#HumFitTohIndiaFit is the challenging hashtag of this week. And after going through a wonderful blogs of three of our #NISSAtalks girls, it’s my turn to show the fitness regime, which I follow.

          Fitness for me doesn’t mean to physically fit, but also related to mentally fit too. Unfortunately, the average person is flooded by stress responses every day, whether it is due to a toxic relationship, stressful work environment, or unhealthy lifestyle. Stress is a major epidemic in our society that can create a “hyper vigilance” in our mind and body. Stress is fueled by epinephrine and cortical (stress hormones), impairs our ability to think clearly, and leads us to a path of reactivity. Stress can be happen in any age group, as the world is getting competitive.

          Yoga is optimal in counteracting the chronic stress response. Adding yoga to normal life makes healthy body & mind. Daily practice of yoga makes one’s body strong and flexible, and boosts immunity. It also improves the functioning of circulatory, respiratory, digestive, blood flow and hormonal structures. Yoga also brings emotional stability and clarity of mind within a person. There is no age bar in practicing yoga. Now a day’s doctors recommend doing yoga during pregnancy & after having baby.

         In 2014, Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi suggested United Nations to celebrate June 21 as the International Yoga Day as it is the summer solstice; the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

”By changing our lifestyle and creating consciousness, it can help us deal with climate change,” he told the group of nations at the time. ”Let us work towards adopting an International Yoga Day”.

          Yoga is mindful and embodied approaches to healing, working synergistically to cultivate calm, relaxed, and peaceful mind. Whether you practice at a studio or from the comfort of your own home, a consistent practice can lead to significant shifts in how and what you pay attention to from moment to moment.

          After my delivery it took 6 month to decide, which fitness regime I will select to back to normal life. I was in searching for regime which brings back my body to normal shape & calm my mind. Inspiring by most of actress moms, I switch to Surya Namaskar in yoga. I learned it in my school time so it was not difficult for me to redo it.

          Surya Namaskar can be done easily at home & your kids can also perform it with you. You just need a yoga mat & correct knowledge of each poses to perform it. If you are new to it than you can take help of yoga instructor, yoga video CD or books related to yoga. If you are filmy person like me, you can use many celebs yoga CD, which is easily available online.

What is Surya Namaskar?
Surya Namaskar is a sequence of 12 powerful yoga poses with profound benefits that have been written about for thousands of years. Surya Namaskar has been recognized as one of the most wonderful and simple techniques of losing weight. It makes the body flexible, fit and strong. Most experts have claimed that Surya Namaskar also boosts metabolism and helps in building lean muscles. Hardly would you find a workout these days that delivers such amazing results in a short span of time! Each of these asanas is performed by stretching first, the right side of the body, followed by the left side. This makes one round of Sun Salutation. 12 rounds, that is, a set of 24 asanas ought to be done. Asanas in Surya Namaskar have phenomenal impact on the throat, chest, heart, stomach, intestine and legs.

          Yoga experts have called Surya Namaskar the base of power yoga. As The postures in Surya Namaskar range from flexing and bending to stretching the muscles, while continually breathing in and out rhythmically. So, if you are keeping very busy or want to reduce weight in less time, this yoga workout is meant for you.

Surya Namaskar for weight loss:-

To get proper benefits of Surya Namaskar for weight loss, include following tips.

• Have a warm up stretches before practicing Surya Namaskar.
• Learn all the poses properly which falls under the Surya Namaskar. It is important to learn how to do Surya Namaskar the right way if you want to shed weight.
• If possible, try to perform yoga at same timing as done on day before. Best time do Surya Namaskar is in the morning.
• Surya Namaskar should be done with empty stomach. At least 2 hour’s gap should be there, 4-5 hours gap will be best.
• Perform the steps at a slow and steady pace. If you are a learner, it would take around 15 days to perfect all the poses.
• Once you have built enough strength, increase the number of rounds you do! You could practice Surya Namaskar for about six days a week and do a total of 12 rounds.
• You should end your practice with 5 minutes of stretching exercises or relaxation poses such as Shavasana.
• For motivation play a Classical music or Surya mantra chant.
• You should be performing every move in a slow manner. Remember to be graceful.
• If you want quick results, do six sets of Surya Namaskar. This will make your body flexible and build strength. 108 rounds should be more than enough for shedding extra kilos
• Increase the number of time slowly & day by day. Don’t force yourself while practicing. Yoga isn’t supposed to make you feel stressed or strained.

Calories Burnt:-

          Studies shows that one minute of Surya Namaskar burns 3.79 calories. It has been shown that one full round of Surya Namaskar takes approximately 3 minutes and 40 second to complete. That means calories burnt in 1 Surya Namaskar can be up to 13.91 calories. One pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories. So if you want to burn one pound a week, you have to do yoga for 40 minutes.

         In the beginning period, start with 18 minutes for burn 250 calories, then slowly increase 25 minutes for 350 calories & then to 40 minutes for 500 calories respectively.

          Yoga beginners typically start with four rounds of Surya Namaskar that get you to burn nearly 55 calories. The count should be gradually increased keeping in mind your body capacity. 12 rounds of Surya Namaskar burn nearly 156 calories that is equivalent to doing rigorous exercise in the gym for an hour. Some yoga experts even practice 100 Surya Namaskars in each session. However, you should strictly abstain from overdoing the asanas.  This result can, however, vary from person to person, depending on his respective body weight and other attributes.

Yoga for kids:-

          Mommy’s can practice yoga with their kids too. Have you ever observed your kids; you’ll be surprised to find how well they can do those postures that you struggle with on the yoga mat. From an infant to a toddler to a second-grader, children do yoga all the time. It is only when they start turning older that they stop doing these postures and need to go to a yoga school to learn it all again. Yoga plays an important role in the physical and mental growth of children and is encouraging children to indulge in this ancient practice. Yoga is such a well-rounded and dynamic exercise that it gives the kids a way to fully exploit their physicality with poses and sequences that challenge strength, stamina, cardio as well as balance, coordination and flexibility. Allowing the child to evolve in school as equally physically as mentally. Also giving the kids a chance to burn off some of that tremendous kid energy, allowing them to sit more still in the classroom, especially when you combine that with the stretching which releases the physical tension, contributing to more stillness and better focus. It also include the mental calm and focus achieved through breathing exercises, which along with the stretching relax the children and help them be more present.

RUCHIKASANDELL a blogger mom has shared her experience with yoga after delivery, surely going to motivate you.

Ending it with one simple message from Mrs Shilpa Shetty Kundra on her instagram :-

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This post is published for #OpenNTalk Blogger’s League hosted by @Gleefulblogger & @Wigglingpen in association with SummerBarn, Vedantika Herbals, Nyassa, and Explore Kids World.

I’m part of team #NISSAtalks. Stay tuned as all through June, we will be opening up and talking about a host of topics.

This week, we are all writing on #HumFitTohIndiaFit.

Don’t forget to checkout my teammates posts:

Ishieta (www.isheeriashealingcircles.com),

Sudha (www.sukrisblog.wordpress.com),

Nupur (www.practicalmum.net) &

Arvind (www.passey.info).