In honor of National Yoga Day I’ve decided to do a little yoga post on why you should consider yoga. I hope this post will inspire you to give yoga at least a try or two, remember that practice makes perfect and you’ll get the greatest benefit from these poses. I love morning yoga routines and nighttime routines they help wake me up and also put me to sleep without sleep medication (which I was once dependent on). Your routine can be as short or as long as you make it, some days you might get lost in the tranquility and balance then an hour goes by and you’re like “wow, that happened”.
What is yoga
The word “yoga” in Sanskrit means listen. Listening is the key to what yoga is all about. It is about listening to your body. Stretching, bending, breathing, and listening. It’s about becoming more aware of your body, its strengths, where it needs help, and nurturing it.
Why try yoga?
When doing the yoga pose itself the stretching opens up tight areas in the body and also strengthening those muscles. This helps with good posture and also helps you focus on body awareness. You relax or contract each muscle with each different yoga pose.
The benefits of yoga:
- It’s a great way to strengthen your body and core.
- It’s an excellent stress reliever.
- It can be done anywhere.
- It’s a good way to learn how to connect with yourself.
- Yoga practices are fun and none competitive.
- Best of all it can be fine anywhere at any time.
Why yoga is for everyone?
Yoga helps you improve strength by using your core for support. While I’m a yoga pose your muscles are activated to keep you in that particular pose. Yoga helps tap into your own flexibility while limbering you up. Once you start it’s about stretching your limits.
For me and myself
I found the first time I did yoga I felt better and I could breathe. My limbs felt light and my entire body felt refreshed after stretching.
You’re probably like “Samantha – cut the bullshit” but I bullshit you not a friend! If you give it one session just one 30 minutes session I can assure you that you’ll notice a difference.
Once you do it every day for a month you’ll notice changes in the way your body feels, all of this just by stretching.
I’m honor of National Yoga Day, I’ve decided to bring a little light as to how yoga could be for everyone.
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I’ve put together a few simple yet easy yoga poses for you to try, anyone that wants to try! Get your family and your friends in on each pose. These poses are better when done on the right equipment so no one gets hurt but have an optimal workout.
I’m no doctor so if you find yourself in pain or there is discomfort then don’t try yo push yourself. These poses can go at your own pace.
At first, I suggest doing one yoga pose a day. You can hold each pose for 2-3 minutes if you can. You can also increase that time once you continue your daily practice.
To help you get started I’ve posted 15 different poses that are sure to give you results. The key is to stretch into each pose, remember not to hurt yourself! Yoga is supposed to be relaxing.
I decided to give you guys visuals for each pose rather than explain each pose. This way you’ll get an idea of what the correct pose looks like.
Adrian is an amazing teacher and she knows her stuff! I watch her videos and learn something new each time.
Yoga poses daily:
These poses may be hard to pronounce but they’re easy and for beginners leaving you feeling your best. If you give any of these pose a try please let me know how they worked for you. Remember to only go at your own pace, do not strain or push yourself too hard.
(This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning, I get a commission if you purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Read the full disclosure here.)
Here are a few suggestions to make it a little easier:
I love starting my day with yoga especially on days I am not running.
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I use to run and I want to get back into it, I would do 6 miles a day but then hurt myself in a marathon i didn’t train for (i know i know hah)so yoga helps keep me grounded.
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I’m a huge fan of Yoga! Honestly nothing keeps me more in tune with my body and breathing more!!!
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I love it too, I forget to do it sometimes and after a long day I fall asleep. I do it mostly everyday though, sooo relaxing.
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This is very good advice
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Thank you, I try to at least let everyone know about the benefits.
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I absolutely adore yoga, although sometimes I forget to practice. Thanks for the reminder.
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I love it too and I too forget to practice. I found some poses I can do in bed, so I did those this morning. Hah.
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Yesss! As a yoga teacher, I can attest that these benefits are real! My favorite time and way to do yoga is at night near bedtime. I take an hour, do a whole routine slowly, and an entire half hour of the practice is stretching and Savasana. I have dimmed lights (actually have string lights for lighting in there), and put on a calming playlist, and it’s magical! Those are the nights that I drift off to sleep the quickest, and sleep the most soundly.
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Oh my gosh this sounds divine! Maybe I should start doing that too and drop the sleeping pills because I can’t relax enough to sleep. String lights are my fav, I love the ambiance.
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I am so with you. I left my practice for a few months (silly, I know) and recently came back to it. Just wrapped up my 3rd week back and already feel a difference in my length, posture, strength and overall well being!
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I love the feeling of stretches in the morning, my body feels so at ease. It’s amazing just what a bunch of stretched can do, I try to tell my family but they don’t get it but if they’d try it they’d be hooked.
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As someone with an anxiety disorder, I’ve found yoga to be one of the best tools ever for finding “calm”. Nice post!
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That’s another reason I love yoga, I have horrible anxiety! It’s always so relaxing and feels so good when the session is over.
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It is very calming and helps me to feel centered. Thanks for the post
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Yes, I love it. You’re welcome, thanks for stopping by!
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I used to do yoga before the lockdown. Thanks for sharing the poses, I will try at home.
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You’ll feel great if you do them in the morning or before bed, then again I’m sure you know that since you used to do it.
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I used to go to a yoga studio pre-pandemic but haven’t been practicing since the lockdown. Thank you for reminding me of all the benefits yoga entails. You just convinced me to start do yoga again 🙂
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Oh, yay! I have a couple YouTube channels I follow since I can’t get back in the studio yet. Enjoy your practice!
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Yoga is my absolute favourite form of exercise! I love that there is a yoga routine for every specific need you may have. Though I didn’t know that ‘yoga’ meant ‘listen’ in Sanskrit- that’s quite fitting!
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I know right, I didn’t know it either. I love how there are poses for everything too.
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I’ve been in a yoga practice on/off for 10 years. Every-time I start my routine, I enjoy it again and wonder why I stopped. Thanks for sharing. 💙
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I’m the same way but it’s only been 2 years for me. I love how i feel afters and also like there is a sequence for everything.
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Agreed! That feeling afterwards is amazing.
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I started doing yoga recently and it’s the best decision I’ve ever made.
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It feels great both through body and mind. I love it.
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I started yoga years ago but didn’t have the best experience with my instructor. I’ve been wanting to try it again as I know how many people love it. I think I’ll give it a go at home 🙂
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I only do it at home, I had a horrible instructor too. There are great YouTube videos. Yoga with Adrian is my favorite though.
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I’ve thought about yoga, but haven’t gotten around to trying it yet. I’d love to strengthen my core and take more time to slow down, focus, and do some copious amounts of stretching.
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Oh then you’ll love it. If you have time then give a 5 minute sequence a try and grow from there. Start slow and steady. Yoga with Adriene is my favorite instructor for yoga.
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Is there a difference in Yoga and Pilates? I do pilates with the balanced life sisterhood.
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I was t too sure did I turned to my trust friend Google and it was explained in a nutshell as this: “ Yoga can be used for improving the flexibility of the body and it will also gradually increase the flexibility of your joints. Whereas Pilates focuses on trying to relax muscles which are tense and provide strengthening of the numerous muscles of the body.” Pilates feel amazing too though.
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Oh that is super interesting! Thank you for looking into that for me.
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I’ve been doing yoga on the weekends as soon as I wake up and I love it! It makes me feel so relaxed and it feels good to start the day doing some kind of movement.
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I do the same I also do a bedtime sequence for better sleep and it actually got me off my sleeping pills.
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I love it! I’m a dancer and stretching was always one of the more relaxing and feel-good activities so I’m open to trying these yoga poses!
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Your body will thank you and you’ll love it given your a dancer.
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