Pilates is a body conditioning routine that seeks to build flexibility, strength, endurance, and coordination without adding muscle bulk. In addition, Pilates increases circulation and helps to sculpt the body and strengthen the body's "core" or "powerhouse" (torso). As a result, you should be less prone to injury, have better posture, and experience better overall health. The eight principles of Pilates are: relaxation, coordination, concentration, breathing, flowing movements, alignment, stamina, and centering.

Regular Pilates training will show its benefits by making you stronger and more centered. But Yoga has its own life which goes beyond any fitness routine. Yoga is used as a maintenance tool for the Mind-Body-Spirit. The postures and stretches, breathing exercises, and meditation practices are all designed to integrate a person's mind, body, and spirit. Yoga can form the basis for an entire physical, mental and spiritual fitness program or it can be the flexibility component of a balanced physical fitness program.

The meaning of the word Yoga is "union": the integration of physical, mental, and spiritual energies that enhance health and well-being. Yoga, often practiced with Meditation, clears your mind and helps you withdraw from the distractions in your environment.

A significant benefit of yoga practice is that you can take this ability to focus your attention into every aspect of your life. You can be fully present with whatever you are doing instead of worrying about tomorrow or regretting yesterday. Not only will your actions be more productive, you can also enjoy them in a greater way.

The most widely known yogic practice is asana, often known as Hatha yoga (asana means "ease" in Sanskrit). It includes a variety of physical postures and exercises that create immediate changes in the body. The connection of the breath and the mind is a basic principle of yoga. If the mind is calm and focused, the breathing will be steady and rhythmic. If the mind is restless and agitated, the breathing will be restless and agitated. A fundamental instruction in yogic breathing practices is the elimination of any jerkiness in the breathing motion so as to maintain smoothly flowing breath.

This will then correlate with subsequent smoothness in the flow of thoughts, making yogic breathing exercises very useful in calming the restlessness of the mind and creating clarity, focus, and heightened energy. Therefore, pranayama is often performed as a preparation for meditation.Studies have demonstrated that the practice of pranayama can aid digestion, cardiac function, and a variety of other physical ailments.

Meditation is a state of focused concentration that may result in a heightened sense of peace and awareness. Meditation is so thoroughly effective in reducing stress and tension that, in 1984, the National Institutes of Health recommended meditation over prescription drugs as the first treatment for mild hypertension.
Meditation has also been shown to have a positive effect on immune functions and strengthens the body's defenses against infectious disease.

These resources are wonderful tools to help you stay motivated in your Yoga spirit - and they are FREE.

Whether you want to learn more about Yoga, find the right practice, settle for meditation, or break from your daily Yoga routine, these inspiring tools will get you there - even when you are not sure where that "THERE" is... Just keep doing Yoga, and you will find that gourgeous, beautiful, peaceful place in your soul.

Books

Easy Steps to Yoga

Essence of Yoga

"108 Reasons to do Kundalini Yoga"

"Real Yoga Real People "

Yoga In Daily Life 

The Science of Pranayama 

Downloads and Podcasts

Meditation

Mind Meditation Course

Inner Peace

Natural Beauty - Positive Self Image

Self Esteem 

On-line Yoga Classes

20 Minutes of Power

Learn Yoga

Breathing and Meditation