In a sponsored YouTube interview for National Yoga Awareness Month, host Ashley talks with health and wellness expert Reena Vokoun. Reena cites Yoga Journal and Yoga Alliance data showing yoga participation rising from 20 million to 36 million, and outlines yoga’s holistic benefits—cardiovascular health, strength, flexibility, stress reduction, sleep improvement, and overall mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness. She then walks viewers through four beginner‑friendly at‑home sequences: (1) Chair Pose with a heart‑center twist, emphasizing heart‑rate elevation, circulation, digestion, and toxin removal; (2) Warrior II transitioning to Side Angle, highlighting muscle engagement and core stability; (3) Crescent Lunge moving into Warrior III, focusing on hip‑flexor opening, quadriceps work, spinal lengthening, and balance; (4) a brief mention of a fourth move (implied by time). The segment also promotes PassionFit’s new microsuede, anti‑slip yoga mat (available in pink and turquoise, with strap, sweat‑absorbing fibers, rubber backing) and directs viewers to passionfit.com for the mat, Reena’s first book, and a forthcoming second book. The tone is conversational, instructional, and enthusiastic, aiming to make yoga approachable while subtly marketing the brand’s products and resources.
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We always love sitting down with our health and wellness expert, Reena Vokoun. She's sharing 4 yoga movements we can all do to lead a healthy lifestyle. This segment is sponsored by PassionFit. Reena, September is National Yoga Awareness Month, and it is so cool that we get to sit down and talk about this because you're certainly an expert in this field, and yoga just continues to grow in popularity.
Absolutely. Um, according to the Yoga Journal and Yoga Alliance, the number of people people doing yoga has actually increased from 20 million to 36 million.
In a second, you're going to walk us through some moves that we can all try, but before that, what is the benefit of yoga? Why is it so important that we try to work this into our schedules?
Yeah, that's a great question. So when you're doing different yoga poses and sequences, it actually is cardiovascular in nature. You're going to feel your heart rate rise. It also helps with strength building when you're holding in those poses and sequences and going through vinyasa flows, and it obviously helps with your flexibility. And when doing deep breathing and meditation during yoga, that helps with stress and anxiety, it improves your sleep, and just overall it helps optimize your mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health.
Alright, well in celebration of National Yoga Awareness Month, teach us some moves. I think we have time for about 4 or so, so where do you want to start?
Alright, let's start with some poses and sequences, the first one being a chair pose. So you're gonna have your feet together, you're gonna pull in your core, and you're gonna hinge your hips back. You're gonna lift both arms up above your head and you're gonna hold in that pose. And just Just from holding, you're going to start to feel your muscles working and you're start— you're gonna start to feel your heart rate elevate. From there, you're gonna do a little twist. So you're gonna bring your palms together and then bring your hands into your heart center and twist, bringing your elbow to the outside of each knee. When you're doing this twisting motion, it helps with your circulation, it helps with digestion, and it also helps with removing toxins from your body, which is a process that your body naturally does.
Wonderful! What else do you have for us?
So the next one is the very popular Warrior II pose, so you're going to get into a lunge position on each side. You're going to keep your knees and toes facing forward into the side and bend that front knee. Your arms are gonna be out to the sides, and again, you're gonna pull your core in and just hold in that position. And again, just by holding, you're gonna feel your muscles working. And from there, you're gonna go into a side angle pose. You're gonna rest one arm on your leg, and then the opposite arm is gonna come up into a side angle, and you're gonna hold in that pose as well.
And I love that you can go take classes, of course, with a professional, or through you, you also have a lot of virtual opportunities. But I love that You're giving us stuff we can do at home on our own, so what else can we do on our own?
Yes, yeah, I do all these poses in the classes that I teach both in person and online, and yes, you can do them at home as well. So the third one is a crescent lunge pose, and then you go into a Warrior 3. So with a crescent lunge, you're gonna lunge backward and you're gonna really open up your hip flexors and use your quadricep muscles, and you're gonna bring your arms straight up overhead while you lengthen your spine and your torso. So you hold in that position, keeping your front knees behind your toes and your back knee towards the floor, and then you're gonna shift your weight forward into the Warrior 3 pose. So your back leg is going to extend behind you, you're gonna keep your hips square to the front, and you're gonna bring both hands together and then balance on one leg.
Well, not only are you giving us the tools we need when it comes to our physical well-being, but we have new tools to celebrate too. This is the newest item available on your website, so we're all gonna look really good while we're doing our yoga. What makes this mat special besides it's just adorable?
Thank you. So it comes in two colors, a PassionFit Pink and then there's a PassionFit blue turquoise color as well. It comes with a great strap as you have on your shoulder, so you can just carry it to the gym or yoga studio. It's made out of microsuede fibers, so it's really nice and soft, but it absorbs sweat. And then the back of it is made with rubber, so then it's nice and flexible. It's anti-slip, and you can just really get a really nice comfortable yoga session. It's also great for Pilates or any type of exercise that you're doing, and it's available at passionfit.com/shop.
And to really complete the wellness look, we gotta get your book and maybe preorder the second one. So where can people stay in the know and get all the goods?
Yeah, so just go to passionfit.com. That's where my online boutique lives, all the information about the first book and the second book coming soon. So feel free to check it out and reach out if you have any questions at all.
