Celebrities Who Practice Yoga

Her Diet and Yoga

Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Aniston is without a doubt one of My favorite celebrities. In her recent interview with Self magazine, she has revealed how thanks to yoga, she stays in shape.

diet:
It is known that Aniston favors the Zone and the South Beach diet principles. In this interview, however, she did not talk about her diet. Self only commented that she is not into “some rigid detox diet in which only brown foods are permitted.”
workout:
“Aniston, 37, never considered herself a yoga type. “I went to class years ago, and I remember thinking, It’s really crowded, really hot, really sweaty, and I can have a better workout if I run and a better meditation if I sit quietly by myself.”
She passed her Rachel Green years working out on the treadmill, elliptical trainer and StairMaster. “I was disconnected from my body,” Aniston says, in retrospect. “I was just getting my exercise out of the way.”

Carmen Electra doing Yoga in her backyard

Hiedi Klum and Seal do Yoga to!!

                  Matthew Mcconaughey  doing yoga on the beach!                                                                                                    

Kim Kardashian stays in shape with yoga

Here are some of the celebrities who were quite vocal about their decision to commit into the practice of yoga:

• Danny Glover
• Jennifer Lopez
• Halle Berry
• Kareem Abdul-Jabar
• Sarah Jessica Parker
• The Dixie Chicks
• Charlie Sheen
• Brad Pitt
• Russell Simmons
• Candice Bergen
• Meg Ryan
• Ricky Martin
• Thalia
• Tatum O'Neal
• Raquel Welch
• Jamie Lee Curtis
• Jeff Bridges

It Does Do Much More Than Change Your Body.

I’m a pretty athletic person and I have been going to the gym, training with trainers, doing boot camps and taking any type of fitness classes for years now, and nothing has changed my body as much as yoga. I started noticing results a few months into doing yoga and shortly after that for the first time in my life I was actually starting to feel happy about my body and confident!!! ( that’s saying a lot) . For me getting to a point where I was feeling happy about myself was already a good enough excuse to religiously continue with my yoga classes, the more I continued my practice I become more flexible,stronger and my stamina got longer. As great as all of that is, yoga does much more than just change your body!! It changes the way you see the world, Yoga can change the way you relate to other people, to the planet, the way  handle situations...the list goes on and on. The reason why Yoga differentiates its self from all of the other exercises out there is because yoga connects you to your body, rather than disconnects you from it. Yoga’s ability to tune you into your own breath, your body, your thoughts and emotions it truly does connect your body to your mind.

 
Here are just Some of the other benefits you get from yoga

Stable autonomic nervous system equilibrium

Blood Pressure decreases (of special significance for hyporeactors)

Cardiovascular efficiency increases

Respiratory efficiency increases

Endocrine function normalizes

Musculoskeletal flexibility and joint range of motion increase

Eye-hand coordination improves

Posture improves

Strength and resiliency increase

Endurance increases

Energy level increases

Weight normalizes

Sleep improves

Immunity increases

Pain decreases

Steadiness improves

Depth perception improves

Balance improves

Mood improves and subjective well-being increases

Self-acceptance and self-actualization increase

Social adjustment increases

Anxiety and Depression decrease

Hostility decreases

Concentration improves

Memory improves

Attention improves

Learning efficiency improves

Well-being increases

 

I guess for me doing yoga it just became so obvious ...who wouldn’t want to go into a class and leave feeling great, having a hard workout and reaping so many benefits at the same time?  I always feel like a walking yoga billboard always talking about how great yoga is, but doesn’t it just make sense to do or at least try?

 

The Meaning behind Namaste

After every yoga class, the whole class comes back together after a nice long shavasana and closes that practice with a Namaste. I am not going to lie for so long I was saying the word and doing the actions but I never really understood the full meaning behind it. For a normal Namaste we bring our hands together in prayer and place them by our heart chakra and then bowing our head down we close the practice.

What I have learned is that Namaste is a yogic thank you, and it is so significant to do at the end of each class because it is a humbling gesture. Its shows that you are recognizing that we are all equal a frees us from our ego, it is also supposed to allow us to realize that we are one. Namaste should be done with deep feeling in the heart and with the mind surrendered.

Now each time I say Namaste there will be a deeper meaning behind it then just saying the word.

Namaste!!

YOGA GRAFFITI

                                                    What is Yoga Graffiti?

Yoga Graffiti does not involve spray painting yoga poses on walls. It’s a spontaneous strike of a pose in a fun and usually unexpected place to do yoga. I have been researching yoga graffiti and I became inspired! I think that I would love to tag places I go with my yoga. I have decided that I really want to embrace this Yoga Graffiti and also would love to see other peoples expressions. What a fun way to connect to yoga as well as the yoga community!


I cant wait to start posting my very own Yoga Graffti Pictures!

Here is another wonderful exzample of yoga graffiti I found from india!

The Journey starts

The first time I stepped into a Hot Yoga class I was hooked, and from that day on I have been practicing my yoga religiously. At first Yoga was simply just some postures and exercises to help strengthen the body and promote physical health but as I kept going , yoga became much more to me, I almost started to see it as a tool to achieve both my physical and mental health. I love the fact that Yoga  symbolizes strength and Empowerment as well as Growth and I truly believe that It has given me the ability to connect to my body in which I have not been able to do before. I found through my practice it has also allowed me to find the silence and solitude within myself.

 So here I am, learning from my practice, to be strong and flexible in all aspects of life, requiring not only tolerance, but an acceptance of what is (I’m still learning) and I am excited to keep on the path of this journey


Namaste.


I do not claim credit for any of the photos. If you are the original artist give me the link and I will give you credit or take it down. Merci!

Jennifer and Chris Rurka- Inversions & Arm Balances

September 17, 2011

The Inversions & Arm Balances class was the very first yoga workshop I have ever attended. I was really excited that I had the opportunity to learn different poses then the poses you normally get to work with in a regular yoga class. I am at point in my practice where I like the challenge of trying new harder poses and I found the inversions that we learnt and the Arm balances exhilarating. Most of the poses I was not able to do during the workshop , but every day after that I found myself wanting to practice where ever I could until I could successfully do these postures. The scorpion pose was the most challenging posture for me but a little bit of patients and being able to focus and breath through the movements I was finally able to do it!!! YAY! some of the other great postures we learnt were the basic headstand (which was much harder than I would have ever anticipated ) The crane pose, Astavakrasana pose , and the Pincha Mayurasana (feathered peacock pose). Overall I was very happy with this class and my new learnt yoga poses, and I am excited for the any other yoga workshop that comes my way allowing me to further and intensify my practice .



Namaste.