Harshitha

4 Myths About Meditation You Have To Stop Believing

In this fast-paced life, we hardly find time to take a break from our work. This increases stress and eventually triggers various health problems, including heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity, subtracting years from our lives. In this scenario, is it possible to reduce stress levels and regain good health? Well, meditation is the solution we should be looking out for, as it enhances our well-being. However, despite the unlimited health benefits of meditation, many myths revolve around the practice of meditation, which needs to be stopped right away.

MYTH#1 Meditation Has To Be Spiritual Or Religious

A sizable number of people have a common misconception that meditation is for religious people. It is necessary to be associated with any spiritual or religious group to gain the benefits of meditation.

In fact, Meditation is a practice that makes us enter a place of silence and stillness.

A person need not have any religious belief to meditate because meditation strives to enhance the lives of every human being irrespective of their caste or religion.

MYTH#2 “A Few Weeks Of Meditation Will Solve My Problems”

Meditation will not bring good changes right away, but regular practice will surely bring positive changes, which are very subtle to notice.

If you have recently adopted Meditation in your routine and are desperate to have quick results, it would be wise to have patience as it requires time to reap its benefits. Meditation surely gives you peace of mind and immense patience to fight any problem.

MYTH#3 It Takes Years Of Practice To Receive Benefits

The benefits of meditation can be both immediate and long-term. You may experience the benefits of sitting for meditation for the first time and within the first few days of regular practice.

Several studies also prove that mediation has positive effects on the mind and body. The positive effects can be seen within a few weeks of practice. It also positively affects the areas of the brain associated with memory and concentration.

MYTH#4 Meditation Is Only for Stressed Out People

Meditation is indeed a boon for stressed-out people as it helps reduce the level of cortisol, the stress hormone that triggers various health disorders.

However, for those who do not have any ailment, meditation helps enhance physical and mental health, as it keeps the risk of heart disease at bay and improves immunity.

Common Yoga Mistakes You Should Know

Exercise in any form is the only way you can assure yourself of physical and mental wellbeing. While on the route to mental peace and internal body cleansing, you are on a constant look out for what kind of exercise best suits your body. For some it could be 20 minute run, and some functional training, for others it could be yoga. When it comes to yoga there are some common yoga mistakes that happen when done unconciously.

Nonetheless, yoga has always been a slow and strong choice of internal and external fitness. Provided you do it right. Yoga promotes myriad benefits, and has gained global popularity for its unbelievable health benefits. But now the big question is, “are you doing it right?” Check out the list of common mistakes you may be making while practicing yoga.

Common Yoga Mistakes And Tips To Avoid Them

1. Practicing On A Full Stomach

Having a full stomach right before practicing yoga can cause you to have wrong postures because of feeling heavy. This might slow you down and can make you feel uncomfortable.

2. Mistake Of Wrong Clothing Choice

It is important to avoid stiff, starchy, or tight clothes while doing yoga. It might distract you from focusing on your breath and pose. Hence, make sure you wear something that you can move and stretch easily, and that comforts your skin.

3. Inconsistent Yoga Practice

Inconsistent yoga practice makes it difficult for you to progress and also can restrict the beneficial effects on your mind and body. Make your practice shorter, but regular.

4. Holding Your Breath

Yoga movements and poses are timed with breath and breathing patterns. Do not try to pace yourself with the instructor in in a class. Allow yourself to breathe slowly and fully.

5. Inverted V Shape

In an inverted V pose, it is important to have your spine straight and not curved. A curved spine imposes body weight on the shoulders and the wrists which can lead to injuries. Bend your knees slightly and slowly straighten them, with your feet flat on the floor, to get the right pose.

6. Forcing Yourself Into The Pose

Yoga is a slow detox process of the body. Instead of forcing the stretch, you must focus on practicing it mindfully, to reap the benefits of yoga. Do not force stretch yourself but move into each pose slowly.

Aerial Yoga For Next Level Workout

Aerial yoga is a combination of traditional yoga with Pilates, acrobatics, and dance using a hammock. It’s also called anti-gravity yoga, zero gravity, upside down, and inversion therapy; it’s an art, sport, or practice of performing poses and inversions. This form of yoga has its origins in New York and was created by Christopher Harrison and developed in 2014. Aerial yoga is a combination of traditional yoga with pilates, acrobatics, and dance using a hammock. Let’s get into the aerial yoga benefits and do’s and don’ts to do it properly.

The hammock, which is a prop, acts as a swing encouraging the hips for both forward bends and backbends and can withstand up to 300 kilos on average. Different poses include cross position, leaning back with support, arms outspread, the star inversion, and one leg king pigeon pose.

Aerial Yoga Benefits

The use of the hammock allows individuals to perform postures that they may not perform on the mat.

• Aerial yoga also acts as a great core workout because the core muscles are engaged to balance and stabilize yourself.
• It is an excellent stress buster, improves circulation, boosts digestion, lifts the mood, and improves flexibility with less effort by counteracting gravity.
• It also promotes emotional, psychological, and spiritual health.
• Aerial yoga is particularly beneficial for students who spend a long time sitting or for back pain, as it has a decompressing impact on the spine and relaxes the body.
• It also improves cardiometabolic benefits, improves mental focus and concentration, and challenges the nervous system, mental capacity, and proprioception while improving the pulling strength of the body. 

However, most importantly, it is beginner-friendly. There are different types of moves in this type of yoga: chest opener, downward dog, plank with feet in the hammock, silk hammock row, inverted bow pose, and floating savasana.

Do’s And Don’ts

Do’s

• It is essential to properly warm-up before beginning an aerial workout as the muscles are more elastic when they are warm. By warming up, you can also prevent overstretching injuries and incorporate your equipment in the warm-up.
• Opt for a 5-10 minutes light cardio and some dynamic stretching before you touch your swing.

Don’ts

• There are some poses like a floating bow which is not recommended for pregnant women, vertigo patients, or high blood pressure patients.
• Alcohol and aerial equipment do not match or mix. This is because your confidence massively increases after alcohol. Therefore, you might be willing to try things you would not do if you were sober, and the odds probably won’t be in your favor, so it’s better to be careful beforehand.
• It would help if you work through your progress stages and did not rush into more advanced stages as your muscles need first to get conditioned. Thus, it is better to perform a basic pose perfectly than a wobbly advanced pose.
• Do not practice anti-gravity postures on a full stomach, as this may cause digestion issues.
• Don’t apply lotions, moisturizers, perfumes, or makeup while performing this type of yoga, as your yoga silk will quickly become dirty.

Anti-gravity or suspension yoga is an upcoming yoga brand that brings yoga benefits to a new setting through the swing. Practitioners can sink into poses and challenge their flexibility and strength during inversions and transitions. Though this form of yoga may be new, it is quickly popping up across the country and is an amazing addition to those aspects lacking in traditional yoga.

Hula Hoop Exercises

Hula hoop exercises are a super-fun way to exercise, burn calories, build strength, get rid of belly fat, and also fight mental illnesses like depression. This is not a new exercise to stay fit. It is an exercise routine where you need to twirl the hoop around your waist, belly, arms, and legs. The best part of this form of exercise is that it helps you burn the same amount of calories as exercises like kickboxing or aerobics. Depending on your weight, exercise duration, and intensity, you can burn up to 420 calories in a 60-minute session.

The American Council of Exercise sponsored a study on the calorie expenditure of hula hoop as an exercise and found that this exercise burned 210 calories in a 30-minute workout session equivalent to seven calories per minute. So all you need is a hula hoop, comfortable clothes, 30 minutes of your time and you are good to go!

Best Hula To Buy

The best hula hoop for adults is about 45 inches in diameter and weighs around 907.2 grams – it’s not heavy enough to bruise your body. In terms of size, the bigger the hoop, the easier it is to use because it gives you more time to react to the forward and backward hooping movements. The diameter of the right size hoop should be between the height of your waist and your breastbone.

Benefits Of Hula Hoop Exercises:

• Helps to keep you fit without following a mundane exercise regime
• Strengthens your pelvic muscles as they are involved in hooping
• Works well on your abs and strengthens your core muscles as well
• Increases blood circulation which in turn increases your brain activity
• Burns up to 420 calories in just an hour
• Eliminates belly fat and gives you a flat tummy
• Makes you cheerful and helps to maintain positivity
• Fights depression
• Increases flexibility.

Hula Hoop Your Way To Fitness!

THE BEST PART OF THIS FORM OF EXERCISE IS THAT IT HELPS YOU TO BURN THE SAME AMOUNT OF CALORIES AS EXERCISES LIKE KICKBOXING OR | AEROBICS

8 Hoop Exercises

Before beginning any exercise, ensure that you always do a warmup for back mobilization:

• Stand straight with your hands outstretched
• Rotate your upper body towards one side
• Feel the movement in your back
• Now turn to the opposite side and feel the movement in your back
• Repeat 10-15 times

1. Waist Hooping Forward:

Stance Place the hula hoop at your waist level and stand with a side stance with your arms outstretched. Keep one of your knees slightly forward and bend it and then hoop the hula around your waist.

2. Waist Hooping Side

Stance Place the hula around your waist level with a side stance and arms outstretched and then hoop in sideways.

3. Waist Hooping With Squats

Stand straight with your legs, shoulder-width apart; keep the hula hoop around your waist while squatting

4. Hooping With Lunges

Hold the hula with your hands; keep your hands over your head and hoop the hula in your hands while doing the forward and backward lunge.

5. Ninja Passes

Hold the hula hoop with your hands with your feet shoulder-width apart. Slightly bend your knee, pass the hula around your waist to the other hand and keep passing it.

6. Hula V Holds

Sit on the floor and raise your leg off the floor with your hands up, hold the hula between your hands and legs and hold this position for 60 seconds.

7. Hula Russian Twists

Sit on the floor with your feet on the floor and flex your knee. Lift your upper body to 45 degrees and hold the edges of the hula, while you continue twisting it sideward.

8. Hula Sit-Ups

Place the hula on the floor and lay on it in such a way that your lower back’s curve is on one end of the hula and the other end below your head. Hold the hula behind your head and pull your body upwards with the help of the hula.

Inner Thigh Exercises | Stretch Your Way To Strong Inner Thighs

Inner muscles of the thigh are identified as hip adductor muscles. It is a group of muscles that commonly originates from the pelvic bone and gets inserted into the femoral (thigh) bone. The biomechanical bony alignment of the musculoskeletal structure is balanced and it also maintains stability on the function of these muscle groups. An athlete’s motor control performance can be enhanced and improvised by balance, stability, and flexibility in reducing the muscle injury risks, as flexibility plays a vital role. Physiological muscle length and tension also contribute to flexibility. Let’s into the inner thigh exercises.

When Should You Stretch Your Inner Thighs?

According to many researchers and studies on stretching the inner thigh, muscle groups seem to show improvement in the blood supply to your muscles and increases the shortened muscles length. This keeps hip adductors free from injury during the competitive level of performance. Evidence-based data and studies prove that dynamic stretches are more effective pre-workout as it emits the same skillful movement and has less influence on post-workout. Dynamic stretching increases blood supply to the muscle groups and prepares the muscles for a workout, whereas static stretching works better post-workouts, as they assist in relaxing the muscles and improving flexibility too.

Benefits Of Strong Inner Thigh Muscles

The benefits of stretching your inner thighs are:

• Improves flexibility
• Improves range of motion
• Boosts body balance and posture
• Increases blood circulation
• Lessens muscle strain and other micro-injuries
• Reduces post-workout pain, Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness (DOMS)
• Lowers muscle tension

Common Stretching Techniques:

Generally, there are many variants of stretching but the most commonly used techniques are:

• Static stretching
• Dynamic stretching

Dynamic Stretching | Inner Thigh Exercises Before Workout

The dynamic stretching is mainly for doing before any exercises or to reduce the tightness of the inner thigh muscles. Thus, dynamic stretching helps to warm up your muscles and prepares them for exercise.

1. How To Do It

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart
• Lift your right leg and put your body weight on your left foot
• Slowly swing your right leg from side to side while avoiding twisting your torso
• Repeat this 20x on each leg

2. Get Started

• Start with your feet together, then step to the right with your right foot
• Cross your left in front of your right foot
• Step to the right again with your left foot and bring your left foot to join your right foot
• Once both your feet are together, repeat the same procedure in another direction.
• Continue for 2-3 minutes

Static Stretching | Inner Thigh Exercises After Workout

Static Stretching helps to lengthen the muscle by using an internal low muscle force and maintaining it for 20 seconds. These stretches can be done after your workout session.

1. How To Do It

• Sit on the floor by keeping both your feet together and knees apart
• Keep your back straight and then lean forward from your hips
• Apply gentle overpressure to your knees with your elbow
• Hold this position for 15-20 seconds
• Relax for 5 seconds
• Repeat this 3x

2. Get Started

• Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you
• Keep your back straight
• Slowly move your legs apart as far as possible
• Hold this position for 15-20 seconds
• Relax for 5 seconds
• Repeat this 3x

3. How To Do It

• To stretch both inner thigh muscles simultaneously, assume a quadruped position
• Slowly move your knees apart as far as possible
• Hold this position for 15-20 seconds
• Relax for 5 seconds
• Repeat this 3x

Safety Measures

• Breathe normally while you are stretching
• Don’t stretch your muscles beyond comfort; you may feel discomfort but no pain
• Stop stretching if it causes sudden pain

Hip adductors play a crucial role in maintaining balance and stabilizing your hips, knees, and lower back. By stretching your inner thigh muscles regularly, you can preserve muscle flexibility and prevent any chances of injury, groin pain, imbalance, etc.