Thursday, June 18, 2009

Pre-natal Yoga

Yoga is a great form of exercise. Its benefits are similar to that of Lamaze breathing. It will teach you how to breathe so that you can manage the pain of labor. It also strengthens your pelvic muscles making it easier to push the baby out during labor. The greatest thing about yoga is that it is a relaxing exercise that brings awareness to your body. Pre-natal yoga not only connects mind body and soul but it also connects you to the life force you have growing inside of you. Yoga has numerous benefits.

The yoga practices will show you how to breather deeper and more fully. Breathing techniques have been used for centuries to help manage the pain of labor. Yoga during pregnancy is a great form of exercise. It will tone your muscles which will help you carry your baby in your tummy and once you’ve given birth. There are poses that will help you stretch muscles will put stress on your lower back from carrying extra weight in front of you.

The first thing they teach you in the class are breathing techniques. These techniques are very similar to Lamaze breathing except they are slower and deeper inhales. Ujjayi breathing is when you breathe in through your nose deep enough to where your belly expands fully. The exhale is just as slow and as deep. This breathing technique will help you stay calm and manage any discomforts of pregnancy. It also delivers extra oxygen to your baby. Remember, you’re breathing for two people. This same breathing exercise can help you prevent early contractions. When people panic or under stress the body releases hormones that may induce labor. The breathing will help you relax all of your muscles so that you don’t tighten up and start contractions early.

A great pose to start out with is the Coobler’s or Tailor’s pose. This pose will help to open up your pelvis. If you are very flexible just make sure that your sit bones are well grounded. You can do so by pulling each side out a little bit. If you need extra support then place a mat, towel or pillow. Sit up against the wall with the soles of your feet touching each other. You can either gently push down on your knees toward the floor or your can just place your elbows if it seems to be enough. With each exhale try to relax and go a little deeper in the stretch making sure that each movement is synchronized with the breath. You should feel your hips opening up and releasing. You can stay in this position as long as you want but make sure that you ease your way out of it especially if you’ve sat in this position for more than one minute.

from : http://www.eat-healthy-live-healthy.com

Tennis For Fitness

Looking for a really great way to get in or stay in shape while having a really good time enjoying a friendly game? How about simultaneously developing your hand eye coordination and advancing your skill in a popular sport? There is a certain casual recreational game that current history claims began as a simple enjoyable pastime of French monks; a game which has evolved over the years into a rather competitive international sport enjoyed by people all over the world. It is sure to tone you up and likely be one of your enjoyable pastimes for years to come.

Tennis has truly come a long way over the past thousand years or so and now you too can enjoy this classic sport while getting in great shape in the process. You may or may not be surprised to hear that running around on a relatively small tennis court can really be an epic aerobic workout rivaling just about any other sport around. What is possibly just as surprising is how enjoyable such a simple game can be and how such a small court can remain fun regardless of how many hours you play. It is likely that you have already tried it, or have a friend or relative who plays. If you have tried it, then you can likely confirm its rigorously dynamic aerobic benefits. Anyone who has tried it and given any true effort to chasing a tennis ball around knows how intense it can be and how much running can actually happen on such a small court.

Arm development is another feature of tennis which is wonderful as long as one balances their workout regime with other forms of exercise. As with any sport with many similar repetitive movements originating from one side of the body, it is important to learn how to play with both hands for optimal fitness benefit. This is, of course, unless you are training to be a tennis pro and feel that maximizing your skill with only one hand is more efficient. If that is the case then you may want to find another fast and effective way to exercise your other arm in a similar manner to ensure you have a balanced physique from your efforts.

These days it seems like there are public tennis courts in just about every town, so finding a place to practice and hone your skills should be fairly simple. Indoor and outdoor courts are both great, although an indoor court is obviously the appropriate all weather option. Many fitness clubs and community centers also have tennis courts and hopefully you can find one that is relatively convenient and suits your style.

Like any sport with equipment, there are a couple of necessary things for playing a game of tennis. You likely already have a pair of tennis shoes, or at least something suitable. A racket and a can of tennis balls is all that is really required to start playing tennis right away. So go have a ball and join the tennis racket.

from : www.eat-healthy-live-healthy.com

Lamaze Breathing

For those who are trying to take a more natural approach to labor then it’s a very good idea to find some good Lamaze breathing classes. Lamaze breathing consists of breathing techniques that help manage the pain of labor. It isn’t a pain killer. Its purpose is to take your concentration off the pain and on the breathing. It also helps you stay relaxed and keeps you from panicking. Lamaze breathing is a great exercise during pregnancy as well because it delivers more oxygen to the baby.

The cleansing breath is known as the more basic breath that you would probably learn in class. The technique is easy and calming. You would breathe in slowly and deeply though your nose and exhale just as slow through your mouth. The cleansing breathe or signal breathe is usually used at the beginning and end of contractions. This breathes also signals that a contraction is at work.

Another technique is called the blowing breath. This is more of a shallow breath that’s done when you’re relaxed. It’s a very soft breath. To get a feel at how shallow it needs to be you can grab a paper or candle and hold it some inches away and when you breathe out the paper should flutter or if you’re using a candle the flame would gently blow out. To try this as an exercise do a cleansing breathe for 90 seconds and follow with the blowing breathe for another 90 seconds and then go back to the cleansing breathe for another 90 seconds.

The patterned breathe is the one everyone knows as the “hee, hee, hoo”. The technique behind this one involves 2-4 rapid exhales of hee, hee, hee to one blow of hoo. They are soft inhales in between the exhales and the blow. That is, inhale rapidly in between the hee and the hoo. When you’e having a contraction you want to start with the cleansing breathe then the patterned breathing and end again at the cleansing once the contraction starts slowing down.

There is no right or wrong breath. Do what makes you feel relaxed and comfortable. The different stages of labor might be another determining factor. During your pregnancy practice all the breathing techniques along with some deep breathing techniques to get some extra oxygen flowing through your body and down to your body. If you practice breathing throughout your pregnancy then breathing during labor should become a second nature to you and it will be more manageable. Remember there’s a difference between breathing deeply and hyperventilating. Make sure you keep a healthy balance in your breathing and to make it fun have a friend join you.

from : http://www.eat-healthy-live-healthy.com

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Tennis For Fitness

Looking for a really great way to get in or stay in shape while having a really good time enjoying a friendly game? How about simultaneously developing your hand eye coordination and advancing your skill in a popular sport? There is a certain casual recreational game that current history claims began as a simple enjoyable pastime of French monks; a game which has evolved over the years into a rather competitive international sport enjoyed by people all over the world. It is sure to tone you up and likely be one of your enjoyable pastimes for years to come.

Pre-natal Yoga

Yoga is a great form of exercise. Its benefits are similar to that of Lamaze breathing. It will teach you how to breathe so that you can manage the pain of labor. It also strengthens your pelvic muscles making it easier to push the baby out during labor. The greatest thing about yoga is that it is a relaxing exercise that brings awareness to your body. Pre-natal yoga not only connects mind body and soul but it also connects you to the life force you have growing inside of you. Yoga has numerous benefits.

The yoga practices will show you how to breather deeper and more fully. Breathing techniques have been used for centuries to help manage the pain of labor. Yoga during pregnancy is a great form of exercise. It will tone your muscles which will help you carry your baby in your tummy and once you’ve given birth. There are poses that will help you stretch muscles will put stress on your lower back from carrying extra weight in front of you.

The first thing they teach you in the class are breathing techniques. These techniques are very similar to Lamaze breathing except they are slower and deeper inhales. Ujjayi breathing is when you breathe in through your nose deep enough to where your belly expands fully. The exhale is just as slow and as deep. This breathing technique will help you stay calm and manage any discomforts of pregnancy. It also delivers extra oxygen to your baby. Remember, you’re breathing for two people. This same breathing exercise can help you prevent early contractions. When people panic or under stress the body releases hormones that may induce labor. The breathing will help you relax all of your muscles so that you don’t tighten up and start contractions early.

A great pose to start out with is the Coobler’s or Tailor’s pose. This pose will help to open up your pelvis. If you are very flexible just make sure that your sit bones are well grounded. You can do so by pulling each side out a little bit. If you need extra support then place a mat, towel or pillow. Sit up against the wall with the soles of your feet touching each other. You can either gently push down on your knees toward the floor or your can just place your elbows if it seems to be enough. With each exhale try to relax and go a little deeper in the stretch making sure that each movement is synchronized with the breath. You should feel your hips opening up and releasing. You can stay in this position as long as you want but make sure that you ease your way out of it especially if you’ve sat in this position for more than one minute.

from : http://www.eat-healthy-live-healthy.com