Yoga offers abundant physical, mental and spiritual benefits at all phases of life. As we age, yoga helps us age gracefully and maintain health, wellness, flexibility, balance and general physical and emotional wellness. Yoga and Optimum Health After 40 by Yvonne Seltzer is written for the over 40 crowd and is a good read for people new to yoga and those already practicing yoga. The book addresses the benefits of yoga for a wide range of conditions that increase after age 40, as well as general anti-aging benefits of yoga and how yoga and a healthy lifestyle can promote healthy … Continue reading →

Yoga offers a natural way to help you quit smoking and has been shown to be effective for breaking the addiction to nicotine. The asana, breathing and stress relief benefits help to calm the mind and body, as the nicotine leaves the system and yoga and meditation can help you quit for good. If you want to use your yoga practice to help quit smoking, there are books, audio books and CDs that are designed specifically to help people quit smoking. There are several programs on the market that can help you use yoga breathing and meditation to break the … Continue reading →

Technology has provided yogis with more options than ever to access yoga classes. There are several websites that offer the ability to stream or download yoga classes in many types of yoga at various levels of practice. One of these download websites is Yoga Today. They have an extensive library of yoga classes that range from breathing and slower paced classes to intense yoga classes and weight loss practices. You can search the library by skill level, instructors or focus. The yoga classes are classified into four skill levels, from first time to Guru for advanced yogis. The website offers … Continue reading →

Yoga has been shown to offer significant benefits for improving mood, relieving stress and improving flexibility. Element Yoga for Stress Relief & Flexibility is a DVD practice that has been specifically designed to encourage flexibility and reduce feelings of depression and anxiety. The DVD contains two distinct yoga sequences. One sequence is devoted to improving flexibility and the other is intended to help increase flexibility and range of motion. The practices were filmed in a location that overlooks the Pacific Ocean, which provides a soothing experience. The stress relief practice has been created to reduce the effects of stress and … Continue reading →

Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving into Stillness by Erich Schiffmann is a comprehensive yoga manual. If you want to deepen your practice, this book offers something for beginners and experienced yogis. Schiffmann covers a wide range of topics, including asanas, breathing, and meditation and finding stillness. This book has the potential to change the way you practice. You will learn how to find that sense of inner relaxation and stillness and use yoga for the release of fear, to soften perceptions, and become balanced, centered. Yoga and meditation create a feeling of deep inner stillness that Schiffmann describes … Continue reading →

Yoga offers a wide range of benefits and there are yoga DVDs on the market to target specific types of yoga and physical and emotional benefits. If you are using yoga as part of your weight loss and toning regimen, there are several DVD practices that are designed to help you reach your goal. The Biggest Loser Weight Loss Yoga is a yoga practice designed with weight loss in mind. The Biggest Loser Weight Loss Yoga is a fast paced workout that is intended to raise your heart rate and make you sweat. There are poses for beginners, intermediate and … Continue reading →

The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice: TKV Desikachar is the son of Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, one of the greatest modern yogis. Krishnamacharya lived over 100 years and his teachings have influenced BKS Iyengar, Indra Devi and his son, who has based this book on his fathers concept of viniyoga. Viniyoga maintains that for the optimal therapeutic benefit, yoga must be adapted to the needs of the individual student. The adaptations that are required are always changing, as the needs of the individual are always in flux. In this book, Desikachar discusses his father’s system and his own approach. … Continue reading →

Yoga is well known as an effective way to get energy flowing through the body and increase strength. Yoga Journal’s Yoga for Strength and Energy offers two separate practices on one DVD, Yoga Practice for Strength and Yoga Practice for Energy. Yoga Practice for Energy is a unique practice that includes sessions that follow the cycle of the sun. You can use the entire practice or try a specific session. The sessions include Awakening, Centering, Creativity, Reflection and Surrender. Select the practice session that best fits your needs on a given day or at a given time of day. For … Continue reading →

Although many people view yoga and meditation as separate and the practices are often separated in classes, CDs and DVDs, yoga and meditation are very much connected. If you are interested in practicing both yoga and meditation at home and want a good resource to start with, the DVD Om Yoga and Meditation Workshop may be the right choice for you. Instructors David Nichtern and Cyndi Lee have developed a workshop that guides the student through yoga and meditation for a well rounded practice that offers physical, emotional and spiritual benefits. David Nichtern begins the meditation workshop with a discussion … Continue reading →

Exercise has been shown to be very helpful for people with all types of arthritis. Yoga is a gentle form of exercise that offers many benefits for arthritis. Yoga can help to increase mobility, improve flexibility and reduce the joint pain that is so common with arthritis. People interested in trying yoga can often find classes that are geared for specific health conditions. Classes that are designated for people over 50 often include modifications for arthritis. To supplement your classes, you may be looking for an easy DVD to try at home. Yoga for the Rest of Us: Easy Yoga … Continue reading →