By Dan Boyle

I wanted to comment further about Yoga because I have been doing it for almost a week… twice a day and already feel a lot better about my progress. Although I still feel stiff and wake up stiff, I instantly get a loose feeling when I start a 15 minute workout.

I feel like I don'’t have to worry about the majority of the women because they are probably already into yoga or would really like to be. The majority of the guys on the other hand probably think this is a waste of time and to feminine for them…

Nothing could be further from the truth.

The benefits of yoga are 3 fold -

1. Flexibility

This is obvious isn'’t it. But this has to be talked about again… I know a little redudant. Flexibility will really benefit your body and weight training.

Let’’s just put it this way. When I wake up in the morning and start my yoga routine, I bend over for the first time to touch my toes and the stiffness is incredible. I cannot wait for the morning when I bend down and with the ease of rubber band just flop right down.

That image and feeling that I dream of in my mind keeps me going big time. I am also really excited to see if this might be the missing step in my person weight training.

The greatest thing about flexibility and yoga is it is by far the greatest range of motion increaser out there. Whatever you may read, muscle down get longer… then just get back to moving the way they were meant to move.

We are all dysfuncitoned and yoga will cure this!

2. Breathing

I would easily consider this to be one of the most under appreciated techniques in fitness. Breathing can make the difference between getting that one extra rep or saving your head from blood pressure headaches.

Yoga is really cool in that sense because it teaches your to concentrate and control your breathing. It will actually a lot harder to do at first. Concentrating on breathing out and breathing in on direction is hard… especially when you are tired and start to break faster.

However in both yoga and weight training, breathing makes your body feel less restricted. It helps to relax your muscles and make them easier to move.

Learn to breathe and don'’t underestimate the importance of it.

3. Mental Power

The ability to concentrate and keep your mind focused is huge. Focus will improve your performance not only in yoga but in weight training. Yoga is so great because if forces you to focus.

I can'’t even imagine how I would let me mind wander during the routine. I am so present trying to make the different positions effective that I am always there. That is a good habit to form.

In the gym focusing on your exercise can make the difference between getting results and just going through the motions. Concentrating on the movements will actually help your muscle perform them better.

The power of the mind!

So don'’t let the zen like image of yoga scare you away, or make you feel like you are going to be laughed at… once you practice it and improve you will become a preacher of yoga! The benefits are great for your weight training and just the range of motion increases are going to be out of this world.

About The Author

Dan Boyle is a National Academy of Sports Medicine licensed personal trainer. He specializes in weight training, but understands the great benefit that Yoga presents to weight lifters. To learn more and get a free analysis, visit http://www.fitness-analyzer.com

By Benjamin Langley

There are thousands of different meditation traditions across the world. There are likely hundreds of thousands of meditation techniques. For the purposes of this article though, we will over-simplify and break these techniques down into two general categories: energy and insight.

Insight meditation teaches students to train their awareness, direct it skillfully, and to learn to accept an experience as it is… to allow whatever thoughts or feelings arise to flow naturally without interference. The primary skills of insight meditation are awareness and acceptance.

Insight meditation often trains to students to pick a single focus for a given meditation. When the focus begins to drift, the student gently brings it back to the focus of meditation. Accepting whatever arises in consciousness (or in life) develops deep peacefulness. Growing more and more aware of the specifics of our experience allows us to deeply change the nature of our understanding (insight), and we can begin to be more selective about what we bring into our lives!

Energy meditation teaches students to notice and circulate energy in the body, to notice how experience and perception changes with the location of the energy. Some of the most popular systems of energy meditation are the meridian system of qigong and the chakra system of Yoga.

With energy meditations, a student will often use a breathing method that is outside of their normal pattern of breath. Then the student will pay attention to whatever feelings arise in the body. Once an awareness of the feelings develops, the can then be directed as the practitioner sees fit. This energy can be directed into chakras, or through the meridians, into the aura, etc. Many powerful effects grow from developing control over the energy fields in and around the body.

Even these two very generalized varieties of meditation cross over quite a bit. In order to pay attention to energy in the body, the meditator has to develop a somewhat skillful level of awareness. Before the energy can be effectively circulated, it must be accepted and allowed to flow. On the other hand, the insight meditator is bound to have experiences of energy flow in the body, whether this is the object of meditation or not. The very awareness and acceptance the insight meditator is developing will allow energy to flow more freely.

In the long run, the reported benefits of these two styles of meditation are very similar. Meditators who open all the chakras usually report an experience of transcendence, oneness, and/or the inter-connectedness of all things. Long term insight meditators typically report similar experiences.

With either method, powerful meditative experiences can translate into transcendent day-to-day experiences. This is not hard to do with either method of meditation. When you are completing a session, allow the meditative state to linger as you get up and begin to go about other activities. Once you are proficient with them, you can also practice some of your meditation techniques with open eyes while you are doing other activities during the day (please use common sense: don'’t do this while driving or operating heavy equipment).

Ultimately, there is little if any qualitative difference between these two approaches. The most important thing to do is practice. Get started today! If you already meditate, choose to take it a little bit further today. Whether you prefer insight or energy meditation, there are powerful benefits to come for those who keep up the practice!

About The Author

Benjamin Langley has been studying and training in meditation, yoga, and other sciences of the mind for over 10 years. He regularly writes and shares powerful insights on his own blog. Come take a look: http://peacefulprosperity.com/blog