Tai Morello - Yoga for Men

Top 30 Illustrated Poses for a Stronger Body and aSharper Mind

Copyright 2015 by Tai Morello

Smashwords Edition

Table ofContents

If you think yoga isn't for men, just take alook at basketball start Blake Griffin and Dirk Nowitzki. They arejust two of the big names that have trained with renowned yogacoach Kent Katich to improve their physical and mental strength,flexibility, balance and prevent injuries. If you're looking tobuild a stronger, more toned body while sharpening your mind, thenyoga perfect for you.

From the outside, yoga can seem like anesoteric, mystical endeavor exclusively reserved to Tibetan monksand spiritual adepts. This could not be further from the truth.Yoga is not only accessible to anyone, it is easy to learn if youhave the right mindset and the benefits are only a few minutesaway.

In fact, several studies have confirmed thata single yoga class for inpatients at a psychiatric hospital hadthe ability to significantly reduce tension, anxiety, depression,anger, hostility, and fatigue.

In this book you will learn why many highlysuccessful men like Lebron James Jr, Jay Cutler and Blake Griffinset aside time off their busy schedules to engage in thelife-changing practice of yoga.

This book will show you how to instill simpleyoga techniques into your daily routine, inevitably leading you toa healthier and stronger body and mind.

Thanks for downloading this book you areabout to embark on a journey that will bring you back to the stateof peace, joy and happiness you were born to inhabit.

Before we get into the practical how-to ofvarious yogic poses, we should consider what it is we're actuallytalking about and what it's for. Yoga has been practiced in Indiafor thousands of years. The word yoga comes from Sanskritand is related to the English word yoke. Just as a yokejoins an ox to a cart or a plow, yoga joins mind and bodytogether in a well-integrated union. On a spiritual level, yogaunites the individual's personal experience to an experience of theabsolute reality.

Yoga refers to a broad variety ofancient Indian spiritual practices. These practices are designed toliberate the individual from their ordinary, bound, unfreeexperience of the self and the world, into an expansive, unlimitedstate of complete freedom.

So right away we can do away with the ideathat, in order to do yoga, you need to sign up with a religiousgroup and give up your own beliefs, adopting a new set of doctrinesand strange behaviors. If you're not into the metaphysical ideasbehind yoga as spiritual transformation, that's no problem. Yogais, first and foremost, personal, practical, andexperiential. What you get out of it depends on what youbring into it; your goals and purposes for doing yoga willdetermine what kind of positive effect it has on your life.

In particular, the popular perceptionassociates yoga with a system of bendy, twisty physical movementsand positions. Some may even think yoga is just glorifiedstretching. But yoga is about more than just stretching. It's aboutcreating balance in body and mind, and joining the two together andbringing them into close communication.

Recent scientific research into the effectsof yoga on the body and mind have shown that these physicalpractices have enormous benefits for physical and psychologicalhealth. They can help you lose weight, tone muscles, treat a numberof medical problems, improve your flexibility and posture, keepyour muscles relaxed and supple, regulate your appetite, etc. Theyalso decrease the all-too-common psychological sufferings ofstress, anxiety, and depression, improve concentration andmindfulness, and boost your mood and brainpower overall.

Yoga offers a profound sense of physical andpsychological wellbeing. Through the practice of yoga, your bodyand mind will become more and more closely integrated. That's thecentral lesson of yoga: by connecting with our bodies more deeply,we go further into our experience as embodied beings in the world.That, in turn, will enrich our lives, as we bring the mindfulawareness of yoga into our everyday world.

Finally, a word of warning needs to be saidabout the practices that follow. Some yoga poses can be dangerousif you're not careful. You can get injured trying to get into somepositions. So proceed with caution. Always pay attention to whatyour body is telling you, and don't do anything if it starts tofeel uncomfortable or painful. Sometimes your body will whisper,Um, maybe not. Sometimes it will scream, NO WAY, STOP NOW! Becareful and sensitive to these messages.

While this book is intended to give you anintroduction to the physical poses and the meditative side of yoga,it's strongly advised that you learn yoga under the guidance of aqualified and experienced instructor. A good yoga teacher can helpyou avoid mistakes and injury, correct your posture, and guide youinto more advanced stages of practice as you get deeper and deeperinto yoga.

Believe it or not, yoga was created by menand for men. Some ancient yoga manuals go as far as advising yogisto avoid women in order to remain focused and pure.

Most yoga lineages were started by men andpracticed only by men. Yoga poses are specifically designed tostrengthen and open every muscle in the body. While machines atyour gym target one muscle or muscle group with no improvement inmobility, every yoga sequence improves both strength and mobilityfor several muscles at once.

In downward dog for instance, which iscovered later in the book, the calves are being elongated while theshoulders are strengthened as they hold the body up. At the sametime, the lower back is stretched, which relieves tension. The coreis also solicited by pulling the bellybutton to the spine! Thereprobably isn't a single machine in your gym that can do all ofthat.

Granted, twenty first century Yoga is female.When you look around the classes, you'll see women massivelyoutnumber men. But the truth is yoga isn't just for flexible ladiesin tight clothes. Besides allow you to meet flexible women, Yogacan help you build a basis for weightlifting, cut belly fat, honeyour mental focus and rid your system of toxins.

Here are 6 reasons why every man shouldpractice Yoga:

Yoga widens your range of motion

Practicing yoga increases your range ofmotion and allows access to more muscle fiber, resulting in greatermuscle hypertrophy. So if you are lifting weights, yoga will makeyou even stronger as you'll be able to activate ignored sections ofmuscle. Renowned Bodybuilder Jay Cutler has used Yoga to stretchhis pectorals even further, and in turn build more muscle mass inhis chest.

Deep abdominal breathing

Many Yoga poses require you to breathe deeplyinto your stomach. This activates the parasympathetic nervoussystems, lowers cortisol, which is a hormone that makes your bodyhold on to belly fat. Breathing deeply will drastically reduce theamount of stress in your daily life.

Lower Heart Rate

Over time, yoga routines will challenge yourheart, improve your breathing rate and strengthen yourcardiovascular system. This will lead to a lower overall heartrate, a better breathing volume and more oxygen in your body.

Yoga works the entire body

Doing yoga will build strength in muscles younever even knew you had. Yoga solicits the strength of your entirebody in most poses, which over time will help you sculpt astronger, more chiseled and toned body.

Yoga can increase your libido

Practicing yoga increases blood flow to thegroin, which will help you perform better in the bedroom. Therelaxation and concentration that yoga brings can be translatedinto a better sex life by helping you channel your sexual energy,lasting longer and being more responsive to your partner.