Yoga Exercises for Beginners and Grown-ups

Yoga For Seniors And Beginners

Why are airlines presenting it to their passengers and why is it featured on Oprah? Kids are doing it in schools; buff athletes are doing it, even pregnant women and the wheelchair-bound. There must be something very seductive about yoga!

If you do yoga, you know that it's seductive. That delicious feeling of stretching from the inside out; that soothing sensation like warm honey flowing through energized limbs; and the "big payoff" at the end of a practice: floating away into the infinite. You can't access this in pictures, and yoga isn't a spectator sport. The real experience is only available to you if you actually do yoga.

Yoga is not just about the beautiful bodies of diehard yogis and yoginis, although fitness is definitely one of the major payoffs, yoga is a path to that illusive center we are all seeking...it's a path to inner peace. We're being drawn to yoga by the thousands because we need it; we crave what yoga offers and deeply need the body-mind-spirit connection we experience when we practice the 5000 year old art of yoga.

Increased strength and flexibility, relief from headaches, back problems, sleep troubles, and stress related issues; deep relaxation, feeling energized, powerful, peaceful and centered... Sounds good? These are only a few of the myriad benefits of a yoga practice. Life is so much easier when we feel comfortable in our bodies, relaxed in spirit and come from a peaceful place of power within. Our days become more enjoyable and more relaxed. Our relationships become deeper and more sensitive. The world seems to be more manageable and, rather than reactive, we become positively proactive.

Many people first come to yoga for physical reasons. They want to find relief from back pain or they want to lose weight. They see the external benefits of a yoga practice, but like sex, the internal experience is what keeps them coming back for more.

"This all sounds good," you say, "but I haven't bent forward and touched the floor since I was 12. Sure, seems like a good thing to try, but I haven't exercised since high school! I'd be embarrassed to be seen in those tight yoga clothes... or worse, in a yoga class. I'd make a fool out of myself!" I've heard it all... and there's always a way. Don't allow your chattering mind or your fragile ego to keep you from discovering the treasures you'll find through yoga. Yoga is accessible to everybody. All you need to do is make a decision to go for it.

Regardless of your physical ability, yoga can be adapted to be accessible to you. If you are physically challenged, you can do yoga seated in a chair. Even those who are bedridden can do yoga and we can all benefit greatly from "pranayama," the yoga of the breath.

Too busy? Weave it into your day with seated stretches at your computer, in the airplane, or while standing in line at the bank. Yoga can be subtle, internal and powerful. As you might suspect, I never take "No" for an answer. There's always a way to do yoga.

Here are a few tips to ease your entry into the world of yoga:

The first step is commitment.

My first yoga class was a rude wake-up call. Every injury I'd ever had was talking to me. I thought I was in pretty good shape at 44, but my body's ability to do those poses was beyond discouraging... I hated it. There was a voice inside my head that screamed, "Get me outta here!" But there was a more persistent little voice inside of me that said, "You don't have to like this, just do it." I knew, on some level, that I'd be really sorry if I quit so I made a deal with myself to keep going back to yoga class twice a week for a month. No judgments, no analyzing, no deciding "like it or not." So I pre-paid the classes and took my body to yoga class. After that month, I was hooked. I highly recommend this approach... It changed my life.

source: workouts-program.com