A prominent belly is the result of weakened muscles on the inside of your stomach. When the stomach's muscle structure is loosened up it can no longer support the internal organs. Therefore we need to strengthen the inside of the abdomen. It is not easy to find ways to isolate and train muscles on the inside of the trunk, but this is precisely what the classic yogis managed to do.

Another central object of yoga exercises is the spine. Since the spine contains very central parts of your nervous system it will be very detrimental to your health if the spine is in a bad shape, literally. Therefore the yoga exercises are designed to straighten out your spine. This also improves your posture and increases your length.

Yet another object of yoga is to increase the body's elasticity and agility. This is achieved by stretching stiff muscles and strengthening those weakened muscles we seldom use if we have begun to live the rather stiffened life of adulthood. By strengthening the weakest part of the chain of muscles in a body, the body's proportions will become just right. Your strength will build up from the inside out. This gives you a great sense of satisfaction and makes your body look naturally beautiful. You will feel healthy and, if it is important to you how others perceive you, you will look healthy too!

PRANAYAMA - An intrinsic part of yoga, in fact inseparable from its proper practice, is Pranayama, the control of the breath (Read the section on PRANAYAMA for more details)

Breathing is an involuntary bodily function that we easily find that we have control over. Normally, we don't recognize the need for consciously controlling or directing our breathing, but when we do our yoga exercises we quickly realize this need.

Since most of the exercises are designed to affect one or another of your internal organs or intestines, you will soon get to know the inside of your body. This is a new acquaintance to most people. The first thing you will find is that a couple of filled lungs demand space.

If you are stressed up you will breathe heavily and rapidly, and if you are relaxed you will breathe calmly, that is, small portions of air often, though not too often. Inversely, if you concentrate on breathing calmly you will stress off. Thus we are able to control our state of mind through our body.