In yoga, the Child Pose is a resting pose that you can assume after any pose, but it's mainly used to stretch out the spine after bending it backwards. It also stretches the hips, thighs and ankles, relieves stress and relaxes the brain.
Modify Wii Fit Yoga Poses
Nintendo's Wii Fit is an electronic trainer and motivator. (What could be more motivating than stepping on a talking scale?) But the yoga poses demonstrated by the electronic trainer do not provide modifications or safety tips if you can't get into the full expression of each pose. Here are a few tips to help you protect yourself and still get a workout with your Wii Fit.
Execute the Fish Pose in Yoga
The fish pose in yoga is not a beginning posture. However, it can be altered somewhat so that it’s more doable and less strenuous. As always, when doing yoga, approach each move with caution, moving slowly and gently. Never overextend yourself, especially if you’re unaware of your limitations. If you experience discomfort—you’ll learn, in time, to distinguish between “good” pain and something that is definitely not good—back off. Follow these steps to execute the fish pose.
Improve your Health with Laughter Yoga
Once we leave childhood behind, we replace laughter with work, chores and worry, laughing 15 times a day rather than our pre-adulthood 400 times. It's a shame, say proponents of "laughter yoga" since laughter is not only fun, but also has a number of health benefits, including reducing stress, boosting the immune system, strengthening the heart, and improving circulation. It's easy to improve your health with laughter yoga (also called hasya yoga) by following some simple steps.
Use Yoga to Stretch the Sciatica Area
One of the most under stretched parts of the body is the sciatica area. For athethletes, especially runners and cyclists, who often overuse and under-stretch the piriformis muscle, it's important to properly stretch this body area to avoid conditions like sciatica, which is when a herniated disk in the spinal column that presses on the roots of the sciatica nerve, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Sciatica is often felt in the lower back, hip and leg. However, many yoga poses can be used to stretch this area.