Yoga for Cardio

Cardio refers to aerobic exercise, which by definition, is sustained activity that elevates your heart rate into a range at which your heart is being trained. Your cardiovascular fitness is measured by how efficiently the heart moves oxygen to the muscles. Having a high level of cardiovascular fitness corresponds to a long and healthy life with a lower chance of developing heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and certain cancers. Cardio workouts also have been linked to better cognitive function, better focus, and better short-term memory. Workouts must contain three components in order to contribute to cardiovascular fitness: intensity, duration, and frequency. Yoga can be a great cardio workout, as long as your practice maintains a heart rate range that is 65 to 90% of your maximum heart rate for at least 20 minutes and you practice three to five times per week. A combination of frequencies and intensities can also be beneficial. Vigorous practices that involve a lot of continuous movement, like Ashtanga, power flow, or flowing vinyasa yoga are the best options for a cardio workout. These types of yoga involve continuous, rhythmic, aerobic activities that use large muscle groups. In order to get some cardiac benefit from your own yoga practice, you can incorporate 20 minutes of Sun Salutations or other vigourous, flowing practices into your routine at least three times a week. In order to elevate your heart rate, your exercises must be continuous and rhythmic. Supplementing your yoga practice with other activities that challenge your cardiovascular system will also be beneficial.

http://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/3160

Getting Ready for Spring

Springtime is a time for change, as the cold, dark winter days transform into the warm, colorful months. Although we look forward to the changes that warmer weather brings, this transition can sometimes be difficult for some people. Practicing Ayurvedic yoga can help ease the transition from one season to the next by allowing one to harmonize with nature. Yoga can assist in revitalizing after the dull, sluggish winter months, leaving you feeling ready to embrace springtime! Ayurvedic yoga can help you create a rhythm in your life that will help you lighten up your life, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Eating light foods and practicing breathing techniques and meditation can also be useful in helping you wake up and feel less lethargic. Small changes can be put into practice in your daily life to create a more wholesome, pleasant environment that will ease the transition into this pleasant part of the year. Poses that create heat, ease joint mobility, and improve circulation, such as chair pose, should be implemented into your yoga routine. Throughout this transition, the most important thing is to remain in touch with nature and appreciate the change going on around you. Incorporate this transition into your own body and mind, allowing it to make you feel full of life and happiness.

http://www.yogajournal.com/health/1721

Meditation

Daily Intention: Try to maintain a positive attitude.

Meditation is a method that allows one to experience the interconnectedness of all life. It involves the realization that you are not separate from nature, but that all life forces are unified. The process of meditation involves quieting the mind and achieving a balance between the body, mind, and senses. This can only occur when we accepts that our outward desires and cravings can never be fully satisfied, and we instead shift our attention inward. It requires a lot of practice to be able to achieve the level of concentration required to remain detached from your surroundings yet aware of your senses. 

While meditating, it is helpful to establish a point of focus with the eyes either opened or closed. This point of focus can be an object, a word, phrase, or chant, a bodily sensation, or a visualized image. Meditation can be done while sitting on the floor, sitting in a chair, standing, lying down, or even while walking. Breath can be allowed to flow freely, or it may be helpful to count your breaths. It is important to practice meditation regularly in order to develop your concentration. Many people prefer meditating in the morning because you typically aren't yet distracted by the demands of the day and it allows your mind to prepare itself in order to better deal with any stress that may come later. Progress as a result of practicing meditation will be apparent in the form of greater mental calm and physical comfort. 

http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/141

Yoga and the Parasympathetic Nervous System

Daily Intention: Resist judgment, both of myself and others.

The parasympathetic nervous system, a division of the autonomic nervous system (which unconsciously regulates the internal organs and glands), is responsible for the regulation of the "rest and digest" response. The PNS conserves energy as it slows the heart rate, increases intestinal and glandular activity, and relaxes the body overall. In contrast to the PNS, the sympathetic nervous system activates the "fight or flight" response within the body. These two divisions of the nervous system act in opposition to each other and both are needed to maintain a healthy balance. Daily life often tends to stimulate the SNS, whether by bright lights, loud sounds, negative thoughts and emotions, or other situations that create stress. This puts the balance between the PNS and the SNS out of sync. Yoga can help activate the PNS, as well as strengthen the neural pathways relating to this division of the nervous system, and restore balance to the body. Deep breathing exercises and gentle breath-based vinyasa work best at activating the PNS. Blood pressure is reduced and heart and breathing rates are slowed. Blood flow is also redirected to the digestive, reproductive, endocrine, and lymphatic systems. This helps to promote digestion and nutrient absorption, eliminate toxins more efficiently, and promote better health for the body as a whole. Yoga also trains the mind and body to pay attention to sensations and our reactions to those sensations. When we learn to better understand our bodies we are able to respond more positively to stressful life experiences. Hopefully this will eventually result in a naturally balanced nervous system.

http://healthyliving.azcentral.com/benefits-yoga-parasympathetic-nervous-system-1519.html