5 Yoga Poses Every Athlete Should Be Doing

Yoga is great for improving flexibility, but it also builds a strong and calm mind. For these reasons, it’s no surprise that athletes are increasingly turning to yoga to round out their training. In fact, many professional athletes, including NBA stars LeBron James and Kevin Love and Seattle Seahawks Quarterback Russell Wilson, have publicly discussed how yoga has helped keep their bodies and minds healthy and focused.

Here are five poses for any athlete who wants to improve flexibility, core strength and mental focus.

THESE SIX MOVES WILL NATURALLY LIFT YOUR BREASTS WITHOUT PLASTIC SURGERY!

It’s a normal part of the female aging process: gravity eventually takes its course and starts pulling boobs downward. Most people think the only option out there is to undergo extensive surgery, but that’s not the case! These six simple yoga moves will help to lift and firm up your breasts in no time.

Pilates-inspired Moves That Sculpt, Strengthen and Tone

Pilates is a method of exercise to inspire graceful movements by enhancing core strength. Mat Pilates incorporates body-weight movements to develop core strength, flexibility, awareness and breath control. In addition, Pilates instructs awareness of spinal alignment as well as deep core muscle recruitment to execute efficiency, strength and stability.

The main six Pilates principles are: centering, concentration, control, precision, breath and flow. Therefore, Pilate exercises balance muscular contraction, movement and deep breathing. The Pilates breath is essential for movement execution and core contraction. The style of breathing varies among every Pilates philosophy, but typically the inhalation is taken through the nose and the exhalation is released through pursed lips. It is ideal to inflate the diaphragm, which shifts the breath into a “three dimensional” movement into the ribs. Thus, the ribs move up and down, laterally, and front and back, similar to expanding a balloon.

This Pilates mat routine combines traditional and Pilates-inspired movements to strengthen and tone lower, upper and core musculature. Complete one to three sets of each exercise.

Side Plank Rotation With Leg Lift

What Style of Yoga is Right for You?

Have you ever picked up a class schedule at a gym or yoga studio with the intention of trying a class, but immediately felt overwhelmed by all the different styles? Or perhaps you’ve been brave and attended a class at random and found it was too challenging or perhaps not challenging enough? With all the different styles of yoga there are, it’s hard to know exactly which one is right for you.

While there is no one-yoga-fits-all choice, there are a wide range of styles to suit every body and every need. Here is a breakdown of some of the more common forms of yoga to help you make an educated decision on whether a particular class matches your needs and goals.

First, it’s important to preface that pretty much every physical practice of yoga is going to be a variation of hatha yoga. “Ha” derives from the Sanskrit word for sun and “tha” derives from the Sanskrit word for moon. Together, these words refer to the nature of a balanced practice. Within hatha yoga, there are numerous variations that you will see offered in your typical studio or fitness facility setting.

The Ancient Five Tibetan Rites for Youthfulness & Vigour Sonali Bansal Spirituality

“For thousands of years, this extraordinary secret of Fountain of Youth had been handed down by members of this particular sect. And while they made no effort to conceal it, their monastery was so remote and isolated, they were virtually cut off from the outside world.” ~ Ancient Secret of the Fountain of youth, Peter Kelder Tibetan monks often beam with high energy, glow and have a pulsating aura. The reason behind the youth and longevity of monks is not only their calm and composed approach towards life, but simple yet effective movements known as the Five Tibetan Rites which are possibly older than Yoga. The practice was passed down by monks from generation to generation. It was later publicized by Peter Kelder in his book ‘Ancient Secret of the Fountain of youth.’ In this book Kelder claims to have met a retired British army colonel Bradford who shared stories of learning these rites from Tibetan monks. You’ll notice that several of the poses are very similar to yoga! Speaking vividly about the seven chakras, Kelder mentioned that the rites are aimed at cleansing the vortexes. Regular practice of these rites is known to yield higher energy levels, mental clarity, enhanced sleeping patterns, clearer vision, youthfulness, better posture, sculpted body, boosted immune system and much more. The book states, “In a healthy body, each of these vortexes revolves at great speed, permitting vital life energy, also called ‘prana’ or ‘etheric energy,’ to flow upward through the endocrine system. But if one or more of these vortexes begins to slow down, the flow of vital life energy is inhibited or blocked, and-well, that’s just another name for aging and ill health.” While the energy that permeates through these vortexes is what propels us in our daily lives, as we age, our body automatically creates obstructions in the smooth flow and functioning of these vortexes. Due to this reason, the hormones secreted by the glands do not reach the cells of our body. The cells are unable to regenerate and begin to die gradually leading to aging. Buddhist monks understood this fact and forged a way out of this vicious circle. One has to follow the rites in an orderly fashion and repeat each rite 21 times. Repetition of the rites 21 times can be achieved gradually, starting with three times, then increasing to six, nine, 11 and so forth. (It is recommended never to do more than 21 repetitions in a single day as this can affect your chakras negatively and create imbalances in your body. If you are doing less than the maximum 21, try to end on an odd number as this is supposed to help with chakra alignment.)

Reset Your Day With This Cool-down

In my many years as a health and fitness professional, I have found that the most overlooked and underappreciated component of a workout session is the cool-down. Clients would rather work on conditioning until the very last minute, and then “stretch on their own” after the session, which never seems to happen as they rush out the door to their next obligation.

In group fitness classes, there are always a handful of participants who duck out early and skip the cool-down portion to get on with the next important task of the day. Those that continually eschew the opportunity to rest and stretch at the end of their workouts are missing one of the best times of day to do so, as the body is warm and the nervous system is primed to allow relaxation. In other words, skipping out on your cool-down means that you lose the chance to fully recover after a workout. Taking those few moments to conclude your session is like pushing the “reset” button so that you are ready to take on whatever comes next in your day.

A cool-down typically involves two components: (1) working at a reduced intensity to allow the heart rate to return toward resting and (2) stretching. The first component is simple and most of us do this instinctively as we end the workout and taper off intensity as we finish. Returning the heart rate toward resting could be as simple as walking after a jog or pedaling at a lighter resistance at the end of a bike ride. Stretching is also simple, but is perhaps overlooked because of not knowing which stretches are best or for fear of wasting time. Fortunately, just about any stretch that is held for at least 30 seconds and includes deep breathing will promote cool-down benefits. Static stretching—the kind of stretch that is held in place—is one of the best techniques for increasing flexibility. Breathing slowly and deeply is an important part of stretching, as it has been shown to improve blood oxygen saturation, lower blood pressure and reduce anxiety. Try the following short routine at the end of your next workout for a whole-body stretch that will leave you feeling relaxed and ready for whatever your day brings. Focus on breathing deeply and holding each position for three to five breaths before moving on to the next stretch.

Lying Knee-to-chest Stretch

A Beginner’s Guide to Yoga: 5 Widely Practiced Poses

Looking to get started with a physical yoga practice? This handy guide breaks down five of the most widely practiced poses—also known as asanas—familiarizing you with both the English and Sanskrit names, as well as giving you step-by-step instructions on how to find alignment with each posture as you journey through your personal practice.

Pose: Child’s pose

Sanskrit name: Balasana

Introductory how-to: Begin in a hands-and-knees position with wrists below the shoulders and knees below the hips.

Top 10 Reasons to Stretch

Flexibility is one of the five components of fitness, so stretching should be an integral part of every workout program. Here are ACE’s Top 10 Reasons for why you should always take the time to stretch:

1. Decreases muscle stiffness and increases range of motion. Stretching helps improve your range of motion, which may also slow the degeneration of your joints.

2. May reduce your risk of injury. A flexible muscle is less likely to become injured if you have to make a sudden move. By increasing the range of motion in a particular joint through stretching, you can decrease the resistance on your body’s muscles during various activities.

Pilates-inspired Moves That Sculpt, Strengthen and Tone

Pilates is a method of exercise to inspire graceful movements by enhancing core strength. Mat Pilates incorporates body-weight movements to develop core strength, flexibility, awareness and breath control. In addition, Pilates instructs awareness of spinal alignment as well as deep core muscle recruitment to execute efficiency, strength and stability.

The main six Pilates principles are: centering, concentration, control, precision, breath and flow. Therefore, Pilate exercises balance muscular contraction, movement and deep breathing. The Pilates breath is essential for movement execution and core contraction. The style of breathing varies among every Pilates philosophy, but typically the inhalation is taken through the nose and the exhalation is released through pursed lips. It is ideal to inflate the diaphragm, which shifts the breath into a “three dimensional” movement into the ribs. Thus, the ribs move up and down, laterally, and front and back, similar to expanding a balloon.

This Pilates mat routine combines traditional and Pilates-inspired movements to strengthen and tone lower, upper and core musculature. Complete one to three sets of each exercise.

Side Plank Rotation With Leg Lift

Improve Your Balance with These Six Simple Moves

By Lawrence Biscontini

Balance, or the ability to engage muscles in communication to hold a synergistic, isometric position, decreases the potential for physical suffering because it ensures that movement commences from a place of design integrity. Once a body is set up with core balance in any of the positions of the body to maintain stability, subsequent mobility is far less likely to produce injury (Bernier, 1998).

In just a few minutes a day, at least three days a week, we can improve our balance in a variety of positions without using any equipment. Furthermore, after the first few times we practice the movements with traditional athletic cross-training shoes, doing the exercises either with minimalist shoes or while barefoot will train the muscles of the foot and ankle complex in a more functional manner (Blackburn, 2001). Try to stay positive during the movements, realizing that balance is a learned skill, and that it is normal for some movements to be more reachable than others. Remember, too, that practice makes permanent.

For all balance movements:

1. Start with shoes on and progress to doing them while barefoot.

2. Contract the pelvic floor, bring the navel toward the spine, and lightly touch the tongue to the roof of the mouth during the movements (Chek,1998).

3. Narrow or close the eyes to try the ultimate challenge of maintaining any of these movements with the eyes closed.

4. When in any balance position, try to hold the stability for five seconds. After the stability, after each movement, return to the start position. Repeat eight to 12 times and then repeat on the other side where appropriate.