Pranayama, the practice of breath control, is detailed here in an easy-to-understand and even easier-to-practise format. Professional yoga instructor Scott Shaw introduces 16 breathing exercises and shows you how to get the best benefit from each of the forms by training, refining and witnessing your breath. Try one of the calming breaths, Nadi Sudi or the Nerve Purifying Breath. Have a long day ahead with no breaks until after dinner? Allow Ujayi or the Hissing Breath to work its miracles. Here you will learn how to breathe while moving, standing and leaning and how these variations can affect your breathing practice. Use the instruction offered in "The Little Book of Yoga Breathing" to feel more focused and energized.

Your Spine, Your Yoga is arguably the first book that looks at the spine from both the Western anatomical/biomechanical point of view and the modern yoga perspective. It is filled with detail, discussion, illustrations, and practical advice for spines of all types. This emphasis on variety is welcome and necessary: no two spines are exactly alike, and no two people have the same biology and biography. What your spine is able to do may be vastly different from what other yoga students' or teachers' spines can do. The human spine is unique in its structure and function. Primarily, it provides stability through the core of our body, allowing forces to be transmitted from the upper body (arms and shoulders) to the lower body (pelvis and legs) and vice versa. Secondarily, the spine allows tremendous range of movement. Unfortunately, in modern yoga practice we find the primacy of these two functions reversed, with flexibility prized over stability. This focus on spinal mobility comes at a grave cost to many students. Stability is lost, and when that happens, dysfunction and pain often follow. Just as all tissues and areas of the body need a healthy amount of stress to regain and maintain optimal health, so too our spine needs the appropriate levels of stress to remain functional throughout our lives. How we choose to exercise the spine makes a difference, though. Knowing the way the spine is built, specifically, how your spine is built, will allow you to tailor your exercises wisely to match your goals. Your Spine, Your Yoga is the second book in the Your Body, Your Yoga series and focuses on the axial body the core, from the sacral complex, which includes the pelvis, sacrum, and sacroiliac joint, through the lumbar and thoracic segments of the spine, to the cervical complex, which includes the neck and head. The structural components of each segment are examined: from the bones, to the joints, ligaments, fascia, tendons, muscles, and even the neurological and blood systems. The range and implications of human variations are presented, as well as the ways these variations may affect individual yoga practices. The sources of restrictions to movement are investigated through answering the question "What Stops Me?" The answers presented run through a spectrum, beginning with various types of tensile resistance to three kinds of compressive resistance. Whether the reader is a novice to yoga, anatomy, or both, or a seasoned practitioner with an in-depth knowledge in these fields, this book will be valuable. For the novice, there are easily understood illustrations and photographs, as well as sidebars highlighting the most important topics. For the anatomy geek, other sidebars focus on the complexity of the topic, with hundreds of references provided for further investigation. For the yoga teacher, sidebars suggest how to bring this knowledge into the classroom. Your Spine, Your Yoga can be used as a resource when specific questions arise, as a textbook to be studied in detail, or as a fascinating coffee-table book to be browsed at leisure for topics of current interest.

The ultimate 'one stop' guide to using foam rollers. A relative newcomer to the fitness scene, lots of us don't know how to use foam rollers effectively as part of an exercise or training routine. Originally used only by physiotherapists and exercise therapists this 'new' piece of kit has become a mainstay of workouts. Foam rollers work by releasing muscle tension to relieve pain, aid injury recovery and improve flexibility - all through massaging and manipulating muscles. Practical and easily accessible, The Total Foam Rolling Workout is perfect for the fitness enthusiast or fitness professional who wants to lightly improve their knowledge and heavily improve the range of exercises they can use in their training. Tried and tested exercises are accompanied by clear photos and illustrations. This book is brimming with ideas for using foam rollers not just in the gym, but at home too. Packed with clear and easy to use exercises, this how-to reference book also provides adaptations of basic and advanced workouts, making it ideal for anyone who wants to get the most out of their fitness gear. - Each exercise idea is organised by fitness level and includes follow-up and extension ideas. - Written in a jargon-free and concise style, this book is light on the science and background, heavy on practicality.

A uniquely feminist approach to how women can break free from what society thinks and get active in their forties, fifties, and beyond.

What if you could be fitter now than you were in your twenties? And what if you could achieve it while feeling more comfortable and confident in your body than ever before?

In this empowering, accessible book, bloggers and professors Samantha Brennan and Tracy Isaacs offer a new approach to fitness―one that champions strength, health, and personal accomplishment over weight loss and aesthetics. They share their own experiences of getting active later in life and explore the many challenges, questions, and issues women face when seeking fitness in their forties, fifties, and beyond. Drawing from the latest research and their popular blog Fit Is a Feminist Issue, they deliver a wealth of concrete advice on everything from how to keep bones strong to what types of fitness activities give the biggest returns.

Taking a feminist perspective, the authors also challenge society’s default whats, whys, and hows of every aspect of getting fit to show how women can best take charge of their health―no matter what their shape, size, age, or ability.

For new and experienced students, practical guidance in kundalini yoga for happiness, health, and fulfillment Kundalini is a universal life force within each of us that, once awakened, holds the power to transform every facet of our lives. Kundalini yoga is the art and practice of activating this radiant energy. With Essential Kundalini Yoga, Karena Virginia and Dharm Khalsa present the core principles and practices of this revered tradition in an inviting and accessible guide. "Kundalini yoga opens joyous space for connecting deeply with the energy states of our being," write Karena and Dharm, "It brings vital health to the body and opens our consciousness to new potentials of awareness." Created for the modern practitioner, this book offers clear, comprehensive instruction in the key insights and practices of kundalini yoga. From philosophy and lifestyle, to working with anatomy and physical asana, to activating our energy bodies, Essential Kundalini Yoga is a uniquely practical and in-depth manual. Highlights include: Gorgeous photos illuminating step-by-step instructions * Detailed instructions, explanations, and illustrations for core kundalini practices-mantra, pranayama, bhanda, asana, kriya, meditation, and more * Seven traditional kundalini yoga routines, including a pituitary gland series for intuition, yoga for the immune system, and detoxing for radiance * Understand the science of the practice, including its effects on the glandular system, spine, nervous system, and skeleton * Meditations, mantras, and yoga poses to activate each of the chakras and bring health to your energetic body * Remedies for common emotional challenges-dealing with fear, shame, and depression, among others * Kundalini secrets for getting better sleep, aging gracefully, enhancing fertility, cultivating vitality, and more Rooted in tradition and infused with a sense of infinite possibility, Essential Kundalini Yoga is a joyful invitation for practitioners of all levels to awaken the vital energy within and receive the gifts that emerge from connecting more deeply with your own potential for creativity, abundance, and joy.

Featuring over 150 yogic postures from the main schools of yoga, including lyengar and Astanga Vinyasa, this book is a comprehensive illustrated step-by-step guide to achieving each posture. It offers advice on altering postures where necessary, enabling beginners to try more difficult positions. Experienced yoga practitioners will also find a number of challenging, advanced positions--perfect inspiration for developing their practice. In addition to postures, the book includes notes on various types of yoga practices as well as a summary of well-known traditional schools of yoga and how they vary. Readers will also find advice from the author on breathing techniques and the benefits of yoga in healing, pregnancy, de-stressing and meditation.

Chair yoga is a revolutionary concept designed to make the numerous benefits of classical yoga available to a wider range of physical abilities. This step-by-step program can be practiced by virtually anyone, anywhere, in any chair, to stimulate physical and mental well-being. This fully illustrated guide contains ninety easy-to-master exercises that have been specially developed for those with a limited range of movement. Clear instructions guide the reader through each routine, all of which can be carried out safely without any previous knowledge or yoga expertise. The exercises can also be adapted by yoga teachers who want to incorporate chair yoga into their classes. This book will be popular with anyone wanting to experience the health benefits of an easy, versatile form of yoga, particularly older people, individuals rehabilitating after injury or illness and those with physical disabilities, as well as the professionals who support them. Two 40-minute yoga sequence videos specially developed for people without range of movement are also available to purchase at https://library.singingdragon.com/id004325717/Chair-Yoga-DVD

The stretching and strengthening techniques used in yoga are an ideal way for children to grow flexible and strong. As well as building supple muscles and flexible joints, yoga is also about positive thinking, self-confidence and inner calm: hyperactive, non-athletic or shy children will all benefit from the expression of feeling and imagination through movement that yoga brings. This volume is a practical workbook aimed at children of all physical abilities from the age of three upwards. Through a mixture of exercises, animal poses, meditation and gameplaying, it shows children what yoga can do for them, and will help to give them the best possible start in life.

'Laughter yoga is a perfect way to laugh and get exercise at the same time...I've tried it, and it works.' - Oprah Winfrey With Laughter Yoga, join the worldwide movement and discover how laughter really is the best medicine! This book will show you how to bring laughter into your life at any time of the day - no special equipment needed, no new wardrobe, no expensive classes, not even a sense of humour! Laughter Yoga is all about voluntary laughter - how you can learn to laugh even in the absence of humorous stimuli, and reap the extraordinary, scientifically proven benefits, which include stress reduction, pain relief, weight loss and enhanced mood. If you act happy, you'll become happy - your body can't tell the difference. The exercises in Laughter Yoga combine voluntary laughter with yogic breathing to give you a full mind-body workout. And it turns out that laughter is the fastest way to reduce stress and the best kind of cardio: 30 minutes of hearty laughter is equal to thirty minutes on the rowing machine. 'Laughter connects you with people. It's almost impossible to maintain any kind of distance or any sense of social hierarchy when you're just howling with laughter. Laughter is a force for democracy.' - John Cleese, after visiting a laughter club in Mumbai during the filming of BBC's TV series The Human Face 'Laughter yoga exemplifies a form of 'right-brain thinking' that managers should promote.' - Daniel H. Pink

Fully illustrated with depictions of proper exercise technique, this book contains exciting strength training programs based on sport (e.g., triathlon, running, cycling, swimming) and levels from beginner to advanced. For the marathon runner, triathlete, duathlete, distance swimmer, or cyclist, these programs will complement "any other" training regimen an athlete follows. Written without confusing jargon, "IronFit(R) Stregth Training.".. provides concise and easy-to-follow information.Don and Melanie Fink of IronFit(R) have coached hundreds of athletes over several decades at all levels, from weekend warriors to world champions. Their innovative approaches to strength training and nutrition not only complement an athlete's sport-specific training, but they do so in the most time-efficient and enjoyable way possible. Multi-sport and multi-leveled, this book provides 27 specific program schedules - 9 sports and 3 levels each to give readers: 1) A progressive strength and core training program for their specific sport and level. 2) A mind and body preparation program to maximize benefits. 3) A traveling strength and core program for travel with little or no equipment. 4) A fueling and hydration routine to maximize performance before, during, and after competition. 5) A healthy eating and lifestyle plan.

Whether you are trying to conceive naturally or with the help of assisted reproductive technology (ART), yoga can help enhance your fertility and smooth the path to parenthood. This specialized Yoga for Fertility practice improves circulation and energy flow, balances hormone levels, and tones your reproductive organs. Jill Petigara and Lynn Jensen, who have lead fertility workshops for years, have seen many women successfully begin families and they know how to harness the power of yoga for your benefit. With plenty of photos and clear descriptions, they demonstrate optimal poses for fertility enhancement in every stage of your cycle. Routines are simple but effective for yoginis of all levels of experience.

"Yoga for Fertility" will help you:

Redirect blocked energy to improve blood flow to the reproductive center Reduce stress with breathing practices, visualization, and affirmation Modify yoga classes when you're trying to conceive Incorporate fertility-enhancing lifestyle approaches and natural fertility treatments Use yoga to improve the success of either natural cycles or assisted reproductive technology cycles, including in vitro fertilization (IVF), /p>