Pranayama - controlling breath

Pratyahara - going inward and withdrawing attention from outside world

Dharana - concentration

Dhyana - meditation

Samadhi - merging with universal consciousness

The Swami Vivekananda added to history of yoga by bringing it to America. In 1893, he addressed Parliament of World Religions and discussed path of yoga. As a result of his speech, it quickly began to blossom as a practice in many areas of country. Yoga has since gained major popularity in United States and many different styles including Hatha, Bikram, and Iyengar, are practiced by millions of people.

Knowing history of yoga can help you, practitioner, realize richness that it has to offer. More than just a means of being fit and trim, yoga can help you live a healthy, whole, and empowered life.

A good way to learn how much is right for you is to weight yourself before a heavy training session. Then drink and record how much liquid you consume during trainging. Then weight yourself again. If you find that you weight more after training than before, you should cut down on your liquid intake. By performing this exercise, you will learn how much liquid you really need to injest during an event and be able to pace yourself accordingly.

Hyponatremia can begin with confusion and lethargy and can progress rapidly to more severe symptoms. They can include twitching, siezures, stupor, coma and even death.

In recent years, hyponatremia has killed several amateur marathon runners as well as competitors in Marine Corps Marathon.

To learn more about hyponatremia and proper hydration during events, visit http://usatf.org/groups/coaches/library/hydration/