yoga asanas are evident. Many poses will help you to build strong and lean arms with defined muscle tone. The arm stretches and arm balances shown below will give you a great arm workout and bring desirable results.

Cowface pose or Gomukhasana

A challenging seated pose which opens up the shoulders and chest and stretches the arms.

• Starting in Dandasana (Staff Pose), cross right leg over left leg keeping both knees in line, stacked over each other.
• Extend your right hand back over your shoulder and simultaneously grasp the right hand with your left. The fingers of both hands must be clasped together.
• Hold and breathe. Relax and repeat the entire sequence with the other leg and hand.

Downward Facing Dog or Adho Mukha Svanasana

Increases the flexibility of the shoulders and the strength of the arms.

• Get on your hands and knees, with your hands slightly ahead of your shoulders and your knees under your hips.
• Spread your palms, curl your toes in and push back raising the hips and straightening the legs.
• At first your knees will be slightly bent and the heels lifted away from the floor
• Press your tailbone into your pubis and stretch your heels into the floor. Keep your head between your arms and try lowering your shoulder blades and broaden the collarbone. Look at your stomach.
• Straighten your knees but be careful not to lock them.
• Hold and breathe.

Plank Pose and Side Plank Pose

This upper body workout is excellent for strengthening the arms and spine, and has major toning benefits.

• Starting in downward facing dog, inhale and draw your torso forward until the arms are perpendicular to the floor and the shoulders are directly over the wrists.
• Tuck in your tailbone and firm your shoulder blades against your back. It should feel like the beginning of a push-up.
• Hold and breathe.

• From Plank Pose, shift your weight onto your right arm as you roll onto the outside of your right foot.
• Keeping the both feet flexed, stack the left foot on top of the right with the legs very straight.
• Bring the left arm up to the ceiling and the gaze upwards.
• Hold and breathe.

Upward Plank Pose or Purvottanasana
This inclined plank is an intense stretch and arm balance, providing natural resistance to tone the arms.

• From dandasana, with the arms behind your hips and the fingers pointed either towards or away from your body, begin to lean into the palms.
• Press your inner feet and hands down against the floor, and lift your hips until your torso is at a natural incline but parallel to the floor with arms perpendicular.
• Engage your shoulder blades to support your chest. Your body should be in a straight line. Drop the head back, hold and breathe.
• To release, slowly exhale the hips back to the floor.

*Image credits by Kelly Loves Whales, myyogaonline, lululemon athletica, tarnalberry on flickr

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Looking for a Yoga Weight Loss Workout? – Turn to Power Yoga

Power Yoga: The Physically Intensive and Exercise Driven Modern Yoga

If your looking at Yoga as a form of physical exercise and want minimal amount meditation and spiritual guidance, then Power Yoga is just the type of Yoga you’re looking for.

Started by two American Yoga teachers Beryl Bender Birch, based in New York, and Bryan Kest, based in Los Angeles, almost at the same time, Power Yoga was designed to suit the weight loss and physical work out needs of Americans. Adapted from Ashtanga Yoga, power yoga practices a fitness approach to yoga and is a sweat-producing, muscle-building series of yoga asanas (poses) that flow into each other without the usual pauses between the poses practiced in traditional yoga. The goal of power yoga is health and fitness rather than spiritual quest for enlightenment or a balance of body, mind and heart. At the same time power yoga leads to a calmer mental state by releasing tension, making you feel lighter and better balanced and a healthy body harbors a healthy mind. It’s this connectedness of the physical body influencing the mind, that Power yoga touches upon. It creates optimal physical health by enlivening and invigorating the whole body which is a direct manifestation of the mind, as the body heals, our mind naturally follows.

A Glimpse of What They Do at Power Yoga
While all Power yoga classes will differ from teacher to teacher the essence of the emphasis on strength and flexibility remains the same. There are no set series of poses, but it’s dynamic mix of stretches, nd poses all done while struggling to maintain balance and support your own body weight. This increases strength by natural moments, tones muscles, makes you more flexible and improves posture.

Classes often start with a series of stretching poses like the child’s pose or Cat – Cow Stretch as a warm up. This is followed by a five to six pose set, flowing from one to the next with no break. All poses are done twice on both your left and right sides. Another very important aspect of a power yoga routine is the breath flow. Each pose is synchronized with one’s breathing patterns and each movement is soft and free-flowing like a rhythmic dance. It’s important to first know the correct posture and alignment of each pose before going on the power yoga which needs to be uninterrupted to be effective. The transition from one pose to the next is not fast, but slow yet steady pace.

Some of the popular poses in Power yoga include the warrior poses, triangle poses, side angle pose, a variety of balance poses, forward folds with chest openers, seated folds, twists and balances. For the more advanced students poses like the side crane, tree pose into warrior 3, eagle pose, deep lunge with back bend and twist into pigeon are popular. A brief breathing exercise or meditation poses closes a session.

So what are you waiting for? If you want that intense physical workout with none of the spiritual jargon grab that yoga mat  & yoga apparel and join your nearest Power Yoga classes for a all round workout that works!

*Photo Credits: photos by myyogaonline, Kelly Loves Whales, BeckyKP on flickr.

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