Let's talk yoga for men!

Say what? Yoga for men? OK, before you click away from this page,please hear me out.I know we as men,haven't been comfortable with the concept of yoga.However,our stressful lives requires us to take a good look at any form of drug free method of stress release that we can do anywhere without anyone's assistance and without expensive or bulky equipment. That's the purpose of this yoga for men page.So,let's get started.

What is Yoga?

Yoga, which means discipline, was developed in the year 300 by an Indian Hindu named Patanjali. Its purpose is to stretch the muscles, strengthen the body and increase concentration. It can also help you relax and calm yourself down.

Unlike exercises that emphasize only strength, yoga also helps the body become flexible. As a result, some yoga exercises (called asanas) look a little strange, and you may think you need to be a human pretzel to do them. Not so. You just need to relax.

In yoga, you ease into stretches, never forcing yourself. The saying no pain--no gain simply does not apply here. You do only the best you can at the moment, and you will do more as become more proficient.

All yoga poses demand balance. And since you can't balance if you're thinking about last night's TV show, it also demands concentration. Learn to concentrate in yoga for men stretches, and you will be better able to concentrate in baseball, tennis or even your career.

Yoga exercises copy nature. Many yoga poses can be traced to the shapes of creatures, such as the cobra, cat, dog, tortoise, crab and eagle.

In the cobra pose, for example, you perform movements like a cobra would. You lie on your stomach with your forehead to the floor. As you inhale, you slowly roll your head back, supporting yourself with your hands. You hold that pose, then come down slowly, trying to move as a snake would move.

All yoga exercises promote strength and calmness. Each move's effects on the muscles, the glands or the nerve centers are carefully thought out.

You can choose certain exercises to rid yourself of particular physical problems, such as back pain from back-packing or leg pain from jogging. Yoga can help condition yourself for skiing or help you control feelings of depression or fear.

Here is one 5-minute Yoga Breathing Break.
(Read through the instructions several times before you try it.)

1. Sit with your spine as straight as possible. Use a chair if necessary but don't slump into it. Feet flat on the floor with knees directly over the center of your feet. Use a book or cushion under your feet if they do not rest comfortably on the floor. Hands are on the tops of your legs.

2. Close your eyes gently and let them rest behind closed lids.

3. Think about your ribs, at the front, back, and at the sides of your body.

4. Feel your lungs filling up, your ribs expanding out and up. Feel your lungs emptying, your ribs coming back down and in. Don't push the breath. Make the out-breath two times longer than the in-breath. This will help calm you down.

5. The first few times you do this, do it for 2 to 3 minutes, then up it to between 5 and 10 minutes. At first, set aside a time at least once a day to do this.

Men's yoga moves and poses might seem unusual and unnatural,however,give it a try and you will get some benefits!

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