Will Yoga Help You Lose Weight?

I suppose it was only a matter of time before the mass marketing about diet and fitness and weight loss caught up with Yoga.

After all, Yoga is certainly going through a period of resurgence - not the first, as these things typically movein cycles as does most of the market.

Typically though, when you read about Yoga, the topic ispeace of mind, spirituality, relaxation, meditation, perhaps physical conditioning and strength (both physical and mental).

This time though, the debate rests squarely on yoga's ability to shed pounds in a society that is struggling with record levels of obesity on the one hand, and a severe "thin" image problem held by popular celebrities on the other.

A recent study started the heated debate by claiming a link between yoga and weight loss.

Specifically, the study found that middle-age people who practice yoga tended to experience gradual weight loss over a 10 - year period, while those that did not practice yoga seemed to experience fairly substantial weight gain over the same period.

Since the study was released, a constant barrage of skeptic shave pointed out flaws in the research that range from self-reported results to missing many other factors that may lead people to both practice yoga and have reduced weight.

As usual, the truth lies somewhere in the middle, at least based on my own experiences.

It is much more likely that the positive factors of yoga and meditation have on your mind and body impact your self-image,nutrition choices, and overall stress level which are major factors in weight control. We point to many of the benefits of practicing yoga over at: http://www.yogasuccess.com

Stress not only results in unhealthy binge eating and poor nutritional choices, but actually has physiological impacts on your body that often result in craving foods that can result in greater weight gain such as sugars, starches and carbohydrates.

In the end, what is important is that you are becoming healthier,happier, experience less stress in your life and enjoy your life to the maximum possible.

Let the journalists fight it out over who is technically right, after all, they are likely all fighting to meet deadlines and beat each other's coverage of the story.

It's time I took a break and go practice some meditation.

Signing Off -dinotino®©-

Tips To Relieve Tension

Or, here's the next best thing to do. Fool your body into thinking you're feeling great

* First, we're going to slowly ease that tension out of the body. Sit on a chair with legs crossed. Pretend that your ankle is a pen and use it to write the alphabet. Repeat with the other ankle.


* Next, place your thumbs at the edge of your eyebrows, on each side of our head. Slide them up, stopping at the corner of the head, almost into the hairline. Press the thumbs into each side of the forehead; hold for a few seconds and then release. Repeat five times. By doing this, you release emotional stress because these pressure points are linked to the emotional centre of the brain.

* Eat an orange. The vitamin C helps detoxify the body. Chewing on a handful of roasted cashew nuts can also be a good upper. Nuts contain magnesium and essential fatty acids that help boost moods.

* Change the breathing. Lie on your back, with the fingertips of one hand nesting between the breastbone and the solar plexus. Place the other hand on the belly. Taking deep breath through your nose push out your stomach as you inhale, thus filling your lungs. Hold for a few seconds and then slowly exhale. As oxygen replenishes your brain, use your fingertips to lightly stimulate the calming areas of your body and you'll feel more relaxed.

* The brain believes in the images it receives. So creative visualisation can quickly top up your happiness levels. Imagine the sun sending heat and light to your arms and legs. Soak in that sensation and feel the joy slowly seeping in.

Signing Off -dinotino®©-

How To Build Muscles Effectively

So you want to build muscles to look like superman. So you hit the gym frequently to workout your muscles. Two months down the road, you still look more or less the same without increasing any muscle mass. Why?

This is because in order to build muscles effectively, you will need to know the science of building muscles. You must know exactly what to do in order to get those toned and defined muscles. If not, you will be wasting your time in the gym or worse, even develop bodybuilding injuries because you did not approach it in a scientific way.

That said, do you know that there are a few types of different muscle fibers? Some of these fibers have the ability to grow big and provide you with massive strength while others such as endurance muscle fibers are likely to remain small but allow you to use them for many hours.

Now can you imagine what will happen if you spend most of your time in the gym working out on these smaller type muscle fibers? Do you really expect to grow big when you are doing this?

I am not saying that these smaller muscle fibers cannot increase in size, on the contrary, you can make, it is just that you need to train them a little differently. Your calves and forearms muscles are such examples.

Many a times, when people's workout methods are wrong and their muscles don't grow, they pin it down on genetics. Have you ever heard people exclaiming, "Oh, my muscles are not growing poor genes." Then they whine and whine about how their parents and siblings are also small built. So it is probably the genes.

Whining about your "genetics" does nothing but instilling into your brain that "you won't be able to build nice muscles." And you know what? With the law of attraction, then you really won't be able to build big muscles because you will not be working out hard enough or find out more about the science of building muscles since you think that you are in a hopeless at building muscles. Then why on earth do you go to the gym for?

While you may not be able to become a professional bodybuilder, there is no reason you why you can't build a handsome muscular body. You can still build reasonably big of muscles and get ripped, regardless of your genes.

What will allow to build bigger muscles will be two things. How smart you work and how hard you work. If you are working out smart and hard, you will be unbeatable in getting that fabulous body which you dream about. To work smart, then you must know the science of bodybuilding and not just to lift weights randomly. You must also know how to eat correctly to feed and boost muscle growth.

So if you really and seriously want to build a body of your dream, then you must study the science of bodybuilding or hire a personal trainer to help you build muscles effectively.

Signing Off -dinotino®©-