Ukulele lessons for beginners

There are many benefits of ukulele lessons. Taking ukulele lessons is a great choice for kids and parents who want to stay involved in their children’s music lessons. Ukulele is simple to learn, but still challenging enough for new musicians. If you’re interested in learning the ukulele, here are 4 benefits of ukulele lessons.

1. Benefits of Ukulele Lessons:  Uke is Easy to Learn

Ukulele only has 4 strings making it very easy to learn. Because ukulele is easy to learn, it’s also a great choice for kids who want to play guitar. Ukulele is guitar’s smaller and easier to play cousin. Once kids get the basics down on ukulele, it’s easy to graduate to guitar later on. Reading ukulele tab is the same as reading guitar tab, and ukulele can be played either with your thumb or with a guitar pick.

2. Playing the Ukulele Develops Coordination

One of the benefits of ukulele lessons is ukulele teaches kids hand eye coordination and improves their fine motor skills. Kids who take ukulele lessons will learn how to independently move their fingers, coordinate rhythm, and read ukulele tab. They’ll also learn how to play fun songs from start to finish that use chords, and basic rhythms. These skills are vital to anyone interested in later taking on guitar or piano.

3. Ukulele Lessons are Great For Those Short on Time

A great benefit of taking ukulele lessons, is that the ukulele is a simple instrument. It’s much simpler  to understand and play than guitar, piano, or drums. So if you’ve always wanted to pick up an instrument, but don’t feel you have much time to dedicate to it, then ukulele lessons might be right for you.

4. Ukulele is Portable

Another benefit of ukulele lessons is the fact that it’s portable. Once you learn how to play, you can easily take your ukulele with you everywhere you go. It’s small enough to put in a truck, in a backpack, take with you on a hiking trip, the beach or at family parties. Ukulele is the ultimate traveler’s instrument.

Excerpt from lessons that rock.com

Click here for Yoga Palm Beach and our timetable for ukulele lessons

Yoga Meditation - How to practice 3 Part Yoga Breath

BREATHING

Complete Yoga Breathing:

Before practising yoga asanas it is good to relax and do some yoga breathing. Practise sarvasana at the end of yoga also. You can practise while standing but I think it's best practised lying on your mat.

If you like you could place a folded blanket or a bolster under the spine, from sacrum up and a block or a thin pillow under the head.

Relax down into your mat. Let your feet be floppy.
Bring your hands to your lower belly touching the tips of the thumbs together and touching the index fingers together around the belly button.

Breathing into the lower belly, feel the fingers seperating with the breath X 3 breaths.
Next, bring opposite hands to opposite sides of your lower rib cage, direct your breath to your hands, feel the lower ribs rising and expanding with the breath X 3 breaths.
Next, move the hands up to the upper ribs and tuck your hands into you arm pits, direct your breath to your hands, feel the upper ribs rising and expanding with the breath X 3 breaths.
Lastly, bring your hands up to your collar bones. You can keep your hands crossed, just check to make sure you are not rounding your shoulders, stay open and broad across the chest. Direct your breath to your hands and feel the collar bones gently rising as the breath fills the top part of the lungs and relaxing on the exhale.

Now, combine all of these areas into one full smooth inhale and exhale.

As you inhale think about filling a jug up with water, let the breath fill from the bottom of the lungs upwards. As you exhale visualise emptying the jug from the top all the way to the bottom. At the end of the breath gently squeeze the abdominal muscles to assist the full emptying of the lungs.

Three part yoga breathing is very relaxing, brings awareness to the breath and helps us to develop the great habit of deep breathing.

Try it, even 5 minutes each day will do you the world of good.

Relaxation - Holistic Yoga Stretch and Meditation

Holistic Yoga Stretch…

Benefits body, mind, heart and soul.

The benefits of Yoga are well documented and have been appreciated by Eastern Cultures since ancient times. More recently the West has begun to embrace the holistic benefits of Yoga.We can always gauge what the current trends are by the media and yes sadly by the advertising. Have you noticed how many laptop owners get down to the beach and sit in the lotus yoga pose while gazing out over the tranquil ocean. Ah - Yes, progress:-)

Seriously though, the practice of Yoga has devotees world wide and is glorified as being the absolute best exercise for the up-keep and maintenance of the physical
body.

Yoga works all areas of the body, internally and externally, helping to keep the body (our life vehicle) in as tip top condition as possible.

Classes begin with a few minutes of sacred sound meditation, followed by Yoga Nidra and then the Yoga stretches begin. Yoga Nidra is repeated again at the end of the yoga stretches. We then finish off with a few minutes of "Spiritual Food for Thought" and group singing meditation which perfectly rounds out our Yoga practice.

A blissfully rejuvenating experience for body, mind, heart and soul.

Will post an easy relaxation class at a later date, so that you can experience it for yourself.

Warm regards

Yoga Meditation 4221 Palm Beach Qld - Yoga Stretching

Yoga Stretch -- Pelvic Tilts

We have such busy lifestyles, some days it's so... not possible to put in a full hour and a half of yoga. It would be possible however, on most days to find the time to squeeze in a 10 to 20 minute sequence that would stretch the back, hamstrings, and hips, which are huge problem areas for many of us. If you are able to do this consistently you will see and experience over a relatively short period of time the positive effect stretches have on your regular holistic yoga sessions.

Any and all stretches are beneficial but pelvic tilts are super amazing and very easy to do. Often times we go along our merry way, keeping busy and don't even realize that our backs are stiff and hurting until we take a break or lie down on our yoga mats. The first few pelvic tilts you practice may feel a bit rusty and reveal traces of lower back pain, but after 10 to 20 pelvic tilts, the pain is normally gone. Do them slowly, and keep going until any niggly pain is gone and the movement feels fluid and good. Remember to focus inwards and practise your complete yoga breathing in conjuction with your pelvic tilts. Afterwards rest and then roll up and stretch your arms overhead.

Pelvis Tilts

Lie down on your mat. Bend your knees, placing your feet on the mat. Draw the belly button to the spine and gently lift your pelvic floor as you exhale pressing your spine gently into your mat and gently round your tailbone up off the mat.

Inhale, releasing and gently press your tailbone down. (This will cause your spine to round up off the mat). Simply repeat for as long as your wish.

Cautions:

Do not do if you are pregnant, have severe back problems or disc problems.

Yoga Meditation 4221 Holistic Yoga Standing Forward Fold

Holistic Yoga Standing Forward Fold

Cautions: Back problems, high blood pressure. (Come down to half way only, keep hands on hips)

Benefits: Decompress's the spine. Calms the adrenal glands. Increases flexibility to the spine.

How To:

Stand in mountain pose.

Bring hands into prayer position at the heart.

Inhale, press buttocks together, lengthen thru the lower back as you straighten the arms fingertips towards the ceiling

Seperate the hands into a gentle back bend.

Exhale, tuck chin towards the throat and roll the shoulders forward as the arms drop forward.

Important to draw the belly button towards the spine and anchor the tale bone down. (No duck tails) Come all the way forward with bent knees touch your mat, and come up.

Make sure the belly is drawn back firmly and the tail bone is tucked down.

Come up one vertebrae at a time with the head coming up last.

Inhale, into prayer and repeat 6 times.

Will help to warm the body up if done briskly, other wise you will still increase the blood circulation by moving slowly at a relaxed pace. Just tune into your body and what your body needs.

Enjoy

Yoga Asana - Vrksasana or Tree Pose for beginners

Vrksasana or Tree Pose for absolute beginners.

(This image is NOT absolute beginners as per instructions here. After you master the beginners tree pose you can graduate to this version.)

This is a great pose to help centre yourself. To regain focus, concentration and determination.

How to:

• Stand with your feet hip distance apart and parallel. (Mountain pose)
• Transfer your weight to your right foot. Visualise sending roots down into the ground. Firm and strong.
• Bring the ball of the left foot to the floor, touching your left heel to your right ankle.
• Find a spot to fix your gaze upon, this will help with balance.
• Bring your hands into prayer position at your chest.
• Inhale and raise your arms with palms together.
• Think about lifting and lengthening through your hips, spine and ribcage.
• Lengthen up through your shoulders and out through your finger tips.
• Seperate your palms, think about growing branches.
• Keep your neck nice and long.
• Balance for a few seconds.
• Bring your hands back to prayer position.
• Re-balance your weight evenly on both feet.

When you are ready repeat on the left foot.

Benefits:

• Strengthens the muscles in the standing leg and ankle.
• Stretches the inner thigh muscle and opens the hip.
• Helps with focus, balance and concentration.
• Helps to reduce flat feet.

Cautions:

• If you have high blood pressure, keep the hands in prayer position.

• If you have weak ankles or inner ear problems that affect your balance use the support of a wall or the back of a chair.

If you would like to practice yoga and yoga stretches on a regular basis contact holistic yoga meditation life 4221 for class times.

Namaste
Holistic yoga meditation life palm beach 4221

Yoga Asana Apanasana Digestion Pose

Holistic yoga meditation -

Apanasana

Here is one of my most favourite hatha yoga stretches. It is very simple to do and the benefits can be felt instantly.

How To:

• On your yoga mat, lie down on your back. Knees bent with feet flat on your mat.

• As you exhale, gently firm your belly muscles and bring your feet up off your mat hugging your knees to your chest.

• Inhale softly and on the next exhale, gently draw the legs closer to the chest.

• On the next inhale let them relax and release.

Very simple.

Benefits:

• Lengthens the spine.
• Releases the lower back.
• Settles the air in the belly.

Cautions:

• If pregnant or have a large abdomen, keep the knees wide apart.
• Prolapsed lumbar disc.
• High blood pressure.
• Hump in the upper back, place a cushion under your head.

This yoga stretch is very relaxing. A good yoga pose to add a meditation too.
Gauranga yoga meditation is a perfect choice.

If you would like to know more about Gauranga meditation or any other information about yoga meditation be sure to contact us.

Namaste
holistic yoga meditation life 4221

Yoga Asana - Dandasana - Yoga Mantras, Yoga Meditation

Dandasana Dandasana is the basic seated pose from which all the others originate. Think of this yoga stretch as a seated version of Mountain Pose or Tadasana.



Benefits:

• Strengthens legs.
• improves alignment and posture.
• Firms the belly muscles.

How To:

• Sit with straight legs outstretched in front.

• Strengthen the thigh muscles and flex the feet. The heels may lift up off the floor.

• Gently firm the belly.

• Lift up out of your hips, feel the vertebrae and intervertabral discs decompress as the spine lengthens.

• Check that the shoulders are inline with your hips.

• Sit on a firm low cushion if you have tight hamstrings.

Arm Placement

• Think about keeping the shoulders sliding down away from the ears.

• Place the palms of your hands flat on the ground or rest them on your thighs.

If you would like to practice gentle yoga stretches in a class environment contact holistic yoga meditation 4221 life for class details.

Namaste

Nadi Shodan

Nadi Shodan Pranayama

Pranayama breathing techniques offer many benefits. Nadi Shodan also known as Alternate nostril breathing is a nice pranayama to learn. It is a very effective breathing technique which can be used to clear the energy centres within the body. This pranayama also helps move the flow of energy/chi through the subtle energy channels of the body, known as meridians.

Nadi Shodan breathing helps balance the right and left hemispheres of the brain and at the same time exercises the left and right lungs, helping to clear obstructions in both sides of the airways. You might become aware of this when transitioning from pranayama breathing to normal breathing.

Nadi Shodan breathing practice helps to get us going, wakes us up, gives us more mental energy so that we are more focused and alert. At the same time the body is able to remain calm and relaxed. Maintaining a condition of relaxation is always an advantage, our lives are so stressful we often feel run down and exhausted, so relaxation is good and recommended by physicians as a viable way of getting rid of stress.  

Nadi Shodan is a quick and simple practice. It revitalises, helps us to concentrate and think more clearly. We feel centred and better equipped to deal with any problems we may encounter during the day.This is such an easy practice, even the most time poor person should endeavour to find 5 minutes during the day to experience the benefits.  

If you would like to learn how to practice Nadi Shodan pranayama you are welcome to contact us at YMSA Yoga Meditation Studio Palm Beach. Leave us a comment below, along with your details. We will get back to you as soon as we can.

Namaste

Yoga Benefits - Yoga Warm Up And Cool Down Gift

Yoga has been around for centuries originating in India. Originally including deep spiritual practises and awareness, there are some who have let go of those aspects of the yoga exercise program, but still use it because the physical asanas and techniques offer a lot of benefits. All yoga classes still include various types of meditation including chanting.

You will find that there are ways that you can use the stretches and strength building exercises to work on improving the health of the body. You will be able to burn fat, increase your flexibility, and also build muscle.

Some choose to combine yoga with other exercises, either before or after. If you are a runner or a weight lifter for instance you could use yoga as your warm up or cool down routine. You will want to do this before you start any cardiovascular or any strength training exercises. You will find that a yoga warm up will be a very effective part of any work out.

Yoga is traditionally seen as a routine of stretches and exercises that will rejuvenate the body. That is, although yoga may be a difficult workout, it will energize you as opposed to draining your body and making you feel tired like some other exercises do. You will want to do this before you start any cardiovascular or any strength training exercises. You will find that a yoga warm up will be a very effective part of any work out.

A little Yoga anyone? Trying to make health conscious decisions this year? If so, then this is the perfect gift for her. We've included a fully illustrated Yoga book as well as an instructional DVD that is ideal for beginners or advanced Yoga enthusiasts. The soothing combination of green tea bath and body enhancements along with the aromatherapy candles complete this bath and body sensation collection. Green Tea Pillar CandleFingernail Bristle brushHerbal Green TeaRamie & Sisal Back scrubberSoothing green tea bath saltsExfoliating bath mitt Aromatherapy Drawer Sachet Terry bath pillow Green Tea Foaming bath fizziesPlaid gift tin
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Practice of Yoga - Holistic Yoga Meditation 4221Yoga Socks ToeSox

Yoga has long been practiced by many people. Most say that they practise yoga because of the many benefits that can be attained from it. Moreover, it enhances the body, mind, spirit as well as soothing the emotions in a peaceful and effective way.

People of all walks of life, different ages and religions engage in the practise of Yoga because it enriches their lives in many ways. The yoga asanas are an effective way of improving one's physical health. Some say that it helps reduce or lessen pain. Some doctors even recommend it for its extraordinary ability to rejuvenate and improve one's bodily ailments. There are various forms of Yoga. Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga, Mantra Yoga are just some. Yogis find that their practise frees the body from stress, and brings about a more peaceful outlook.

Yoga-Pilates Socks with our patented non-slip grip are great for yoga, Pilates, dance and martial arts, as well as any other barefoot activity. No longer do you have to worry about slipping when doing exercises. Now, with Toesox, you have added control. The five-toe design promotes toe strength and flexibility by allowing the independent movement of your toes. Join the Foot Revolution.

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Millions of people are currently practising yoga. This is not surprising because it offers a lot of benefits. It helps stimulate the organs, nerves, internal systems and more which leads to improved well-being and health.