By: Natasha Archary
This Women’s Day Unathi and yoga instructor Dudu Phele put together a fun, virtual yoga experience to energise both body and mind. Yoga is the full-body workout you need to restore balance, push your endurance and strengthen your muscles.
Yoga’s origins can be traced back to ancient India over five thousand years ago but some researchers believe the practice may be up to ten thousand years old. More recently, health researchers found that the benefits of practicing yoga go beyond that.
Demanding absolute control, yoga is a perfect way to slim down, get strong and relax.
The hardest part of yoga is usually the lifestyle changes it inspires in you. Which is often what causes many to give it a miss. Above all the health benefits, yoga is a spiritual practice that was based heavily on a vegetarian diet. The concept was to live as clean and mindful a life as possible. Non-vegetarians can still practice yoga without making any conversions.
It is said that a vegetarian diet improves your ability to control your poses, posture and breathing. It also helps rid your body of all toxins from junk food and a heavy, meat-based diet. With all the processed nonsense going into our bodies, the eat clean, look lean concept is not an entirely new one. If you’re not ready to give up meat, you can aim to include more fresh produce into your diet. Juicing your veggies and fruits and eat bigger amounts of salads to start.
Yoga is an effective full-body workout as the chain of sequences that build with each move and the momentum in which the routine picks up can accelerate your heart rate and pushes your endurance. It counts as a form of cardio but is even better to calm your mind and improve mental health.
As with every workout plan, before you get started consult you doctor and get the all clear. There are a number of video tutorials on YouTube to get started with. Choose a beginners 15-minute yoga routine to start with. It will teach you the basic yoga poses which you will often return to once you start a full yoga workout routine.
Also read: Yoga: Get started with these 5 basic poses


