I came across Rajalakshmi during this year’s A to Z challenge .She is  a “Software Engineer by profession, a dreamer by choice. Apart from coding bugs for livelihood, she indulges in Crafts and Writing to keep her creativity alive. Loves reading sci-fi, creating shape poetries and paper quilling models, watching Korean movies and is somehow ‘unknowingly’ involved in Kitchen ‘Katastrophes’. Enjoys being a Lifestyle/Travel blogger and an amateur photographer. Travel bug bit her when she was little and she suffers from serious condition of Wanderlust.”

I was captivated by her travel blog and even more fascinated by her artistic yoga poses. I am frankly quite envious of the ease with which she does them . So I was specially thrilled that she agreed to do a guest post on her favourite yoga asanas.

Yoga is an ancient Indian practice that really needs no introduction. Once you master the seemingly complicated poses, you will actually find yourself feeling  lighter .

But I will leave Rajalakshmi to tell you more about it.

The benefits of Yoga

In my attempt to improve health and better my lifestyle, I started practicing Yoga last year. Even though it’s only a year and half, I can already feel the improvements in my body – be it in strength, posture, flexibility, or focus. I mostly practice Hatha Yoga – a set of physical exercises or asanas that helps in the alignment of the body and mind.

Here are 5 of my favorite Yoga asanas that improves strength of various body parts.

Vrksasana (Tree Pose)

This is a great pose to build balance, it also strengthens various muscles in the legs. What I love the most about this asana is you have to hold your gaze, look at a certain point at eye level to maintain the balance. This is true for most of the balancing poses, and Vrksasana is a great way practice it.

Camatkarasana (Wild Thing Pose)

This pose is the first Chest Opener I was comfortable with. With my arms extended over my head, facing the sky, I feel like a bird. Camatkarasana is great for strengthening wrists, back and shoulders.

Virbhadrasana III (Warrior Pose )

Warrior III is tricky to balance as you need to hold the gaze, not overextend the knee, engage the core, keep the back leg straightened and not forget to breath as well. It strengthens legs, back muscles, shoulders and tones abdomen.

Chakrasana (Wheel Pose)

I find Chakrasana very challenging, a reason why it is my favourite too. I am working on the flexibility of my shoulders as they are still stiff for the backbend. It is a powerful asana that opens the chest and stretches the entire body.

Natarajasana (Dancer Pose)  

I love how graceful this asana looks, providing a relaxing stretch to chest, shoulders, abdomen, legs and also improves balance.
Along with Yoga, I also love going on long walks, hiking, skipping and indulging in some high intensity cardio at home, mostly in the evenings, after coming back from work.

[Tweet ” When you are working in a 9 to 5 desk job, it is essential to find ways to stretch the body and reduce the risk of diseases in the future.”]

Each of the postures in Hatha yoga has a meaning and a purpose, impacting various muscles and internal organs.

Therefore, it doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or an expert, flexible or not, just practice in whatever way you can.
Leaving you with his beautiful quote by Jean-Pierre Barral that pretty much sums it all.

“Eat healthily, sleep well, breathe deeply, move harmoniously.”

Note: Always consult a doctor before starting a workout regime.
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