Prevent and Correct Spine Problems With Yoga

There’s an expression that floats around in the yoga world: You’re only as strong as your spine is flexible. We’ve all seen what happens when a spine suffers too much wear and tear. People get bent over, sometimes so severely that their upper torso is parallel to the ground. Add years of sitting at a desk and pounding on a computer to the natural aging process, and you’re going to end up with a rounded back and a head that juts forward. Here are a few tips on how to prevent this from happening--and how to correct problems you may have already begun to notice--through yoga.

Use Yoga to Benefit Knees
Each year, numerous middle- aged people undergo surgery to repair damaged, over-worked knees. Our knees, when functioning correctly, allow us to walk, sit, run, stand and bend. If other parts of our body are out of whack, such as our feet or hips, this can cause problems for your knees. Yoga can help us deal with aging knees or knees damaged by athletics by stretching them, as well as strengthening other parts of the body, so that we're operating like a well-oiled machine. Hopefully, by keeping the knees stretched and flexible we can avoid surgery.

Practice Chair Yoga
Chair yoga, considered a gentler form of yoga, uses a chair for additional support. Most of the exercises are done while sitting on, leaning on or holding onto a chair. This makes it a great way to practice yoga for people of all ages and those with limited mobility. Read on to learn how to practice chair yoga.

Treat Impotence With Yoga
Impotence can be the either the inability to have an erection, or simply not being able to keep one. Disease, drug side effects or injury can cause impotence. There are many ways approach the problem, and one of the gentlest is yoga.

Do Hatha Yoga
Strengthen and align your body and quiet and focus your mind with Hatha Yoga, one of six branches of yoga that originated in India 5,000 years ago. Hatha Yoga is the physical path to achieving the state of yoga through postures, breathing techniques, conscious relaxation and meditation. There are several styles of Hatha Yoga, each with a different approach to the poses, also known as asanas. The following steps are general guidelines for whichever style you choose.