In today’s modern world of computers it is quite easy to look for information about yoga exercise to enable you to decide exactly which yoga posture and yoga exercise you want to practice. You have no need to find a yoga class just pop in a cd-rom and follow the instructions. Two excellent yoga exercise cd-roms are Wellness Yoga and Shiatsu Relaxation. Lithe young women demonstrate these ancient Eastern techniques while mellow-voiced narrators speak over somnambulant music, the better to relax you and make you all well.

Most of us are familiar at least with the concepts of yoga, its slow stretching exercises and its often almost unattainable physical positions. Wellness Yoga is a nicely designed program that packages 74 asanas, or positions, into several packages such as the Quick and Easy Course, the Beauty Course and the Health Course.

The program consists largely of what it calls procedure screens, in which each position is demonstrated in one window while described textually in another. A narrator reads that same text aloud. In addition to the usual tape-recorder buttons to pause, stop and restart the action, there is a graph that displays the approximate duration of each segment of the routine.

The practical difficulties of using this CD-ROM are fairly obvious. The manual, dragged kicking and screaming into English from its Japanese roots, advises the user to First practice forming the pose while watching the screen and try memorizing the whole procedure.” This, unless you have a 24-inch monitor or keep your monitor on the floor, is likely to be difficult. Clearly the actual learning of the poses could be more readily done with a videotape.

On the other hand, you can hunt around in the CD-ROM, choose from the positions you want to learn, and collect them into personal groups. And maybe you’ve got a really big monitor, and a cordless, long-distance mouse.

This is a nice program, well-made and instructive. My only complaint is that it does not emphasize clearly enough that unless you are as slender as the model executing the poses, you are not going to be able to do many of them — the Crow, the Heron and the Frog, for instance — correctly. On the other hand, we can all do the Corpse.

Shiatsu Relaxation, which teaches a massage technique clearly related to acupuncture, is another kettle of fish.

The theory is that rubbing, kneading or poking specific points on the body, called acupressure points, will make other parts of the body feel better. I am not prepared to argue that premise, but the entire procedure seems shiatsu yourself is not clear, either; the program initially suggests you find some of your own more accessible pressure points, but they are not all available to your own hands and all the demonstrations show one person ministering to another.

Perhaps one of yoga’s major attractions is that it combines physical and mental exercise. It is excellent for posture and flexibility, both key physical elements for most sports-people, and in some respects, there are strength benefits to be gained. Yoga teachers say that the approach of yoga therapy is one of the most effective ways of achieving the mental edge that athletes seek.

Ann Marier
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/using-a-learn-yoga-cdrom-is-ideal-for-beginners-yoga-107953.html

Although pitched toward a weight loss clientele, this video also serves the general population as an excellent multi-level yoga class, taught by respected Iyengar instructor Suzanne Deason. Three students, representing three different ability levels, participate in the class, set on a gorgeous Southwestern mesa. Deason demonstrates each posture, thereby modeling a fourth, more advanced, level.

Her instructions are clear and delivered in a calm and nurturing voice that resounds with encouragement. Deason covers standing poses, seated poses and twists. Postures flagged with a “personal instructor” on-screen icon are explored in more depth in the bonus features. A multi-angle feature allows viewers to observe the entire class and all its participants, or to toggle from one ability level to the next. This flexibility in viewing creates a program that remains relevant and challenging as viewers advance in their practice. Includes a 15-page guide to exercise and nutrition.

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Ashtanga is a more physically intense form of yoga than most, which is one of the reasons for its’ immense popularity. This can make it more challenging to learn however. There are two main ways it is taught – a more traditional approach pioneered by Pattabhi Jois in India, and an adapted form of the primary series developed by teachers here. One of the questions many beginners may have, is do they actually need a class to learn this style anyway? An associated question is what makes it so different? By addressing these issues, it is much easier to learn ashtanga in a way that promotes true benefits, as well as avoiding some of the frustrations that beginners may face.

Pattabhi Jois was a lifelong student of Krishnamacharya, one of the most well known Indian yoga teachers this century. Krishnamacharya may have developed the system of ashtanga, but it was Jois who adopted it as his own. Through Jois’ patronage, ashtanga became popular in India and the West. When students traveled to Jois’ school in Mysore, India, they were taught as much as they could do of the Primary Series at a time.

The Primary Series is the first series of asanas. There are later, more advanced series, but everyone starts with this one. However, because of its’ dynamic and athletic nature, the Primary Series is generally too much for a beginner to learn in one session. So, Jois would teach one, or a few, poses, and once a student had mastered those, he would give them another. Thus, new asanas were gradually introduced, until the whole series was completed.

This was a somewhat slow way to learn ashtanga, and perhaps influenced by the way other styles of yoga are taught, many Western teachers taught beginners a different way. They maintained the essence of the series, but left out some of the more challenging poses until later, and included adaptations of some poses so beginners could do them. Thus, they were able to give beginners both standing and floor postures in one abridged session, all linked by the characteristic vinyasa flow.

In many ways, this approach is actually more true to the way Jois’ teacher, Krishnamacharya, taught. Krishnamacharya had a great belief in the principle that yoga was not a ‘one size fits all’ proposition. He tailored it to people’s individual needs and circumstances. Indeed, the reason he created the ashtanga practice to start with was because it was intended for adolescent boys for whom the more introspective hatha yoga practice would be unsuitable due to their energy and teenage distractibility.

Though ashtanga is different to hatha in a number of ways, it would be a mistake to think that it did not develop introspection. The asanas may not be held for as long, but they still require practice and focus. The acrobatic nature of some of ashtanga actually requires a certain degree of coordination, focus and strength. Though beginners may find these aspects challenging initially, if the practice is modified in the way many local teachers do, then these qualities can be developed gradually. In this way, all the benefits can be enjoyed as we learn ashtanga yoga.

Finding a teacher is highly recommended. It is very difficult to describe the way the vinyasa sequence is done, even more so when explaining the use of the bandhas (also called a ‘root lock’). Even with the visual aid of a DVD, nothing can quite replace the way a beginners class or workshop provides the opportunity for feedback and corrections with postures. For those more experienced students however, DVD’s are perfect.

Ashtanga is an energetic sequence that provides many of the benefits of a traditional fitness program. By approaching it in a way that takes into account any personal injuries, and initial limitations with strength, it is possible to learn ashtanga and enjoy every minute of it.

Rebecca Prescott
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/learn-ashtanga-yoga-for-strength-and-flexibility-135629.html

I have attended a couple of hot yoga classes in Makati and enjoyed them. However, as a 50+ woman, I feel out of place among the young crowd (most of the class was in their 20's to early 30's) and also a bit self-conscious.

check this sites

http://makati.olx.ph/classical-and-vinyas-hatha-yoga-iid-7133240

http://www.yogafinder.com/yoga.cfm?yogacity=Makati+City&yogacountry=Philippines

I don't have the means to take a class, so does anyone know a good site where I can learn the basics of yoga? I've been searching for a while and none seem to offer the instruction I'm looking for

Hi, you can find a variety of free online yoga classes here:

http://www.yogatoday.com/

Also, these are some good sites explaining the basics:

http://www.hathayogalesson.com/

http://www.abc-of-yoga.com/

http://www.santosha.com/asanas/index.html

Have fun!