How To Teach Yoga Techniques To My Parents To Get Them To Relax

Your parents will likely be more receptive to practicing yoga if they find they are feeling stressed, anxious or tense, and would like some help in learning how to relax. Also, if they want to be actively involved in their own care and remain independent for as long as possible, you are in luck! Being interested and motivated will make it much easier for them to incorporate the following suggestions into their lives.

Benefits

Share proven reasons with them for spending 20-30 minutes practicing yoga each day.

They'll be able to continue to perform their activities of daily living.They will build confidence as their capabilities are increased.Levels of anxiety, depression, anger and stress should be significantly reduced.They will have more control over their thoughts and emotions.Quality of sleep will be improved.Pain levels will be reduced and potentially decrease dependence on pain medications.Yoga provides an opportunity for self-reflection and spiritual exploration.

Cautions

Your parents should consult with their doctor prior to engaging in the physical aspects of a yoga practice, and make sure you are aware of any medical concerns you'll need to address. If they have any eye conditions (i.e. glaucoma), cardiac issues (high blood pressure) or neurological concerns (stroke, vertigo), poses that cause an increase in pressure to the head (whenever the head is lower than the body) will need to be avoided. Osteoporosis is a common condition in the elderly and poses that place additional weight or stress on the spine, as in forward bends, should not be included in their practice.

Practice

The way yoga is practiced by your parents will impact their ability to manage their thoughts and emotions. Practices that are robotic rather mindful can create a disconnect between the mind and body. As they develop the ability to maintain awareness of the mind and body during practice, they will also be more able to engage in moment to moment awareness in their daily lives. The formula for developing this skill is:

Breath + Movement = Increased awareness.

Standing poses increase leg and torso strength and help to maintain mobility. These include Mountain pose, Triangle, Standing Cat/Cow and Chair pose and can be practiced either standing or sitting. Balancing poses also increase strength in the legs and placing one hand on a chair or wall will provide support if required. Squats are effective in strengthening the pelvis, hip and buttocks. A yoga routine including these poses could last 10-15 minutes and it's important to suggest seated rest periods as needed.

Guided relaxation or music at the end of the posture practice is usually welcomed and options can include visualization, tense and relax exercises or a body scan to "check in" with how they are feeling.

Add a simple breathing exercise and or meditation at the end of the practice to further calm the mind and release tension. The abdomen should be relaxed. Explore breathing out a little slower and watch the breath lengthen. Practice for about 10 breaths, and remember never force the breath. Take a break and breath normally whenever needed.

Once you have created the session, go through it yourself to get a feel for the practice. Guide them through the practice slowly and as you teach, solicit feedback so you can modify your plan to fit their reality.

Heather Greaves is the owner of Body Therapies Yoga Training. She organizes yoga and meditation retreats and workshops in Ontario and Barbados, and has been helping yoga enthusiasts learn to teach gentle therapeutic yoga in a certified program. For more yoga tips or to sign up for our monthly newsletter visit http://www.yogatogo.com/

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10 Ways to Relax Using Yoga

Lives are often stressful, and relaxing yoga poses can help you to loosen up and feel rejuvenated. To succeed in doing relaxing yoga poses, try doing them in a warm room temperature with no distraction. Dim the lights, concentrate, breathe deeply and enjoy the feel of pressure coming out of your system.

Yoga is popular for its capacity to treat and bring peace of mind. Breathing is one important thing in yoga to be cautious about. It applies to every single move or pose you do while exercising. Stretching and toning while slowing down your breath is a good thing to do while incorporating other yogic meditation techniques. The rate of breath serves as the mirror of your mind's quality, connecting your mental, emotional and psychological states and depths of your breath.

Here are the 10 Ways to relax using yoga:

1.) Get the stress out: It is to unleash any tension held from the day. Stand with your feet one leg distant apart. Toes in slightly, legs active and knees bent. Make a fist with your hands, as you inhale raise your arms up over your head reaching high and as you swing your arms down through your legs, make a large sound on your exhale. It's a deep release. Repeat a few times.

2.) Release and shake it away: Sit in a crossed legged, easy posture; use a cushion and the wall if that's more comfortable. This provides a firm and stable base for the body as well as keeping your energy centered. Raise your arms up over your head. Keep your spine long and upright. Start shaking your arms, head and shoulders - kindly and fairly steadily - to release the energy from your day. Try this for 10 full breaths or more.

3.) Knee hug: Lay onto your back, bend both knees into your belly. Wrap your arms around your legs and tuck your chin into your throat (keep your head on the floor if your neck is sore). Close your eyes and give yourself a squeeze of gratitude, keep a long natural breath for a minute or longer.

4.) Calming forward bend: Stand with your feet hip distant apart. Hands on your hips, lean forward and bend your knees. Hang off your hips, letting your neck, face and eyes be soft.

5.) Legs up the wall: Sit to the side of the wall and put your legs up so that you are against the wall. You can keep your knees bent if that's more comfortable, and let your legs roll out slightly. Place your hands down by your side, on your belly or across your chest to connect with your heart.

6.) Simple Twist-Twist: It stretches and strengthens the back muscles and spine. Sit on the floor in a cross-legged position keeping the spine straight. Slowly rotate your torso to the right and place the right hand on the floor behind the right hip. Grasp the right knee with the left hand and look over the right shoulder. Hold the pose for 10 seconds. Repeat the twist to the left.

7.) Meditation Posture-Half Lotus: This stretches hips, knees and ankles, improves posture. Sit cross-legged, right leg in front of the left, keeping the spine straight. Do not force this position, or it may injure the knees. Gently grasp the right foot with both hands and slowly bring it high up on the left thigh. Extend arms out to sides of knees, touching index finger to thumb, palms facing up. Breathe deeply and hold the pose for 10 seconds. Repeat with the left foot.

8.) Sphinx-Backward Bending Posture: Back and abdominal stretch. Lie on your abdomen with legs hip distance apart. Bend down elbows and place beneath your shoulders, arms straight forward. Keep the shoulders down from your ears while tightening the buttocks. Hold the pose for 5 seconds.

9.) Triangle-Standing Position: This pose stretches and strengthens the legs and lower back. Stand with your legs three feet apart, your right foot pointing towards the right, your arms extended out to your sides. Reach out with your right arm extending your torso until your right hand reaches your right leg. Grasp your right leg as far down as you can (between the knee and ankle) while extending your left arm upward. Turn your head to look up at your left hand. Hold this pose for 30 seconds. Come up slowly and repeat on the opposite side.

10.) Relax: Flatten your back with your arms and legs apart and eyes closed. Roll your shoulders away from your ears, head to the centre. Toes are falling out to the sides, legs straight and relaxed with palms facing upward. Let every breath deepen as your mind rests on the rhythm of your breathing. Lay in sarvasana for 5-10 minutes before rolling out to the right hand side and coming back up to a cross legged sit

Follow these simple ways to relax your body and mind; you are on the best way in finding relief from tension and anxiety. You will be able to cope better with your everyday problems and be emotionally stronger. The more you spend time doing these tips, the more likely you are to act with patience and understanding. Generally, the most effective way to overcome stress is to simply change the way you deal with them. The result is an overall feeling of relaxation. Slowly, you will begin to forget about the stressors in your life, as you immerse yourself in positive thoughts. When you practice yoga routinely, you will begin to see its long-term benefits and how it takes the tension out of life. Whatever you do, remember that stress can be overcome with yoga. Dealing with stress can be difficult, but using yoga to alleviate that stress is easy!

To get the most out of your yoga experience, visit our site and learn all the benefits of yoga.

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Car Yoga - Relax Your Road Rage

Driving to work today I got caught up in a lot of stop go traffic. I commute an hour each way to work. And I'll bet there are a lot of yoga readers out there that do the same. As each mile passed my tension levels built. I understand why some people just crack under stress and road rage builds up to extreme levels to where they do something stupid like act out in anger. Well, we all know what happens to you when you get caught doing that. So how do you control your road rage?

There are a thousand different ways, but this is a great time to practice breathing techniques and bust out your yoga skills. Come to peace with your frustrated self and make your environment a better place for everyone. When in doubt - Yoga out! (<---Nice ) I've inserted some video in the bottom of this Awesome Read...

Get off your Smart Phone

This is not the time to be checking your email on your phone or calling the office. No texting and telling everyone how pissed you are because you are sitting in traffic. Just relax and do some yoga. You'll be a better person when you do show up to work and you will stay happier through the day.

Breathing

Long slow deep breaths. Inhale through your mouth and exhale through your nose. Do this nice and slow. Remember you are bringing in new fresh oxygen for your brain to use. This is going to calm your angry mind and relax your tense body!

Neck Pain

When your stopped, NOT while driving (don't want you to take your eyes off the road) Roll your head around. Slowly!!! Roll your head and when you find that tight spot, stop and keep your neck position there. Don't forget to keep breathing and let that tension clear through your deep breaths.

Back Pain

Put your hands behind your head. Oh ya don't do this while driving, make sure you are still in the traffic jam. Take a deep breath. When you exhale, bend your body over your thighs or the steering steering wheel depending on how tall you are. Do the stretch over again but this time cross your arms over your chest and feel the stretch in your lower back.

Don't be bothered by people staring at you. Trust me, they are weird too. And they probably don't feel as good as you do when you do a little yoga in the car.

So I am going to plug my yoga blog now and the name of it is YogaBenefits.us You can come check it out and learn all kinds of cool stuff about yoga. Thanks for reading!

Bubba West
YogaBenefits.us - Blog dedicated to the benefits of yoga
check us out on http://facebook.com/yogabenefitspage
and twitter @yogabubba

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