| Have you ever arrived for your yoga session, | | | | eventual day in the office, or walking the streets as a |
| stressed-out, tired and full of anxieties and concerns? | | | | traffic warden, your legs become heavy and tired, |
| Yet by the time you finish your session, you are calm, | | | | your lower back aches and you may even have a |
| energised and happy? | | | | headache. Your body needs to rest. Inverted postures, |
| Yoga has the ability to literally transform lives. As a | | | | such as legs up the wall, shoulder stand counteract the |
| form of stress relief, yoga postures offer you a unique | | | | effects of gravity, they bring increased oxygen supply |
| way to calm and relax your mind. Yoga postures can | | | | to the brain and sympathetic nervous system, the |
| be classified into five main groups, forward bends, | | | | thyroid gland is also stimulated and deep abdominal |
| inverted postures, backbends, twists and standing | | | | breathing maximised. |
| poses. | | | | 4. Yoga rejuvenates your spine and calms your mind: |
| Regular practice of yoga helps to alleviate stress. | | | | Forward bend postures give your back a beautiful long |
| Here are the five unique reasons why the different | | | | stretch. Take for example, the seated forward bend |
| types of yoga postures offer you an ideal antidote to | | | | paschimottanasana, as you stretch up with the arms |
| a busy stressful work/home life | | | | and lengthen your body from your hip, the whole of |
| 1. Yoga makes you feel strong and grounded. The | | | | your back is lengthen and relaxed. With the head and |
| standing poses help to strengthen and stretch the hips, | | | | face lowered, your mind becomes calm and quiet as |
| legs and ankles. They bring power and agility to the | | | | your focus is directed inwards. Forward bends give |
| lower part of your body whilst extending and | | | | your whole body a spring clean. When you come out |
| stretching the upper torso. Next time you are doing a | | | | of the posture you feel clear, calm and contented. |
| standing pose, e.g. the mountain pose (tadasana) take | | | | 5. Yoga opens you up and expanses your horizons. |
| time to fully connect with the earth, ground your | | | | Backbends opens you up and brings life to your thigh |
| energy and reach your crown up to the sky. You will | | | | muscles, abdomen, hips, ribs, chest and neck. If you |
| feel stronger and powerful and clearer on decisions | | | | suffer from stiff shoulders and sore neck, the camel |
| you need to make. | | | | pose/ustrasana, the bridge pose/sethubandasan and |
| 2 Yoga cleanses your system. Twisting poses are | | | | the fish poe/matsyasan gives a wonderful sense of |
| beautiful. When you practice a twisting pose you bring | | | | release and opening to the chest and whole of the |
| fresh, rich oxygen into your vital organs. Take for | | | | spine. Backbends give a natural massage to the neck |
| example, the twisting pose Ardha Matsyendrasana | | | | and shoulders, so you feel lighter and more at ease in |
| Half Twisting Fish. As you breathe in and twist on the | | | | your body. |
| exhalation, you lengthen your spine, trim your waistline | | | | If you are feeling stressed, tired or overwhelm, |
| and relieve tension in the lower, middle and upper back. | | | | between the standing postures, inverted ones, |
| Twisting poses are great ways to keep your | | | | backward bend poses or even the twists or forward |
| shoulders and spine loose and flexible. If you spend a | | | | bends, you are guaranteed to find a yoga posture to |
| lot of your time working on a computer, it is vital you | | | | help reduce your stress levels and make you feel |
| practice twisting poses during your work day. | | | | better. |
| 3. Yoga relieves fatigue in the legs and feet After an | | | | |