Blog 1 : #5 Yoga by diane

Hello everyone !

  
  Today I would like to talk about an activity I have been enjoying and practicing for about 4 months now :Yoga. The gym I go to in Ikebukuro offers regular yoga lessons and I have been going at least twice a week in order to stay in shape.

It is also for me a way to relax and add some spirituality to my life...

Tokyo,being quite a hectic and stressful city at times,I had to disconnect from the crowd and find some time to spend in a much more calm environment.

I like to practice “relaxed”,also called “restorative” yoga the most.Unlike power yoga,

or other more intense forms of yoga,it allows the muscles to rest after a long day but also makes them more flexible and tone up the shape of the body.

  Here are a few easy poses I would like to introduce you to and you can do in the comfort of your own home:

-the seated and twist (shown below) is a basic yoga pose which helps stretching the muscles from the thighs and arms. It is also a good exercise to do before going for a jog .

-The downward facing dog: I really like this pose, though its a little harder than it looks when you do it for the first time.It strenghtened the spine and stretches the calves.

-The cobra: I do this pose to work my abs inner muscles.the key is to open the chest,keep your hands flat on the mat ,feet together.

-the low lunge: streteches every muscle of the body,strengthens the arm muscles,overall a great pose if you are trying to walk with more grace and balance. 

Once you have mastered the basics move,you can add a few more challenging poses to your..”repertoire”.

For me,yoga is one of the few sports which helped me sculpt my body the way I wanted  it to be.

Even though this sport can be practised by everyone,I would especially recommend yoga to girls and women wanting have a more feminine shape.What is great about yoga is that unlike common muscle training which tends to "bulk up" the body ,yoga helps elongate the thighs and still enables you to build inner muscles.

The first time I tried,it did hurt but gradually,after weeks of practice and always adding new moves,my body became used to the pain.I also pair relaxed yoga with pilates or/and jogging after a yoga session to add some cardio to my workout: It is a great way to burn fat and have a leaner and toned body (which is,I have to say one of my main motivations when working out )

I hope it made some of you want to try yoga, and for those of you who already are yoga aficionados,it would be great to have a chat in order to see which poses work for you and why :D

Hope all of you have a great week,

I would also like to apologize for the blog post delay ,

Diane Kayayan