Tag: yoga

Yoga offers multiple physical and mental benefits. It combines the various poses with meditation and deep breathing to help you feel calmer and more relaxed. The poses themselves help strengthen the muscles and increase flexibility. The different poses enable you to exercise different muscle groups. Throughout the exercise you are using the weight of your own body to strengthen your muscles, rather than free weights or machines.

This exercise is also highly versatile; there are over 100 types. Consequently, people of all skill levels may practice yoga; they just have to pick the right type. Some forms are slow and gentle, while others are faster and more intense. Yoga is a low-impact exercise, which means it doesn’t put a lot of stress on the joints.

Who Can Practice Yoga?

Just about anybody can practice it. People with health conditions should talk to our medical professionals to help choose the right type and learn if there are any poses they should avoid. For instance, our doctor may recommend that a patient with heart disease or high blood pressure avoid poses that require being upside-down.

Pregnant women should avoid bikram or “hot” yoga that involves exercising in a hot room. They should also seek out an instructor with experience in prenatal yoga.

As a low-impact exercise, these classes can help people with arthritis stay flexible and strong without stressing their joints. It is not an aerobic exercise, but people doing the faster-moving types will work up a sweat. Anybody doing the slower-moving types of exercises should add an aerobic exercise like swimming or walking to their exercise regime.

Chair Yoga

In chair yoga you are either sitting in a chair or using the chair for support while standing. It can help people who have mobility issues, and it can also be done at home or at the office. Like other types of this exercise, chair yoga increases flexibility and strength and decreases stress. It also eases strain on muscles and joints.

To learn more about our classes contact Zero Gravity Fitness today! We are conveniently located in Ocoee, FL.

Yoga has been around for centuries. Its popularity has grown over the years as more people realize its benefits. Celebrities, medical practitioners, and the fitness experts at Zero Gravity Fitness in Ocoee recommend adopting this practice for a number of reasons. Here are just some of its many benefits:

1. Improved Flexibility

As we grow older, our flexibility wanes, especially if we spend a lot of time lying down or sitting. You can become more flexible through regular stretching exercises. By practicing yoga, you can boost flexibility in your hips, shoulders, hamstrings, and back.

2. Increases Your Heart Rate

Aerobic exercises can increase your heart rate, lowering the risk of a heart attack. Although not all of yoga is aerobic, it can boost your heart rate if you do it vigorously. Non-vigorous yoga exercises are still good for your health as they can improve cardiovascular conditioning.

3. Weight Loss

You don’t have to be a yoga professional to lose weight. Gentle practice can increase your body’s metabolic rate, allowing it to burn excess fat. It can also enhance your hormonal balance to stabilize your body weight.

4. Improved Balance

Yoga involves lying, standing, and sitting in different positions. If you pose with one leg, for example, your body will get used to this standing position. In addition, you build strength in your leg muscles to help you achieve better posture.

5. Increased Energy

This practice will help you feel energized throughout the day. According to expert yogis, practicing every day can help extend the spine to allow for energy circulation throughout the entire body.

6. Increased Happiness

Regular stretching and moving can make you a happier person. Several recent studies show that exercising can result in higher levels of serotonin (the happiness hormone). They also show that long-term yogis express more contentment than beginners.

Getting Started with Yoga Classes

If you’d like to start practicing yoga and enjoy its benefits, speak with the professionals at Zero Gravity Fitness in Ocoee. Contact us today for a consultation!

There’s a lot of myths associated with yoga. The one we tend to hear most often is the belief that yoga can not give you an efficient, full-body, calorie-burning workout. The truth is, yoga is a great option for individuals whose goals include toning, strengthening, or weight loss. In fact, there’s plenty of reasons for everyone to opt for a yoga class at the gym that you may be surprised to learn about.

1. Dynamic & all-in-one

A lot can be said about how efficient yoga is as a workout. Instead of focusing on separate muscle groups individually, yoga engages every part of your body through multiple movements and poses. Want to tone up and strengthen your abs? Yoga has you covered. Nearly everything you do in yoga engages your core in one way or another, strengthening itself through stabilizing your entire body.

2. It’s cardio

Doing a yoga flow at a steady rhythm while ensuring your breathing matches each movement you perform should work up a pretty good sweat. If you’re curious how many calories you’re burning, we’d recommend a heart rate monitor to figure it out. We can promise you, it’s a lot.

3. Non-competitive

One of the best things about yoga is the relaxed atmosphere, surrounded by a positive atmosphere. In a yoga class, you don’t have to make sure you’re competing for reps or speed. It’s just you and your flow.

4. Weight-loss

Aside from the full-body workout which also burns calories, yoga is great for the mind and spirit. So much so that you’ll soon begin to have more appreciation for your body and will work harder to keep it healthier. Instead of reaching for junk food, you’ll be much more inclined to reach for healthy and whole fuel for your body.

5. Less injury risk

Since yoga teaches you how to get in touch with your body and its movements, the tendency is to hone in on what you’re doing and how you’re feeling about it. Being aware of how your body feels about certain movements will allow you to avoid injury, leading you towards risk-free performance.

For more information on how you can benefit from taking yoga in Orlando, contact Zero Gravity Fitness today.

Exercise fads seem to arise every few years. As quickly as they gain popularity, however, they often fade into obscurity. Yoga is one type of exercise that has endured throughout the years. Discover what this popular type of exercise is and why it remains popular with people who want to get into shape and improve their health.

What Is Yoga?

Yoga is a series of exercises that boosts a person’s mental, physical, and spiritual health. It dates back to ancient India and involves a variety of stretches, slow movements, poses and breathing techniques.

Unlike most forms of exercising, yoga also involves the use of meditation. Because of the manner in which the exercises are done, they reportedly are beneficial in easing or reversing health conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure, stress and asthma. It is also safe for most people to do regardless of their prior or current health conditions.

Types of Yoga

The term encompasses different exercises and poses. The different types are:

• Hatha, which entails a series of movements that enhance breathing
• Vinyasa, which involves a series of motions that flow into each other
• Power, or high intensity and faster movements that build muscle
• Ashtanga, which also involve special breathing techniques
• Bikram, or hot yoga because it is done in a room with an elevated temperature
• Iyengar, which utilizes blocks, straps, and chairs to move the body into proper alignment

Each technique benefits the body in a variety of ways. They also help people tone and build strength throughout their bodies.

Areas of the Body Impacted by Yoga

When you practice on a regular basis, you build strength and endurance in key areas of your body. Some of the primary body parts that benefit from this form of exercise include the:

• arms
• abdomen
• legs
• buttocks
• back

Yoga helps you gain a wider range of motion and physical capabilities, including:

• flexibility
• endurance
• strength
• full body toning

More importantly, however, it can be practiced by most people anywhere regardless of their age, overall health and how physically fit they are right now. Doctors and fitness experts recommend it to most people, even senior citizens who want to enjoy better health and improve the way their bodies move and function.

Yoga offers health benefits that make it popular with people who want to get into shape and improve the way their bodies look. This form of exercise also boosts people’s mental and spiritual health. Since its inception in ancient India, it has proven to be a low-cost yet beneficial way to exercise.

If you are in Orlando and interested in exploring the benefits of yoga further, the experts at Zero Gravity Fitness can help you learn more about our classes. Contact us today to speak to a member of our team and get started.

Yoga is a type of exercise that originated in India. It has existed for over 5,000 years, and there are over 100 types. Depending on the variety, yoga can be relaxing and gentle, or it can be very intense and fast. Yoga combines meditation and deep breathing with the various poses that stretch and strengthen muscles. It is therefore considered a total mind-body workout.

Types of Yoga

Here at Zero Gravity Fitness, we offer yoga classes that are going to help you boost your strength, flexibility, and endurance. Just like personal training, the poses you make can be modified to make sure that no intense pressure is being put on your body. Throughout our yoga classes, our instructor will be assisting you to make sure that you are improving and listening to your body.

What Are the Benefits of Yoga?

Yoga has many benefits. It is a low-impact exercise, which means it does not put stress on the joints. It is therefore a safe exercise for people with arthritis and other joint problems.

It provides a whole-body workout and thus exercises the whole body. Many of the various poses will tone and tighten the muscles in the core. Yoga practitioners use the weight of their own bodies to give their limbs a workout. Yoga also improves flexibility and strength.

While the more intense types of yoga will make the athlete sweat, yoga is not an aerobic exercise. It can still improve the practitioner’s health, and it is also relaxing.

Yoga also comes in a range of skill levels. Some types are good for beginners, while others are more suitable for advanced students.

Can Anybody Do Yoga?

Any healthy person can do yoga. People with joint problems like arthritis can certainly benefit from an exercise that won’t stress their joints.

Yoga can be helpful for people with many health problems, but they should consult one of our team members first for advice on what they can and can’t do. For example, the trainer may tell them to avoid poses in which they’re upside down. If the patient is also out of shape, the trainer may recommend yoga paired with an aerobic exercise.

Start Yoga Today

Yoga helps not only the body, but the mind through meditation. To enroll in our yoga classes, you can contact our office at Zero Gravity Fitness in Ocoee. We can help you along the journey to improved physical and mental strength!

You may have heard that yoga is a great exercise and while that’s definitely true, it’s likely you’re not aware of just how many benefits the practice can offer you when it comes to overall health and well-being. Regular yoga instruction from a qualified teacher is the best way to reap the rewards of this ancient exercise and meditation form. It’s important to learn the correct form and technique involved in each pose, and repetition is required to gain full exposure to the range of motion encountered in each pose.

About Yoga      

Yoga originated in India approximately 5,000 years ago. It is a form of practice that includes both physical and mental components. In fact, one translation of the word yoga is “union.” This refers to the connection that exists between the body, mind and spirit. Therefore, it’s no wonder there are both emotional and physical benefits of the exercise. Its purpose was to encompass the practitioner as a whole and not merely one aspect of being. Poses, breathing exercises and meditation comprise yoga, and it is practiced in several forms. Some are more gentle in nature, while others can be quite strenuous.

Physical Benefits

A variety of bodily systems can be affected through yoga, including skin, circulatory, muscular, skeletal, respiratory, digestive, nervous and reproductive. One of the main benefits is increased flexibility because the practice keeps joints, limbs and tendons limber. Striking and holding yoga poses also improves muscle strength and tone, along with balance. Surprising health benefits have been shown to occur with regular activity. The weight bearing exercises of yoga lead to increased bone density and better skeletal alignment. Relief of headaches and backaches occur due to the relaxation and core strengthening the practice offers. Overall reduction of pain associated with various medical conditions has been seen in relation to yoga’s meditative component. Improved heart health comes from the lowered heart rate and decreased blood pressure that the exercise delivers. Even your immune system can be strengthened.

Mental Benefits

Reduced stress and improved focus are a product of engaging in yoga. These benefits are attributed to the practice of meditation that is involved, as it allows you to be mindful and gain better control of your thoughts. Lowered anxiety is another benefit you can expect. Some believe that these combined gains help to improve learning ability. Improved core strength, flexibility and mental awareness can help you to gain an overall higher sense of self-confidence. This improved self-awareness often leads to better health decisions in general. Yoga is an intentional practice that makes you aware of your body’s movements, which can improve body satisfaction.

As you can see, there are numerous benefits to be gained through regular yoga practice. This article merely scratches the surface of potential. Give it a try with our team of instructors at Zero Gravity Fitness in Ocoee if you are looking for a way to improve your health, mind and spirit.

When you are putting your body to the test with a tough workout, you are pushing yourself to the limit. This even holds true for beginners who are just jumping into a fitness regimen for the first time. You are working your muscles and your cardiovascular system as you build stamina.

Once you get into a routine and start to see results, it is easy to get hooked on exercise to the point that you don’t want to go a day without it. Don’t make the mistake of skipping rest days.

In the same way that your body needs to make vital repairs and recharge when you go to bed at night, you need to give yourself a break from the stress that is placed on your system from an intense workout.

For those who are just getting started with a workout, plan on a rest day after two days of working out. For those who are accustomed to working the body at maximum capacity on a regular basis, plan on one rest day a week.

Typically, hardcore athletes take a break after six days of working out. When it’s time for your rest day, you can still have an active rest day that involves some activity. Yoga is an excellent choice.

Yoga: The Gentle Option for an Active Rest Day

An active recovery day should involve some physical activity that is not as intense as what you normally do. Yoga is a great alternative when you are looking for an active rest day that can complement your daily workout plan.

Yoga involves stretching exercises that encourage you to test the range of motion of every joint in your body. Practicing yoga regularly can help you to improve the strength of your bones and muscles.

It also improves flexibility and benefits cardiovascular health. Embrace yoga for a well-rounded workout regimen to protect your body from injuries and improve your overall performance.

Breathing exercises and meditation allow you to free the mind, release tension, and experience the soothing effects of this ancient practice.

A Form of Exercise that is Anything but Easy

When you watch people performing yoga poses or sitting to do their breathing exercises, you may think that it is not challenging. However, yoga poses involve difficult stretches that will test your level of flexibility.

With continued practice, you will become more limber. If you are the type of person who enjoys testing your limits, you can gauge how much more you are capable of doing each time you do a yoga session.

Choose yoga for your active recovery day and incorporate it as another component of your regular workout sessions. You’ll find that this form of exercise can help you to accomplish all of your goals, whether you need to lose weight, increase your endurance, or acquire a new level of concentration when you are going after an intense regimen. Listen to your body and give it what it needs by choosing yoga for your recovery days.

For more information, contact Zero Gravity Fitness today.

You’re always ready to go. From the minute you wake up in the morning until the second your eyes close at night you are on a mission, and you always make working out part of your day. However, no matter how much energy and stamina you have, giving yourself some level of rest is always wise.

Active Rest Days

For some people, the idea of resting is sitting on the couch, flipping through channels on the television and eating ice cream straight out of the carton. While some people need a day like that once in a rare while, the thought of making it your active rest day activity is not for you. Fortunately, you don’t have to because that’s not what an active rest day is. An active rest day is when you take it easier than usual, but you still choose to participate in activities.

Yoga as the Right Fit

Yoga is an excellent exercise to try on your active rest days. While yoga certainly requires energy and strength, it is not the same as marathon training or heavy weight training. Yoga helps you keep your body lean and strong, but it also allows you to rest mentally and to gain better focus. Yoga is the perfect fit for an active rest day because it is both restful and active. You can start at a beginner level if you are new to the practice and advance over time.

Good for the Body

As an active person, you are probably concerned with getting in activities and work outs that help stimulate your physical health. As a result, you may harbor some skepticism about yoga, but this practice is good for you. When you are participating in the poses, you are helping to build balance in your body. You can also tone up because yoga requires strength. It is low impact enough to give your body the break it needs in between your intense training days.

Good for the Soul and Mind

Part of taking a break involves addressing the needs of your mind and soul. When you are constantly on the go, you do not always have the time to focus on your personal needs. In fact, you may have found that you have completely forgotten how to relax. After you engage in some yoga poses, you may quickly begin to feel calmer. Once you are finished, you may feel as though you have the ability to just sit quietly on the sofa and meditate or pray to bring yourself back into focus.

Practicing yoga on your active rest days is a way to still engage in a healthy and invigorating activity but to give yourself the rest that you need. You may soon find that you want to practice yoga on other days of the week as well. Contact Zero Gravity Fitness today to learn more about yoga and how you can incorporate it into your weekly workout schedule.