Georg Feuerstein

Yoga is well known for making people more flexible, supple, lithe, and limber. In fact, you’ve probably seen photographs of yogis or yoginis contorting themselves into different yoga postures. However, recent studies indicate that it’s a safe and effective option for relieving moderate low back pain.In a study funded by NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), participants suffering from chronic lower back pain were divided into three groups: one group took 12 weekly yoga classes, one group took 12 weekly stretching classes, and one group was given a self-care book and encouraged to exercise to relieve pain.

Yoga is an ancient practice that still provides numerous benefits today to the people who practice it regularly. Some people are scared off by certain myths they’ve heard about Yoga, but in truth, there’s no reason why anyone can’t and shouldn’t practice it.If you’re new to Yoga, finding a class and a teacher that fits your needs is crucial.

Yoga itself is at least 5,000 years old, and yoga exercising — what you know as yoga postures, or asanas — emerged about 600 years ago. Even though yoga has evolved over the centuries as it traveled to new cultures, its principles are universal. Yoga is a practice of mind, body, breath, and spirit. The articles in the Cheat Sheet touch on the physical and mental benefits yoga offers, offer suggestions for how to enhance your yoga practice even when you’re on your own, and remind you why warming up is so important to any exercise routine — even one as “user-friendly” as yoga.

This short Yoga routine focuses on the areas of the body that you want to strengthen as you prepare your body for giving birth. Make sure you have consulted your physician to be sure you have no special circumstances before beginning any prenatal exercise routines.Mountain posture: TadasanaOne of the benefits of the mountain posture during pregnancy is that it directs your attention to your posture during this period when your weight and balance have gradually but steadily changed.

The asymmetrical forward bend Yoga posture stretches each side of the back and hamstrings separately. The Sanskrit word parshva (pronounced pahr-shvah) means “side” or “flank,” and this posture indeed opens the hips, tones the abdomen, decompresses the neck, improves balance, and increases circulation to the upper torso and head.

Meditation is simply the practice of focusing your attention on a particular object — generally something simple, like a word or phrase, a candle flame or geometrical figure, or the coming and going of your breath. In everyday life, your mind is constantly processing a barrage of sensations, visual impressions, emotions, and thoughts.

Lucid waking is the art of being present in the moment, of living with mindfulness throughout the day, which is what Yoga is first and foremost about. When you’re lucid during your waking hours, you’re penetrating the illusions and delusions of ordinary life with the searchlight of full awareness. Lucid dreaming, a special state of consciousness in which you retain a degree of self-awareness while dreaming, is somewhat an extension of lucid waking.

What’s essential to Yoga? Just body, breath, and mind. Yoga is incredibly portable. Wherever you may find yourself, you have your body and your breath. And with those elements present, you can calm your mind and create the union that is Yoga. What follows are simple Yoga practices you can do on the go, without having to pack any props.

Yoga offers a complete body and mind workout, with a complement of benefits you rarely find elsewhere. Yet as Yoga has become more popular, Yoga-related injuries have also become more common. With the proper intention and attitude, you can keep your Yoga practice safe and injury free. Not everyone knows that some popular styles of Yoga originated from the training routines of athletic youths who preformed acrobatic Yoga shows around India.