Spring is a time for renewal. Many health experts suggest taking part in detoxifying cleanses, healthier diets and mind-body exercises that will help to flush and refresh the body for the summer season.
However, spring is also the season of mud, wind, and allergies, and that makes it sometimes difficult to get outdoors in the fresh air.
Thanks to GaiamTV, you don’t have to ditch your spring-cleaning exercise routine because of unappealing weather conditions. Every Sunday, Gaiam presents Salutation Sundays, an online program that offers yoga and fitness videos, delivered straight to you, so you can watch and participate conveniently indoors. Yoga is one of the best ways to prepare the mind and the body for a new season. With its detoxifying and renewing benefits, yoga refreshes and rejuvenates in so many ways, especially in the spring.
This Sunday, Gaiam is featuring yoga master Rodney Yee. Having appeared on Oprah, Good Morning America, PBS, and in many other television shows, Yee’s level of professionalism and expertise will certainly not disappoint.
Since taking his first yoga class in 1980, Yee turned a curious need to maintain his flexibility and strength gained from his days as a gymnast and ballet dancer into a full blown career as an esteemed yoga teacher that has allowed him to travel all over the world.
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Unusually warm winter days are a treat, unless you are one of the millions of Americans who suffer from spring allergies. This year, allergists are predicting a longer and more severe allergy season, and say sufferers will have little chance of relief even if the high spring temperatures cool down.
Many allergy victims head straight for the drug store to stock up on nasal sprays, eye drops and antihistamines, and some go to extremes for more hard-hitting treatments such as steroidal allergy shots. If you have either given up on unnatural remedies found in a box, carton or plastic tube, or don’t like needles, try yoga for the relief of your stubborn allergy symptoms.
It is not uncommon to feel that some yoga poses just contribute to the pain and agony of having allergies. Downward dog is not the most comfortable yoga pose to be in if you have clogged sinuses and a pounding head. For some, the just thought of putting their head below their waist with a stuffy nose is enough to increase sinus pressure. Plus, taking those long, slow, deep breaths in and out through your nose when you have allergies is like trying to vacuum the floor with no power to the vacuum. I understand completely.
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More sunlight in the evening means the days are getting warmer and your pants are getting shorter. Spring is right around the corner, and soon we will reunite with our scant summer clothes whether we like it or not.
If you have been hiding your unused arms and legs under layers of bulky winter clothes, breaking out the tank tops and bikini bottoms will feel like a shock to your system. To give your muscles a much-needed wake up call, the following five yoga poses are a must for springing into action and shedding excess layers of all kinds.
Plank
An overall great pose to sculpt your shoulders and triceps and firm up your core, plank pose works wonders to whip your body into shape for spring. Build a solid foundation from your feet (or knees) to the palms of your hands by engaging all of the muscles between your hips and your ribs. Take several deep breaths in plank while imaging your spine lengthening and your entire body strengthening. Hold for up to one minute and repeat up to three times throughout the day.
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Evan Longoria used yoga to rehab his left foot
Major League baseball players are coining the phrase “flexibility is the new strength” and adding yoga, stretching, and Pilates to their off season and spring training regimes. Baseball manager Joe Maddon said in 2007, when yoga was first introduced as an official part of the training program, that he expected yoga and stretching to soon be as mainstream as weight lifting for strength, and his assumption is now a reality.
The Devil Rays’ third basemen Evan Longoria is one player who first took yoga seriously as a way to find a little peace and contentment through the stressful baseball season. Needing to rehab his left foot, Longoria focused on functional movements and stability therapy, adding that doing yoga in a hot room for over an hour was no easy task, but also provided many benefits beyond peace of mind.
Many other baseball players have followed the lead of Longoria and used yoga or Pilates as part of their offseason training. Jimmy Rollins practiced yoga following an injury and went on to playing 142 more games after making a strong comeback. Jim Thome practiced both yoga and Pilates to better prepare his 41-year-old body for playing first base, and Alex Rodriquez, Tim Lincecum and Brian Wilson have also reportedly added more flexibility to their training.
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Unless you live in a warm climate and are lucky to golf all season long, springtime means tee time; a time to dust off the irons and get your body ready for 18 holes of swings, putts and chip shots.
Smacking the ball at high speed plus staying calm and focused during a crucial putt all take a certain amount of skill and practice to master. Power, torque, flexibility, and concentration are all key components in the game of golf, and yoga can help.
The following yoga suggestions will help your golf game. Designed to give you an advantage prior to golf season, these pointers will also teach you how you can loosen up before the game, stay calm and centered while on the putting green, and enjoy a revitalizing stretch before heading to the clubhouse.
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