1 Inhale and spread your legs apart slightly further than shoulder distance (about 3-4 feet).
 
2 Stretch your arms straight out from the shoulders parallel to the floor with your palms facing down.
 
3 Exhale slowly and turn your right foot toward the right 90 degrees. Bend your right knee about 90 degrees.
 
4 Place the palm of your left hand flat on the floor next to the outside of your right foot. Rest the right elbow on the outside of the right knee.
 
5 Stretch the right arm over your head, parallel with the floor, with the inside of the elbow resting on the ear. Hold for abot 30-60 seconds while breathing gently through the nostrils.
 
6 Slowly return to a standing position and repeat on the other side reversing directions 2-6.

The parivritta-parshvakona-asana stretches the muscle group along the side of the torso. It strengthens the ankles, claves and thighs as well as the arms. It is also an excellent posture to tone the muscles in the waist and hips. This posture also strengthens the digestive system and thus aids digestion, stimulates blood circulation and assists in restoring strength and flexibility to the spine. Source

Yoga is popular for their meditation, breathing exercise and their different stretches and poses. You will learn the efficiency of the exercise to your mind, soul and body once you have started with it. Depending on your need, you can opt for different types of yoga.

There are different resources to start with yoga. If you have a gym membership, you can try their yoga class and you will be given high quality sessions under the supervision of a certified yoga trainer. You can also try to buy or rent a yoga DVD so you could try it at home. From the video, you can just follow the instruction by the yoga teacher. You can look into different website on the internet. Online, you can download free yoga session. You can begin yoga in whatever way you prefer to do it.

Although learning yoga poses would not be just overnight. The movements of yoga will take you a while to master it. At first, it will look difficult but with a regular practice you might become a pro in no time.

To get tremendous results fast, you can integrate other forms of exercise with your yoga routine. By performing many types of health exercises you will improve your endurance and strength. You will definitely get fit doing yoga plus other fitness activities.

Most people who want to lose weight choose yoga as their exercise. Aside from achieving their goal which is to lose weight, it will lessen their stress as well and improve their holistic well-being. In yoga, once you start with it, you can’t stop because of the many benefits you are receiving. Last but not the least benefit of yoga is to have fun. Source

Yoga is known for their different breathing exercise, meditation plus their unusual poses and stretches. You will learn the efficiency of the exercise to your mind, soul and body once you have started with it. You can choose many types of yoga depending on your need.

There are many resources to try yoga. If you have a gym membership, you can try their yoga class and you will be given high quality sessions under the supervision of a certified yoga trainer. You can also try to buy or rent a yoga DVD so you could try it at home. You can just follow the instruction by the yoga trainer from the video. You can look into different website on the internet. You can download any yoga class online. You can begin yoga in whatever way you prefer to do it.

Learning yoga would not be overnight though. It will take a while for you to master all the movements. It will be difficult at first, however with a regular practice you will be a yoga pro in no time.

To get tremendous results fast, you can integrate other forms of exercise with your yoga routine. You will develop your strength and endurance by doing different types of fitness exercise. You will definitely get fit doing yoga plus other fitness activities.

Most people who want to lose weight choose yoga as their exercise. Their holistic well being will be developed and lessen their stress are some of the benefits you get from yoga aside from just losing weight. To some, once they start yoga, they can’t stop because it provides them many great benefits in life. Last but not the least benefit of yoga is to have fun. Source

1 Stand in the tada-asana (Stand with both feet touching from the heel to the big toe, keeping the back straight and the arms pressed slightly against the sides with palms facing inward.
 
2 Separate the feet slightly further than shoulder distance apart.
 
3 Inhale and raise both arms straight out from the shoulders parallel to the floor with the palms facing down.
 
4 Exhale slowly while turning the torso to the left, bend at the waist and bring the right hand down to the left ankle. The palm of the right hand is placed along the outside of the left ankle. The left arm should be extended upward. Both legs and arms are kept straight without bending the knees and elbows.
 
5 Turn the head upward to the left and gaze up at the fingertips of the left hand. Inhale and return to a standing position with the arms outstretched.
 
6 Hold this position for the duration of the exhaled breath. Exhale and repeat steps 4 - 6 on the opposite side. Source

1 Stand with the feet together and the arms by your sides (see the tad-asana).
 
2 Bend the right leg at the knee, raise the right thigh and bring the sole of the right foot as high up the inside of the left thigh as possible.
 
3 Balancing on the left foot, raise both arms over the head keeping the elbows unbent and joining the palms together. Hold the posture while breathing gently through the nostrils for about 10 complete breaths.
 
4 Lower the arms and right leg and return to the tad-asana, standing position with feet together and arms at the sides. Pause for a few moments and repeat on the opposite leg.

The challenge of the vriksha-asana is maintaining balance on one leg. Poor balance is often the result of a restless mind or distracted attention. Regular practice of this posture will help focus the mind and cultivate concentration (dharana).
When practicing vriksha-asana it may help to imagine or picture a tree in the mind and apply the following technique: Imagine that the foot you are balanced on is the root of the tree and the leg is the trunk. Continue by imagining the head and outstretched arms as the branches and leaves of the tree. You may be unsteady for a while and find the body swaying back and forth, but don’t break the concentration. Like a tree bending in the wind and yet remaining upright, the body can maintain balance.

Aim to achieve the “rootedness” and firmness of a tree. Regular practice of the vriksha-asana improves concentration, balance and coordination. Because the weight of the entire body is balanced on one foot, the muscles of that leg are strengthened and toned as well.

As you advance in this posture and are able to remain standing for more than a few moments, try closing the eyes and maintaining your balance. Source

The body’s natural relaxation response is a powerful weapon against stress. Visualization, deep breathing, meditation and progressive muscle relaxation are Yoga methods to activate this relaxation response. Practicing Yoga on a regular basis can reduce your stress levels. Relaxation helps to increase joyful and serene feelings.

Research indicates that the pain associated with conditions such as arthritis, back and neck pain, hypertension and cancer subsides with regular Yoga sessions. Yoga postures promote the stretching and strengthening of muscles. The solution to long term healing is a strong body. The deep, gentle stretches that Yoga provides bring our bodies into balance. This allows the mind to focus on positive outlooks instead of pain. This ancient practice can be very therapeutic when suffering from a chronic condition.

The breathing exercises incorporated in Yoga teachings help improve blood oxygenation and lung conditions. Proper breathing allows blood to reach all of the systems in our bodies to provide essential nutrients. It also provides the correct amount of oxygen to every cell to ensure all organs are functioning properly. This allows our bodies to dispose of harmful carbon dioxides. Disease cannot survive in a well-oxygenated body.

Yoga gradually allows our joints to increase their range of motion as we progress in our poses. Muscles, tendons, ligaments and tissue that encompasses muscles become limber allowing you to go deeper into poses. Muscles will lengthen and you will be able to perform stretches that you would have never thought possible. In addition, because Yoga helps to relieve muscle soreness those extended poses will not leave you feeling tired or exhausted, in fact your will feel rejuvenated.

As you further your practice, you will notice more flexibility throughout your body. The stretching exercises associated with Yoga help develop a sense of harmony and balance. After your class, you will feel energized and ready to take on whatever your day has to offer. Yoga creates a balance between the mind and body, giving you better coordination, concentration, memory and reaction time.

Your body will become stronger because Yoga postures and stretching utilize every muscle. This form of exercise will also reduce muscular tension. Yoga fights flab. With a healthy diet, Yoga can help you lose weight but more importantly tone muscles, proportioning your weight to your height. Deep breathing exercises that promote oxygen through the body will burn fat. Our fat cells when exposed to oxygen will burn up.

Yoga will help you to connect with your inner self. We need a way to release the stress in our lives and to strengthen our body to combat illnesses. Yoga can do that without having to subject your body to strenuous aerobic exercises. To discuss the benefits of Yoga properly, one needs to have a general understanding of how their bodies work. Source

The vajra-asana is a versatile posture well suited for meditation, rest in between other seated postures, or as an aid to digestion. Source

It is a fact that many famous institutions and organizations worldwide had proved the effectiveness and great benefits of yoga. But experts still have some questions unanswered like why yoga is effective in several situations.

Yoga is a mishmash of many forces. The effects of yoga to our body are combination of particular benefits plus regular exercise like meditation and deep breathing. The physical movements are responsible for the fitness aspect and meditation massages our internal organs that produce good benefits.

This is why lots of people have started to start yoga. Yoga develops your physical body at the same time it improves your spiritual and mental health. Many people benefited from yoga like those who have respiratory problems, asthma, neck pains, back pains and arthritis. Yoga also is proven to help people to reduce weight. People who practiced yoga regularly also experienced a boost in their confidence, uplift their spirits, build a positive self image and increase their self-awareness. Aside from the mentioned mental and physical benefits, people also learned how to socialize, they do not fear having new experiences and they know how to handle different situations in their lives.

They say that yoga can be considered to shape itself to your different needs. It can be effective to the different aspects of life and health. Physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual definitely can be touched by yoga. It can be concluded that yoga’s purpose is to serve everybody in whatever way you need it. Source

1 Sit on the floor with the legs together and extended straight out in front. Keep the back straight, shoulders level and head straight. Place the hands, palms down, flat on top of the thighs then inhale deeply.
 
2 xhale and reach down and loop the forefinger of the right hand around the big toe of the right foot and grasp the left foot with the left hand.
 
3 Inhale and pull the right foot back placing the big toe next to the right ear. Straighten the back as much s possible and hold the posture for the duration of the inhale breath.
 
4 Exhale and return to the seated position of step #1 then repeat the posture on the opposite side.

While performing this posture imagine yourself as an archer with your gaze focused on a target and the arrow gracefully and steadily being pulled back in the bow. Hold the posture as steady as an archer would hold an arrow aimed at its target. Return the foot to the floor gently. This simple technique will help cultivate focused and unwavering attention. Source