Yoga - Breathing exercises, balance balls, yoga dvds, yoga mats

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Breathing exercises, balance balls, yoga books, yoga clothing, yoga dvds, yoga mats, yoga sandals, yoga straps and other yoga accessories.

• Yoga teaches you the benefits of breathing, exercise, meditation and posture. Whether you're a yoga beginner or looking for help to learn more advanced yoga poses, Gaiam yoga media features in-depth instruction and inspiring practice sequences created with leading experts - Rodney Yee, Seane Corn, Nicki Doane, Shiva Rea, Patricia Walden and more. You can shop for balance balls, yoga books, yoga bricks, breathing cds, yoga clothing, yoga dvds, yoga mats, kids yoga mats, batik mat bags, yoga sandals yoga straps, other yoga products and accessories. at Gaiam.
  
  

  Here's a short video of the Yoga for back care dvd by the very popular yoga instructor Rodney Yee. It's designed specifically to strengthen your back and torso muscles. Just click anywhere on the picture below to watch. Click anywhere on the picture to watch the video BalanceBall® Beginners Workout DVD with Suzanne Deason. It's a combination of techniques from pilates, traditional strength/flexibility training and yoga combined with the balance ball.

  Yoga for Beginners Kit - a 40-minute dvd, yoga alignment mat, cotton yoga strap and a yoga brick. Yoga Essentials™ Mat - 68 - cushioned, light-tack nonslip surface. 24"w x 68"l x 1/8"d. Yoga mat does not contain latex. Yoga Top 90% organic cotton and 10% spandex top. Available in a variety of colors and sizes. Favorite Yoga Pant - Solid 90% organic cotton and 10% spandex pant. Available in a variety of colors and sizes.

  
  
  
• YogaAccessories.com has been selling high quality yoga accessories over the internet since 1998. As a direct importer, they're able to cut out the middleman and offer you their yoga products every day at low prices. Their yoga balls are available in a variety of pretty colors, 55, 65, and 75 centimeter sizes and include a free pump.
  
  Other yoga accessories include yoga blankets, yoga blocks in cork or foam, foam yoga bricks. yoga bolsters, bolster covers, cotton or silk eye pillows, several types of yoga mats, yoga mat cleaners, yoga mat bags, yoga mat rolls, yoga mat cutters, silk neck pillows, yoga rugs, yoga sandbags, yoga straps, yoga towels, thera-bands, yoga wedges, zabutons and zafus. You can purchase a basic yoga kit, which contains 2 foam yoga blocks, a yoga mat and a yoga strap.
  
  The deluxe yoga kit contains a yoga ball, yoga ball hand pump, 2 foam yoga blocks, a yoga mat, a yoga strap and your choice of dvd from the drop down menu. The basic yoga kits for 2 include 2 pairs of foam yoga blocks, 2 yoga mats and 2 yoga straps. Finally, the deluxe yoga kit for 2 contains 2 yoga balls, 2 yoga ball hand pumps, 2 pairs of foam yoga blocks, 2 yoga mats, 2 yoga straps and your choice of dvd from the drop down menu.
  
  They have quite an extensive selection of dvds and videos. There's everything from balance ball for beginners, pilates, Ashtanga yoga, yoga conditioning for athletes, back care, yoga for the beginner, yoga burn, conditioning geared for specific parts of the body, yoga for the entire family, yoga for kids, Kundalini yoga routines, power yoga, pre-natal, for each of the trimesters, post-natal stress relief, yoga conditioning for weight loss and other yoga dvds and videos. They do ship internationally. Please see site for details.
  
  

  Breathing exercise I found at Intellihealth:
  Lie flat on your back. Place your feet slightly apart. Lightly rest one hand on your abdomen, just near your navel. Rest your other hand on your chest. Inhale through your nose and calmly exhale through your mouth until you've emptied most of the air from your lungs. Focus on your breathing and watch which hand is moving. As you slowly count to four, gently inhale, slightly distending your abdomen to make it rise.
  
  Imagine warmth flowing into your lungs and to all parts of your body. Pause for one second. Then as you slowly count to four, gently exhale, letting your abdomen slowly fall and your diaphragm relax. Pause for another second. Repeat this process five to 10 times. When you become familiar with the process, you can practice relaxed breathing while seated and, then, while standing.
  
  Breathing Awareness and Deep Breathing
  1. Lie down or sit in a comfortable chair, maintaining good posture. Your body should be as relaxed as possible. Close your eyes. Scan your body for tension.
  2. Pay attention to your breathing. Place one hand on the part of your chest or abdomen that seems to rise and fall the most with each breath. If this spot is in your chest you are not utilizing the lower part of your lungs.
  3. Place both hands on your abdomen and follow your breathing, noticing how your abdomen rises and falls.
  4. Breathe through your nose.
  5. Notice if your chest is moving in harmony with your abdomen.
  6. Now place one hand on your abdomen and one on your chest.
  7. Inhale deeply and slowly through your nose into your abdomen. You should feel your abdomen rise with this inhalation and your chest should move only a little.
  8. Exhale through your mouth, keeping your mouth, tongue, and jaw relaxed.
  9. Relax as you focus on the sound and feeling of long, slow, deep breaths.
  
  Complete Natural Breathing
  1. Sit or stand with good posture.
  2. Breathe through your nose.
  3. Inhale, filling first the lower part of your lungs then the middle part, then the upper part.
  4. Hold your breath for a few seconds.
  5. Exhale slowly. Relax your abdomen and chest. Practice these two exercises, in whatever combination feels best for you, for ten minutes, twice a day.

  Those last two were from Davis, Eshelman, and McKay; The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook, 2nd edition; New Harbringer Publications, 1982.) ©Academic Skills Center, Dartmouth College 2001.