Yoga, Pilates, Meditation Classes Online

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The below Yoga Videos are available for you to view HERE
Boat Pose
Camel Pose
Chaturanga pose
Exercises For Upper Cross
How to start your meditation
Lower back safety
Pelvic placement pilates
Prenatal abdominal toning
Shoulder girdle stability
Standing postures
True purpose of asanas
Wrist Safety in Yoga Postures

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Backbending With Grace: Vinyasa Flow

Check out a segment from one of our new classes here:
YOGA VIDEO SAMPLE
This challenging vinyasa practice flows through long, flowing yoga pose sequences, and a series of blissful, heart-opening back bends. Some more advanced variations are explored in this class; so as always, when practicing yoga postures, listen to your body and let your intuition be your guide.

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Yoga, Pilates, Meditation Classes Online

Philosophy of Yoga

Yoga, Pilates, Meditation Classes Online

The main philosophy of yoga is simple: mind, body and spirit are all one and cannot be clearly separated. Yet there is a multitude of philosophical ideas developed by looking into the deeper dimensions of the body, mind and spirit.

Yoga for a Perfect Posture

Due to sedentary lifestyles and poor habits in daily activities, many western people tend to have poor posture, exhibiting the traits of kyphosis, an excessively rounded upper spine, and lordosis, an excessively arched lower back. Because of its emphasis on proper posture, yoga can help reverse abnormal curves in the spine, correcting both the "hunchback" curve that occurs in postural kyphosis and the "swayback" curve that occurs in postural lordosis. And since posture has been found to affect every system in the body, yoga's efficacy in creating optimal spinal alignment will also improve one's overall health and well-being.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
Om Peace Peace Peace

Iyengar / Restorative
Iyengar or Restorative Yoga was created to prevent the pain or injury that can result from student's straining in a yoga pose. This style of yoga uses props, such as a chair, block, blanket and belt or strap, so that the student can practice without the risk of pain or injury. This type of yoga is slow paced and poses are often held for long periods of time, making it ideal for helping people recover from injury, illness or stress. It can be a very powerful tool in helping to reduce stress and restore health. Restorative yoga is synonymous to "active relaxation." The body is supported by props so that it can be stimulated and relaxed, helping it to move toward balance. The development of restorative yoga is credited to B.K.S. Iyengar, of Pune, India. Author of the contemporary classic Light on Yoga and numerous other books, Iyengar has been teaching yoga for more than sixty years. Widely recognized as a worldwide authority, he is one of the most creative teachers of yoga today.

'When the asana is correct there is a lightness, a freedom.
Freedom comes when every part of the body is active.
Let us be free in whatever posture we are doing.
Let us be full in whatever we do.'

B.K.S. Iyengar

Abs / Core

A strong core is the key to great yoga postures, as well as better posture in your everyday life, a healthy digestive system and stable back. Using the *SKY SURFER* YOGA SWING (see the item listing just below) you will more easily be able to accomplish a variety of challenging abdominal workouts designed to lengthen, strengthen and tone all abdominal muscles for a strong core.

Yoga & Pilates

What sets them Apart...

Yoga, Pilates, Meditation Classes Online

All that you are is the result of what you have thought. It is founded on your thoughts. It is made up of your thoughts.

Yoga, from the verbal root yuj - to yoke, is perhaps the most central concept in Ancient Indian religions. It first and foremost refers to the plethora of religious practices by which one can aim to escape samsara. In Ancient India it was understood as a transformation of the mind, a prerequisite to attaining liberation from earthly bonds. Currently the most popular form in the West is hatha yoga, a system of bodily exercises and postures (asana) initially intended to prepare the body for meditation. It is now generally practiced in the west as a fitness exercise.

Samsara is derived from "to flow together," to go or pass through states, to wander. Mostly a great revolving door between life and death and a new life reincarnated cycle of life. Also known as a game in ancient India.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
Om Peace Peace Peace

The means of escaping from this endless Samsara are self-restraint, purity, devotion, aspiration, reflection and meditation.

Yoga and Pilates are the two most prominent mind/body/spirit practices around, but what sets them apart?

You do them on the floor, they are often seen together in the holistic 'mind-body-spirit' section of the exercise world, and both promise to be a mental and physical panacea. But despite these ostensible similarities, Yoga and Pilates were born of very different parents and grew up with crucial distinctions.

Before comparing the two, it's important to realise that various schools of Pilates and Yoga have developed over the years. Yoga, being the elder of the two (it started in India over 5,000 years ago), now offers several types of classes, including Iyengar, Ashtanga, Integral and Kripalu. Pilates, meanwhile, has a shorter vintage than Yoga, and thus fewer derivations. It relates to a series of some 500 exercises developed over 60 years ago by the German athlete Joseph Pilates. A sickly child, he devoted his adult life to bodybuilding and fitness exercises, culminating in the development of the 'Pilates Technique'. Later, it was modified for dancers, and it is this version that is commonly practised today.

Although you will find a bewildering array of Pilates and Yoga classes to choose from, any type of Yoga class will always look, feel and sound very different from any type of Pilates class.

Knowledge reveals itself. It is not taught. It embraces everything in its fold.

The Four Paths of Yoga

Margas (paths).

The various Yogic practices

have been traditionally classified into the four Margas (paths). These four paths are:

Jnana Yoga or Jnana Marga which is the Yoga of wisdom and develops the Intellect or will

Bhakti Yoga, the Yoga of devotion, opens the heart

Karma Yoga, the path of action of selfless service.

Raja Yoga, the royal or psychological which involves the mind. A branch of Raja Yoga is Hatha Yoga which prepares the Yogi for the higher stages of Raja Yoga.

Every Yogi, or human being for that matter, possesses and identifies with each of these elements: Intellect, heart, body and mind. Therefore it is advocated that everyone practice certain techniques from each path.

The prolonged practice of asana and pranayama affects the individual on an organic (physiological), mental and spiritual level, as well as just physically.

Iyengar yoga
Asana
In practice, Iyengar yoga focuses particularly on three aspects. Correct body alignment allows the body to develop harmoniously in an anatomically correct way so that the student suffers no injury or pain when practising correctly. As all bodies are different and people have different weaknesses and strengths. Mr Iyengar has also developed the use of props to help the body into the correct positions required. Props are objects like wooden blocks, chairs, blankets and belts that help one adjust or support oneself in the different postures so that one can work in a range of motion that is safe and effective.

An added benefit is that although the therapeutic aspects of asanas and pranayama have been known for centuries, Mr Iyengar's unrelenting emphasis on correct anatomical alignment and methods of working have refined the therapeutic aspects of Yoga. Thus practice of Iyengar yoga will often result in eliminating aches and pains, improve posture etc. but Iyengar Yoga can also be used to treat many ailments, including extremely serious medical conditions, under the supervision of a suitably experienced teacher. The other two key aspects of asana practice in the Iyengar system are correct sequencing in which there is a powerful cumulative effect achieved by practicing asanas in particular sequences. The concept of timings means postures are held for considerable lengths of time to let the effects of the poses penetrate deeper within the individual.

Asanas and Pranayama are merely used as the tools with which to master. Mastery of the body is the gateway to mastery of the mind. Consider the following: The whole human being from the outermost skin to the innermost being (or soul) is interconnected. For example, if the body is ill, the mind also becomes depressed, lethargic and bad tempered and if the mind is stressed the body becomes tense. The intensity and depth to which Iyengar yoga is practiced on the physical level does affect and change the mind and spirit.

In doing yoga asanas the whole body and mind must learn to become involved. One has to spread one's awareness to the smallest parts of the body simultaneously so the mind becomes alert, attentive and sharp. One learns to breathe smoothly deeply and evenly so one's energy (prana) can flow without obstruction and one learns to make the mind quiet, passive and receptive thus promoting a meditative state of mind. This makes the body fit for Pranayama.

Through asanas one also learns an awareness and application of ethics - Yama and Niyama. For example one of the Niyamas is sauca (Purity). An example: Because yoga builds up a very sharp awareness of the state of the body and mind, one becomes very aware of one's state of health and begins to nurture it. So after too much eating and drinking, the body suffers and the mind becomes dull. As one spends more and more time practicing yoga, the obvious contradiction and self destructiveness becomes more difficult to reconcile and one begins to moderate one's eating and drinking, leading to a more pure lifestyle.

'When the asana is correct there is a lightness, a freedom.
Freedom comes when every part of the body is active.
Let us be free in whatever posture we are doing.
Let us be full in whatever we do.'

B.K.S. Iyengar

Let your life be a radiance of purity, love, sacrifice and selfless service.

WHY IS YOGA ONLINE FOR YOU?

BENEFITS OF YOGA

WHY IS YOGA ONLINE FOR YOU?

Practice in the comfort of your own home
No commercials or interruptions
Unlimited viewings
Create your own schedule and pace
Wide variety of teachers, styles, and lengths
Build a strong, fit, agile body.
Create a calm, focused mind.
Beginner to Advanced classes, 5 to 90 min.
Perfect classes for your time and energy level.
Qualified instructors
Attention to safety and detail
High quality classes. Anytime, Anywhere.
Convenience, Quality, and Affordability.
Nutrition, recipes, healthy living sections
Downloadable yoga music and practices

BENEFITS OF YOGA

Strong, lean body
Reduce stress and tension
Increase self awareness
Rejuvenate and energize
Improve posture
Decrease back pain
Vibrant good health
Feel relaxed
Improve mood
Enhance immune system
Improve sleep
Increase flexibility
Increase sense of well-being
Improve concentration
Rebalance body and mind