Starting Over: 3 Best Yoga Practices for Getting Back in Shape

If you have a good track record at recovering from injury, it doesn't mean that you should be careless. Full disclosure here: I have a tendency to forgo safety measures whenever I partake in physical activities. It's an adventurous side in me that also gets me injured. Not to dwell on details, but after a long recovery period that limited my allowance to exercise (doctor's orders) a lot of my muscle had gone to fat and I've lost a considerable percentage of my strength. This certainly didn't help my recovery, so while I searched for the best doctrine that can help me start over, I turned to yoga practices to get back into shape.

1. The right alignment and sun salutation

Certainly, there was a sense of risk that came with yoga practices, which is something I found intriguing, I'm ashamed to admit. While the right alignment could definitely help me speed up recovery, the wrong alignment could lead to additional injury. Furthermore, it is a well-known fact that yoga ameliorates depression, mood swings and insomnia, which are all the symptoms that emerged during my downtime.

Since the injury that I suffered was mostly isolated to my lower back: a part of the core, unfortunately, I had to find the one 'beginner' practice that would not strain me too much, but which still has a 'holistic' effect. Therefore, I fully embraced one of the basic asanas known as sun salutation (Surya Namaskar). It actually consists of twelve yoga poses which will activate an impressive variety of your body-parts. It aided in the strengthening of my core and skeletal system as well, which was perfect for my injury.

2. The upward plank and melting the weight away

Since I had to fortify my back muscles and abs, I also started practicing the upward plank after a week of doing the sun salutation exclusively. The name of this asana is Purvottanasana, and if you find this to be a mouthful, you can always fall back on the 'upward plank'. It is an absolutely wonderful pose that also does wonders for your respiratory system.

It will make you sweat just about right which is amazing if you've accrued some unwanted fat. You can wear one of these comfortable sauna vests which are designed not to intervene with your exercises, no matter how crazy the positions get. Actually, any type of plank exercise is amazing for your core and your entire body, so you should see to it that you begin practicing these positions whenever you can because they are so convenient to do even in cramped spaces.

3. The outdoors and the warrior pose

If you have a beachside near your apartment, you are in luck. Any yoga enthusiast would give everything they have for the opportunity to stretch in front of the rumbling waves every day. Me, I thankfully have a wonderful park at my disposal just two streets away from where I'm living right now. As soon as I felt I rebuilt some of my muscles and regained some of my strength, I began going to that park on a daily basis, with my trusty yoga mat in hand. This sublime outdoor environment is where I practiced the warrior pose – Virabhadrasana.

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Virabhadrasana starts off with mountain pose as the beginning position, and extends into a stretch of your left leg backward, as your right leg lunges into a ninety-degree position (it works with the legs switch as well, of course). Throughout this movement, your hands are constantly stretched above your head, and as your leg stretch stops, the arms go wide apart, like wings. This will do wonders for your legs in general, especially thighs, as well as arms and back. It is a welcoming asana for those that need to bring back a skip into their step after a long recovery.

If you are still cynical about yoga's rejuvenating qualities, you can continue your online search for testimonies, lessons, and videos. God knows you'll find an opulent range of verifiable sources just in the first fifteen minutes of your search, but know this now: nothing beats practice. As soon as you start doing asanas, you'll know what the fuss is all about!