Inspire Yoga

We are all conscious beings, but how many of us live in consciousness? Are you aware of your own thoughts? Do you get carried away with your emotions? Are you present to your surroundings or lost in your inner world? Our minds are so sophisticated we tend to go along with the ebb and flow of our stream of thought not realizing that we are greater than this current. When we are just with ourselves, our breath, our energy we feel a deep sense of connection and vitality, this is the point that yoga is reaching. We do poses and breathing exercises to eventually silence the mind and connect with our innermost energy, our life force, this brings us the peace and fulfillment that we go on searching in the outside world. But somehow we get stuck, fixating on the benefits yoga has on the body many of us aren’t able to explore deeper and access is deeper value. Our  breathing and meditation program  is designed to bring you to a state where you are functionally optimally in every ...

Iyengar’s discussion of Prajna- Insight, and Intuition, in his book entitled ‘Light on Life’ is highly inspiring. Challenging conventional definitions of intelligence, he gives meditative insights on spiritual intelligence purporting that it is the ability to see oneness and the positive qualities in all to allow the light of knowledge from the conscience to shine forth. Yoga Iyengar is Practicing How to Focus & Concentrates Our Mind When we have countless thoughts swirling around our minds we are unable to focus, the constant chatter thereby mutes our inner voice as there is no silence within for it to be audible. During our practice of yoga, we are refining our concentration by clearing our mind and focusing only on our body and breath. When we establish a state of tranquillity we are able to free up the clutter in our minds in order for our inner voice to be heard, only then can we realize our intuitive powers. The ultimate purpose is to extrapolate this tranquillity...

Downward facing dog is a basic pose that is accessible to most beginners, for advanced practitioners this posture is considered a resting pose! In setting up the pose make sure your arms are shoulder distance apart and your knees are hip-distance apart, tuck your toes under and actively push your hands and feet into the mat. Straighten your legs and push your hips upwards as your back cascades downwards. A Relaxing Yoga Positions for Beginners That Increases Stamina There are 3 stages of advancement of reaching the full pose: straight arms, straight back and straight legs. Take each stage as a prerequisite to moving on to the next; there is no point trying to straighten your legs if your elbows are bent and your back is rounded. If you feel tired do not compromise the posture by bending your arms and hunching your shoulders forwards, instead feel free to bend your knees and allow your back to lengthen further. Push your hands down into the mat with your fingers spread apart...

This is an easily accessible pose to your body, the main challenge is holding your balance- thus this is a  great concentration exercise . However, if you have delicate ankles or have injured them previously please do not attempt the full pose, if standing on one leg is uncomfortable to feel free to place your toes on the floor.   Best Yoga Exercises That Improves Your Sense of Balance To set up the pose, simply stand up with you feet together, lift one foot up and place in the inside of your standing leg, be it your inner thigh or on the side of your shin. Your standing foot should be planted firmly into the mat and  the standing leg anchors the pose by actively pushing downwards . At the same time, the lifted foot is engaged by pushing into the standing leg and the standing legs resist maintaining equilibrium between the opposing forces. You want to imagine that your legs are hugging into the mid-line of your body. On the same token, your palms should push t...

Ayurveda is the ancient science of Indian medicine. It seeks to bring longevity and a greater quality of life by delving into health and healing. Ayurveda determines the wholesomeness of one’s life by examining the harmony in which one lives with themselves and their surroundings. Any ailments on the physical plane is said to be rooted on the level of the mind, thus a healthy body starts with a happy mind. Ayurveda classifies each body according 3 categories (doshas), our bodies will have characteristics that are predominant in at least one of these doshas. The aim here is to know our bodies better and thus know what to avoid and how to nurture it. If we are out of balance, there is too much of one element dominating leading to poor health. The focus is to bring everything into balance, in a holistic fashion. Vata This is the first dosha, it relates to the elements of space and air. Its physical qualities are dry, cold, light and irregular. People who are vata tend to be ...

In yoga, there are two aspects for your mind to focus on: the stretch and your breath. Bringing all your attention to your breath has meditative qualities as it frees you from any other thoughts that preoccupy your mind. When stressed or burdened by emotions it is advised to take a minute to focus on your breathing; taking deep inhalations and slow exhalations, bringing a sense of calmness and lowering your heart rate.  Pranayama,  yogic breathing , influences the flow of energy throughout your body using your nervous system (especially your spine) as the pathway of energy movement.  Our breath is affected by our circumstances and moods. We take more forceful breaths when angry and slower breaths when relaxed. The ratios in which we inhale and exhale vary depending on what state we are in. During sleep, exhalations dominate bringing rest, and during the day inhalations predominate as it is influenced by activity and the external environment. Furthermore, the flow of...

Sun Salutation or Surya Namaskar is a series of 12 asanas that are done rhythmically synchronized with the breath. Surya Namaskar is a fundamental aspect of every yoga pose as it stretches and warms up the entire body. The breathing during surya namaskar is very important as it guides the rate of movement and helps to improve co-ordination and control. It can either be practiced quickly or slowly, depending on the nature of the class. When practiced slowly it provides muscle regeneration and deeper stretches and when preformed quickly it has an immediate aerobic effect burning calories and increasing blood circulation. If you are a beginner it can be considered the challenging portion of the class and for those more advanced it’s considered a warm up. The breath should be used to move you from one posture to the other- most attention is paid to the breath during the transitions. When holding a pose it is important to continue breathing normally, the only point where the breath ...