taken through a series of 26 positions that are designed to warm and stretch muscles, ligaments and tendons in a specific order. Quite challenging physically.
The great advantage of yoga is that anyone can take part no matter your age or level of fitness. You do not need either any specialised equipment or clothing and although there are classes held at gyms and sports centres across the country you can practise in the comfort of your own home. I personally advise you join a beginners class first, 1 began with an lyengar Yoga introduction course. The advantage in joining a class is that the teacher is on hand to demonstrate and will correct your stances that may be out of line. In addition they will lead you correctly through the breathing techniques. Once you have a few lessons under your belt you can try other forms of Yoga to discover which one you prefer. Ashtanga really gets me going! Most come to yoga as a way to keep their bodies fit and supple. I originally came to seek relief from backache. Whatever your reasons, I suggest this is the perfect time for you to get more from life in general and give a boost to your mundane weekly workouts.
The benefits are vast and you may, as thousands already have, find a way of discovering your inner self. 'If you can bring your mind and thoughts under control there are literally no limits to what you can do.' Avoiding the couch and the TV might just be the smallest of steps in a constant and upward direction. Fitness is Life. ®
www.joshandpecs.com

With those beach holidays well and truly
behind us, there is now a reluctance to once again focus on the strength training exercises down at the gym. No longer do we feel content and happy to slog it out at those weight machines, muscles straining and bulging! We seem distasteful of pounding away on a treadmill, of climbing those never ending levels of steps on the stair master and as for the row machine it now never gets a look in. The earlier darker nights seem to zap your energy and the couch at home looks far more inviting than the bench at the gym. The detrimental colder weather adds to your lack lustre motivation and hence the actual time exercising begins to diminish.
When you begin to lack conviction with your fitness regime it's time to take a breather and look into trying something different, a form of exercise that will not only help you refocus, but add to your tired and repetitive work out. This is not about trying new fad cardiovascular exercises or upping the weights and set combinations. It is time to slow things down, concentrating on your breathing, body posture and mind. It's time to unwind but get entwined, it's time to enter the world of down dog, asanas and mantras. Now if this all sounds double Dutch or Chinese to you, you would be wrong as it harks back from India over 5000 years ago. It is the oldest form of self development and improvement that encompasses the entire body, mind and spirit. It is the wonderful world of Yoga!

WHAT IS YOGA?
As already mentioned yoga is one of the few disciplines that offers true union between mind, body spirit. Most physical exercises only concentrate on the body, unless at highly competitive levels where the mind may come into practise. Mind-body exercises are becoming more fashionable with the likes of Pilates proving popular, but even here the 'spirit' is left out. In meditation there is a link between mind and spirit but the body does not come into effect. However the whole system of Yoga is built on three main structures; exercise, breathing and meditation. It is by being mindful of your breathing whilst practising the various postures or asanas that you are able to discipline your mind. It is a known fact that Yoga increase flexibility, but it is a lot more than just stretching. It also builds incredible strength. In many of the asanas you are supporting your body weight and this in turn creates muscle tone. Crunching out your repetitions at the gym and added stretching would still not recreate the benefits of yoga. Yoga is a great stress buster. This is due to the breathing element of Yoga. You do not just move into postures you breathe into them. In addition the poses also massage the internal organs and balance the nervous system. It really is rejuvenating. Yoga benefits all aspects of the body and relaxes the mind.

The health benefits of Yoga are huge. Here are but a few:

CARDIOVASCULAR EFFICIENCY INCREASES
SLEEP IMPROVES
ENERGY LEVELS INCREASE
POSTURE IMPROVES
ENDURANCE INCREASES
BALANCE IMPROVES
IMMUNITY INCREASES
CONCENTRATION IMPROVES
WELL-BEING INCREASES
MOOD IMPROVES
ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION DECREASE

With also the added advantage of it being a low risk injury exercise it's not a surprise that celebrities such as Madonna and Geri Halliwell have publicly come out in praising its benefits. This has led to a huge take up with more and more men discovering the advantages of yoga.
There are many, many varying types of Yoga disciplines. No one yoga is seen as any better than another. It is acknowledged that every yoga has the same goal: true harmony and union. It's just that the path to get there may be different. I have listed a few of the more familiar and popular disciplines of Yoga.

HATHA YOGA
Hatha is the foundation of all Yoga systems and is a basic form of yoga that is easy to learn. The physical exercise consists of gentle bends, twists and stretches as well as strength poses which progressively become more challenging. 'Ha' means sun and 'tha' means moon, thus Hatha yoga refers to the positive (sun) and to the negative (moon) currents in our system and the idea is to balance these currents or energy flow.

IYENGAR
lyengar yoga is most famous for its emphasis on proper alignment. The alignment of bones and joints leads to better balance and is therefore less reliant on muscle strength. Correct alignment improves circulation and creates a balanced flow of energy throughout the whole of the body, lyengar is also known for using props such as blocks, blankets and benches.

ASHTANGA
If you like to sweat then this is the one for you. Sometimes also known as and compared to Power Yoga, this form takes you through a series of yoga poses one after another all strung together. It is a challenging mix of strength, flexibility and stamina. Not for beginners.

BIKRAM YOGA
This might be good for all you sauna boys as this one is hot. In the class the temperature is turned up extremely high to make you sweat. You are then