Yoga Practice

Yoga for Hips: 5 Strengthening Exercises and 2 Openers

Yoga for Hips: 5 Strengthening Exercises and 2 Openers

Yoga can strengthen your hips, mainly the glutes and the deep muscles that hold the pelvis level when you stand on one leg. Poses such as Bridge, Warrior II, Garland Pose and Warrior III load the hip muscles with your own body weight, and slow, controlled holds build strength and control. Pair...
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Yoga at Home for Beginners: 10 Tips to Get Started

Yoga at Home for Beginners: 10 Tips to Get Started

Yes, you can start yoga at home as a beginner. You need a floor space the length of your body, a mat or a folded blanket, and a class that is labelled for beginners. Start with 15-30 minutes, two or three times a week, and repeat the same class until you know the poses before you try something...
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The 5 Niyamas of Yoga: Meaning and How to Practise Them

The 5 Niyamas of Yoga: Meaning and How to Practise Them

The niyamas are the five personal observances of yoga: Saucha (cleanliness), Santosha (contentment), Tapas (discipline), Svadhyaya (study) and Ishvara Pranidhana (devotion or surrender). Patanjali lists them in Yoga Sutra 2.32 as the second of the eight limbs of yoga, right after the yamas. The...
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Yoga Challenges for Beginners: How to Pick One and Finish It

Yoga Challenges for Beginners: How to Pick One and Finish It

A yoga challenge is a set number of days, usually 7, 21 or 30, where you commit to practising yoga every day or on a fixed schedule. For beginners the best challenge is short daily classes, 10-20 minutes at level 1, with the same start time each day. The point is the habit. Nobody needs to...
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Mula Bandha Benefits: What the Root Lock Does and What It Does Not

Mula Bandha Benefits: What the Root Lock Does and What It Does Not

Mula Bandha (Root Lock) is a light lift of the pelvic floor, the sling of muscles between the pubic bone and the tailbone. Its best supported benefit is the one it shares with pelvic floor training: stronger, better controlled pelvic floor muscles, which helps with bladder leaks and pelvic...
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