Tips on power yoga, reiki yoga and reiki levels

Reiki is a simple hands-on healing modality that is becoming very popular in the world. Increasingly, reiki levels are getting more attention from medical practitioners and several hospitals in the US have now incorporated reiki levels in their programs. Power yoga is the Western world’s take on the spiritual practice that originated thousands of years ago. Originating in the 1990s, power yoga has now become a staple in gym classes around the country, making the practice of yoga mainstream.

Power Yoga Origins

Power yoga, sometimes also termed as reiki yoga, stems from the style and philosophies of Ashtange yoga, According to healthyoga website it was Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, a renowned Sanskrit scholar who inspired the Western world’s yogis with Ashtange. However, the term power yoga was created the another Ashtange yoga teacher Beryl Bendere Birch, who is the author of “Power Yoga: the Practice.”

What is Power Yoga

Power yoga focuses on the building strength and flexibility through basic yoga poses. It is typically a faster paced than other practices, but is easily modified for beginners.

Power yoga or reiki yoga uses basic yoga poses from practices like Bikram and Ashtange, which both offer an energetic workout with a progression of challenging poses for all levels.

Vinyasa is used in power yoga. Vinyasa is the use of breaths that are synchronized with movement.

Power yoga encourages the correct form of yoga poses, it also requires the poses to be held for long periods of time. This helps improve flexibility as well as endurance.

Benefits of Reiki Yoga

Power yoga like all practices of yoga has a long list of benefits, but power yoga gives focus to key benefits.

Reiki yoga increases strength by using the weight of your body, while also improving endurance by quick flowing movements and maintaining poses for longer periods of time.

Flexibility is increased through the range of movements that stretch and elongate your muscles.

As with other types of yoga, power yoga helps with the ability to focus, but it can be more challenging than other yoga practices as the focus is on simultaneous breathing and movement.

Yoga, being a full body workout, helps to tone every part of the body.

Through meditation and controlled movement anxiety and tension is relieved.

Reiki yoga improves the core muscles which help to improve posture.

Many athletes use reiki yoga for training purposes as it helps strengthen muscles and joints. This makes athletes less prone to injury. Many surfers, swimmers, cyclist, and football players practice power yoga.

Yoga for All Ages

Power yoga, like many other practices of yoga, can be done at almost any age, as modifications are offered with every pose. This makes power yoga a great workout no matter how long you have practiced. According to Indeed.com, after leaving a power yoga class you will feel more in tune with your mind, body, and spirit, as power yoga classes focus on coordinating all elements of the practice.

What to Expect in a Power Yoga Class

Yoga can be practiced by any able-bodied person of any size or age and all it requires is a mat and some comfortable clothing. Some beginners, however, may appreciate some foreknowledge of what to expect when they take their first class. A power yoga class can be a great, non-threatening place to start.

What is the Difference between Power, Ashtanga and Vinyasa Flow Yoga

Power Yoga is simply a term yoga instructors began to employ in the early nineties as a way of de-mystifying Ashtanga postures and promoting this athletic form of yoga as an excellent means of developing flexibility, balance and core strength. In general, students attending a “Power Yoga” class may rest assured that the practice will be “westernized,” meaning generally free of traditional chanting, drumming, or terminology.

A class that is advertised as an Ashtanga practice will likely feature many of the same postures as a Power Yoga class, but may take a more traditional approach (for example, the session may start and end with a group chant of “Om”). Also similar are classes advertised as “Vinyasa Flow.”

These focus more on continuous movement regulated by the breath—participants can expect Vinyasa Flow classes to be vigorous and may not involve as much time spent holding the postures as in an Ashtanga or Power Yoga class.

Yoga Clothing—What to Wear

New yogis are often told to wear “loose, comfortable” clothing to their first practice, only to find themselves in an inverted V posture (downward dog) being suffocated as the loose t-shirt they’ve worn falls down over their head. It’s not possible to be “comfortable” when constantly worried about exposing oneself, and considering the array of body-bending postures yoga requires, a run of the mill shorts and t-shirt ensemble doesn’t really cut it.

This is why long, loose pants and tight, stretchy tops are often the attire of choice in yoga classes. Form fitting exercise tops will not ride up or down during a rigorous series of sun salutations, nor will they allow for accidental exposure. Long pants also mitigate the potential-peepshow factor for both men and women. Breathable material that wicks will keep clothes from getting damp with perspiration and sticking uncomfortably to the body.

What to Bring to a Power Yoga Class

In yoga, sweat is considered the practitioner’s friend. It means the pores have opened and the body is providing its own lubrication to help facilitate the various twists Ashtanga postures require. That said, some yoga enthusiasts find it useful to keep a small hand towel or face cloth on hand for when their palms become too sweaty or when perspiration gets in the eyes. It’s also a good idea to keep a bottle of water nearby. Many instructors counsel students to avoid drinking water during the practice itself, but as soon as practice is over most people are keen to re-hydrate.

One thing it is not a good idea to bring to a yoga class is a full stomach. Wait at least a couple of hours after eating before doing yoga—after a few twists the reason for this becomes obvious.

What to Expect In the Yoga Studio

For those who have not arrived with their own yoga mat, most studios offer common use mats for free or for rental. The studio usually has spray bottles and rags available so that students can wipe these mats down after the class is over, and it is considered common courtesy toward the next student to do so.

Before class begins the instructor will introduce his or herself and, if she is a professional, ask if anyone present is new to the practice. Beginners should speak up—this knowledge will allow the instructor to direct specified guidance toward new students. It’s also important to let the instructor know about any injuries or physical limitations one might have.

When practice begins, beginners should do their best to simply follow along, taking postural cues from the instructor and other students for guidance. Keep in mind that when the instructor says “Go at your own pace,” he or she is not simply being kind or indulgent—the benefits of yoga do not come about as a result of straining or over-exertion. Yoga is a gradual, mindful process of effort balanced with surrender. The point is not to touch your toes, but to feel the stretch in the muscles that takes place when you reach for them, and to determine your own “edge” in this posture. In yoga, this is simply a way of saying “back off” when the stretch or posture becomes too difficult.

Most importantly, if the first class has not gone well, remember that this is not called a “practice” for nothing. Vancouver yoga instructor Eoin Finn recalls the time a student who had quit yoga told him, “I’m just not flexible enough.” Finn replied, agog, that to quit yoga for reasons of inflexibility “is like refusing to take a shower because you’re too dirty!”