Slim Calm Sexy Yoga: 210 Proven Yoga Moves for Mind/Body Bliss

energized.

Yoga Will Make You Feel Sexier
    Seeing a slimmer, calmer you gazing out from the mirror goes a long way toward upping your confidence and making you feel beautiful. But yoga’s sexy side effects are about much more than through-the-roof confidence and glowing skin (though your skin really will start to glow; I’ll share the proof in Chapter 8 ).
    Yoga not only makes you feel like a vixen, it also physically changes your body from the inside out so that you experience pleasure in a whole new way. Whether you’re into bedroom gymnastics or more traditional lovemaking, all the added strength, flexibility, and endurance you gain with yoga practice will lead to amazing times between the sheets. And if you’re lucky enough to have a partner who practices yoga with you, you might want to brace yourself for the orgasm jackpot. Need a better reason to drag your date to yoga? (Be careful, you might not make it to dinner.)
    True story: I met my husband at yoga camp in a retreat center a train ride away from New York City It was a weekend of positive yoga energy. One of my all-time favorite people, Krishna Das (I call him the rock star of yoga), spoke and sang. And one of the masters I most admire, Dharma Mittra, who has been teaching in New York City since the 1970s, was leading classes.
    There I was in my sweatpants, no makeup, soaking up the atmosphere, totally on vacation from my mind, when I spotted Mike from across the room. It’s not often you find a hot and “normal-looking” dude at a yoga retreat, but the last thing I was interested in that weekend was meeting someone.
    All the eye contact started getting awkward, and then I noticed that we had something in common: chocolate. I’d snuck some M&Ms into camp knowing there wouldn’t be much dessert available, and wouldn’t you know it, he was furtively making his way through a stash of Easter chocolate he’d brought to a Krishna Das talk. My stash was running low. Conversation starter taken care of.
    When you stop looking and quiet your mind, intuition and awareness take hold, and good stuff happens. It’s the same with love. I blush easily when I talk about sex, especially my own sex life, but I will divulge that it is a very good idea to find a partner who practices a lot of yoga.
    You don’t have to go to yoga camp (or be a committed Tantra practitioner) to enjoy the sexy side effects of yoga. All that time on the mat spent cultivating focus, lookinginward, and moving and breathing deeply leads to beaming confidence and sensuality, whether you’re walking down the street or getting your groove on in the bedroom. A 2009 study published in the
Journal of Sexual Medicine
found that women who followed a 12-week yoga program reported significant improvements in desire, arousal, lubrication, sexual satisfaction, and orgasm.
    Yoga’s influence on your orgasms is twofold. In strengthening your core, you gain greater control over your pelvic floor muscles and sex organs. Harnessing this during sex helps you climax more magnificently. Regular yoga practice also reduces muscle tension, which, in turn, makes your body more receptive to pleasure.

What You Will Get from This Book
    If you are already a yoga convert, you know from direct experience how amazing the benefits of regular practice are. No matter what result you’re after—weight loss, less stress, better sex—in
Slim Calm Sexy Yoga
you’ll find a targeted program to get it. Best of all, most take just 15 minutes (totally excuse-proof!).
    But yoga’s many benefits don’t end with weight loss, stress reduction, and better sex. A regular yoga practice can have a powerful impact on your health—from curing headaches to easing hangovers to preventing heart disease. And if you simply want to dazzle the world, you’ll find 15-minute yoga fixes that will tone your body or give you smooth, beautiful skin.
    Doing the routines in this book is like hitting the reset button on your body and mind any time you need to. By focusing and breathing, you can cultivate awareness and attention, and direct your energy toward your goals. Practicing this way reveals your unique qualities, and part of that yoga buzz everyone raves about is realizing how much potential and power you have. You have the power to live a happy and fulfilled life. You just need to practice—and keep practicing.
    I crafted these routines specifically to fit easily into your life. Work at your own pace and around your busy schedule.