Is yoga just another buzzword or the next big trend in well-being that will come and go? Who could tell? But it seems to me that it is here to stay (or at least for a while).
Women Fitness team touched grounds with 3 Qualified Yoga trainers to get answers to frequently asked questions by beginners and intermediate yoga students.
Read on to clear your doubts Hope the answers make you more confident with Yoga Practice.
1- Tina Hnatiuk
A renowned Yoga and Mindfulness Teacher with over 30,000 downloads and a 96%-star rating on Insight Timer the largest meditation app in the world. You can find her at www.quickblissyoga.com She is also a Life Coach obsessed with Positive Psychology and neuroscience
Yoga FAQ’s with Answers by Tina
How often and for how long should I do an asana?
As often as works for your lifestyle and as little as a few minutes at a time. A consistent short practice will do more for your body, mind, and spirit than one long practice a week. I’m a big advocate of 5 minutes a day. It’s simple, doable, and fits into most people’s busy lives.
How much air do you roughly breathe every day?
You breathe in just over 2,000 gallons of air each day (enough to almost fill up a normal-sized swimming pool
Am I breathing properly to full capacity?
Most people don’t, however you can practice breathing fully through different Pranayama breathing techniques that focus on breathing fully into all sides of your body.
Can I practice Yoga Nidra while traveling in flight?
Yoga Nidra is best done lying down; however it may still help calm your mind.
Why do I experience knee pain during Padmasana?
This is often due to tight hips. When the hips are tight, it causes strain on the knees.
How do I choose a prenatal yoga class?
The most important thing to consider is that it’s accessible to you, you like the teacher, and it feels good.
How yoga can help with middle back pain?
In yoga we move the spine dynamically in all 6 directions (forward bending, back bending, side bending, and twisting left and right). This helps stretch the muscles along the spine, and relieve pain in the middle back often related to slouching and sitting.
My middle back rises during a crunch, how to correct it?
I’m not sure I understand this question. Your shoulders and middle back should lift during a crunch to contract the abdominal muscles.
Tech neck and headache, single stretch I can do to avoid it.
Posture is everything. To combat tech neck, sit up tall and draw the back of your skull to the wall behind you while slightly tucking your chin. This lengthens the back of your neck bringing your head into a neutral position.
To stretch the muscles in the front of your neck, place your right hand directly on your skin below your left collar bone. Gently holding the skin down
, lift the left side of your jaw up towards the ceiling and over to your right. Repeat on the other side.Message for International Yoga Day 2022:
Yoga will only change your life. It is as much a homecoming as it is a journey to the Self. Sending you love on this International Yoga Day.
2- Sandra Vollrath
She is a 200h qualified Hath yoga, 50h Yin yoga, Pre/Postnatal yoga & meditation teacher.
I run Unwind Yoga Studio in Cookham, Berkshire, UK where we focus on slower yoga styles to help people feel good in their body & mind
Says Sandra
Yoga FAQ’s with Answers by Sandra
How often and for how long should I doan asana?
In a yoga sequence there is no set number of how many times to do any particular asana, it all depends on the focus of the sequence, how much time you have to practice, etc. I always try to do an asana with a target area of a joint or muscle or body area at least once during a sequence, to ensure that all of the above stay mobile, strong and healthy. That’s for flow classes. In Hatha, and Yin, where we slow the speed of moving through poses right down, we may only get to 8 or 5 saunas overall, so then I have one, maybe two target areas per sequence, and recommend to do a couple of classes per week.
The answer to “how long” always depends on the question: what are you trying to achieve? If you are looking to move faster for a stronger workout that gets your heart beating, link a move to a breath and an asana hold will be just a few seconds. If you are trying to get stronger, than slowing the movement down and holding an asana for time, such as in Hatha yoga will support that. You can hold for a few breaths, or even minutes. If you are looking to get stimulate your body’s connective tissue, passive, static stretches and compression for several minutes are needed.
How much air do you roughly breathe every day?
I recently read that we breathe about22000 times per day. About 11000 litres – wow!
Am I breathing properly to full capacity?
As we age our lung capacity tends to reduce. I noticed that my lung capacity dramatically increased since I started doing yoga. Slowing the breath down, holding it in the expanded lungs, using abdominal breathing and different breathing exercises allows me to breathe deeper, with ease and to an impressive capacity.
Can I practice Yoga Nidra while traveling in flight?
Sure! Whilst Yoga Nidra is typically practiced when lying down, it can be done sitting up. You may be surrounded by distractions, so maybe adjusting to block out noise and wear an eye mask can help. Yoga Nidra is typically guided, as the practitioner follows the teacher’s voice through the different levels of consciousness to reach that blissful state between being awake and being asleep.
Why do I experience knee pain during Padmasana?
Right off the bat I’d say if you have any form of knee injury, avoid lotus pose, there are safer poses to do for the hips and knees. Any kind of pain has no place in yoga. If there is knee pain in lotus, which could be due to a number of causes, from stiff hips, or short quads to meniscus issues, you have to stop and come out of the pose. You could try elevating the hips by sitting on a blanket or block, or support the knees off the floor with props – if there is still pain, sit cross legged and over time, your hips will become softer and you may inch your way towards lotus. I am still not able to do it and I do a lot of yoga – my body isn’t built in a way that makes lotus pose easy for me, and I appreciate that by honoring this limitation.
How do I choose a prenatal yoga class?
Aside from finding a day and time that work for you (many mummy’s find it difficult to practice first thing in the morning, or late at night), choose a suitable prenatal yoga class by looking for a studio that has lots of props available to support you as you progress in your pregnancy, has teachers that can either safely accommodate you in a regular class, or run a designated pre-natal class. Cleanliness, warmth, a place where you can have a rest in a chair if needed, all can help to make your prenatal yoga the best experience.
How yoga can help with middle back pain?
As a complementary therapy, yoga can be helpful with middle back pain as you can gently mobilize and strengthen the area that is in pain. Depending on the nature of the pain (is it caused by an injury or physical issue), gentle twists, mild forward folds and passive backbends can all help.
My middle back rises during a crunch,how to correct it?
(Not sure…there are better exercises for your core, so I never use crunches)
Tech neck and headache, single stretchI can do to avoid it
Tech neck is an injury to the tissues around the top part of your spine, the cervical spine. Looking forward over an extended period of time or over and over again can cause strains that result in neck pain and headache. To counter tech neck effectively, more than one pose would be best, but the one I’d recommend if you want a single stretch is Cobra pose:
Begin by lying down flat on your stomach.
- Place your palms flat on the ground directly under your shoulders. Bend your elbows straight back and hug them into your ribs.
- Pause for a moment looking straight down at your mat with your neck in a neutral position. Connect your pubic bone to the floor.
- Inhale to lift your chest off the floor. Roll your shoulders back and keep your low ribs on the floor. Make sure your elbows continue hugging your sides. Don’t let them wing out to either side.
- Keep your neck long, don’t let the head fall back, your gaze is gently ahead of you.
Share a message for International Yoga Day 2022.
Slow Down. Notice. Adjust. Grow.
3- Susan Hu
Susan is an E-RYT® 500, and founder of Bhakti Center Yoga, an RYS® 200 based in NYC. Born and raised in Shanghai, Susan is a gypsy at heart and has always been searching for the deeper meaning and purpose of life beyond the body and the mind.
How often and for how long should I do an asana?
There are no hard and fast rules. But to get the benefits of asana practice, consistency is important. You should practice asana regularly depending on your fitness level and experience. Daily asana practice is recommended to keep the body vibrant. You can always combine different styles to make it accessible.
How much air do you roughly breathe every day? Am I breathing properly to full capacity?
On average, a human adult takes about 15 breaths per minute when relaxed, which means you take about 21,600 breaths per day! Most of us tend to breathe very shallowly – only into the upper lobes of our lungs. It can help us to increase the intake of breath and improve your energy level if you start to engage belly breathing regularly. The easiest way to get started is to simply breathe into your navel, abdomen, and chest to engage the lower, middle, and upper lobes of your lungs to the full capacity.
Can I practice Yoga Nidra while traveling in flight?
Absolutely, it’s a perfect way to help the body relax and rejuvenate. Just make sure you are comfortable and can remain still during the practice.
Why do I experience knee pain during Padmasana?
Padmasana is a quite advanced pose that requires a lot of flexibility in the hips and quads. If you are experiencing knee pain during the pose, most likely you are twisting the knee joints to compensate for the lack of flexibility in the hips, or perhaps your quadriceps muscles are not lengthened enough to close the knees to get into the pose properly without twisting.
How do I choose a prenatal yoga class?
Very good question! Always choose a qualified teacher who can hold space for you and offers practices that resonate with you. If you already have a strong practice, you might be ready to take more active prenatal classes. Or perhaps, you are looking for something specific in a certain period of your pregnancy. Do your research, explore different types of practice and see what feels good and safe for you!
How can yoga help with middle back pain?
There are many reasons that cause middle back pain – improper posture, overuse of back muscles by carrying heavy bags or heavy workouts, mental stress, etc. Yoga can help you alleviate back pains on a mind-body level. Simple stretches like cat-cow or poses like a sphinx pose can help relieve pain and strengthen back muscles. When practiced with proper breathing and mindfulness, it can help release mental and emotional tension that can cause back pains as well.
My middle back rises during a crunch, how to correct it?
Try to keep the lower back and tailbone on the floor when doing a crunch. You can also engage the core more by tucking the tailbone slightly to tilt the pelvic floor.
Tech neck and headache, single stretch I can do to avoid it?
Simple neck rolls combine led by the rhythm of breath! And you can hold and breathe into the tightness in your neck.
Susan’s Message for International Day of Yoga:
Yoga is a lifestyle that we practice on and off the mat. I practice yoga daily to purify and strengthen the body, energy, mind, intellect, and ego, so I may see beyond those layers and live from an inspired and authentic place of the Self. Forever for the teaching and practice of yoga!