Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.
This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.
Let’s Make it hAPPen
We have had a lot of fun these past couple of weeks discussing the ins and outs of yoga. In my last post, Breathe Out the Myths, I debunked many of the misconceptions that surround the world of yoga. My goal through my blogs has been to educate, motivate, and most importantly inspire. But now it is time to go out and truly incorporate yoga into our lives. Now that we have all the information we may need to simply get started, I am going to give you some extra guidance that can help us be consistent. Here are some apps that offer great guidance and that might spark some enthusiasm as we go out into the world and begin to better ourselves.
Yoga and Meditation by Glo
Glo was developed by YogaGlo, Inc. It is online yoga, pilates, and meditation all created to help others feel better in body and mind. Glo offers many features such as personalized classes, easy-to-use search tools, experienced teachers, as well as the ability to track your activity through other health apps or Apple Watches. Glo allows you to do yoga on the go or at home and is comprehensive for all levels and ages. Other than the obvious workouts available on the app, it also offers many meditation and breathing exercises on the days when it just seems too hard to get out of bed. Glo is available through Apple TV, iPads, iPhones, Apple Watches, and the web, which makes it very accessible. While downloading the app is free, to continue your practice after the free trial period it costs $22.99 a month. This price is very reasonable considering that it costs about the same amount for a single yoga class. Overall, Glo has great ratings and I personally find it to be very simple, and yet still have all the things I am looking for to incorporate yoga into my life.
Daily Yoga: Workout and Fitness
Daily Yoga was developed by Daily Yoga Culture Technology Co., Ltd. It provides over 500 various guided classes to help learn the basics before diving into more advanced classes and flows. It also has many world class teachers for those a bit more advanced. What I love most about this app is the community that is established. Users are able to discuss their practicing experiences as well as tag and encourage each other to finish the challenge. Another aspect of the app that I think is very helpful are the Smart Coaches, which help to free us of the hassle of having to search for the right class. Daily Yoga is available through iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, and Apple TV. Downloading Daily Yoga is free, however it is only a 7-day free trial before you have to get a membership. A membership is only $9.99 a month and includes everything the app has to offer. This app also has great ratings, which makes sense because it is available on multiplatforms and allows you to feel like you are supported throughout your entire use of the app.
Asana Rebel: Get in Shape
Asana Rebel was developed by Asana Rebel GmbH. One thing that I think is very unique to this app, is its daily quiz. Asana Rebel believes in wellness for both the mind and body. The daily quiz is thought to keep your mind sharp, which is especially important as we get older. Asana Rebel really focuses its work around empowering us to get in shape, feel better, and stay inspired everyday. This app is really easy to navigate and has subtitles that allow you to find workouts and meditation classes in a very efficient way. Asana Rebel is available on iPads, Apple Watches, and Apple TV. The initial download of this app is free, but to continue with a membership does cost some money. A 3-month subscription costs $27.99 and includes all premium packages and features. Asana Rebel has the lowest ratings of the three apps I have recommended. However, this app still has high ratings in relation to the entire app store. This app allows you to dive into your own personal gym, while also offering sounds of meditation and words of encouragement.
I hope you all choose one of, if not all of these apps to use in your daily lives. Each app is unique in its own way and provides us with a new outlook on how we can best benefit from yoga. As we move forward in our journey I hope that we can continue to build a community that is supportive and beneficial for us all. As I have always said before, I am here for you. So please reach out and give me topic suggestions for my upcoming blogs! What else do you want to know? What should I go more into detail about? Should I start an Instagram page for us to follow and build a community through? I am open to all suggestions and hope that this blog has once again helped you all in your yoga voyage.
Breathe Out the Myths
Last week in my Copy the Pose, Not the Right blog, I shared with you guys the importance of being aware of digital tattoos as well as cross-checking information. I also provided many social media accounts to help motivate and inspire current and future yoga practicers. In today’s post, I am going to dive deeper into the many myths that surround the world of yoga. Many of these myths make people second guess whether yoga is something that they truly believe is worth incorporating in their lives. However that is why I am here! I am going to bring to light the truth and continue to enlighten you all with the many wonderful benefits that yoga has not only brought to my life, but also the lives of others.
Myth 1: Yoga belongs to one religion…
While yoga was created through a religious eye, it does not mean that in order to practice yoga you must also practice a specific religion. In one of my previous blogs, Clear Your Mind and Your Search, I talked about certain pieces of information to stay away from, such as the article by Charisma. I believe that one of the greatest things about yoga, is that you can take from it what you want. Whether you benefit more from the exercise side, the mental side, or even the religious side, yoga allows you to in simple terms, personalize it.
Myth 2: Yoga is only bodily postures…
One thing that I have not touched on much is the fact that there are many forms of yoga. Thus, yoga is more than just a pose. What all these types of yoga have in common though is the idea of common together to find your inner peace and relaxation. So while you may view yoga as just a bodily posture, what you are gaining from this posture is far more deep.
Myth 3: You have to be flexible to do yoga…
Flexibility is by no means a prerequisite for yoga. In fact, one of the greatest things about yoga is that you can start at any level. According to DesignHealth, “Each pose you see has a modification to enable a beginner to ease into each “asana” or posture.” Thus, many instructors provide modifications to poses to ensure that all levels are able to get the most out of it be to make the pose easier or harder.
Myth 4: Yoga is only for young people…
Yoga simply has no limits. In fact, yoga has been seen to help benefit many older populations. According to the Chopra Center, yoga helps improve stability, flexibility, joint health, respiration, high blood pressure, along with many other benefits. While these issues are seen in some young adults, we primarily see these health disparities amongst older populations. So maybe instead of viewing yoga only for young people, we should be encouraging older communities to incorporate it into their lives as well.
Myth 5: Yoga is time-consuming…
Yoga can be however long or short you want it to be. In fact, I often find myself searching for “15 minute yoga sessions” or “30 minute yoga class” online. It is amazing the amount of videos and platforms that are out there to help us make our spare time useful by doing something as wholesome as yoga. One of my favorite yoga platforms is through Peloton Studio. Peloton provides many at home yoga workouts for all types of levels and time-availability.
Myth 6: Yoga is only for women…
There is a huge stigma that surrounds yoga when it comes to the topic of gender. What I think is most important to remember is that there is no sign on a yoga studio’s door saying “No men allowed.” Yoga is very inclusive, but I think that the stigma surrounding this exercise, essentially pushes men away rather than making them feel welcome. What I would suggest understanding is you are a man, is that yoga was actually created by men, some of the greatest instructors have been men, and many professional male athletes have begun to incorporate yoga into their lives. In fact, according to DOYOUYOGA, athletes such as Shaquille O’Neal, Lebron James, Ray Lewis, Kevin Love, and Evan Longoria all practice yoga. So males, do not be afraid to try it out!
Myth 7: You have to be thin to do yoga…
We put enough pressure on ourselves to look a certain way. The thing I love most about yoga, is that I never feel uncomfortable. Except for when my instructors encourage me to try a new and difficult pose! But what I mean is that yoga is inclusive. And let’s not forget that yoga is a workout. It can help improve the tone of many practicers and leave you feeling more confident and relaxed than you have ever been.
Myth 8: Yoga requires expensive tools and apparel…
Do not get my wrong, I am a lover of Lululemon apparel. However, are the most expensive and ‘brand name’ clothing or yoga mats necessary to get the full benefits that yoga provides? No. In fact, if we become too consumed with how we look or what we have, we end up missing the whole purpose of yoga itself. I love what Val Minos, the creator of Alt-Yoga Vibe said. He stated, “Yoga isn’t about the look, it’s about moving the breath through the body and finding a deeper connection with self.”
A common theme that I noticed about all of these myths is that people try to put yoga into a rigid category. Stating that yoga is only this or only that. However, what is important to realize, is that yoga is fluid. You can take or give whatever you want from it and there are no strict guidelines to how you should embrace this natural remedy. What is most important, is to understand that yoga only brings positivity to our lives. Be it through getting in better shape, our minds being more clear, or even just relaxing us through stressful moments. Yoga is always here to help guide and encourage a healthy and wholesome lifestyle. For more information, as I said above, refer to my last post. In addition, follow @TaraStiles on twitter for motivation and guidance.
Stay tuned for next week as we continue on our yoga journey together. Remember, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me, or comment on this post! I am excited to continue to grow and learn together.
Copy the Pose, Not the Right
Welcome back! If you are new to this blog and have just recently joined us, I highly suggest checking out my other posts! My first blog, YOGA FOR THE MIND AND BODY, gives great insight into the benefits that yoga can have on both the mind and the body. Go take a look and explore the different sources available for you to get started with incorporating this natural remedy into your own life!
What are Social Media and Copyright POSING Towards Yoga?
- Yoga has been around for over 5,000 years, which means that there is a lot of information out there about this topic. Which brings me to the point that research is constantly being done to find the most interesting or mind-blowing information about yoga. However, if I have learned anything from Juan Enriquez’s TED talk, what we put on the internet lasts a lot longer than we do. Thus, a lot of data may be outdated. So what should we do? First, check the publishing date. Anything published over 10 years should be cross-checked with other reliable sources. Which brings me to my next point, you should cross-check your information with other sources as well.
- Cross-checking helps us to feel more confident in what we are reading. Think about it, if only one person told us something we may or may not believe them. But if 10 people told us something, we are more likely to believe them all. This is the same for cross-checking information. Be sure to give credit to those in which you pulled information from though. The video, Copyright and Fair Use Animation, helps to show how sometimes it can be easy to take information without giving credit to the original creators. I am all for expanding our knowledge, let’s just be sure to give credit where credit is due.
Social Media Accounts:
Looking for some help? Need some guidance? Not quite motivated yet? Follow me on Vimeo and check out my latest post about mental health and ways that yoga (along with other methods) can positively impact your mental state. I hope to be making more videos about all aspects of yoga in the future! In addition check out this other Vimeo video that gives you true insight into individuals who practice yoga. Watch and listen to how yoga has helped them and allowed them to live out a happier and healthier lifestyle.
Need some more day-to-day motivation? My second blog, CLEAR YOUR MIND AND YOUR SEARCH, helps to distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources within the media world. Check out the yoga instagram pages that I (@malia_holt) love to follow and give them a follow as well. Also try typing in the hashtags #yoga #yogapractice #yogainspiration to find other pages and motivation. I want to ensure that you are gaining the best information there is about yoga, so that you can get started the right way!
Copyright Disclosure:
This blog was created for the sole purpose of promoting yoga as a wholesome ingredient to a healthy lifestyle. My goal is not to make a profit of any kind. None of my data is plagiarized, but rather available through links for you all to take a deeper look at the research. You are welcome to share this blog with others! In fact, I highly recommend sharing this blog with your friends, family, peers, etc. in a credible way! That way we can all help educate each other about the importance and benefits that yoga can have on every unique individual.
Come Back and Join Us Next Week!
I hope that all of my blogs are benefitting you all in any ways you may need. Please feel free to comment or message me about different yoga topics that you may want me to address in the future. Remember, I am here for you guys and I hope that we can all grow in our best way together!
Clear Your Mind and Your Search
In my last post I talked about the importance of incorporating yoga into our daily lives. With so many resources out there to guide us in what we think is the right direction, it can be hard to find reliable and wholesome sources of information. Personally, when I first began to practice yoga more often, I was unsure where to even begin. I am here to guide you through the process of finding intriguing and motivational yoga information to best aid you with your yoga journey.
Namaste away:
Prettyeasylife This blog primarily focuses on how yoga can make your body look better. While physical health is wonderful and appealing to the eye for some people, it is not the main goal. Rather it is a means to a greater goal. Yoga is focused on a wholesome feeling of health, be it mental, physical, emotional, or spiritual. If we get so caught up on looking “skinny” or “lean” we will miss out on the many benefits that yoga has to offer. We all have different body types and what may work for one person, may not for the other. But it is important to realize that yoga is much more than a workout, rather a lifestyle.
MedlinePlus One common misconception is that in order to rid of pain, you must intake pain relievers. This thought has aided one of the largest epidemics in the world: The Opioid Epidemic. Because of this, doctors have become far more cautious in what they are prescribing. MedlinePlus is indeed a great source of health information. However, it mainly talks about what drugs and supplements are best for certain health conditions. What it fails to do is to give a variety of ways to help treat a health condition. Yoga has been found to help many people with different conditions such as back pain, high blood pressure, and even pain during pregnancy. Natural remedies to decrease pain should first be taken instead of resorting back to old ways of prescribing medication as the first step in relieving pain.
Charisma While Yoga is thought to solely bring peace into the world, it can be a controversial topic. For instance, Suzy Richardson wrote this article about why Christians should not practice yoga. She explains that by practicing yoga, you are also practicing Buddhism. As a Catholic myself, Richardson’s reasoning made sense. However, it is hard to see how many lives yoga has benefited and just simply not practice it because of this argument. This article was very one-sided and it is important to take into consideration that yoga can be practiced in different ways. If yoga contradicts your religious views, this is okay. The great thing about yoga is that it is up to you to do what you want with it. Whether you want to incorporate it for exercise purposes, to help relax you, or to actually practice the religious side of it, the greatest part about yoga is that it is what you want it to be.
Salutations:
Yoga’s Benefits From Head to Toe This is a great source of the many benefits that yoga has to offer for all parts of the body. This article is highly credible, primarily because it is reported by Johns Hopkins Medicine which is ranked number 2 for best medical schools and research. More specifically, Pamela Jeter, Ph.D does a fantastic job on touching on the benefits that yoga can have on the mind and body. I really like this article because it dives a bit deeper into how yoga can positively affect you. In addition, I am a very sensible and evidence based person and this article gives great detail about the science behind yoga.
Yoga Journal I previously mentioned this journal in my first blog because of its ability to help a range of people starting at beginners and ending with experts within the yoga field. The Yoga Journal was founded in 1975 by members of the California Yoga Teachers Association, speaking to its credibility. It has been labeled #1 for authority on yoga and the yoga lifestyle for the past 40 years. This journal offers ways to live a healthier, happier, more fulfilling life on and off the mat. I personally look to this magazine for any questions I have regarding how to best incorporate yoga into my life.
Instagram For me personally, I am more inclined to do something if I have support and companions to do it with. Instagram is one of the top social media sites used in the world with over one billion users. The best thing about Instagram is that one post can touch and motivate people of all ages, races, lifestyles, etc. Some of my favorite Instagram accounts to follow for yoga include @biggalyoga, @biggalyoga, and dade2shelby. What I like best about these accounts is that they are all unique to one another and they show that no matter where you are starting from, yoga can be beneficial to you.
The goal of this post is to help you see all sides of the “yoga world.” Like everything in the world, nothing is perfect and there are going to be different opinions on all topics. What is most important is that you guys are reading the most trustworthy information. Educate yourself and then dive deep into all that yoga has to offer!
Yoga For The Mind and Body
Yoga has been used for many different purposes throughout the years. Whether used for exercise, relaxation, mental health, or mindfulness, yoga is one of the most popular forms of activity today. This ancient Indian physical and mental practice goes beyond just obtaining an ideal body. Yoga not only physically works your body, but it also mentally puts you into a better state of mind. Amongst many other health disparities, this natural remedy has been shown to help those who struggle with mental illness, arthritis, chronic joint pain, pregnancy, and stress.
According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, in 2017, one in seven adults practiced yoga within the past 12 month and the number has only risen since. Those who partake in yoga have also been found to be more active and to improve other parts of their lives. In fact, according to Harvard Medical School, people who do yoga are 20% more likely to have a positive image of their own physical and mental health, ⅔ of yoga participants exercise more, and 40% of yoga participants eat healthier. Suggesting that yoga has a more wholesome effect on people.
To help improve mental and physical health here are some goals:
- Remember that both physical and mental health are important
- Incorporate yoga into your daily routine, even if it is for a short five minutes a day
- Focus on your mindfulness while practicing yoga
Some additional resources in regards to yoga benefits are listed below:
Yoga’s Benefits From Head to Toe: Johns Hopkins Medicine reports on different studies done by researchers such as yoga research from Johns Hopkins University, Pamela Jeter, Ph.D. They touch on the many benefits that yoga has on the mind and body.
Yoga Journal: This journal is a great source for those who are just beginning to incorporate yoga into their lives or who are unsure about where to start. The Yoga Journal gives examples of poses, videos with yoga instructors so that you can practice at home, and a list of benefits that yoga can have on your life.
Introduce Yourself (Example Post)
This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.
You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.
Why do this?
- Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
- Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.
The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.
To help you get started, here are a few questions:
- Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
- What topics do you think you’ll write about?
- Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
- If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?
You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.
Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.
When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.
Savasana 