Welcome to the Get More Energy: One Breath at a Time – 5-part blog post series!

We are excited you are on-board and have lots to share and teach you.

We really want you to enjoy this series, so the first part of this journey is a quick overview of the Get More Energy experience.

So keep reading to find out more, and to get the most out of this 5-part blog series.

What is The Get More Energy: One Breath at a Time Series?

The series consists of 5 in-depth blog posts on different aspects of the theme Get More Energy which I will be publishing over the next 6 weeks focusing on easy yoga poses, breathing exercises and meditation techniques to help you:

Relax
Feel less tired
Boost your energy

so that you can take amazing care of your body, remove stress from work and home and have more “get up and go energy to do the things you love.

How The Get More Energy Series is Organised

Over the course of this 5-part blog series, we will:

Explore the common causes and reasons why you are always tired
Look at the popular mistakes most yoga beginners make when they practice yoga and meditation for more energy
Hear from 18 popular bloggers their top tips for self-care so that you feel less tired and get more energy
Practice basic yoga breathing exercises, yoga poses for beginners and meditation techniques so that you can easily reduce stress, fight fatigue, clear your mind and energise your body.

By the time you have read through this blog series, you will be equipped with powerful, yet simple yoga stretches, breathing exercises and meditation techniques to help you:

feel better and know how to quickly calm your mind and instantly re-energise your body.

Today we start with an introductory guide to the theme Get More Energy: One Breath at a Time, we will:

Get an overview of tiredness
Deep-dive in a detailed exploration of yoga
Explore why yoga is the best way to help you feel less tired and boost your energy.

There is a lot to take on board, so grab a snack and a cup of something warm, curl up on your settee and have fun reading this blog!

First, watch this video to help you see how easy you can add a “get more energy” moment into your day so you can re-boot, refresh and gently energise your body and mind.

All done?

Ready to begin? Great. Let’s start.

Have you ever come home from work, collapsed on the settee, rubbed the back of your neck and complained “I am so tired?

You feel exhausted.

Your head hurts.

Your neck aches.

Your back is killing you.

You can’t think straight.

You are afraid that if this continues, you will have to go to the doctor and worse case scenario, you’ll have to take time off for sick leave.

I have also felt like this – tired, worn-out and exhausted.

And believe me, as busy women, we ain’t got time for that!

Deep down you know you can’t carry on like this.

You are scared to take time off work because:

your team is already short-staffed
you already have too much to do
you already take work home
you dread the thought of coming back to a backlog of work.

So, you soldier on.

At home, your children are in the middle of preparing for exams, rehearsing for parts in the school play and you are worried that they are spending too much time messaging their friends late at night; on top of this your partner recently mentioned that his firm is looking at downsizing and his job is at risk.

You desperately run around and try to keep things on an even keel – laundry, cooking, housework, school projects, after-school activities, sleep-overs, community meetings, the list goes on.

Maybe you’re a grandparent, and as much as you love looking after and playing with your grandchildren, you are worn-out when they leave and you wonder how are you going to keep up with them as they get older.

And at the end of the week when you long to come home and rest, you end up doing the weekly shopping for your elderly parents as they are now not able to manage by themselves and refuse to buy their fruit and veg online.

Life feels very tiring.

You are exhausted.

Your hormones are racing, and you wish you didn’t feel so tired all the time.

You long to have more energy to get you through the day, however, in recent months you have put so much weight on that you feel uncomfortable and don’t have the energy or the time to exercise and care for yourself.

You dream that “someday” you’ll have enough time (and energy) for a hobby and secretly long to indulge in some me-time – today, without feeling guilty.

Get More Energy: One Breath at at Time — Get More Energy: One Breath at a Time

Instead, you feel exhausted all the time.

You struggle to wake-up in the morning.

By midday you are drowsy, and you know by 3.00 pm, you’ll crash and feel low and sluggish and wish you could go home and have a nap!

Instead, you grab a cup of coffee, get something sweet and sticky to eat, and brace yourself to deal with annoying people, attend boring meetings and attempt to catch-up and complete unfinished tasks.

With relief, you leave work yet feel too stressed -out and drained to even think about doing something enjoyable.

One way or the other something must change.

If this sound like you, don’t worry, help is at hand.

www.yogainspires.co.uk — How to relax and calm your mind

Over the course of this 5-part blog Get More Energy series, we will:

Explore 5 common causes and reasons why you are always tired
Discover the secret self-care tips that 18 super-busy bloggers practice to help them feel less tired and get stuff done
Look at yoga poses, breathing exercises and meditation techniques you can do at home or at work to combat fatigue, relief stress, and boost your energy

Get More Energy: Essential Facts and Stats on Fatigue and Tiredness

There seems to be a growing trend of adults, and teens, who are tired all the time, and struggle with fatigue and exhaustion.

In looking at the research fact and stats on tiredness and fatigue, I was surprised to see that studies indicate that:

76% of workers felt tired many days of the week
30% said that they were unhappy or very unhappy with the quality or quantity of their sleep
15% dozed off during the day at least once per week

And, in her eye-opening article for the Guardian Lifestyle section, “The exhaustion epidemic”, Louise Carpenter offers a descriptive account of the way exhaustion and constantly feeling tired all the time is considered the last taboo of modern times.

‘Ten years ago I would have been horrified if a guest fell asleep at dinner. Now it happens all the time. And you just think to yourself, “I understand, everybody is so tired, working late, travelling, more pressures, worrying about things.” Now when I ask people to supper, I’m never offended when they tell me they have a hell of a week coming up and could they please wait to see how they feel. Nor do I mind when one half of a couple comes on their own.’

Everybody is exhausted: Stress and social media are taking their toll

In this article “Everybody is exhausted: Stress and social media are taking their toll.” Bill Ervolino, states

“Lassitude. Weariness. Fatigue. Whichever phrase you prefer, recurring tiredness seems to be the new normal for a growing number of people, regardless of their age or background.

And the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control record that during 2010-2011 women seem to suffer more from fatigue than men:

women (15.3%) were more likely than men (10.1%) too often feel very tired or exhausted.
Among adults aged 18-44 years, women were nearly twice as likely as men (15.7% versus 8.7%) too often feel very tired or exhausted.
Also, a difference is observed among women and men aged 45-64 years (15.9% versus 12.2%),

The list goes on.

A report by the National Hydration Council, cite that tiredness and fatigue are the primary cause of one in five (21 percent) GP consultations in the UK.

Get More Energy: My Findings On Tiredness

As a yoga teacher, these stats confirm what my yoga students share with me.

Most of my clients are super- busy professional women, average age range 45 – 65, plus desperately searching for that elusive “harmonious work-life connection.”

quick & easy self-love tip to reduce stress

They work hard, have little time for exercise or me-time and try to squeeze in seeing friends and fit family activities around their work commitments.

They strive to be happy, seek harmony and balance and want to be healthier and live a simpler life.

They enjoy reading lifestyle magazines and personal development books, so they are aware of the causes of stress and burnout and the risk of their unhealthy lifestyle choices.

Yet, time and time again, my clients report stress at work, lack of time to do anything and feeling harassed and hurried at home; plus caring for their elderly relatives has placed an extra layer of stress on their personal relationships. They are concerned that if they don’t make changes now and do “something” for themselves and get their energy back, things will only get worse.

By the end of the day, they are tired and have “no time” for their partners.

Shattered by putting everyone’s else needs first and having no space for themselves.

Their weekly yoga lesson is the only time they get a sense of release, a chance to reconnect with themselves and to fully unwind and relax.

Yoga and learning how to meditate have become their refuge, a treat and their secret weapon to keep themselves topped up, remind themselves of their dreams, and have enough energy to get them through the day and sleep better.

As you can see feeling tired all the time and having no energy are common problems with most people.

In fact, over the last 12 months, I held detailed individual conversations with 18 women over 45 years old, from different countries and different personal circumstances.

Despite their different health situations and life experiences, all the women noted: “feeling exhausted and struggling to get up and have enough energy to get through their day.”

Feeling tired and not having any energy is a common theme.

Can you identify with this?

How many people do you know who complain they are always tired and struggle to wake up and get up and go?

So before we move on and look at how yoga can help you go from exhaustion to bursting with energy, let’s recap what we have covered.

So far in the Get More Energy: One Breath at a Time series you

Received an overview of the series and looked at the different aspects we will cover on this 5-part blog series.
Learned that being tired and fatigued is a common problem faced by many women.
Discovered that most of my yoga students use yoga as a form of rejuvenation and enjoy their weekly yoga classes, especially their private, yoga lessons

If you are feeling excited by the news that yoga may help you feel less tired and have more energy and keen to try it out for yourself, I invite you to visit my blog, Yoga Inspires and get your free illustrated download plus video of 7 simple stretches to boost your energy. Click here and be instantly energised!

Now that we have got an idea of the extent of the problem of tiredness, you’ll realise that you are not alone.

In the second blog post of this series, we’ll look at the common causes and symptoms associated with being tired and fatigue, and in the third blog, we will cover the popular mistakes most yoga beginners make when they practice yoga and meditation for more energy.

For now, let’s turn to looking at how yoga fits into the “get more energy” equation and why yoga is the best way to help you stop feeling tired all the time.

Get More Energy: Yoga For Beginners

This section is all about yoga, including

Looking at 7 popular reasons why people start yoga
Discovering the top benefits of yoga
Looking at the historical roots of yoga
Explaining what is yoga
Finding out more about the spiritual and philosophical side of yoga
Learning about the different styles of yoga

If you are a yoga beginner, you’ll find this section of the Get More Energy series useful in helping you decide whether yoga is something you would like to try to help you reduce fatigue and tiredness and relieve stress.

In the final blog post of the 5-part blog series, I will show you various yoga poses, breathing exercises and meditation techniques you can easily add to your day to help you feel less tired and boost your energy. However,

If you are feeling tired and keen to practice yoga and learn how to meditate straight away, check out my daily Live Facebook Guided Meditation series over on my Facebook Page.
You’ll find a selection of guided meditations and yoga breathing exercises you can use today.

Click here for tips to clear and calm your mind and energise your body.

What Is Yoga?

Get More Energy: One Breath at a Time

Have you noticed the growing trend of people who practice yoga?

The 2016 Yoga in America Study Conducted by Yoga Journal and Yoga Alliance focused on the growing practice of yoga in America, from the perspectives of yoga practitioners, teachers, studio owners, as well as the non-practising U.S. public.

The study found that Yoga is gaining popularity

The number of American yoga practitioners has increased to over 36 million in 2016, up from 20.4 million in 2012.
28% of all Americans have participated in a yoga class at some point in their lives.

Yoga is an increasing part of American life.
Since 2012, the percentage of Americans aware of yoga has climbed from 75 to 90 percent.
One in three Americans has tried yoga on their own (not in a class) at least once.
75% of all Americans agree “yoga is good for you.”

You can read the full report of the 2016 Yoga in America Study here.

The 7 Popular Reasons Why People Start Yoga

There are many reasons why you may think about starting yoga.

From my experience as a Sivananda yoga teacher and based on talking with students here are seven common reasons why students start yoga.

Have a look and see how many of these reasons apply to you.

Yoga for Less Stress

A gentle yoga practice at the end of a stressful day is the ideal way to unwind and relieve tension from your body.

This has to be the most popular reason why people start yoga.

Modern life is busy and full of conflicting demands. The constant hustle and bustle of your everyday life mean you have a lot on your plate and often have trouble switching off and relaxing.

The essence of yoga is to encourage you to relax, take time out of your busy schedule, be present and focus on your breath.

This instantly calms your mind and relaxes your body.

Yoga for Back Pain Relief

Have you ever suffered back pain or experienced sore, tense muscles?

Yoga exercises are designed to gently stretch your muscles, increase the range of flexibility in your joints and bring suppleness to your spine. For example, yoga poses, such as the cobra, the locust or seated forward bend, all help to soothe your aching back.

Check out my Yoga for Back Pain Relief book on Amazon for easy yoga exercises you can do to ease back pain at work.

Yoga for Inner Peace, Balance and Calm

If you are going through an emotional crisis or recovering from a severe illness, chances are you feel unhappy and unsettled about your situation.

When you feel unhappy or down, your mind is agitated and it takes longer for the body to heal.

Yoga breathing exercises and meditation practices help to promote a sense of ease and calm within the body and mind which complements the healing process.

Yoga for Positive Body Image

Yoga is the ideal exercise to encourage you to love yourself more, nourish your body and develop positive eating habits.

Whatever size, shape, age, race or colour you are, there is a yoga class that is just for you.

If you doubt this, check out Curvy Yoga and Dianne Bondy who actively promote and encourage Yoga for All of Us.

And….spoiler alert…

All the yoga exercises, breathing techniques and meditation practices we offer in this series, Get More Energy is specifically designed for busy women over 50 who haven’t exercised for a long time and want to improve their health, reduce stress and fatigue and feel better about themselves.

It isn’t compulsory to be a vegetarian or vegan to practice yoga, however, traditionally, yoga philosophy promotes a vegetarian diet based on natural, unprocessed foods.

These foods tend to be wholesome and nourish your body, so you feel fuller even though you may be eating less.

The Yoga Cookbook by the Sivananda Yoga Centre offers you a tasty selection of breakfasts, lunch and dinner recipes you can cook which follow the traditional yoga teachings.

Yoga teachings also encourage you to be conscious of how you eat.

Prior to eating, you take a gentle breath in and as you exhale, you bless your food and Give Thanks to the hands and souls who worked to grow your food and deliver it to your local supermarket.

Taking this moment before you eat your meal, provides a breathing space and moment of quiet reflection which enable you to mentally check in and see if the food you desire to eat, will energise and nourish you or drain and deplete your energy.

This sense of reverence and respect for what you eat makes it easier eat means you take time to select foods which nurture and nourish your body.

Instead of mindlessly snacking, eating foods on the go or slouched in front of the TV, from a yogic perspective, you consciously choose foods which nurture and nourish you.

You take time to chew each morsel.

In fact, there is a saying in yoga, “you drink your food and chew your drink.”

Meaning you take your time to fully savour and appreciate your food.

The more you chew and take time to enjoy and digest your food, the deeper your sense of fulfilment from eating.

As a source of energy, food can either drain or energise you.

Many yoga practitioners believe that food contains certain qualities or “gunas”.

There are three gunas:

sattvic
rajasic
tamasic
Sattvic foods are light, easy to digest, wholesome, unprocessed, and organic where possible.

Sattvic foods include seeds, fresh fruit, nuts, grains, and pulses. Sattvic foods tend to have a balancing and peaceful effect on the body.

Rajasic foods are spicy, hot, strong tasting and bitter.

This group includes foods such as strong herbs, coffee, cola, chocolate, and meat. Rajasic foods often stimulate the body.

Tamasic foods are considered dead, dull, lifeless, and stale.

They lack energy and often drain the body’s energy. High-sugar cakes, biscuits, meat, pasties, and crisps are tamasic.

Sattvic foods can become tamasic, such as fruit which has turned sour or gone off.

“What are the best foods to eat to enhance your yoga practice?”

To get the most out of your yoga practice, you ideally want to aim to eat food which provides you with maximum energy and nutrients as well as helps to repair, strengthen and protect your body from disease, e.g., raw foods, whole foods, seeds, and nuts.

5. Yoga for Spiritual Growth/Personal Development

Underpinning the physical aspects of yoga is a philosophy and way of living your life which guides you towards enlightenment.

The ultimate goal of yoga is to unite with the divine and live a life of harmony, balance and inner calm.

Yoga philosophies and teachings are known as the Yoga Sutras.

In essence, the Yoga Sutras offers you a broad range of ethical and practical guidelines to living a healthy harmonious life.

We will touch upon the Yoga Sutras later on in this blog post.

Many students gain inner strength, clarity, and awareness of themselves through studying The Yoga Sutras.

6. Yoga for More Energy

Have you ever felt tired and zapped of energy?

Yoga exercises can be used to release stress and tension and stimulate and energise your mind and body.

The body’s natural energy source is oxygen. As you learn how to breathe correctly, how to find your breath in every day situations and take better care of yourself, stress and tension is released, you feel energised and revitalised and able to concentrate and, have the energy to do the fun things, like shopping and hanging out with your friends.

7. Yoga for Better Health

Yoga offers you a truly holistic way of living your life.

Studies show that regular yoga practice can help to reduce blood pressure, improve your mood, and help you sleep better.

The physical postures promote a strong and healthy body, the philosophical guidelines offer you a simple way to experience life, meditation practices and breathing exercises all promote vitality and ease and comfort within your body. The body’s main source of energy is oxygen. The richer and deeper you breath and the more you release stress and tension from your body, the easier it is for you to get more oxygen flowing through your body to your cells thus energise your body.

So, now you have a clearer idea why people start yoga, let’s look at the main benefits associated with a regular yoga practice.

Benefits of Yoga effect you on a physical and mental level:

Before we carry on with this section about why yoga is the best way to get more energy, let’s recap what we have covered so far.

So far, you learned that:

Yoga is very popular.
The number of American yoga practitioners has increased to over 36 million in 2016, up from 20.4 million in 2012.
People start yoga for many reasons, including better health, reduce stress and more energy.
There are physical and mental benefits gained from regular yoga practice, for example, improved posture, increased mental awareness and increased body confidence.

So, can you see, with all of these benefits why I love yoga and why at key points in my life, yoga has helped me work through grief and sadness and teaching yoga is now my full-time job!

Liking part 1 of the Get More Energy 5-part blog series so far?

There is more to come!

Let’s turn our attention to explore:

What is Yoga?
The different styles and types of yoga
What to look out for when choosing a yoga class
The spiritual and philosophical aspects of yoga

Once you have this information, you will discover how easy it is to distinguish between the different yoga classes on offer and choose a class that best suits your physical and emotional needs.

So, let’s begin at the beginning and look at the historical foundations of yoga

The history of yoga goes back thousands of years

In this section, I’ll offer you a brief overview, as I know it, of the ancient roots of yoga.

There is a common misconception that yoga, as we know it nowadays, originated in India.

However, scholars and dedicated yoga teachers have traced the roots of yoga back to East Africa and India,

We will talk more about the different styles of yoga and the spiritual and philosophical teachings later on in this blog post, for now, I will touch upon Tantra yoga and Vedanta philosophy of yoga in relation to explaining the historical roots of yoga.

For this, I am indebted to the life work and teachings of Caroline Shola Arewa, Dr. Asar Hapi and Master Yirser Ra Hotep (Elvrid Lawrence) the author of the popular blog Yoga Online, and Swami Saradananda

The two main strands of thought centre around whether yoga originated in India or Ancient Egypt (Ancient Kemet.)
Egyptologist who studied ancient Egyptian civilisation discovered symbolic drawings and carvings showing people in “modern” day yoga positions. Indicating that yoga was practiced in Ancient Egypt.
Yoga spiritual and physical practices can be traced back to the Indus Valley Civilisation that flourished in the Indus River Basin. During this period, Tantric yoga was practised by the Dravidians, who descended from Ethiopia and founded the Indus Valley civilisations. Tantra yoga dates back to pre-Aryan India (3000 – 2500
“Tantra” means ‘extend knowledge and to liberate’ and includes yoga teachings relating to the chakras, hatha yoga, and the worship of the Goddesses Shakti and Durga, and the Gods Shiva and Vishnu.
Despite the fact that yoga originated in ancient Egypt is commonly accepted that Indian spiritual teachers popularised the “modern” yoga most people in the west practice and know today.
With the growth in students popularising and adopting the more traditional ancient aspects of Kemetic yoga.,the debate about the roots of yoga continues!

The history of yoga is a fascinating area of study, especially with the advances in DNA testing, archaeological sites evacuation, and scientists who specialise in the migration and expansion routes of our ancient ancestors across the globe.
If the roots and history of yoga is an area of study for you, I encourage you to do your own research, keep an open mind and heart and engage positively to the growing body of knowledge and interest about the historical roots of yoga and ancient civilisations.

Let’s recap…

Before talking further about what is yoga, let’s recap what we have covered so far in this blog post “Why Yoga Is the Best Way to Get More Energy (Even If You Feel Tired and Have No Energy!)

You have:

Received an overview of the Get More Energy: One Breath at a Time 5-part series and looked at the different aspects we will cover over the next 6 weeks
Learnt that being tired and fatigued is a common problem faced by many women.
Discovered that most of my yoga students use yoga as a form of rejuvenation and enjoy their weekly yoga classes, especially their private yoga lessons
Looked at 7 popular reasons why people start yoga
Discover the top benefits of yoga
Unearthed the historical roots of yoga

In the remaining part of this blog post, we’ll explore

What is yoga
Find out more about the spiritual and philosophical side of yoga
Learn about the different styles of yoga

If you are feeling tired and keen to relax and get more energy, check out my daily Live Facebook Guided Meditation series over on my Facebook Page.
You’ll find a selection of guided meditations and yoga breathing exercises you can use today!

Get More Energy: What Is Yoga? It’s Not What You Think

In today’s modern (western) climate, some people view yoga purely as a form of physical exercise and place less emphasis on the deeper, more spiritual aspects of yoga.

Yoga consists of a system of:

Yoga exercises or postures, which are a sequence of yoga poses (known as asanas) which gently open and stretch the body, improve posture, increase flexibility, suppleness and strength.

Breathing Exercises, known as pranayama, are designed to help you learn how to breathe correctly. In my experience of teaching, many people do not know how to breathe properly and have poor breathing habits. Yoga breathing exercises teach you how to maximize your vitality through correct use of your respiratory system, to cleanse your body, boost your immunity and bring calmness to the nervous system and emotions.

Guided Relaxation, which to release body tension and promote a sense of deep physical, mental and spiritual relaxation.

Meditation and Chanting, meditation helps to calm and focus your mind and encourages you to experience a sense of inner peace. If you are interested in meditation, ask your teacher how that is structured into the class and what type of meditation is taught. Some schools of yoga do not include chanting whereas others do.

To Recap

Yoga Helps You Relieve Stress, Relax and Boost Your Energy

It offers you a holistic approach to naturally deal with feeling tired all the time and having no energy.

Yoga practices enable you to:

Stretch and release tension and pain in your body through easy yoga exercises
Still and focus your mind through basic breathing exercises (known as pranayama in yoga)
Stay calm and release anxiety and worry through guided meditation practices

Now that you have a clearer understanding about the potential of yoga to ease your concerns, in the last blog post of this series, I will share with you basic yoga exercises and breathing exercises you can do at home or at work to reduce aches and pains, relax, and energise your body.

Most new students are confused about the different types of yoga and wonder where to start and what to look out for when choosing to start. We will discuss the different styles of yoga, ways to choose the best style of yoga for your body shape and lifestyle in the next section.

What Are The Different Styles Of Yoga?

There are many different styles of yoga on offer.

In the West, yoga classes, tend to refer to the physical aspects of yoga as opposed to the more spiritual, meditative side of yoga.

Yoga classes range from very dynamic physically challenging styles to gentle flowing restorative practices.

Hatha Yoga:

Hatha yoga is the generic term used to describe the different styles of yoga and is the most popular type practiced in the west.

The word “Hatha” is a Sanskrit word, made up of “Ha” (sun) and “tha” (moon).

So, Hatha yoga literally means sun and moon joining together as one.

The sun and moon represent the masculine/active (sun) and feminine/receptive (moon/lunar) principles as the opposing polarities of life. A good hatha class will be a balance of strenuous work (ha) and relaxation (tha).

Six Popular Styles of Yoga

Sivananda Yoga

Founded by Swamiji Sivananda (1887–1963) this form of yoga is considered a fairly gentle to moderate pace and a good introduction to yoga.

Sivananda Yoga places emphasis on physical, mental and spiritual health.

This is reflected in the class, which traditionally tends to include meditation, breathing exercises and spiritual teachings as well as the physical poses.

Sivananda Yoga focuses on 12 core postures which work primarily on the spine and central nervous system.

The teachings are based on five principles for healthy living: According to Swami Vishnudevananda, if you follow these five principles you will improve your physical and mental health and deepen your spiritual connection with life.

These principles are proper exercise (asanas), proper breathing (pranayama), proper relaxation (Corpse Pose), proper diet (vegetarianism), and positive thinking and meditation.

Find out more at www.sivananda.org

Iyengar Yoga

K. S. Iyengar (b. 1918 – 1914) is the famous yoga teacher associated with this style of yoga.

In Iyengar yoga, great emphasis is placed on the structural alignment of the body. It is considered a very precise form of yoga and uses props to support the body to achieve the poses.

Iyengar yoga is considered a good introduction to yoga, especially with its strong emphasis on posture alignment, anatomy, flexibility and strength.

In my experience, an Iyengar beginners’ class gives you a solid introduction to the anatomy and structure of the body as you do the poses.

The use of props, which are like aids, help unfit and overweight people in particular to feel more comfortable in the poses.

Find out more at www.bksiyengar.com

Ashtanga Yoga

Pattabhi Jois (1915–2009) is the founder of this style of yoga.

Considered a more strenuous form of yoga and definitely more physically challenging than Sivananda or Iyengar, Ashtanga yoga is very good for those who like a physical dynamic practice.

It is best suited to students who are reasonably fit and in good health and in my view, looking for a workout.

Traditionally Ashtanga Yoga was taught Mysore style.

This means you learnt a series of poses and practices at your own pace whilst your yoga teacher went around the room giving personal adjustments.

You are normally taught the primary series and once you have mastered these poses you move onto the second, third, or fourth series.

Nowadays, classes are generally led by a teacher, but traditional Mysore classes are popular.

Find out more at www.ashtanga.com

Bikram Yoga

Founded by Bikram Choudhury (b.1946), he introduced his system of yoga to America in 1971.

Some people refer to Bikram Yoga as “Hot Yoga” as it is taught in rooms which are heated to at least 105 degrees Fahrenheit.

The room is as hot as a sauna.

Classes are 90 minutes long and consist of 45 minutes of standing poses and 45 minutes of floor postures.

You learn 26 basic postures and two breathing exercises.

As a beginner, it is essential you are in reasonable health and feel comfortable in learning yoga in a hot environment. You will sweat a lot.

Find out more at www.bikramyoga.com

Anusrara Yoga

Founded by John Friend in 1997, Anusrara Yoga is based on alignment techniques John Friend practised and learnt from Iyengar Yoga.

Tantric philosophy and a deep sense of encouraging you to open your heart and connect with the postures as you breathe through the poses is a key feature of Anusrara Yoga.

Anusrara” means flowing with grace and traditionally, students are encouraged to open to grace, surrender, and flow and connect with their heart as they practice yoga.

Find out more about Anusara Yoga at www.anusara.com

Kundalini Yoga

Founded by Yoga Bhajan (1929–2004), the primary aim of Kundalini Yoga is to awaken kundalini energy, the energy which leads to spiritual enlightenment.

Kundalini is a very intense yoga practice.

Strong breathing exercises, characterized by rapid and rhythmic exhalation, strong fast-paced asanas, mantras, mudras, (sealing gestures) chanting and meditation form the core of this active practice.

The fast deep breathing exercises are great if you feel flat and dull and need a boost of energy.

Find out more at www.yogibhajan.com

Chair Yoga

Founded by Lakshmi Voelker, Chair Yoga adapts traditional mat yoga poses to a chair. So instead of using a yoga mat to practice yoga, you do the poses seated on a chair. Chair Yoga classes are ideal for people who haven’t exercised for a long time and are wary of trying out traditional mat yoga. You may be recovering from surgery or living with a long-standing health condition and find it easier to learn yoga sitting down.

If you are new to Chair Yoga, watch this video to get an idea of what a Chair Yoga class looks like.

Give it a go and let me know what you think of it?

Is Chair Yoga something you think you would be interested in learning more about?

And then enjoy the info-graphic which shows the different styles of yoga and what style is best for you to chose depending on your level of fitness and well-being goals.

Not Sure Where to Start?

If you feel unsure of what questions to ask your potential yoga teacher, then the following passage gives you a list of five main starter questions to ask before you join a new class.

Five Questions To Ask Before You Join A Yoga Class

As a yoga teacher, I receive many enquiries from potential students, anxious about what to expect, what they should and should not do when they join a class.

If you have these doubts and anxieties, this section offers you five “starter questions” you need to ask your teacher before you join a class.

What Are Your Qualifications?

It is always best to learn yoga from a qualified yoga teacher.

Ask your prospective teacher what style of yoga she teaches, where she trained, how long her yoga teacher’s training course lasted and what subject areas where covered.

Yoga Teacher Training can be anything from a 4-week intensive while living in an Ashram (that’s how I gained my Sivananda Yoga Teacher’s Training Course) to 2–4 years of training, where you meet up and study with other potential teachers on a regular basis.

Always ask how much practical teaching experience was given on the course.

Also, find out how long your prospective teacher has been personally practicing yoga, how often she practices and who inspires her to continue with her practice.

To stay true to her teachings, it is essential your potential yoga teacher has her own personal practice.

**Do You Run Yoga For Beginners Courses?**

If you are new to yoga or looking to improve your practice it is a good idea to join a Yoga for Beginners Course. A beginners’ class will be tailored to ensure you learn the foundations of yoga in a safe manner. Generally, Yoga for Beginners Courses is between 6 and 8 weekly sessions of 60–90 minutes each.

How Many People Attend Your Class?

As a beginner, look for a class that isn’t too crowded—between seven to fifteen students is ideal.

This allows the teacher to get to know you, observe your practice and make appropriate adjustments to your technique.

A smaller class allows you to get to know your fellow yogi students and ask questions at the end of a class.

What Time Do You Hold Your Class And Where Do You Hold Your Class?

This is crucial.

All too often students start a class without really working out how they will fit the class into their current schedule.

From experience, many people prefer to take a class on the way to or from work, or a class which is near your home.

Anything too far, difficult to reach or held at an inconvenient time for you will be harder for you to start and integrate into your daily routine.

Ask your potential yoga teacher whether she has a particular niche or focus.

Some teachers prefer to teach beginners whilst others focus specifically on more advanced students, children or pregnant women.

If you have any particular health needs or disabilities, this initial conversation is the ideal opportunity to see if your teacher can adapt the sessions to your needs.

By talking, you will also find out more about his particular style of teaching, his overall health and wellness philosophy and any other idiosyncrasies he may have so you can gauge how comfortable you feel learning with this teacher.

Once you have this information, it becomes easier for you to find a yoga class suited to your particular health and wellness needs.

Many people start yoga as a way to learn how to relax, to become more flexible and even to lose weight or heal after an emotional crisis or loss.

However, over time, as they notice the change in their life they are keen to discuss why this is so and express an interest in the wider spiritual and philosophical teachings of yoga.

I find this fascinating and love when students wish to go deeper into their practice.

In the following section of this blog post, we take a look at yoga philosophy, more commonly known as the Yoga Sutras, with specific reference to the Yamas and Niyamas.

Introduction To Yoga Philosophy:

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

What are the Yoga Sutras?

The Yoga Sutras is recognised as the first complete presentation of the practical and spiritual aspects of yoga.

It consists of 196 threads or commentaries which bring together all the various strands and thoughts about yoga philosophy in one main literary source.

These threads cover all aspect of life, from giving guidelines on how to live a healthy industrious life right through to thoughts on how you can reach the ultimate goal of yoga – self-realization.

Who Wrote The Yoga Sutras?

Born around 300 BC, the ancient sage, Maharishi Patanjali, is recognized as the key author of the Yoga Sutras.

Patanjali’s texts give you a set of 196 aphorisms or threads known as the Yoga Sutras.

There is a debate about the exact date that Patanjali wrote the sutras, but many scholars say the ancient texts are at least 2500 years old.

Tell Me More About The Yoga Sutras

The Yoga Sutras contains four chapters, each one covering a different aspect, or understanding of yoga. Together they offer you a roadmap to deepening your yoga practice.

Traditionally, yoga practices were part and parcel of everyday life and these values, beliefs and ways of living are recorded in the Yoga Sutras.

Chapter 1 talks about yoga and effects of the mind on your practice.
Chapter 2 focuses on the Eight Limbs of Yoga.
Chapter 3 talks about the vast potential of yoga to control and harness your mind’s power,
Chapter 4 deals with the final journey your soul makes towards “death and liberation.

What Are The Eight Limbs Of Yoga?

The Eight Limbs Of Yoga is often a yoga student’s first introduction to yoga philosophy.

Most yoga students, especially those in the West are aware of yoga exercises and many feel that this is all there is about yoga.

However, as you know, yoga also consists of a yoga breathing exercises, relaxation technique and meditation practices

The Eight Limbs Of Yoga form the ethical and philosophical foundation of yoga and as you will see, yoga postures, breathing exercises and meditation are included within the the Eight Limbs or Steps of Yoga.

According to the ancient sage Patanajali, in his Yoga Sutras, yoga consists of eight limbs which he called Ashtanga Yoga.

Each limb has its own identity yet still forms part of the whole system known as yoga.

The Eight Limbs or Steps of Yoga are:

Yama (a set of social codes for an ethical living)
Niyama (guidelines for personal conduct and behaviour)
Asana (yoga postures)
Pranayama (breath control)
Pratyahara (withdrawal and control of the senses)
Dharana (concentration)
Dhyana (meditation)
Samadhi (enlightenment, self-realisation)

What Are The Yamas and Niyamas?

In addition, the Yamas and Niyamas are further broken down into 5 specific guidelines which give detailed explanations to guide you through your daily life.

The Yamas focus on universal social and moral observations and sets out guidelines to encourage universal positive behaviours.

Ahimsa – Compassion and non-violence towards all beings, including animals.
Satya – truthfulness, speaking your truth in thoughts, words and behaviour. Basically being honest and kind.
Asteya – Non-stealing and being generous with your thoughts and actions.
Brahmacharya – Self-restraint, generally Brahmacharya refers to restraint of the sexual energy, however in its broadest sense, Brahmacharya means self-discipline and moderation in all areas of life.
Aparigraha – Non-possessiveness and non-greed. The ability to share and to have freedom from desire, for example, not to take bribes or unasked for gifts.

The five Niyamas are more personal observations and relate to actions which you are encouraged to do

Shauca – Cleanliness, keeping yourself and immediate environment clean and tidy.

Samtosha – Contentment, being satisfied and accepting of your immediate situation; the ideal behind Samtosha is to allow yourself to be happy and appreciate all the blessings and tribulations in your life, yet at the same time to strive towards spiritual enlightenment.

Tapas – Relates to self-discipline; the ability to stay focused and maybe go without certain possessions in order to grow, develop and care for yourself and others, .e.g Tapas could relate to a child giving up sweets for a period of time and giving that money instead to a local charitable cause.

Svadhyaya – self-study and observation of your thoughts, words and actions. It includes regular spiritual discussions and studying spiritual, philosophical literature in order to gain a richer understanding of life. It includes the ability to be reflective and introspective so that you get to know yourself on a deeper level, which helps to create clarity in your thoughts and behaviours. The more you know yourself the easier it is for you to communicate openly and honestly your desires.

Ishvarapranidhana – Refers to devotion to God. To constantly be aware of the sacredness of life and to hold reverence for all being.

As you can see the Yamas and Niyams offer you a set of highly thought of social and personal guidelines to consider as you strive to live a more harmonious and balanced life.

For more information or classes on the Yoga Sutras, visit:

http://yogamentor.yoga/

http://www.sivananda.org/

http://www.patanjalisutras.com/

http://www.discover-yoga-online.com

Recap of Get More Energy and Next Steps

Today’s blog post, “Why Yoga Is the Best Way to Get More Energy (Even If You Feel Tired and Have No Energy!) is the first of a 5-part blog series on the theme Get More Energy. So far you:

Received an overview of the series and looked at the different aspects we will cover over the next 6 weeks
Learnt that being tired and fatigued is a common problem faced by many women
Discovered that most of my yoga students use yoga as a form of rejuvenation and enjoy their weekly yoga classes, especially their private yoga lessons
Looked at 7 popular reasons why people start yoga
Discover the top benefits of yoga
Unearthed the historical roots of yoga

What is yoga
Find out more about the spiritual and philosophical side of yoga
Learn about the different styles of yoga

Yoga Helps You Relieve Stress, Fight Fatigue, Relax and Boost Your Energy

It offers you a holistic approach to naturally deal with feeling tired all the time and having no energy. Yoga practices enable you to:

Stretch and release tension and pain in your body through easy yoga exercises
Still and focus your mind through basic breathing exercises (known as pranayama in yoga)
Stay calm and release anxiety and worry through guided meditation practices

If you are feeling excited by the news that yoga may help you feel less tired and have more energy and keen to try it out for yourself,
I invite you to visit my blog, Yoga Inspires and get your free illustrated download plus video of 7 simple stretches to boost your energy. Click here and be instantly energised!

So, Closing Thoughts and Prayer

We have come to the end of the first blog post in the Get More Energy 5-part blog series.

WOW!

Congratulations for taking time to pause and find out more about how yoga can help you reduce stress and feel less tired so that you have more energy to do the things you love with your family.

It was a marathon read so thank you.

May your heart remain open as you breathe the essence of love and vitality through your soul.

And, if you have a friend or family member who always feels tired and lacks energy, do share this blog post with them and encourage them to read it and try out the chair yoga video class.

Am positive you will both have fun!

Remember, in the final blog post in this mini-series, we’ll be looking at different yoga exercises, breathing practices and meditation techniques you can use to help you stop feeling overwhelmed and exhausted from work and home.

And if you want to

Explore the common causes and reasons why you are always tired
Look at the popular mistakes most yoga beginners make when they practice yoga and meditation for more energy

Sign up to receive your free gift “7 Simple Yoga Stretches to Boost Your Energy where you’ll also have the option to receive email updates so I can let you know when the second blog post is published. Click here to be energised!

Namaste

Ntathu Allen xxx

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With thanks to:

Photo by Dario Valenzuela on Unsplash

Photo credits: Photo by Frank Holleman on Unsplash

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