Many people find that they can improve the basic quality of their lives with yoga, a regimen of using a combination of physical and mental practices that many believe began in India over three thousand years ago. And among these basic life improvements noted are better breathing, relaxation and asthma relief, as yoga seeks to help you get back to a more natural state where your body and mind are not stressed.

Deep breathing and relaxation go hand in hand. Both help you to calm down your system and thoughts and re-energize. What happens is that when you spend a few minutes taking slowed, controlled, careful breaths, the breaths are not nervous, hyper action, but instead steadier, calming actions that help supply much needed energy to the system, sending calming messages throughout.

Take five and reclaim some energy with this sample Breathing / Relaxing Exercise. Make sure to read through the entire list of instructions a couple of times first before you give it a go.

1. With or without a chair, sit with good posture, your spine as straight as possible. Have your feet flat on the floor, your knees directly over your feet, placing something under your feet like a pillow or book, if they are resting comfortably on the floor. Place your hands atop your legs.
2. Gently close your eyes, allowing them much needed rest.
3. Focus your thoughts on your ribs and your lungs behind your ribs. As you inhale slowly and deeply, feel your lungs fill up, your ribs expand outward and upward. As you exhale in a similar manner, feel your lungs release, your ribs go back in and down.
4. Repeat for up to 3 minutes when you first start out, once a day. Then increase up to 5 through 10 minutes throughout your day as needed.

Helping Asthma with Yoga

Yoga breathing exercises have been known to help some sufferers of mild asthma. Although asthmatics should never stop using their medications and any health devices as prescribed by their doctors, they want choose to try yoga breathing exercises, as approved by their doctors. Yoga breathing exercise may help with the reduction of the use of low-dose drug inhalers, especially during wheezing attacks.

Learn more about yoga and how it may help with your breathing, relaxation and asthmatic conditions. More studies are being done all the time. And people using different yoga practices are reporting positive feedback.

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There are many different yoga postures and exercise to work into your practice sessions. Here is a small sampling to see which can ones may meet you needs.

1) Janu Sirsasana - This is for correct foot placement with your yoga posture.

Begin by sitting up straight, legs extended outwards in front of you. Next bend your right leg at the knee, and then place your foot so that the heel is in your right groin with the front of the foot touching your left thigh. Turn your foot so that the bottom of it is facing upwards and then press your knee back, forming an obtuse angle with your body. This position might be difficult when you first try it, so be gentle and don’t force it. You may place a folded blanket under your knee and hips, then gradually the knee will move farther back. Remember to keep your foot positioned correctly.

2) Janu Sirsasana - This is for correct posture with your yoga.

Once you position your foot and knee correctly above, stretch your left leg out and keep it firmly on the mat. After firmly settling your heel, stretch up your toes and inhale, bending forward over your straight leg. Catch your the foot with both hands if possible. Note: only as far as you can without rounding the back; beginners may not reach as far and that’s fine. When you have this posture performed correctly, your will roll forward over your extended leg, flat from the tail bone to the head. Remain and breath normally for as long as you can, then inhale, release breath, and come up smoothly, straightening your bent leg. Relax and repeat on other side.

3) Pose of the Moon aka Shashankasa - For this yoga exercise, sit on your knees with your palms on your thighs. Close your eyes and relax. Keep your spine and head straight.

Take deep breaths and lift up your arms over your head. Keep them straight, shoulder-width apart. While you exhale, bend forward from your hips, keeping your arms and head in a straight line. Gradually rest your hands and forehead on the floor in front of your knees. Then bend your elbows, so that your arms are fully relaxed. Hold for five seconds, and then inhale, slowly lifting your arms and body back into the upright position. Exhale. Place your palms back down to the top of your thighs. Repeat 3-5 times.

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For people in a hurry and trying to squeeze in a little healthy yoga into the day or night, try one of these two yoga sessions on for size. You can be at home, at your place of work or anywhere, any time. Experiment and see where these fit into your day best.

Multitasking Meditation

While you are reading or writing your e-mails, focus on breathing slowly and you’re your focus and attention on your breath, not just your messages. When you exhale, take twice as long at this than when you inhale, to help calm you and help keep you clamer throughout the rest of your day.

Upper Stretch Time

Reach head your head, and interlace your fingers, holding your head in them. While you are doing this, relax your shoulders and elbows. Think happy thoughts, smile, breathe slow and deep, and stretch your elbows back. Release the tension slowly.

Posing Prompts

Lift your arms to your sides, fingers pointing outwards. Take one large step off to the side, keeping your right foot out with your knee bent while your left foot remains firmly on the ground, left leg straightened out. With your upper body straight and firm, relax your shoulders and relax into the stretch, while not holding your breath. Return upright to a standing position, and then switch sides and repeat.

Lower Stretch Time

With your hands on the edge of something firmly in place like a desk or table, stand back with your feet apart. Drop your head and chest and then breathe, relaxing your shoulders.

Swaying Palm Tree Pose AKA Tiryaka Tadasana

To streamline your waist and help with balance, stand with your feet 8 inches apart. Focus your eyes on a point directly in front of you. Interlocking your fingers, turn your palms outward, and deeply inhale while you lift your arms up and over your head. While you exhale, bend from your waist to your left side (don’t reach backwards or forwards). Hold your position for a few seconds, then deeply inhale and slowly return to the upright position. Repeat this five times with each side.

There are many more yoga sessions you can practice anytime, anywhere. Many are short sessions like these and some are much longer. Do a little research or look for yoga classes in your area and see which sessions work best for you. Then get fit inside and out and sty that way!

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When you write out some positive yoga goal statements, that is indeed the first step towards successfully meeting them. But, to actually reach these goals, you need an action plan to get you there, so think strategy like this.

I. Divide and Conquer: Organize
Set up a place for all of your yoga stuff: your yoga books, videos, loose clothing, mat and other gear you may have, audio cassettes, folder of articles printed out and any other yoga-related items. While you’re at it, remove from sight any old health and fitness materials and program items that you aren’t using or going to be using, that are just sitting around collecting dust. Stop and toss outdated magazines, stash, sell or donate old books, weights, workout gear and other related equipment. Also get rid of unhealthy junk foods around the house or at least store them in one place out of sight. And set up a special area for any new healthy items to go along with your new healthy yoga plans like healthy shakes, snack bars, shake powder, vitamins and supplements, measuring gadgets and recipes.

II. Review Your Program Materials
The next stage is educational in nature. First skim through all of your yoga materials to sort out info you need to focus on right away, like class procedures and needs for the upcoming week. Then give these important documents a thorough read-through, taking notes as you go along in a separate notebook. Insert any loose literature and other materials inside a folder, including any pamphlets or brochures that may have arrived with class dates and times, any how-to instructions with yoga mats, equipment and videos, etc.

III. Learn from the Pros
No need to reinvent the wheel with yoga. Read about successful yoga instructors and their students to see how yoga has changed their lives. They often share news about what works best and what doesn’t, so that you can adjust your own goals and action plans accordingly.

IV. Write Your Action Plan
Use what you’ve learned form the info you’ve gathered, and write out an action plan for your yoga success. Include which yoga sessions and postures you want to do, how often, where and how you can measure your results. For example:

• Attend my yoga class to meet my instructor & get help writing goals.
• Practice my yoga sessions on a regular basis and monitor my focus, relaxation and stress levels regularly for improvement.

That’s it! Now it’s up to you to take charge and adopt your plan of action for your yoga goals.

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Some historians believe that yoga comes from India, some 3,000 to 4,000 years ago. Yoga literally means union or to join, integrate, and comes from the Sanskrit language.

Many believe that yoga was actually part of India’s philosophical system. However, not everyone there practiced yoga and it is not known to have been a religion.

Today, over 4.5 million people in the United States alone practice some type of yoga. In fact, at gyms and fitness centers round the globe, stretching, dance and other exercise classes often contain elements that are directly derived from yoga. Physical therapists and other healthcare practitioners also incorporate yoga in with some of their therapeutic exercises.

Of the many different types of yoga, the most popular and well known, often witnessed in movies, on the television and in local health establishments, hospitals and other healthcare facilities and adult educational classes is called physical yoga or hatha yoga, also referred to as yoga for health. Hatha yoga consists of three parts: a series of movements or exercises referred to as asana (postures or poses in English), many different kinds of breathing techniques plus relaxation.

What is Yoga all About

Yoga is all about discipline. The purpose surrounding yoga is to help you stretch your muscles, strengthen your body, enhance your mind or concentration and help you relax and have a flexible body. Some try to reach higher levels of consciousness; for example, they try to abstain from negative things (greed, lying, cheating, etc.) and practice positive things (self-controlled, contentment, etc.).

Yoga invites participants to gently ease themselves into positions, never forcing painful movements. And the exercises copy nature, with poses being traced to animal shapes: god, cat, cobra, eagle, tortoise and crab, as examples.

Note that yoga poses require calmness, concentration and balance. And yoga exercises promote strength. The bottom line is that every yoga movement has an effect on a muscle, nerve or gland. Each movement is carefully thought out ahead of time.

There is much more to learn about yoga. And with the Internet growing in popularity, you can search for yoga instruction via online bookstore, health stores, even auction sites like eBay.com. Find in depth books and articles about types of yoga, postures, exercises, floor mats to help with practice time and a lot more. Videos, DVDs, CD and audio cassettes can also help teach you lessons and postures, along with healing techniques that incorporate yoga.

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