How To Get That Sexy Yoga Look

That Sexy 'Yoga' Look... Is Very Much Possible!

Yoga is no longer something new.

Feeling confident, losing weight, getting a strong and flexible body, glowing beautiful skin, a peaceful mind, good health... whatever you may be looking for, yoga offers it.

However, very often, yoga is only partially understood - many people think of yoga as only poses or 'asanas'.

As such, its benefits are only perceived to be at the body level, and we fail to realize the immense benefits yoga offers in uniting the body, mind, and breath. When you are in harmony, the journey through life is calmer, happier, and more fulfilling.

With all this and much more to offer, the benefits of yoga are felt in a profound, yet subtle manner.

Today we want to focus on the number one benefit of doing Yoga...

Toning your muscles for that sexy yoga look!

The usual weight training experts advise that we get at least two or three thirty-minute sessions of strength training each week.

Many people are intimidated by the grunting and posturing in the weights area of the gym, and women, specifically, tend to shy away from exercises that they think might make them bulky.

Yoga is a way that you can use your own body weight to strengthen your muscles, and tone and lengthen them, instead of increasing their size. A strong, athletic yoga practice - such as Ashtanga or Power Yoga - will tone all the muscles in your body, build your stamina and strength, and you'll see the sleek, sexy yoga results.

You may think of yoga as a gentle practice, but there are actually many yoga poses that tone your butt! If you do a Google search for “yoga butt,” a number of things come up.

 The first result is the definition from Urban Dictionary:

"The ultimate external sign of a strong and powerful body. Only after years of practice can a man or woman achieve a yoga butt. It is perfectly proportioned, very tight, high, and sculpted. A yoga butt means you also have yoga arms, yoga abs, yoga legs, etc. It is very sexy and it immediately turns eyes and makes people jealous or inspired."

Who wouldn't want that sexy yoga burn?

I have a confession; I had a crush on one of my instructors a while ago... yes he has a great looking butt. So, I always tried to attend his class. ;)

Many of us are aware that performing exercise can make our bodies look and feel better. With constant yoga exercises and stretches, your muscles will be put to work. These yoga poses and exercises can help give our muscles a more toned appearance.

Thanks to the breathing exercises of yoga, more oxygen can enter your muscles, providing your muscles with more vigor. If you have problems with the way your body looks, yoga can help ease this problem by providing you with better-looking muscles.

It really is an all-round fitness.

You are truly healthy when you are not just physically fit, but, also, mentally and emotionally balanced.

Health is not a mere absence of disease. It is a dynamic expression of life – in terms of how joyful, loving and enthusiastic you are.

This is where yoga helps: postures, breathing techniques, and meditation are a holistic fitness package.

Yoga can be flexible and... funny!

Yoga can be done almost... anywhere. As long as you have the will and desire to do it, it's possible.

Yoga encourages you to be playful about your body. With that said, sometimes, yoga is funny. Oftentimes, when I attempt to try new poses, I fall on my butt. And that's good!

It's good to try new things, to laugh at yourself, and to get a little awkward. Bodies are awkward. Being playful and light can make you feel good about yourself on and off the mat.

Besides looking toned and strong, yoga can help you stay young. Stress can cause unsightly skin breakouts and fine lines. Yoga improves the appearance of your skin by relieving stress and cleansing your body of toxins.

Inversion poses will also increase blood flow to your face and will boost the presence of nutrients your skin needs. Your eyes will also sparkle because of the health that is radiating out of your skin and body!

Of course, not everyone can practice yoga diligently - career and the responsibilities of our day-to-day lives can make it seem difficult to devote time to something new.

I have a hectic life filled with long days, and, at one time, I shared this mind-set. I have done enough today, I am tired, working is exercise enough, the list of reasons we tell ourselves not to fit our yoga practice in goes on and on. I have trained myself to try to fit some form of yoga or stretching into my life on a daily basis, and it has paid off in a big way.

Yoga helps You... stay young

They say it's all in your diet, whether you stay young or old. In fact, people have created so many diet programs out there, from the Atkins Diet program, the Beyond Diet program, the Dash Diet program, name it and you have a "diet" with that name!

But guess what, I sincerely beg to differ. I have NOT changed an ounce of what I usually eat (and I don't eat too many junk foods, anyway) but my once-bent back is straighter, my posture has improved, and my ever-tired, aching feet are not so tired these days. And all this without ever "going on a diet"! It's all thanks to Yoga that I stay young as ever!

Now, if you too want to know how 'old' you are, don't look at your birth date, or your reflection in a mirror. Instead, see how flexible your spine is. In yoga, age is measured not in chronological years - as the saying goes, “You're only as young as your spine.”

The best part is, you are never too old to start! Does doing yoga turn back the hands of time? Of course not. Life is not a glamour magazine, and all the sexy, youthful celebrities who practice yoga have not eliminated wrinkles and imperfections - I say, embrace that reality.

Your age is a celebration of who you are; be proud of it. If you are working out to impress others or gain some imaginary ticket to the fountain of youth, you are doing it for the wrong reasons.

Yoga keeps you young in the only way that matters: on the inside.

When you're young on the inside - meaning young organs, young joints, young nervous system, and, most importantly, a young outlook - you also look young on the outside.

You glow, from the inside out. You embrace every new day with wondrous expectation. You jump out of bed happy for the day to begin.

You laugh out loud often and see life with a childlike wonder. It is the way you look at the world. Does this mean you will be biking and rollerblading and mountain climbing until you are eighty or that people will mistake you for half your age?

It's not likely, and, if these are your expectations from your yoga practice, you are not doing it for the right reasons. I'm looking forward to growing older, because, with every passing year, my body gets more fluid, more open, and stronger.

So where do you begin?

You can begin by taking up a local Yoga class, or going for a Yoga DVD.

Some of the popular Yoga courses today are:

• The Yoga Burn Program - By Zoe Bary-Cotton (focuses on fat burning and weight loss).
• The Ultimate Yogi - By Travis Eliot (focuses on poses and flexibility).
• Inner Engineering - By Isha Yoga Foundation (focuses on overall well-being).

Remember, Yoga is not a been-there-done-that diet plan, it is much more a lifestyle, a way of living. So do not think of it like being means to an end. It's a journey, a very fulfilling one at that, where you keep reaping the benefits all the way.