Yoga, Health, and Wellness Articles + Recipes

This week is the perfect time to renew your commitment to living life with a loving, open heart, regardless of external circumstances. Yoga can help you create openings in your physical, emotional, and spiritual bodies. Everything is connected so physical activity creates emotional releases and purposeful words and mantras create physical strength. One of the most powerful mantras you can tap into is Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu. Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all.

“Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you! Shout loud ‘I am lucky to be what I am.’” – Dr. Seuss Don’t you love how wisdom can come from just about anywhere and who doesn’t count on Dr. Seuss? One of the most important qualities to cultivate to live our ideal life is self-love. If we cannot look inside ourselves and accept and love our light and our shadow sides, we’ll never truly be happy. Yoga is rooted in learning to reveal, accept, and love who we are. Through consistent practice, we can create patterns of self-acceptance and self-love and shine our brightest. Or shout out “I am lucky to be what I am.”

What do Lady Gaga, Lebron James, and Paul McCartney have in common? They are all dedicated to daily meditation and expound on the positive effects it has on not just their careers but on their entire lives. You don’t need to be a superstar to benefit from a daily meditation practice, but you might feel like one after you immerse yourself in this 1-Week program with popular YogaDownload instructor Keith Allen. If you’ve tried to meditate and given up in frustration after a few weeks, or days, or even minutes, you aren’t alone. Learning to meditate isn’t easy but it’s worth the effort. Your guide through this week meditation program, Keith Allen, says, “Meditation is something that becomes easier and more enjoyable the more you practice it, even if it seems impossible and hard at first. It's also something that one benefits from, from not trying too hard to be good at it.”

Bhramari pranayama is a calming and relaxing pranayama. Sound and vibration are an important part of this technique. Before getting into how to practice this fun breathing technique, let's look at why one would want to practice it. Here are some of the various benefits of Bhramari breath. It is stress-relieving. It can help reduce hypertension and reduce one's blood pressure.

Deepen your sense of connection to the world around you and to the space inside you by taking the time to focus on nature. This week’s yoga classes are focused on nature and a few are even filmed outdoors. Nature reminds us to appreciate the singing of birds, the kiss of a soft breeze, the smell of flowers and the feel of the earth beneath our feet. Nature helps us live in the present moment. One way to harness the power of yoga and nature is to set up your yoga mat outside.

There are many benefits of yoga and possibly more than we even know. It is a practice that is meant to benefit your entire being. Your body, mind, and soul are all connected, and each of them can benefit from practicing yoga. To many, the physical benefits of yoga are the most obvious. They are real and plentiful and increasingly backed by science and research. There is an array of benefits of yoga however and they're not all physical. Below are some key benefits, and while these are some common benefits, the benefits of yoga are certainly not limited to this list.

Power isn't always about force. With a consistent yoga and meditation practice, you aren’t working toward simply becoming more peaceful. You’re creating a calm, focused mind which helps you step into your personal power. In our busy, multi-tasking world, becoming present and living in the here and now is one of our biggest challenges. Instead of falling into a pattern of spreading your energy too thin, this week take the time to become clear, calm, and strong. According to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, yoga is all about citta vritti nirodaha or learning to direct the attention of your mind where you want it to go. Yes, mind control! Another way to consider it is learning to quiet the monkey mind. We’ve all got a pack of wild monkeys zooming around in our brains which fill us with endless chatter and distraction. Meditation and yoga help us quiet the mind and become present in stillness.

Does anybody need a confidence boost? This week’s classes are centered on improving your confidence and enhancing your willpower. By turning your attention and focus on your navel or Manipura Chakra, you’ll stoke your inner fire or “tapas” and step into your personal power. According to yoga philosophy, we are made of three bodies, the physical, subtle, and the causal. The subtle body mirrors the physical body and consists of energy channels called nadis. The seven primary chakras flow along the Sushumna Nadi, which runs along your spine. In Sanskrit, chakras mean wheels of light and each one relates to different emotions and states of being. The Manipura chakra is the third chakra, located at your solar plexus. Yes, that means plenty of core work will do the trick!

The main vedic-yogic system of understanding, assessing and addressing the needs of the mind and the emotions is the triguna system. This system is like a lens through which we may view everything in existence as the division into and interactions between 3 basic qualities called gunas. Tamas is metaphorically described as pertaining to darkness and heaviness, oriented towards the past and arising from it as karmic consequences of past actions.

One of the beautiful things about practicing yoga is that often we start out viewing it as a physical practice but we quickly learn how much deeper yoga goes. Yoga links the body, mind, and spirit and whether you’re focused on all three or not, you reap all the benefits. This week, we’re focusing on the lower body, which is comprised of your legs, hips, and core as well as your Muladhara (Root), Svadhistana (Sacral), and Manipura (Navel) chakras. If you’re interested in stoking your senses of stability, security, creativity, and passion, these classes offer external and internal benefits you’ll feel right away. The subtle body is a blueprint of the physical body––although you cannot see your nadis (energy channels) or chakras (energy centers), they exist within you.

Quality over quantity wins every time, on the yoga mat and off. We’ve all got busy schedules and some days it can be a challenge to fit in the satisfying yoga practice your body, mind, and heart craves. The great news is that with the proper focus, intensity, and desire you can garner all the benefits of a full-length yoga class in half the time. Squeeze in a twenty-minute practice by setting your alarm earlier or staying up later! Consistency is the most important component of maintaining a life-long yoga practice. And by consistency we mean practicing several times a week or daily if your schedule allows. Some days, you may have time for a full-length practice with pranayama and meditation and other days, you’ve only got twenty minutes to spare. As long as you are stepping onto your mat and committing to be fully present in your body and your breath, you’re doing great. If you can up the intensity for the shorter practices, even better.

“If you want to change you have to be willing to be uncomfortable.” Are you ready to push through your personal boundaries and use your yoga practice to expand and evolve physically, emotionally, and mentally? On the yoga mat and off, we tend to slip into comfortable patterns. Consistency is something to strive for, but it can be a slippery slope and if we aren’t paying attention we can end up in a rut. Here’s how yoga can help you continue to evolve: Yoga for Physical Growth: On the most obvious level, a well-rounded yoga practice will help you develop stronger muscles, a more supple spine, and improve joint mobility. Yoga improves your posture so you’re literally standing taller.

Dirga pranayama is a technique that increases focus and calms your mind. It's simple to do, and even those without any prior yoga experience can enjoy this rejuvenating practice. Here is how to do a three-part breath and the benefits of this practice. Even a few minutes can make a difference in your day. How to do Dirga pranayama: Take the first third of your inhalation into your lower lungs and upper belly, and pause briefly. Then breathe the second third of your inhale into your middle lungs and back, and pause again briefly. Then breathe the final part of your inhale, into the upper portion of your lungs and collarbones, and pause again.

Distraction and activity are easy. Focus and stillness are a challenge but calming your mind and tapping into your inner silence is worth the work. Yoga is one of the most powerful tools to quiet your mind––the ultimate achievement of a dedicated practice. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, considered the seminal text in yoga, provides a practical path to attain a calm, quiet mind. It all begins with Yoga Sutra 1.2: Chitta Vritti Nirodaha: Yoga is the ability to direct the mind without distraction or interruption. When you can achieve sustained attention, you are fully present and truly at the height of your personal power and light. Sounds fantastic, right?

Who is ready to release their personal power and feel stronger physically and more self-assured? By focusing on our power center, by building a strong core and spine, we naturally increase our confidence levels and live our lives from a positive perspective, no matter external circumstances. This week, we’ve got the popular Nothing But Core series with instructor Claire Petretti Marti, which will give you six quick and varied programs to have you feeling your best.

Happy Earth Day 2022! On April 22nd, the fifty-second Earth Day, join us to commemorate this year’s Earth Day theme of Invest in Our Planet. Yoga practice, comprised of the earth’s elements of earth, air, fire, water, and ether, naturally honors our planet and is embodied in the yogic concept of Ahimsa or non-harming. To celebrate, YogaDownload is offering our biggest sale of the year so you can maintain a consistent yoga practice and feel connected to the earth beneath us. Sometimes we can get caught up in the day-to-day and forget to express gratitude for the planet that sustains us with air, water, food and all that nourishes us. We’ve got a few suggestions for you to try this Earth Day to honor this universal worldwide celebration.

Sleep problems are all too common for many adults. While there is not one universal cause or fix for everyone, yoga and meditation can certainly help calm your mind and nervous system to help you better prepare for a night of sound sleep. Amongst YogaDownload's vast collection of 2400+ online yoga classes, are many practices that are specially designed to help you you doze off to sleep more easily. Here are 10 of the top-rated yoga classes for more sound sleep.

Who could use a dose of stable, grounded strength to boost your body, mind, and heart? Often in yoga, we emphasize the flexibility aspect and many people who haven’t tried yoga assume yoga is a stretch class. While flexibility is one of the important components of a well-rounded yoga practice, building external and internal stability is equally essential. This week we turn the spotlight on ways to amp up stability and strength when you step onto your yoga mat. Yoga Sutra 2.46 Sthira Sukham Asanam is one of the best known tenets from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. What does it mean? The posture should be steady and comfortable or the intersection of effort and ease.

Kapalabhati pranayama technique creates fire and power and is wonderfully detoxifying for you. This breathing practice builds heat in the body and raises your energy levels leaving you feeling refreshed and invigorated. If you have ever been to a Kundalini yoga class, you have most likely done Kapalabhati breathing. How to practice Kapabalbhati breathing:

Harness the power of ritual to maximize the benefits of your yoga practice. You probably already have rituals in place for many aspects of your life, from your career to your dinner plans to how you start each day. A ritual is essentially a set of habits you repeat regularly, often in a special or ceremonial way. One way to commit to a consistent, powerful yoga practice is to create a sense of ritual around it. Whether you choose to energize your day with a morning yoga practice or soothe your senses with yoga in the evenings, here are 3 simple ways to uplevel your practice:

We are often a reflection of the world around us and world events. If you’ve been feeling heavy, you’re not alone. We are living through a time filled with an excess of tamasic energy. Many external circumstances are beyond our control, but yoga can help us manage our behavior and perspective. Different situations call for shifts in our yoga practice, so we can maximize the benefits of our time on the mat to match how we are feeling. Many students shared with us that they’d gained weight and were interested in a yoga program that would help them in their quest to burn calories and lose weight. We’re excited to share we’ve got a new two-week Yoga for Weight Loss Bootcamp designed to help you push your physical limits to beat stress and help you tone your muscles, strengthen your bones, and feel lean and luminous.

2-Week Yoga Challenge: Root and Rise. The challenge is free for everyone and starts on April 11th! Check back here soon to sign up! “Yoga is 99% waste removal.” -TKV Desikachar TKV Deiskachar was a legendary yoga master and son of the father of modern yoga, T. Krishnamacharya. He built upon his father's teachings and was one of the most respected leaders in the yoga world. One of the primary themes of his therapeutic approach to yoga was that its purpose was to cleanse the body, mind, and emotions. He often spoke of the importance of “burning away the rubbish” to find one’s highest self.

Is anybody else ready to lean into the powerful transition of the Equinox? Here at Yogadownload.com, we’re ready for that push of energy from Mother Earth to help us align with nature. Whether you’re celebrating the move into longer nights in Autumn in the Southern hemisphere or eager for the blossoming of Spring in the Northern hemisphere, we are all experiencing the change in the seasons. When we harness the seasonal shifts to empower our individual intentions and move with nature’s ebbs and flows, we can better implement our true desires. The cycles of the moon, the hours bathed in sunlight, the fluctuations of heat and cold all impact us––we are a part of the natural cycle, not separate. This world influences how we feel on every level––our bodies, our hearts, and our minds.

While we celebrate offering yoga classes that appeal and benefit a wide range of individuals, it’s also important that we provide niche classes that are created for specific populations. Who doesn’t want a yoga class that recognizes we may need something different at times? It’s a great reminder that we aren’t alone in that need, we’re part of a community. There isn’t an identical path for any of us. We’re all unique. Individually perfect or perfectly imperfect. What really matters is how you feel during and after your yoga practice. Whatever your personal experience, there’s a universal premise that yoga is a process of turning inward. Of getting quiet so you can truly be present. Of finding your brightest inner light or—gasp- even achieving Samadhi or enlightenment.

Why we need Yin yoga now. We are all living at a pitch point in history and these last few years have been challenging on every level––individually and collectively. From living through a pandemic to times of war and strife, how can we find a balance inside and out? While yoga can’t solve all these major issues, it can help us create more space in our reaction time to find reserves of inner strength to handle the external events we cannot control. Yoga’s many benefits, from increasing physical strength and flexibility to quieting the mind and balancing the emotions, come with consistent practice. Many forms of yoga, from the more active Yang practices like Ashtanga and Vinyasa to more passive styles like Yin and Gentle Hatha nourish us. But sometimes, when the world has so much active Yang energy, a more pacifying Yin practice helps us slow down and soothe our nervous systems.