Yoga For Dummies E-Book

Larry Payne

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Seitenzahl: 527

Beschreibung

Sharing the benefits of yoga in a way that everyone can enjoy and understand Practicing yoga has many health benefits, including improving your overall fitness, flexibility, and strength. It has also been known to reduce heart rate and blood pressure. And if you're suffering from chronic lower back pain, yoga is a perfect choice for you. Yoga For Dummies, 3rd Edition will show you how to get up to speed on the fundamentals of Yoga, whether you're participating in a class, teaching a class, or practicing it on your own. This new edition features over 20% new and updated content plus 12 companion videos featuring the hottest and most popular poses. Inside, you will find: * Do-it-yourself yoga programs for you to practice * The latest techniques for breathing properly * Photos on key poses that can improve front sides and backsides * New coverage on yoga against the wall, the use of props in yoga, couples yoga, and more If you suffer from anxiety, depression, or chronic pain, yoga can be a wonderfully relaxing exercise for you. Whether you decide to persist in a traditional do-it-yourself yoga practice or experiment with the use of props in a new yoga routine, this book can help. Children, pregnant women, mid-lifers, and seniors can all enjoy the benefits of yoga simply explained in this comprehensive, fun guide.

Leseprobe

Yoga For Dummies®, 3rd Edition

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Media and software compilation copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at e mail: http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Trademarks: Wiley, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: WHILE THE PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR HAVE USED THEIR BEST EFFORTS IN PREPARING THIS BOOK, THEY MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS BOOK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES REPRESENTATIVES OR WRITTEN SALES MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR SITUATION. YOU SHOULD CONSULT WITH A PROFESSIONAL WHERE APPROPRIATE. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. SOME OF THE EXERCISES AND DIETARY SUGGESTIONS CONTAINED IN THIS WORK MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR ALL INDIVIDUALS, AND READERS SHOULD CONSULT WITH A PHYSICIAN BEFORE COMMENCING ANY EXERCISE OR DIETARY PROGRAM.

For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax [phone]. For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport.

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013958401

ISBN 978-1-118-83956-0 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-83949-2 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-83954-6

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Yoga For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Visit www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/yoga to view this book's cheat sheet.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction

About This Book

Foolish Assumptions

Icons Used in This Book

Beyond the Book

Where to Go from Here

Part I: Getting Started with Yoga

Chapter 1: Yoga 101: Building a Foundation

Understanding the True Character of Yoga

Finding unity

Finding yourself: Are youa yogi (or a yogini)?

Considering Your Options: The Eight Main Branches of Yoga

Taking a Closer Look at Hatha Yoga

Finding Your Niche: Four Basic Approaches to Yoga

Yoga as fitness training

Yoga as therapy

Yoga as a lifestyle

Yoga as a spiritual discipline

What most approaches to Yoga have in common

Pointing the Way to Happiness: Health, Healing, and Yoga

Balancing Your Life with Yoga

Locating Your Starting Place in the World of Yoga

Chapter 2: Ready, Set, Yoga!

Finding Suitable Yoga Instruction

Checking out classes and teachers

Making sure the course fits your experience level

Taking other important considerations into account

Preparing for Group Practice

Deciding what to wear

Packing your Yoga class kit

Putting safety first

Paging Miss Manners

Going for It on Your Own

Fulfilling Your Promise to Yourself: Making Time for Yoga Practice

Chapter 3: Preparing for a Fruitful Yoga Practice

Cultivating the Right Attitude

Leave pretzels for snack time

Practice at your own pace

Send the scorekeeper home

Picture yourself in the posture

Enjoying a Peaceful Yoga Practice

Busting the perfect posture myth

Listening to your body

Moving slowly but surely

Practicing function over form with Forgiving Limbs

Chapter 4: Relaxed Like a Noodle: The Fine Art of Letting Go of Stress

The Nature of Stress

Correcting wrong attitudes

Changing poor habits

Releasing bodily tension

Relaxation Techniques That Work

Deep relaxation: The corpse posture

Afternoon delight

Magic triangles: Relaxing through visualization

Relaxation before sleep

Insomnia buster

Yoga Nidra: Catch Up on Your Sleep Quotient with Yogic Sleep

Formulating your intention

Performing Yoga Nidra

Chapter 5: Breath and Movement Simplified

Breathing Your Way to Good Health

Taking high-quality breaths

Relaxing with a couple of deep breaths

Practicing safe yogic breathing

Reaping the benefits of yogic breathing

Breathing through your nose (most of the time)

Mastering the Mechanics of Yogic Breathing

Understanding how your emotions affect your diaphragm

Appreciating the complete yogic breath

Starting out with focus breathing

Realizing the power of a pause

Seeing How Breath and Postural Movement Work Together

Breathing in four directions

Recognizing the distinct roles of movement and holding in Yoga postures

Achieving a deeper stretch with The Yoga Miracle

Answering common breath and movement questions

Infusing Sound into Yogic Breathing

Breath Control the Traditional Way

Alternate nostril breathing

The cooling breath

Shitkari: Inhalation through the mouth

Kapala-bhati: Frontal sinus cleansing

Part II: Moving into Position: Basic Yoga Postures

Chapter 6: Please Be Seated

Understanding the Philosophy of Sitting

Adding Varity to Your Sitting Postures

Chair-sitting posture

The easy posture: Sukhasana

The thunderbolt posture: Vajrasana

The auspicious posture: Svastikasana

The perfect posture: Siddhasana

Chapter 7: Standing Tall

Standing Strong

Exercising Your Standing Options

Mountain posture: Tadasana

Standing forward bend: Uttanasana

Half standing forward bend: Ardha uttanasana

Asymmetrical forward bend: Parshva uttanasana

Triangle posture: Utthita trikonasana

Reverse triangle posture: Parivritta trikonasana variation

Warrior I: Vira bhadrasana I

Warrior II: Vira bhadrasana II

Standing spread-legged forward bend: Prasarita pada uttanasana

Half chair posture: Ardha utkatasana

Downward-facing dog: Adhomukha shvanasana

Chapter 8: Steady as a Tree: Mastering Balance

Getting to the Roots of the Posture

Balancing Postures for Graceful Strength

Warrior at the wall: Vira bhadrasana III variation

Balancing cat

The tree posture: Vrikshasana

The karate kid

Standing heel-to-buttock

Scorpion

Chapter 9: Absolutely Abs

Taking Care of the Abdomen: Your Business Center

Exercising Those Abs

Exploring push-downs

Trying yogi sit-ups

Strengthening with yogi sit-backs

Creating variety with extended leg slide-ups

Arching with the suck ’em up posture

Exhaling “soundly”

Chapter 10: Looking at the World Upside Down: Safe Inversion Postures

Getting a Leg Up on Leg Inversions

Legs up on a chair

Legs up on the wall

The happy baby

Standing spread-legged forward bend at the wall

Trying a Trio of Shoulder Stands

Half shoulder stand at the wall

Reverse half shoulder stand at the wall

Half shoulder stand: Viparita karani

Chapter 11: Easy ’round the Bends: Classic Bending Floor Postures

Gaining a Strong Backbone (and Some Insight)

Bending over Backward

Cobra I: Salamba bhujangasana

Cobra II: Bhujangasana

Cobra III

Locust I: Shalabhasana

Locust II

Locust III: Superman posture

Bending from Side to Side

Seated side bend

All-fours side bend

Folded side bend

Bending Forward

Seated forward bend: Pashcimottanasana

Head-to-knee posture: Janushirshasana

The great seal: Mahamudra

Wide-legged forward bend: Upavishta konasana

Chapter 12: Several Twists on the Yoga Twist

Trying Simple Upright Twists

Easy chair twist

Easy sitting twist

The sage twist

Twisting while Reclining

Bent leg supine twist

The Swiss army knife

Extended legs supine twist: Jathara parivritti

Chapter 13: Dynamic Posture: The Rejuvenation Sequence and Sun Salutation

Warming up for the Sun: Rejuvenating in 9 Steps

Gliding Through the 7-Step Kneeling Salutation

Advancing to the 12-Step Sun Salutation

Chapter 14: A Recommended Beginners’ Routine for Men and Women

Starting Slowly and Wisely

Trying out a Fun Beginner Routine