Looking for a fitness form, which both is good for your body and your mental spirit and bring the two sides of you on speaking terms?

Find it in yoga. Here we guide you through the many types of yoga, so you can choose the best for you, depending on whether you want to burn the energy, get an excellent anti-stress tool, or find inner peace.

HATHA YOGA

What is it?
One of the yogaens original main branches. Today the “grand father” of a wide range of physical yoga-related forms.
What happens?
Efforts include with physical exercises, nasal wash, concentration and meditation.
What is the goal?
To increase body awareness, concentration, energy level and overall well-being.
Who is it for?
Everyone.

BIKRAM YOGA

What is it?
A bit hit in the U.S. Takes place in premises that are warmed up to above 100 degrees. Arise out of hatha-yogaen.
What happens?
Training is tough and it consists of 26 different positions, each done twice.
What is the goal?
Different positions, each done twice. Training in the heat increases the body’s flexibility, the charges and get it in place.
Who is it for?
Younger people in good shape.

ASHTANGA YOGA

What is it?
A very physical and tough yoga form that is best suited for people who are physically active and in pretty good shape already. Ashtanga yogo is not for yoga beginners.
What happens?
Work with breathing exercises, known as the body lock, and in different series, which breaks without changing positions.
What is the goal?
To improve one’s well being through hard training, which purifies muscles, joints and internal organs, and balance in the body.
Who is it for?
Younger people in very good shape.
IYENGAR YOGA

What is it?
A very gymnastisk, technically oriented physical yoga form. Arise out of hatha-yoga.
What happens?
The poses are kept longer than in other forms of yoga. Slow, but physically. Various tools ensures that everyone can take part in this yoga form.
What is the goal?
Getting your body and your breathing work together and create a greater awareness of body position.
Who is it for?
Perfectionists. Older, disabled, people with reduced mobility. By rehabilitation.

POWER YOGA

What is it?
A sub branch of Ashtanga yoga where elements of aerobics is incorporated.
What happens?
Unlike regular yoga, which included breaks, Power yoga continues from start to finish as in an aerobics hours.
What is the goal?
Combining extent strength and breathing training.
Who is it for?
Everyone.

KRIPALU YOGA

What is it?
A soft form of yoga, that is both focused on the physical and mental elements.
What happens?
Work towards meditate in motion.
What is the goal?
Through different positions to explore and resolve emotional conflicts.
Who is it for?
Everyone.

SIVANDA YOGA

What is it?
A spiritual form of yoga.
What happens?
Physical exercises, breathing exercises and relaxation.
What is the goal?
To connect to something divine.
Who is it for?
All spiritual seekers.

Get Fit with Tantric Yoga Exercises

As any tantrik acharya or tantrika (guru) would say, tantric yoga exercises work best when done early morning or before bedtime. These are performed for various reasons—for general wellbeing, to enhance sexual abilities, for mind relaxation among others.

Tantric yoga breathing exercises in particular are best performed very early in the morning when one’s stomach is still empty. These exercises are done sitting down on the floor or carpet with the legs crossed and back straight. Relaxation is the key, so a short breathing in and out to empty out the lungs is the usual start. There are two methods of breathing, either using the diaphragm or using the chest. First, breathe through the diaphragm to exercise the stomach muscles and the use chest muscles. This breathing exercise is repeated a number of times during a tantric yoga session.

There are breathing exercises recommended for strengthening abdominal muscles, which in turn eases strain on one’s back. Backache sufferers perform this set of exercises in order to relieve back pain. It is comprised around five minutes of deep breathing, taking in air from the stomach then exhaling it.

There is another set of tantric yoga exercises that is ideal for people who want to enhance their sexual abilities or to correct minor sexual disabilities. This is done lying down on the floor. Start with a short breathing exercise for relaxation. Then, swing your hands and arms over your head and back to stretch your body. While doing so, continue breathing deeply. Hold your breath for a few seconds and then start twitching your muscles in the anal area by contracting the anal opening inward. This should not be forced lest it causes strain, do it as normally as possible. Breathe out and loosen the muscles in your anal area. Simultaneously, swing your hands and arms over your head again. Repeat this exercise a couple of times more.

There are tantric yoga exercises also intended for the purpose of weight reduction. These are very similar to regular yoga poses but require more movements and repetitions. They also aim at relieving stress and tension, which lead to anxiety-driven eating or bingeing. People tend to overeat when they are under a lot of stress or in a tension-filled situation.

Relaxing after a series of tantric yoga exercises is crucial. The yoga instructor or guru usually asks students to lie down on the floor to relax for a few minutes. This brief relaxation period not only allows the tired body to rest but also to enhance the effects of the exercise. The whole body, from the legs to the arms should be relaxed. The mind should also be emptied of any thoughts or in a relaxed state. This is a perfect way of capping a session of tantric yoga exercises.

Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain

Tantric yoga as mentioned repeatedly by health and fitness experts offers a whole range of benefits to practitioners. Tantric yoga benefits are in fact too many to list down and write about. With its numerous benefits in all aspects of a person’s well-being, it is the secret to long life and youthful appearance as well.

Physically, it strengthens and tones muscles, improve balance, and provides proven healing benefits to common ailments such as headaches, muscle pains, sinusitis, among many more. Even other medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, insomnia etc. improve with regular yoga sessions.

Tantric yoga is also practiced for backache or back pain treatment. It is effective because the positions or exercises focus on the spine, misalignment or stress on it, which is often the cause of back pain. Thus, stretching exercises are being performed to strengthen the muscles and relieve strain.

There is a good and simple breathing exercise that works even for chronic back pain relief. It is entails deep abdominal breathing that works on strengthening stomach muscles of back pain sufferers. This could be done for as short as five minutes, thus can easily be squeezed into a person’s coffee break or something.This can be done sitting down, standing up or lying down as long as the position is comfortable.

Mentally, it relaxes one’s mind, enhances focus or concentration, reduces tension, and brings about mental alertness. Spiritually, it improves a person’s inner awareness of his or her connection with his inner being. Tantric yoga also improves a person’s disposition and makes him or her more positive and confident. There are strenuous poses however that should not be done by backache sufferers. The yoga instructor or yogi should be the one to recommend which poses should be done. Otherwise, these may prove to be too backbreaking and may cause harm than good.

For weight-conscious people, tantric yoga exercises also aid in weight reduction. How it does this is by relieving stress, which usually causes some people to overeat. As an outlet for anxiety, people do not have to turn to food for comfort. Tantric yoga also does wonder to a person’s physical appearance, not only in terms of weight, but in making the face more radiant.

More and more people are also associating tantric yoga to all things sexual, from improving sexual stamina and performance to increasing sexual appetite. These actually are manifestations or end-results only of all tantric yoga benefits combined. Although are really tantric yoga positions that really enhance sexual capability and can even cure infertility problems. These exercises focus on the genital and anal areas. In the process of strengthening muscles in these areas, they stimulate the physiological functions of the genitals and reproductive organs.

Thus, there is such a concept call tantric sex. Tantra is after all a type of yoga that is intended for revitalizing sexual relationships and enhancing sexual drives. Many couples or partners attend tantric yoga sessions specifically for these reasons. Through tantric yoga, they shed their inhibitions and become more intimate to each other. The tantric yoga positions are aimed at making them fell connected in the real sense of the word.

Different Techniques for Different Folks

Just as there are numerous postures, exercises, movements, benefits and reasons in tantric yoga, there are just as many techniques as well. As they say, different strokes for different folks. The purpose for performing tantra is determined first prior to pinpointing the tantric yoga techniques that will be used. It is said that left-hand tantra is focused on sexual practices while right-hand tantra on mental practices.

There are basic elements however that apply to any technique. After all, these techniques are all aimed at attaining a good balance in a person’s inner and outer being or body, mind, and soul in order to bring forth a better, revitalized and enlightened person.

As cited earlier, tantric yoga techniques largely depend on the purpose or what the practitioner or student hopes to achieve from the tantric yoga sessions. There are different sets of techniques for people who want to achieve peace of mind, to increase mental power or concentration, to enhance sexual prowess, to strengthen muscles, to lose weight, to awaken spirituality, or for healing purposes.

In ancient times however, the real purpose of tantric yoga techniques was to attain spiritual bliss or awakening. It had nothing to do with the material world that we know now. But surprisingly tantric yoga also helps in everyday concerns as well as helping people overcome destructive vices or harmful habits such as smoking and excessive eating.

There are also techniques purely for enhancing sensuality and sexuality. These are of course done with a partner. The most basic is the sacred tantric embrace, which really allows the couple or partners to feel a different level of intimacy and connection. The technique is so simple yet powerful. It combines deep breathing and soulful gazing into each other’s eyes. Then of course, the very intimate embrace, with the couple’s arms wrapped tightly around each other and their heads resting on each other’s shoulders.

Other techniques include virksasana which concentrates on mental power and focus; prasarita padottanasana, which focuses on physical strength; ustrasana, which promotes flexibility; vasisthasana, which promotes body strength; adho mukha, which promotes healing among many others.

Not all tantric yoga techniques though are suitable to just about anyone, extra care should be practiced at all times. There are techniques intended for pregnant women, children, and people with ailments or sicknesses. Tantric yoga sessions involving such people however require more support from the tantrika or tantra guru to avoid injuries and to ensure benefits. Tantric yoga has healing or curative powers for common ailments such as headaches and back pains as well as diseases such as diabetes and heart disorders.

There is a short and simple breathing technique that works in easing common backaches as well as chronic back pain. It uses deep abdominal breathing to strengthen stomach muscles of back pain sufferers, which in turn eases the pain in the lower back. This is done in short intervals of five minutes. This can be done sitting down, standing up or lying down as long as the position is comfortable.

Yoga by any Other Name is Still Yoga

Tantra, tantrism or tantric yoga is one of the eight major forms of yoga. According to traditional yoga practitioners, tantric yoga is comprise of left-hand and right-hand. Left-hand tantra is focused on sexual practices, whike Right-hand tantra pertains to mental practices.

Tantric yoga however does not only cover sexual and mental aspects of a person’s life or being. In fact, by its sheer definition alone of “beyond all limitations” or in Sanskrit language, the root word ‘ tan’ means, “to weave, expand, put forth, it actually encompasses almost everything. Tantra covers just about everything, from the most mundane to the most crucial—everyday concerns to breathing, and of course sex.

There are many literatures about the origin of tantra but many say that it really cannot be determined. Some writings cite that it originated from pre-Aryans during the time when Buddhism was getting popular as well. Thus, Buddhists have their own interpretation of tantric symbols. From then on, it spread far and wide.

The most popular concept of tantra these days is tantric sex. An increasing number of people think that tantric yoga is all about tantric sex only. But sex is just a small aspect of this type of yoga. But its effectiveness in this aspect has caught a lot of interest. More and more couples or partners with sexual and intimacy problems turn to tantric yoga. Regular sessions improve sexual stamina and promote greater intimacy.

Tantric yoga provides a myriad of benefits that covers physical or sexual, mental and spiritual. The purpose for practicing tantra dictates the type of tantric yoga postures or exercises that need to be performed. But the basics and mechanics are similar. Relaxation is the key in attaining the benefits of tantric yoga.

Tantra gurus, who are also called as tantrik acharya or tantrika, are there to teach and guide yoga practitioners with the right movements and poses. They lead students in getting into a calm and relaxed state of mind, free from concerns, worries and other mental burdens. The students should instead imbibe positive thought and virtues to gain the full benefits of tantric yoga.

With a pure mental state accomplished, a typical tantric yoga session will involve sitting calmly on the floor or carpet. The ultimate aim is to unify a person’s internal and external being in order to release the energy within him or her. The student will be guided by his guru to summon his or her ‘life force’, which is the sum total of the energy within him or her.

This life force starts at the base of the spine and works its way up the upper part of the body until it reaches the forehead. The life force then transforms into light believed to be the soul of the person. This light is purified and renewed, then summoned back into the person, who can now feel a sense of enlightenment and rejuvenation.

Some forms of yoga may be studied or learned from books, magazine or videos, tantra yoga however should be taught by a qualified tantrika or tantra guru who can guide the students about the deeper essence of the postures and movements.