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To the yoga practitioner, yoga is a way to get in tune with your mind and body, but to many other people, yoga is just a mysterious eastern cult that claims to improve both your mental and physical health. For some people, yoga is nothing but sitting in the lotus position and repeating a mantra. And still others think yoga is nothing but quackery. No matter where you are in the debate, you have probably heard that yoga is good for your health.

Recent studies have shown that yoga can be a safe method to increase your physical activity. These same studies also show that there are numerous psychological benefits due to the meditative nature of yoga. You not only get a stronger body with improved flexibility, but your get a stronger, more flexible mental attitude. Therefore, using yoga for your health is a positive benefit on many levels.

Some studies have shown that when you practice yoga, you become more in tune with your body, mind and spirit. These studies show that when you get these aspects of your life in harmony, you are able to improve your health, happiness and other areas of your life.

There are numerous reasons to start practicing yoga for your health. Many people take up yoga simply as an exercise program because of medical reasons, such as a back injury. Others take up yoga because of a knee injury prevents them from jogging or other strenuous exercise. Many athletes take up yoga to improve their flexibility.

As with any exercise program, yoga can improve your health by increasing your muscle strength and flexibility and your respiratory endurance. It also tends to reduce pain and inflammation by increasing the oxygen supply into the blood stream which helps to flush the body and eliminate toxins.

Another health benefit of yoga is increased positive mental state, lowered levels of aggressiveness, anxiety and excitability. People who practice yoga tend to be in better health and have fewer physical complaints and illnesses. Yoga health benefits include getting more restful and restorative sleep.

Yoga can be practiced by virtually anyone at any age. You dont need specialized equipment, maybe just a yoga mat to practice your positions on. You can buy a DVD or even find an exercise program on TV if you dont want to take the time to go to a gym for classes.

Remember; dont over strain yourself when you start. The instructors on these videos have been practicing yoga for years and are extremely limber. You will not be able to match all of their movements, just do what is comfortable. The old theme, No Pain, No Gain is not true with yoga. Start slow, and gradually build up in order to obtain the best benefits from using yoga for your health.

Sydney Heiden is a practitioner of yoga and founder of Yoga and Meditation for Beginners. For more yoga tips and information, go to her website, www.Yoga.Cool-Home-Stuff.com.

The Ultimate Stage Staying off

Hey, are you still with me?? Good. You have made it.

The changes you feel :
You will find a lot of changes in you. Improvements mostly. You feel more umm.. lets say Able. You have more stamina, you can walk faster, you cough less, perhaps your palpitations have stopped, you feel better with yourself. Medically, there are a thousand ways in which you have helped yourself and others.

One laughable change that I noticed was change in my body odor  Funny, try sniffing your armpits and notice the difference.

Now What??

Now you have to protect yourself against a relapse. There is nothing much new to this. The keystones are the same as those for Strengthening Your Resolve.

There are likely to be some psychological effects e.g. depression, anxiety, mood disorder, increased appetite, maybe weight gain etc. but if you have prepared your grounds well, you will be able to overcome these.

If you have consulted a counselor/ friend/ medical worker, continue reporting your progress to them. You will find them co-operative, understanding and encouraging. If you are using any medicines / substitutes, do so under medical supervision and your doctor will wean you off them slowly.

What you really need at this tentative stage is the environment. You need to be around people who dont smoke, who don tolerate smoke, who dont even tolerate the smell of smoke. You need to be in no-smoking zones.

Also, this is a very good time to begin some aerobic exercises or better still Yoga. Sounds funny, huh? But the truth is, the worst times to control are the ones when you are by yourself. When you are with others, you can stay off. There are enough excuses as well as your pride to keep you off. But alone is the testing time.

This is when you need to occupy yourself with Physical Exercises. The reason you can reach out to smoke when you are reading or watching TV, but you wont if you are working out.

I never said that quitting is easy. Its hard, very hard. But since you know that by now, you are prepared for it.

Also, now you begin to notice the smell of smoke. You will find yourself getting intolerant of cigarette smoke.

You will notice how, if someone smokes in your apartment or office, the smell can linger on for DAYS. It is also the time to turn into an evangelist and induce others to stop smoking.

Are you ready to quit smoking?

We can take this quit smoking journey together and make real progress to a healthier life.

This concludes Part two of the Don't Quit Smoking Series