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Bally Chohan Fitness Tips

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Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Yoga Poses & Yoga Exercises

In Sanskrit, the word “pose” is “asana” (pronounced as “ah-sah-nah”).

Ancient yogis studied human body and then developed various yoga asanas so that each and every part of our body gets benefits from yoga poses. The yoga poses not only give us health benefits but also make us more aware of our body, mind, and environment.

It is however advised that while beginning yoga exercises, one must have a cool mind and experiment with the poses as per one’s comfort and convenience. The benefits of yoga exercises will be noticed faster if one has a playful mind and also the feeling of frustration and competitiveness will not enter the mind. The word of caution one must keep in mind while practicing yoga exercises, is that there must not be any feeling of discomfort or pain.

Important things to keep in mind during yoga practice:
  • Never hold your breathe during a pose.

  • Do not force or strain your breath.

  • Whenever you notice Labored breathing, come out of the pose slightly as it is an indication that you’re working too hard.

  • The rule of thumb is that, one can hold for three full breaths through most yoga poses. You must hold it longer only if your body says that you are comfortable in the pose, and if the body shows symptoms that you are uncomfortable, you should come out of the pose immediately.
Types of Yoga Poses

Seated poses
  • Seated yoga poses are especially beneficial if practiced for breathing exercises and relaxation or meditation techniques.

  • Seated poses generally advised to be used as a warm up or as a starting point for other poses.

  • Performing seated poses can help improve your posture and open your hips.
Standing poses
  • Standing yoga poses are often used as warm up or as a starting point for other poses.

  • Standing poses are beneficial for strengthening your legs, opening your hips and improving your sense of balance.
Inversions
  • Yoga experts advice Inversion yoga poses because it helps to improve your blood circulation quiet your mind and improve your overall health.

  • Inversions are also believed to reverse the ageing process and reduce the effect of the gravity on your body.
Relaxation and restorative poses
  • Relaxation or restorative yoga poses are more beneficial if performed at the end of each yoga practice.

  • The body and mind get more relaxed at this time and the energy released by the poses in your practice is moved freely throughout your body.
Counter poses
  • A counter pose is a yoga pose that stretches your spine in the opposite direction from a previous pose or returns your spine to a neutral position.
Twists
  • Twists are generally advised to stretch and strengthen your back and abdominal muscles, increase the flexibility of your spine and improve your circulation.

  • As the body is twisted and released, a fresh flow of blood moves in the body thereby improving the functioning of your internal organs.
Balancing poses
  • Balancing yoga poses are great for improving your balance and coordination as well as developing your ability to remain grounded in a pose.

  • Keeping your body balanced encourages you to focus, quiet and balance your mind.
Forward bends
  • Forward bends stretch the entire back of your body, especially your hamstrings.

  • Forward bends especially beneficial to release tension, calm your mind and soothe your nervous system.

  • Similar to back bends, forward bends help keep your spine strong and supple.
Back bends
  • A great challenge for any yoga performer is to perform back bends successfully.

  • Bending backward helps strength your back and keep your spine strong and supple.

  • Back bends also open the front of your body, especially your chest.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Yoga for Beginners

Our body works like machinery that is a combination of several joints. Similar to the machine parts, the joints in our body also need movement and lubrication time to time on a regular basis. While the lubrication is provided by the food we eat, Yoga and other physical activities are required for essential joint movements. A bitter truth is that in our day to day life some of our joints tend to get overused, while some are barely used.

Although we all get used to this condition of our body but the bad effects appear at a later stage, when health problems occur. Yoga is especially helpful to maintain the flexibility and healthy condition of joints because most of the yoga asanas are developed to increase the basic movements of joints.

Benefits of Yoga for Beginners
  • While the muscles which are focused during a particular yoga asana, work out, the rest of the body muscles get relaxed. Hence concentration on the movement of a particular muscle comes easily.

  • Old Age people and those, whose movements are restricted, also can perform these movements without much strain.
Yoga basics of beginners
  • Youths below 12 years of age are advised not to practice Yoga asanas for long and also to avoid maintaining asanas for very long.

  • Yoga gives maximum results if practiced for at least half an hour or more daily. Start with beginner yoga poses.

  • It is however advised to practice yoga asanas in early morning; as the concentration is maximum at that time but one is short of time then yoga can be practiced in the evenings as well

  • Yoga experts recommend practicing yoga asanas empty stomach. Any solid food must be consumed at least 3 – 5 hours before practicing and liquids 1 hour before.

  • Choose a place to practice that is spacious, clean, airy and far from disturbances.

  • It is recommended to practice yoga on a mat or carpet below but not on the bare floor.

  • Tight fittings are not allowed to be worn while practicing. Only loose, comfortable and clean cloths must be worn.

  • Undergarments are mandatory.

  • Spicy foods must be avoided during yoga practice, only a vegetarian diet must be followed.
Yoga Postures of beginners (Asanas)
  • Ashtanga Yoga describes yoga asanas as its 3rd limb. Not only we get a good physical health, but also learn how to control our mind and increase concentration power.

  • Most of the yoga asanas are based on the very slow and steady movements. Unlike other forms of exercise (Jogging, swimming) rapid movements are excluded in yoga poses.

  • The most important advantage of yoga asanas is that the body gets relaxed which subsequently, reduces the stress & strain of mind and body.

  • Unlike other physical activities, we burn comparatively fewer calories during Yoga practice.

  • Yoga helps to bring down the body’s metabolism rate thereby decreasing the rate of aging process.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Inversion Therapy through Yoga

Usually, this therapy is used to treatment of back pain as Inversion therapy reduces the compression of your vertebrae and discs thus allowing the ligaments and muscles that enclose the spine to calm down. We all are well aware of the universal truth that gravity affects our body and whole universe in general. Gravity keeps us grounded to the earth. In fact, gravity is what holds everything on earth together in its form and shape. It is such so simple and ordinary that most of us take it for granted.

In our daily routine approximately 16 hrs out of daily 24 hrs are spent in a way that our bodies remain perpendicular. Then again we spend around eight hours horizontal while sleeping. Without really knowing it, the vertical human frame is continuously influenced by gravitational stress.

The direction of the gravitational field can not be changed but it is possible for us to alter the direction in which our body is exposed to gravity so that our body is benefited by gravity in greater sense. The various Yoga poses (asanas), in particular the inverted ones, let gravity to flow through your body in a variety of angles and directions. Inversion lets all organs to shift back to their proper positions. This, in particular, is in the prolapsed organs. It stimulates the flow of blood to the head and brain area.

Emerged as an innovative approach to yoga, Inversion therapy is extremely versatile and adjustable. Yoga Inversion therapy is done with a sling-swing made of colorful and durable parachute fabric, a soft cushion insert and six handles located at three different levels (overhead, waist and foot levels), and two extension springs. Put together, this exceptional piece of equipment allows you to reach almost any imaginable pose, angle, movement, stretch or exercise you can think of. It doesn’t matter, whether it is vertical, horizontal inverted, or any position in between. You are able to achieve an unlimited variety of positions & options you can’t achieve with any other device whether you are playing on the swing airborne or grounded. Nor whether you are working high or low to the floor; nor whether you are sitting upright, hanging inverted, or lying prone, supine or lying on your side.

Inversion therapy began it’s development in the second half of 1993. What is it that attracts people from all ages and states of health and mobility to give up their physical body to be balanced in the air on the hands and feet of a total stranger

Why inversion therapy should be used?
  • This technique of yoga increases your mental alertness. Performing any upside down task improves the oxygen supply to your brain thus helping you to maintain mental sharpness.

  • This yoga therapy improves your posture. The stretch that appears with reverse pose and gravity helps you to sit, stand and move about with more ease and refinement.

  • This yoga therapy helps to maintain your height. Inverting regularly will greatly help you to avoid the shrinkage.

  • With inversion yoga therapy, the gravity aids your lymphatic system clear more rapidly and also this eases the pains and aches of stiff muscles.

  • Inversion yoga therapy relieves you from stress. The full body stretch makes you to feel more energized.
  • Inversion increases your flexibility and also range of motion. Inversion keeps your joints healthy and supple. With this, you can easily stay as active as you were in your younger age.

  • Inversion greatly improves your circulation. Whenever you attain inverted position, your body can circulate the blood supported by gravity instead of having to work against it.

  • Inversion realigns your spine after the workout. Aerobic activities and running unavoidably compresses your spine. Also, one-sided activities like tennis or golf pull your spine out of alignment. But, the inversion therapy makes these minor misalignment correct themselves naturally.
Caution
  • If you feel uncomfortable during inversion, then it is better to invert at a smaller angle or invert for a short time i.e. until your whole body gets adapted for inversion.

  • Before considering the inversion therapy, once consult your doctor if you have any conditions like high blood pressure, any eye conditions or heart disease.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Benefits of Yoga

If one can collect and pack all the benefits of yoga in the form of a pill or tablet, perhaps no one would ever hesitate to take that tablet. The reason being that no other pill or therapy can give so many benefits to our body.

Some yoga poses as described to work as cleansing practice for the body the have proved very beneficial to treat various physical disorders without any medication. Further, Yoga is incredibly helpful in:

Improving Flexibility – Yoga poses improve flexibility of body because not only one part but all the joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments of the body move and become active.

Massaging Internal Organs – Though different physical activities like jogging, swimming have health benefits but yoga is the only one that acts upon all the organs and even the glands and massages them by increasing the flow of blood. One can be surprised to know that the prostate gland which gets externally stimulated hardly ever in or life is stimulated by practicing yoga.

Yoga is a holistic approach to one’s fitness and acts upon all of one’s body parts. This organic rub down and stimuli, subsequently, does us good by keeping disease at bay. It also helps provide an intuition, at the first possible instance, of a probable advent of illness or disorder.

Total Internal Detoxification – Different toxins are easily washed out of our body as yoga poses increase blood supply to various body parts thereby massaging the different organs. The way different muscles and joints are stretched, the whole body gets nourished.

First-rate firming up of muscles – All those muscles that which become weak flabby or are sagging are firmed up by getting rid of excess fat and floppiness.

However, regularity, punctuality and will power are the keys to get real benefits of yoga. The most beautiful point is that yoga brings coordination and synchronization in the mind and body. All these massive bodily benefits are merely spin-offs of this wonderful practice. This proves beyond, doubt, that the mind and body are closely interlinked.

Ashtanga Yoga

The dictionary meaning of the word Ashtanga, is eight limbs.

Advised by all yoga experts and promoted by all schools and branches of Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga is practiced in 8 (Asht) defined steps. The main emphasis in Ashtanga Yoga is on the purification of our mind and soul through 8 (Asht) prescribed steps.

In Ashtanga Yoga, The rule of thumb is to get expertise in each and every step moving on to the next, or even attempting it. The 8 steps are as follows:
  1. Yama (Control)
  2. Niyama (Rules of Conduct
  3. Asanas (Poses)
  4. Pranayama (Breath Control) s
  5. Pratyahara (Withdrawal of Sensory Perceptions)
  6. Dharana (Concentration)
  7. Dhyana (Uninterrupted Mediation
  8. Samadhi (Complete Equilibrium)
One should not get confused with order of asanas prescribed in Ashtanga yoga. The sequential order of asanas does not matter in Ashtanga Yoga. Genuinely no specific series (Primary Series, Secondary Series, so on and so forth) has been mentioned in Ashtanga Yoga.

Contrary to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali where asana is described as being still and firm, Ashtanga yoga does not stress on that the actions must be more concentrated or sustained while practicing. Ashtanga Yoga only focuses to get benefits from the traditional eight limbs of yoga (also referred to as Raja Yoga) when it is practiced in prescribed manner as expounded by Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras.

The modern day Pattabhi Jois Vinyasa series (or the roots of Ashtanga Vinyasa are believed to be originated from an ancient text Yoga Korunta. Pattabhi Jois’s Guru – who has a credit to promote the modern forms of Yoga in 20th century generation, has played a crucial part in their development. Many renowned yoga teachers of today, including B.K.S. Iyengar and Indra Devi, Krishnamacharya have learnt yoga in his guidance and further promoted it.

It helps the youths of today to learn how to make their restive bodies more active and how to synchronize the hyperactive young minds with the infinite energy of teenage boys. Ashtanga Yoga is a rather physically demanding practice

Modern day Ashtanga Yoga does not aim to change much from that practice. The Ashtanga Yoga series for adolescents is the resultant of the way Krishnamacharya modified, tailored and customized his teachings as per the specific needs of a person or group. Krishnamacharya himself did not practice those series at the time. Also he did not teach experienced practitioners and adults the same way.

Ashtanga Yoga Demo

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

What is Yoga Therapy?

Yoga-chikitsa (Sanskrit) or Yoga Therapy has never been very easy to define, largely owing to the depth and breadth of the subject.

Yoga therapy is of modern coinage and represents a first effort to integrate traditional yogic concepts and techniques with Western medical and psychological knowledge. Whereas traditional Yoga is primarily concerned with personal transcendence on the part of a "normal" or healthy individual, Yoga therapy aims at the holistic treatment of various kinds of psychological or somatic dysfunctions ranging from back problems to emotional distress.

By combining different techniques such as massage, stretching or alterations of the circulatory patterns, yoga promotes specific changes in muscles, joints and organs altering the vital functions of the body. A good example would be the way Yoga Therapy can help overcome panic attacks. By practicing a balancing breathing technique, a sense of control is gained, combating the fear and anxiety produced by its loss.

More than following just one style or one branch of yoga, Yoga Therapy feeds from virtually all styles and branches, combining the tools that each one of them bring in the design of a yoga sadhana, or a routine that addresses the given condition. Even though different Yoga Therapists follow different procedures to establish the sadhana, a pretty general scheme would first determine the condition to be treated, and then an evaluation of person's general abilities. Then the appropriate techniques can be chosen from the various disciplines which best serve the therapeutic process.

What is the principle of Yogic Therapy?
As medical practitioners say that most of the problems in our health come from a state of ignorance of whom and what we are. Yoga provides an opportunity to become acquainted with our essence, in tune with the Oracle at Delphi's command:"Know thyself." From a psychological standpoint, therapy is defined as the possibility of accessing self-knowledge that will enable us to change that what we consider dysfunctional. A number of research studies have proven the effectiveness of Yoga Therapy as developing exactly that type of awareness.

Rather than prescribe treatments, yoga therapy encourages awareness. Through age-old yogic techniques, we get to know ourselves better.

By acting upon the chakras, yoga brings light to any psychic blockages, making them available to the conscious mind. The modern western correlate of this scheme is in the core of psycho-neuroimmunology, a branch of psychology that studies the interaction between the nervous, endocrine and immune systems, explaining some of the subtle mechanisms of psychosomatic medicine.

Who can get benefits from yoga therapy?
  • People, who want to acquire tools specific to their condition to improve wellness. Yoga has proven helpful in the management of back pain, arthritis, depression, anxiety and stress, back and neck pain, fibromyalgia, PMS, headaches, insomnia, menopause, and weight concerns.

  • People who are looking for a fulfilling way to exercise. When done correctly, yoga is a rewarding and intrinsically motivating way to stay or become fit. Individual sessions are an important adjunct to regular yoga classes to ensure you gain the most from the postures.

  • People who wish to slow aging and improve their health. Yoga therapy can give you the tools to deepen body awareness and increase the health of your body from its most subtle level of functioning.
How is yoga therapy done?
The six steps of Yoga for overall well being:
  1. Right Posture – Asanas
    A set of postures that tone up the muscles and internal organs, revitalize the system, create overall awareness of the body and its function and help tranquilize the mind. they also energizes and stimulates the body’s major endocrine glands. And by toning up the internal organs, they also prevent and cure many an illness.

  2. Right Breathing – Pranayama
    A set of simple breathing techniques that slowdown and normalize breathing while simultaneously exercising subtle influences on the entire system.

  3. Right Cleansing – Kriyas
    A set of easy and effortless hygienic procedures that draw the attention to the affected areas and buttress the body’s own cleansing mechanisms.

  4. Right Diet – Balanced Yogic Diet
    Most, of not all, illnesses are in some way linked to wrong food habits. A slight modification in dietary habits can rehabilitate the entire system.

  5. Right Relaxation – Shavasana
    A relaxing asana done several times as part of the Yoga program. A process designed to soothe both mind and body. Yoga holds that tension is dis-ease (i.e a state if unease) and relaxation is health. To this end the whole eightfold path of Yoga is to purify the body mind complex.

  6. Right Mindset – Meditation
    Meditation is a technique used to stabilize the mind, increase concentration and will power, balance cellular and chakra energy and develop one-pointedness.
All these, if performed together and consistently, help rid oneself of a variety of psychosomatic disorders. Which is why, every yoga therapy session should include all these practices. They help eliminate the aggravated toxins from the system, balance the tri-doshas and stimulate the essential biochemical substances in the affected organs.

In Conclusion
If yoga could be found as a pill, it surely would be the bestselling drug of all times. Like exercise, yoga improves well-being and alleviates many health issues. It goes one step further: Yoga restores wholeness to mind, body, and spirit, making the effects of yoga far-reaching and truly remarkable.

Regularity and punctuality are the keys to get success in yoga. Over a period of time, it helps reduce illnesses, increase vitality and vigor, restore balance, and enhance attitude to life. Yoga therapy has been proved helpful in healing psychosomatic and stress-related conditions. Because yoga therapy bridges the gap between body and mind, ranging across the entire spectrum from physical to emotional to mental.

For optimum benefits, yoga therapy should be coupled with a balanced diet, Naturopathy, Ayurveda and Aromatherapy.

Related Articles:

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Integrative Yoga Therapy

Integrative Yoga Therapy is a holistic, mind-body approach to health and healing which combines the ancient wisdom of yoga with the latest advances in body/mind medicine.

Popularly known as a combination of speech-language pathology, behavioral and mental health counseling, and Yoga, Integrative Yoga Therapy has emerged as a boon to help children with a number of disabilities like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Learning Disabilities, Pervasive Developmental Delay, Sensory Integration Dysfunction, Dyspraxia.

Qualified therapists, who also happen to be certified Yoga instructors, are available world wide to teach and practice Integrative Yoga Therapy. In addition Integrative Yoga therapy helps treat other specific motor-based disorders. Further, it has had especially consistent and remarkable results with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Principles of Integrative Yoga Therapy
  1. Integrative Yoga therapy should provide an integrated program of yoga practice based on an in-depth understanding of a particular health condition and the specific needs of the individual.
  2. Integrative Yoga therapy is based firmly in the psychology and philosophy of Yoga as it pertains to health, based on an in-depth understanding of traditional Yoga texts, including the Yoga Sutras.
  3. Integrative Yoga therapy should embrace all aspects of Yoga, including breathing (pranayama), mudra, guided imagery and meditation. Poses (asana) is an important aspect within the context of an integrated practice.
  4. Integrative Yoga therapy is based in creative, student-centered education where teachers are facilitators, not gurus; facilitating the awakening of the student’s connection to his or her own true source of wellness where healing can occur.
But before we look at Integrative Yoga therapy, let’s again reread at the definition of Yoga. Yoga is an age-old science of self-knowledge. It was developed in India over 5000 years ago.

Contrary to the popular myth that Yoga is a religion or a set of exercises to be mastered, it is a many faceted gem with many different practices. Though importance of yoga has always been understood by people of all generation but for today’s generation yoga is specially more important thousand times.

Yoga therapy has been developed not only to benefit the physical body but also to sooth the psychological and spiritual part of body. It focuses on health and wellness at all levels of the individual. Yoga therapy does not give time bound benefits but it works as a healing journey, exclusively and exceptionally for each and everyone to establish a balance between practitioner’s body and mind.

Mind-body medicinal research has also shown a collection of immune power traits. These health habits have lived up to the examination and analysis of researchers. In fact, we can develop them to serve as shock absorbers against immune system breakdown and progress of disease. Coming back to Integrative Yoga therapy, these include being aware of the mind body feedback, learning how to view life with a sense of commitment. It also includes being able to control and challenge yourself. Further it is a tool in developing strengths to fall back on in the wake of loss, and a capacity to confide traumas and feelings to ourselves and others. Immune power is proven in people who can discover true bliss and meaning, including good health, when life offers up its most difficult challenges. Integrative Yoga therapy, in short, can help deal with and heal any condition in totality.

Related Articles

Monday, September 21, 2009

Child Yoga and Physical Therapy

Child Yoga and physical therapy, a medical boon having a therapeutic approach for children and adults. Popularly known as a combination of Yoga practices like breathing exercises, meditation, and poses with physical therapy, Child Yoga and physical therapy works as highly effective therapy for motor, language, and social development as well as medical needs.

Emerged as a highly effective approach to children’s medical therapy, Child Yoga and physical therapy is the greatest advancement in pediatrics, basically for needs of special children. Child Yoga and physical therapy has modified Yoga practices to treat neurological, medical and orthopedic disorders of children. It combines traditional pediatric therapy, reflex integration and sensory integration with Yoga Therapy, with an emphasis to facilitate motor, language and social development of the Special Needs Child.

Child Yoga and physical therapy includes special children's yoga classes - baby and parent, infant massage, preschool and after school children's yoga. It is conducted by teachers with certified degrees in Yoga.

Who can avail of Child Yoga and physical therapy?
Child Yoga and physical therapy is an efficient therapy for kids and adults of all skill and developmental levels.

Infant & Children
  • ADD/ADHD
  • Asthma
  • Autism/PDD
  • Cerebral Palsy
  • Development Delay
  • Down Syndrome
  • Learning Disabilities
  • Neurological Disorder
  • Sensory Dysfunction
  • Sports Injuries
  • Torticollis
Grown-ups
  • Cancer Support
  • Cardiovascular Disease
  • Joint Replacement
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Muscle and Back Pain
  • Orthopaedics Problems
  • Osteoporosis
  • Parkinson
  • Posture
  • Pulmonary Disease
  • Stroke

Friday, September 18, 2009

Yoga Positions at Work

Most of us have got habitual of hurting our spine by sitting in wrong posture. The more dangerous is our habit of ignoring the pain our back takes when we are not in proper sitting position. When you sit properly your pelvis is centered and the spine is erect and the pelvis supports the entire weight of the body.

Yoga have emerged as a boon to our damaged back due to wrong postures. There are simple yoga positions (yoga aasanas) that can be practiced at home or in office in a sitting position. These yoga positions (aasanas) are just perfect to provide complete relaxation to your body.

Our body is designed such that we need to sit on our sitting bones. These are located at the lower edge of the pelvis and these bones have curved ridges. When you sit correctly the pelvis supports the entire weight of the upper body including the head, neck and spine. During this process the pelvis is in a central upright position. In this posture the spine can lift up and lengthen without collapsing. At this juncture entire spine is protected because the pressure on the lower region of the spine i.e., five lumbar vertebrae are reduced.

Though the above mentioned is the correct position, most of us are used to slumping around. This is very unhealthy. This leads to a lot of problems in almost all systems of our body. When we slump our spine doesn’t get the required support because the pelvis tilts backwards as a result we collapse backwards into our chair.

This position aides poor blood circulation which leads to irritation, muscular aches and pains, fatigue, lack of concentration, constipation etc. In this position there is a constriction in the lung, which hinders and restricts breathing. Further, there is pressure on the vertebrae and the abdominal organs are squashed restricting their regular functions. Serious problems like sacroiliac and sciatic conditions, lumbago and slipped disc come into existence, when the vertebrae cannot take more pressure than required.

How to get rid of this habit?
The answer is yoga. Yoga not only describes different postures and styles (aasanas) for exercises, but yoga also emphasizes on our sitting positions and correct work surfaces. It is better to start trying it from home front. Avoid soft padded office chairs and cushions and surfaces that are squashy. At home you will probably find a wooden stool or a firm wooden chair. Once you learn sitting on this at home you can try it in office. Your correct yoga sitting position should be assumed in the below manner.

Occupy front part of your chair. Your feet should be parallel and about hip width apart and firmly flat on the floor. Knees should be a little lower than your hips and about hip width apart. In this position your pelvis is in an upright position and is centrally balanced.

You can feel your sitting bones when you move your hands under your buttocks and move your fingers to search for two rounded little protuberances. Now, sit correctly on your sitting bones and tilt your trunk forwards and backwards. Note that pressure on your hands decreases and increases accordingly. The correct position, to balance the upper body on the sitting bone is where there is maximum pressure.

In this yoga position your pelvis is in upright, central position. Now, you will be able to lift up from pelvis as your lower spine i.e., lumbar is nearer to the vertical.

Your work surface
Since desks are not provided with height adjustments having a height adjustable chair is a boon. The height of your work surface should be such that your shoulders can be kept low and back. After adjusting this check the angle of your eyes with relation to your work surface.

When you work on a sloping surface there is a perfect right relationship between the vision and the work. While working on a horizontal surface we slouch forward to find a comfy angle and distance relationship with work, which allows you to work without curving your upper back or lowering your head. Even “writing slopes” which are mould Perspex lectern type stand are good. They are affordable and worth trying. Due to their transparent surface one can easily spot shuffled papers and they have designer drawing board look. Copy holder is also used widely. These are supported stand and help by holding your work upright so that you can have a straight look, which in turn reduces the strain on your neck, shoulders muscles and spine & provides with much needed relaxation.

If enough space for a copy holder is not available then don’t keep the work to be copied in one fixed position as this may lead to spine and neck problems. The solution for this particular problem is to keep changing the position of the work, alternately so that you need not keep looking in a fixed direction. In the beginning this will look a little difficult and unnatural because you are habituated to working in one fixed direction. But keep following the directions as you can later reap the fruits of your efforts.

Follow these simple yoga positions (aasanas) at home or at work and you will reap the benefits for a long time.

Yoga Exercise 1
  • Sit in a comfortable position. Breathe slowly and deeply.
  • Visualize a situation, person, or even a belief (such as, "I'm afraid of the dark" or "I don't want to give that public speech") that makes you feel anxious and tense.
  • As you do this, you might see a person's face, a place you're afraid to go, or simply a dark cloud. Where do you see this stressful picture? Is it above you, to one side, or in front of you? How does it look? Is it big or little, dark or light? Does it have certain colors?
  • Now slowly begin to shrink the stressful picture. Continue to see the stressful picture shrinking until it is so small that it can literally be held in the palm of your hand. Hold your hand out in front of you, and place the picture in the palm of your hand.
  • If the stress has a characteristic sound (like a voice or traffic noise), hear it getting tiny and soft. As it continues to shrink, its voice or sounds become almost inaudible.
  • Now the stressful picture is so small it can fit on your second finger. Watch it shrink from there until it finally turns into a little dot and disappears.
  • Often this exercise causes feelings of amusement, as well as relaxation, as the feared stressor shrinks, gets less intimidating, and finally disappears.
Yoga Exercise 2
  • Sit in a comfortable position, your arms resting at your sides. As you take a deep breath, visualize that the earth below you is filled with the color blue. This blue color extends 50 feet below you into the earth. Now imagine that you are opening up energy centers on the bottom of your feet. As you inhale, visualize the soft blue color filling up your feet. When your feet are completely filled with the color blue, then bring the color up through your ankles, legs, pelvis, and lower back.
  • Each time you exhale, see the blue color leaving through your lungs, carrying any tension and stress with it. See the tension dissolve into the air.
  • Continue to inhale blue into your abdomen, chest, shoulders, arms, neck, and head. Exhale the blue slowly out of your lungs. Repeat this entire process five times and then relax for a few minutes.
Yoga Exercise 3
  • Sit in a comfortable position, your arms resting easily at your sides. As you take a deep breath, visualize a big balloon above your head filled with a bright red healing energy. Imagine that you pop this balloon so all the bright red energy is released.
  • As you inhale, see the bright red color filling up your head. It fills up your brain, your face, and the bones of your skull. Let the bright red color pour in until your head is ready to overflow with color. Then let the red color flow into your neck, shoulders, arms, and chest. As you exhale, breathe the red color out of your lungs, taking any tiredness and fatigue with it. Breathe any feeling of fatigue out of your body.
  • As you inhale, continue to bring the bright, energizing red color into your abdomen, pelvis, lower back, legs, and feet until your whole body is filled with red. Exhale the red color out of your lungs, continuing to release any feeling of fatigue. Repeat this process five times. At the end of this exercise, you should feel more energized and vibrant. Your mental energy should feel more vitalized and clear.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

10 Yoga Exercises to do in Office

Whenever we talk about yoga, most people think that they need to take time out of their busy routine especially for yoga. But that’s not true. Yoga can be easily done when you are at work even if you are sitting in front of computer. We all are well aware of the fact that sitting for long stretches of time every day, hurts badly our neck and back and also other body parts. But we have developed a habit of ignoring it and we keep ourselves busy in the same posture. However, it doesn't have to be that way.

Here are 10 simple warm up exercises you can do at the office that hardly take much time but help you stay fit:

Upper Body Stretches
  • Sit firmly on the edge of your chair, gripping its back.
  • Straighten your arms then, keeping your back straight.
  • Let your upper body pull you forward to stretch your shoulders, upper back and chest.
  • Repeat a few times.
Shoulders and Back Stretch
  • Sit erect with your hands clasped behind your head.
  • Now, gently pull your elbows as far back as you can, then hold them firmly in position.
  • Repeat a few times.
Leg Stretches
  • Sit and grip the seat of your chair and raise one leg while you flex your foot.
  • Slowly move the leg outward and then back toward the center and down.
  • As you stretch, straighten your shoulders and relax your neck and hands.
  • Hold each stretch for 15 seconds to a minute then repeat with other leg.
  • Start with five repetitions and then raise the number of repetitions as you are ready.
Spinal Stretches
  • Sit on your chair with your spine erect and both feet flat on the floor.
  • Pretend there is a cord attached to the crown of your head gently tugging you up.
  • Direct your gaze in front of your nose then bring your hand to your chin.
  • Inhale deeply, resting your hand on your chin and exhale slowly.
  • Now gently press your chin in to your neck. Do 4 or more sets.
Ear to shoulder exercises
  • Sit on your chair with your spine erect and both feet flat on the floor.
  • Now, inhale deeply.
  • As you exhale, slowly roll your left ear towards your left shoulder.
  • Again, inhale and exhale slowly, rolling your chin back to your chest.
  • Once more inhale and exhale slowly, rolling your right ear to your right shoulder.
  • Now, inhale deeply and exhale slowly, rolling your chin back to your chest.
  • Do 4 or more sets of this.
Deep Breathing Exercises
  • Sit on your chair with your spine erect and both feet flat on the floor.
  • Inhale deeply filling your belly, lower lungs, mid lungs, upper lungs and chest.
  • Slowly expel the breath from your upper lungs, mid lungs, lower lungs then belly.
  • Repeat 4 more times with your eyes closed.
Chair Relaxation
  • Sit on your chair with your spine straight and both feet flat on the floor.
  • Grasp your kneecaps and hold them firmly.
  • Relax your shoulders and arms.
  • Now, inhaling slowly, press and lift your chest forward and up.
  • Then exhale slowly rounding your back, pulling your navel in to your spine and curling your shoulders forward.
  • Repeat 4 to 5 more times until your body feels loose and relaxed.
Back Massage
  • Carry a tennis ball to the office.
  • Sitting tall in your chair, place the tennis ball on the painful area and lean the back rest into it.
  • While pushing against the ball, take long, deep breaths.
  • Take 5 to 10 or more breaths as you find necessary.
Temple Rub
  • Keep your elbows on your desk and place your hands on your temples.
  • With small circular motions, gently rub your temples first clockwise and then anti-clockwise.
  • Do this for duration of 10 to 15 long, deep breaths.
Meditation
  • Sit on your chair with your spine straight and both feet flat on the floor.
  • Start taking long, deeply breaths and then gently slip your chin down to your chest.
  • Resting your hands on your thighs or down by your side, relax your shoulders down and back.
  • Close your eyes and take your gaze to a point between your eyebrows.
  • Take 5 to 10 long deep breaths, shut eyes focused between your brows.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Relaxation Techniques at Office

In this digital age, a new work hazard has emerged: prolonged sitting. While office work is generally safer than manual labor, sitting all day can also impact your body Sitting like this for long periods of time reduces blood circulation, which can lead to varicose veins.

Most workers probably appreciate the fatigue also caused by sitting for long periods. (When the mind detects lower blood circulation, it slows down the heart and distributes less energy throughout the body.) The neck and lower back are also common victims of extended sitting, since many people have poor posture stemming from weak core muscles and incorrect alignment of the spine.

Our body requires constant movement and exercise by which all the systems of our body are regulated. But a lot of us are into jobs, which involves constant sitting. There is a solution to this entire problem.A good option to get relaxed at work is to take miniature Relaxation Breaks once an hour or so. Here are a couple of simple techniques to help you feel peaceful and relaxed at the office.

If you have a height adjustable chair see that the height of your chair, your body and height of the table are right. Sometimes even a small adjustment of height will make you feel comfortable. A lot of chairs are available in the market. Kneeling chairs have both pro’s and con’s. When you sit on these your hips are higher then your knees and spine is upright. Slump a little and come to the correct position. With this you can breathe better. But if you sit on it for a long time its uncomfortable.

Chairs without arms are better as you cannot rest your arms or elbows which would have created unnecessary tension for the muscles of your neck, shoulders and upper back. When your hands are not busy keep your shoulders back and down and rest your hands in your lap.

These are some of the relaxation techniques that you can follow while you are at work or in your office. You can practice these techniques at the convenience of your office place without disturbing your work.

Helping Hands
Continue to sit tall while you bring your hands out to the side, at the same height as your shoulders. Your elbows should be bent, and your hands should cup as if to receive something from above. Imagine energy in your hands, and once they feel full, let the energy move into your palms and down into your arms, toward your heart.


Next, bring the hands together and oil them lightly if you happen to have essential oil at work. (Lavender is a lovely oil to have on hand, as it is restorative and soothing.) Rub the back of the left hand with the right palm, moving quickly to build a bit of heat. You may press quite hard, if that feels good to you. Switch to rubbing the back of the right hand with the left.

Finally, rub your palms together. Once your palms feel hot, cup your hands, palms up, at the level of the heart. Notice how you feel.

Calming Inner Energy
Still sitting tall, bring your hands to your waist. You may find more freedom of movement by sitting cross-legged on the floor. With awareness, begin moving your torso, head, and neck in a big circle. Bend gently foreword to the left, breathing slowly and fully Bring your head forward to skim your left knee, and continue your circle to the right, skimming the right knee.

After lifting your torso on the right side, take a baby back bend by arching backward and looking up toward the ceiling. Continue circling until you feel relaxed and energized.

The easiest way to improve circulation and reduce tension at the office is to move more. Give yourself permission to stand every 15 minutes or half hour, just to stretch your limbs and keep your blood pumping. Better circulation brings more oxygen to the brain, so you may find your productivity increasing along with your relaxation.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Power Yoga

What is Power Yoga?
Yoga has been a very vital part of achieving good health since ancient times. As the name suggests, 'Power', Power Yoga is fast paced and a strenuous exercise. It involves not just the physical body, but also the mental and the spiritual part.

Power Yoga is based on Ashtanga Yoga. It focuses basically on the fitness of body, mind and soul. This technique of Power Yoga can be used for a heavy work out. It does not have any fixed poses to be followed. The poses may differ according to the teacher or instructor. Therefore, any power yoga class can vary widely from the next. What they have in common is an emphasis on strength and flexibility. It gives more importance to elasticity of the body.

The term "power yoga" came into common usage in the mid 1990s, when several yoga teachers were looking for a way to make Ashtanga yoga more accessible to western students. As more and more people began to see yoga as a way to work out, the popularity of power yoga started growing by leaps and bounds. Power yoga brought yoga into the gyms of America.

The two Yoga teachers gave a new edge to Yoga by making it a fitness tool. They took lessons of Yoga from an Ashtanga Yoga master from India (Sri K. Pattabhi Jois ) and re-invented Yoga in the form of a technique called Power Yoga. Beryl Bender Birch, based in New York, and Bryan Kest, based in Los Angeles. Using the term power yoga differentiated the intense, flowing style of yoga they were teaching from the gentle stretching and meditation that many Americans associated with yoga. Another name often associated with power yoga is Baron Baptiste. Baptiste has his own method, which is only taught by teachers he certifies.

Benefits of Power Yoga
  • Improved circulation, a light and strong body, and a calm mind.
  • Increases the calorie burning capacity of body
  • Helps coping with asthma, cancer, bronchitis, insomnia and sinus
  • Helps getting rid of obesity
  • Helps to deal with hypertension and menstrual disorders
  • Increases stamina, strength and flexibility of body
  • Removes body toxins through sweat
  • Improves blood circulation and immune system
  • Improves concentration and self-control
Is Power Yoga for You?
Power yoga classes can vary widely from teacher to teacher. However, power yoga will most likely appeal to people who are already quite fit, enjoy exercising, and want a minimal amount of chanting and meditation with their yoga.

Power Yoga can be practiced by anyone who enjoys exercising. However, pregnant women must consult their doctors to take up any form of exercise. Here are some tips which you should keep in mind while practicing Power Yoga.

  • Practice Power Yoga thrice a week for 45 minutes each day
  • Avoid over doing it or exerting yourself. Slow but steady must be your Power Yoga mantra
  • Select places like building terrace, open ground, garden which will encourage you to practice Power Yoga
  • Wear sweat absorbent clothes. Stay comfortable
  • Seek guidance of a professional as it involves difficult poses
  • Concentrate completely on each pose
  • Follow a proper series of exercise while performing it

Monday, September 14, 2009

INSOMNIA - Enjoy a relaxing sleep

Contrary to the popular myth, Insomnia is not a disease but a sleeping disorder. Medical practitioners describe it that if a person has trouble falling asleep or staying asleep for too long then he may be suffering from insomnia, or lack of sleep. People who complain that they can’t keep their eyes closed or their minds don’t shut down for them to fall asleep are also in the same category of insomniacs.

These people are more prone to the risk of nighttime blood pressure, which in turn can lead to cardiac problems. The research, which has been published in Sleep, compared the level of 24-hour blood pressure of people who suffer from insomnia to people who indulge in sound sleeping. Insomnia tends to increase with age and research shows that it affects 40% of women and 30% of men.

Common triggers for short-term or intermittent insomnia include:
  • Stress
  • Noise
  • Extreme temperatures
  • Environment change
  • Sleep schedule problems
  • Jet lag
  • Certain medications
  • Caffeine
  • Anxiety
  • Excitement
  • Caffeine
  • Alcohol
  • Shift work
  • Nighttime activity schedules
  • Chronic stress
Researchers have found that practicing Yoga has tremendous benefit in improving the quality of sleep because of the stimulatory effect yoga has on nervous system and in particular the brain. The relaxation techniques and asanas describe in yoga help one to relax both body and mind completely.

In parallel to practicing yoga ensure you have a healthy diet and eat 3 hours before bed time. Avoid caffeine and alcohol at least 6 hours prior to bed time.

Prepare yourself for sleep by doing some gentle stretches to relax your muscles. Then some breathing techniques to unwind. Continue with 10 minutes of yoga nidra for relaxation.

Tadasana (palm tree pose)

How to do it?
  • Stand with your feet together, and arms by the side.
  • Raise the arms over the head and interlock the fingers and turn the palms upward. Inhale and stretch the arms.
  • Exhale and bring the hands to the side.
  • Repeat 5-10 rounds.
Gentle swings
  • Stand with feet slightly apart and knees slightly bent. Gently swing both arms first to the right, turning your head to the right. Then to your left, turning your head to the left.
  • Repeat 10 times.

Dwikonasana (double angle pose)
How to do it?
  • Stand erect with the feet slightly apart.
  • Extend the arms behind the back and interlock the fingers.
  • Bend forward from the hips while simultaneously raising the arms behind the back as high as possible without strain.
  • Keep pulling your arms upwards gently to accentuate the stretch on the shoulders and chest.
  • Remain in final position for 5- 10 seconds.
  • Relax the arms.
  • Repeat up to 5 times.

Shashankasana (pose of the moon or hare pose)
How to do it?
  • Sit in Vajrasana ( on your heals) , placing the palms on the thighs just aboe the knees.
  • Close they eyes and relax, keeping the pine and head straight.
  • While inhaling, raise the arms above the head, keeping them straight and shoulder width apart.
  • Exhale while bending the trunk forward from the hips, keeping the arms and head straight and in line with the trunk
  • At the end of the movement, the hands and forehead should rest on the floor in front of the knees.
  • If possible, the arms and forehead should touch the floor at the same time.
  • Relax in this position for 5 seconds.
  • Repeat 3 to 5 rounds.
Kapalbhati Kriya
How to do it?
  • Sit in a comfortable position with back straight.
  • Place your palms on the knees.
  • Perform forceful powerful active exhalations and passive inhalations in a rhythmic pattern.
  • With every exhalation the stomach should hit the spine.
  • Start practicing 50 exhalations at a stretch.
Warning : Those suffering from high blood pressure should avoid.Those with stomach ailments and those undergone surgery recently should practice only after consulting the doctor.

Bhramri Pranayam
Bhramri is a deeply relaxing Pranayama. The vibration caused by the humming sound performs a massage on the brain and anti-stress hormones are released. People with sever throat problems should avoid this pranayama.

How to do it?
  • Sit in a comfortable posture.
  • Close your ears with your thumbs as shown and rest the other fingers on the head.
  • Inhale deeply. While exhaling out through the mouth, emit a humming sound, (like that of a bee) “hun” from your throat.
  • The sound will travel upwards and spread all over the head.
  • Try and increase the period of exhalation so that you can ‘hum’ longer.
  • Practice for about 10 breaths, and gradually increase the duration.
Yoga Nidra in Shavasana
How to do it?
  • Lie flat on the back with the arms slightly away from your body, palm facing upwards. Let the fingers curl up slightly.
  • Move the feet slightly apart to a comfortable positing and close the eyes.
  • The head and spine should be in a straight line.
  • Start relaxing your whole body.
  • Become aware of the right hand and relax it.
  • Slowly become aware of the right wrist, elbow, armpit, right side of the waist, right buttock, right thigh, right knee, calf, heel, sold of the foot, and relax them one by one.
  • Repeat this process with the left side of the body and all the parts of the head and trunk.
  • Make sure that each part of the body is relaxed, feel each part merging into the floor.
  • Repeat this process few times and all the tensions will be removed.
Enjoy a relaxing sleep

Sunday, September 6, 2009

High Blood pressure or Hypertension

Hypertension happens when the pressure in your system gets high enough leading to risks in your system. It is also commonly known as high blood pressure, which refers to the amount of pressure in your arteries. In diagnosing hypertension, several readings must be taken. If the rate of blood pressure reaches to as high as 140/90, then hypertension is present. Hypertension is also related to other diseases like stroke, heart attack, Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), and may also lead to death. The two types of high blood pressure are as follows:

Primary Hypertension – also known as essential hypertension; commonly caused by stress. Primary hypertension has no specific symptom. Other causes comprise emotional disturbance, hereditary, race, climatic condition, Obesity, smoking and alcohol intake.

Secondary Hypertension – may lead to kidney infection, malfunctioning of the Endocrine Gland, arterial problems like arteriosclerosis.

Hypertension was known as the silent killer as it had no specific symptom. If not detected at an early stage it can lead to a heart attack.

In order to manage hypertension a life style change including yoga would be beneficiary as both body and mind needs to be treated. It has been proved that regular practice of yoga asana and pranayama can bring down HBP.

We encourage you to do the following practices and wish you a healthy lifestyle.

Tadasana (palm tree pose)
  • Stand with your feet together, and arms by the side.
  • Raise the arms over the head and interlock the fingers and turn the palms upward. Inhale and stretch the arms.
  • Exhale and bring the hands to the side.
  • Repeat 5-10 rounds.
  • Shoulder stretches.
  • Shoulder stretches are great to relieve tension on your shoulders and entire upper back.
  • Stand erect with the feet slightly apart.
  • Keep pulling your arms upwards gently to accentuate the stretch on the shoulders and chest.
  • Remain in final position for 5- 10 seconds.
  • Relax the arms.
  • Repeat up to 5 times.
Bidalasana (Cat pose)

  • Start on your hands and knees on the floor with fingers spread out.
  • Make your back horizontal and flat.
  • Inhale and arch your spine inwards with your head raised,
  • Exhale and arch your spine outwards by pulling your abdominal muscles inwards towards your spine.
  • Curl your head inwards.
  • Repeat the sequence 5 times.
Caution: Avoid doing if you have back pain.

Meru Vakrasana (sitting spinal twist)
  • Sit with the legs outstretched, back straight.
  • Bend the right knee.
  • Bring the left hand to the outer side of the right leg twisting the trunk.
  • Place the left hand on the floor near the right ankle.
  • Place the right hand behind the back on the floor for support.
  • Turn the back and look over the right shoulder.
Caution : People with severe back problems, ulcer and hernia should avoid this posture.

Pawanmuktasana (Wind relieving pose)
  • Lie down on your back on the floor.
  • Bend both knees and bring them to the chest. Interlock your fingers around the shin and hug
  • them closer to your chest.
  • Exhale when you bring the knees to the chest.
  • Hold the position for 10-15 seconds. You may breathe normally while holding the posture.
  • Practice 3 times.
Bhujanga Asana
  • Lie straight on your stomach, keeping the palms on the floor below the shoulder blades and the
  • elbows touching the middle part of the body. Keep the heels together and toes flat on the floor.
  • Breathe normally.
  • Bend the head and neck backward.
  • Inhaling slowly, raise the head and chest, above the naval area, upwards. Retain your breathe
  • and hold in the same position for about 6 to 8 seconds.
  • Exhale and simultaneously lower the head towards the floor.
Anulom-Vilom Pranayam
  • Sit comfortably with your back straight.
  • Bend your forefinger and middle finger of your right hand.
  • Place ring finger between eyebrows, press right nostril with thumb. Inhale through the left
  • nostril.
  • Now place thumb in between eyebrows, leaving ring finger on left nostril. Exhale through the
  • right nostril.
  • Now, repeat inhaling, and exhaling in the opposite direction– starting from the right nostril.
  • This completes 1 round.
  • Practice 5 rounds, and slowly increase with time।
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Friday, September 4, 2009

Meditation: The Ultimate Art

Meditation is generally popular among all people around the world to get rid of stress, anger, depression and other negative feelings. Meditation is an important tool to achieve mental clarity and health. Research has shown that Meditation can contribute to an individual's psychological and physiological well-being. This is accomplished as Meditation brings the brainwave pattern into an alpha state, which is a level of consciousness that promotes the healing state. There is scientific evidence that Meditation can improve blood pressure and relieve pain and stress.

Benefits of Meditation
  • Improved blood pressure.
  • Higher skin resistance. Low skin resistance is correlated with higher stress and anxiety levels.
  • Drop in cholesterol levels. High cholesterol is associated with cardiovascular disease.
  • Improved flow of air to the lungs resulting in easier breathing. This has been very helpful to asthma patients.
  • Deep rest-as measured by decreased metabolic rate, lower heart rate, and reduced work load of the heart.
  • Lowered levels of cortisol and lactate-two chemicals associated with stress.
  • Reduction of free radicals- unstable oxygen molecules that can cause tissue damage.
  • Greater creativity.
  • Decreased anxiety and depression
  • Improved learning ability and memory.
  • Increased self-actualization.
  • Increased feelings of vitality and rejuvenation.
  • Increased happiness.
  • Increased emotional stability.
Spiritual Benefits of Meditation
The longer an individual practices meditation, the greater the likelihood that his or her goals and efforts will shift toward personal and spiritual growth. Many individuals who initially learn meditation for its self-regulatory aspects find that as their practice deepens they are drawn more and more into the realm of the "spiritual."
So where does Yoga fit into all this? Yoga begins with the physical body and moves deeper within, to the innermost core of being. Most of you must be familiar with the different physical postures of Yoga – Asanas, often crazy-looking movements that contort the body! In fact there are 8.4 million asanas! They are there just to make the body flexible and strong to master one Meditation Asana, in which the practitioner can sit comfortably for a long time meditating Similarly Pranayama (breathing) practices train the mind and the body’s energy system for Dhyaan (meditation). Meditation Asanas The main purpose of the meditation asanas is to allow the practitioner to sit for extended periods of time without moving the body and without discomfort Only when the body has been steadied for some time will meditation is experienced. Deep meditation requires the spinal column to be straight and very few asanas can satisfy this condition.

Sukhasana (easy pose)
  • Sit with the legs straight in front of the body
  • Bend the right leg and place the foot under the left thigh.
  • Bend the left leg and place the foot under the right thigh.
  • Place the hands on the knee.
  • Keep the head neck and back upright and straight, but without strain. Close the eyes.
  • Relax the whole body .the arm should be relax and not held straight.
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Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Control Your Mood Wings with Yoga

In the ancient times, yogis have researched and studied a lot on the human body and it’s functioning by observing and analyzing the animal body postures and movements in different situations. They also studied how different postures help animals to move and attack fastly on the prey. For example, a tiger will shift its weight onto its hind legs before attacking its prey. Not only does this posture keep the required muscles active and powerful, it also presses on the adrenal glands, increasing the level of adrenaline in its body so that it moves at the highest speed possible.

They concluded that if similar postures and movements are developed for human being to practice in the form of yoga, then humans can get their hormonal balance and other benefits of health.

When they further studied the mental and emotional state of human brains, they found that If we can balance or stimulate the production of hormones, we can drastically alter our moods and their fluctuations. This is possible only with the help of yoga. Endocrine glands that control the Courage, fear, love and creativity and other human mood swings are activated when we practice yoga. The ultimate goal of yoga is to stimulate the pineal gland which is known as the ‘Agnya chakra’ in yogic terminology and helps us to live in a blissfully high state 24 hours a day when stimulated. However before this can occur, the blockages present in the lower level chakras (which correspond to our endocrine glands) must be cleared first, or else a man might go crazy with an energy level too high to be handled by the physical body. In simple words, you cannot pass a very high electric current through a very thin wire.


We are describing here some simple exercises to control our anger, frustrations and restlessness so that we can achieve a calm and undisturbed emotional and mental state. These yogas are helpful to bring about a change in your state of mind so that we can live in a state of acceptance towards life.

Exercise 1
  • Kneel on the floor, knees together.
  • Sit back on your heels, keeping back straight.
  • Inhale and raise your arms above your head.
  • Exhale slowly and bend the body forward so that forehead rests on floor, palms face downward.
  • Hold position breathing normally.
  • Inhale, come up. Exhale and resume start position.
Exercise 2
  • Lie flat on back, arms by side
  • Slowly raise legs to 90 degree position.
  • Lift hips and support them with hands as shown.
  • Hold 10-30 seconds.
  • Breathing normal.
  • Slowly come back to start position.
Exercise 3 Jalandhar Bandha

  • Sit with legs stretched out, back straight.
  • Bend one leg, place ankle on opposite thigh close to groin. Bend other leg and place ankle on thigh of bent leg, close to groin. Place your hands on your knees.
  • Inhale deeply. Keeping chest high, hold your breath and lock chin against chest.
  • Hold for as long as comfortable.
  • Release chin, look up and exhale.
  • Repeat only 3 times.
Exercise 4
  • Sit as above.
  • Exhale completely, pull up the genital space and close the anal space. Keep abdominal muscles tight.
  • Relax the lock and inhale.
  • Repeat 3 times only.
Exercise 5
  • Sit as above. Rest your arms on the thighs.
  • Lean forward slightly and exhale forcefully.
  • Suck in your stomach to create a hollow space.
  • Hold as long as you can hold your breath comfortable.
  • Release contraction and breathe in.
  • Repeat only 3 times.
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