Search:

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Yoga therapy is only way to forever remain young, fit and happy!

Yoga is basically a tool to keep the body fit and prepare the mind for uplift of the spiritual aspect.

The fact is that yoga therapy was never intended as a means to check ailments. It works as a strengthening tool for the entire mind and body. Let's see how it functions:

Our body is like any other machine and needs overhauling and also rest. The best instance would be that of a car. Over stretching or overheating or even over-cooling of the machine will naturally enough lead to its breakdown.

The primary difference is that while the car needs external forces to keep it running in smooth condition, we have the power (the mind including the will-power and our determination) and the paraphernalia (yoga therapy and other exercise procedures) to constantly tune up our body.

Yoga is the ultimate tool that encompasses the therapy to refurbish both the power and the paraphernalia.

Another basic difference between the car and our selves is that many parts of the former need replacements (partial or total) after a certain fixed time gestation during which these parts are constantly used. However, yoga therapy provides the means to keep the different parts of our minds and bodies in perfect condition (without any replacements).

But, the fact remains that more often than not we do not pay adequate attention to many of these critically important portions of our body. We keep them functioning since the time we take shape within our mothers' wombs to the day we bid farewell to the world. But, we rarely initiate the deliberate steps to strengthen them or give them the much needed rest. Only when the different functioning parts including the brain (mind), each of the internal organs, the external manifestations called limbs and the joints are exercised. The sad aspect is that we either overstretch them or keep them idle; in other words we take them for granted. In the process, they get either over strained or become 'rusted'!

And, that's precisely the time we get afflicted by various ailments. Yoga therapy is the means to give rest to this machine constituted by the body (the machine and the outward element) and the mind (akin to the battery and the fuel injection paraphernalia in a car). Yoga therapy exercises even those organs located in the most internal portion within our body and those limbs located in areas we cannot usually reach.

Learn more about Pranayama, Ayurveda and lot more by visiting yogapositions.co.in
This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_701910_23.html

The Human Mind And The Yoga

The human mind, in his evolutionary trial, she has been illuminated by the light of the awareness producing systems whose end is the improvement of the human condition. They are the circumstances that, they sometimes determine the geographical position, where, such systems, are manifested more clearly to the world.

This way, the Yoga finds in India the historical position of his birth remaining, subsequently also imprisoned in the religious culture of this country.

This becomes conclusive to the goals of the researcher which, today it owes for strength to pass through the Indian culture to be able to understand the goal, and to use the techniques that go to form the system of "Liberation" denominated Yoga. And when it is said "liberation" he intends to tell liberation it represents, besides, the street to indissolubly free themselves from the cycle of the Samsara or the tied up rebirths to the distorted vision of the senses that prevents the dissolution of the union with the suffering and the logging the knowledge of the Itself indefeasible.

The Yoga word, belongs therefore to the spiritual world, and, sometimes, utopian Indian, even if the Yoga more ancient, some sustain, he didn't introduce any connotation type cultural or religious.
The ancient origin of the Yoga one is surely pre-air as they testify the archaeological findings of Harrappa and I will Mohenjodaro belonging city to the civilization of the valley of the Indo that precedes the development of Vedic India.

The Yoga one held classical, sees instead the light in the first centuries of ours, it was and one are considered of the six Darsanas or viewpoints, of the philosophical-religious thought Hindù whose codification, as all know, Patanjali is attributed to, compiler of the Yoga-sutra or Aphorisms of the Yoga of dating, happen as always when he is to contact with the Indian history, a great deal shaky.

As you is already said so many times, Yoga it is a word sanscrita that deriving from the radix of the verb Yuj points out the meeting record to yoke. Example: to yoke the oxen to the wagon. Its meaning grants to this system the role of discipline whereas you are thought about yoking the present instinctual personality in the human nature, to direct her and to finalize toward well taller purposes represented by other meanings, that we will see subsequently, attributable to the verb Yuj. The promoters of this discipline, initially train him, in circle psico-somatic, to yoke mind and body to get a perfect drive, working to depths levels toward a single idea.

They passes so to experiment a first feeling of harmonic aggregation that corresponds to a pleasant stadium in which the mind partly results reorganized. To return to the verb sanscrito Yuj, finds almost always suitable, as I told you, other meanings over the most intrinsic "to yoke" that I hold can represent steps precise and relative experiences of conscience as that above described tied up to the verb to unite or union if reported to the Yoga word.

A third interpretative proposal, note, is recognized in the word "amalgamation" that for the Yoga one it relatively represents the level of coscience of experience more advanced than, it usually follows the complete realization of the union psico-physics. In this stadium the subject after having taken meeting record of the existing dynamic interrelation among itself and what surrounds him, it also realizes strongly her as feeling. This is worth to make to fall the last resistances and contrariety toward aspects of the demonstration, naturally also toward the mens, feeling himself in amalgamation and to them legacy from something of commune.

It changes at this point her vision of the world. The words friend, hostile or indifferent they are replaced from favorable, unfavorable or neutral and, consequently introduces in him yourself more evident emotional stability. The memories, above all through the practice of the meditation, they also comes reorganize and stripped by the emotional aspect.

The heavy burden, that constitutes the depressing past in many cases, is loosened and the is often noticed to disappear some senses of guilt. The individual can start this way him toward a fourth stadium of realization that will bring him to seek the lasting joy and what is over the ordinary one or the transcendent one.

Along the street he could experiment the supreme peace, to know and to rest in the true essence of his being. Through a continuous meditation on the truth itself, that is pure eternal conscience and beyond of the psico-somatic complex and of the worldly oppressions he could reach the liberty.
In the full success of this phase the subject should return to integrate himself, or it would be reinstated better in the collectivity, he is thought I deprive of resistances, and with a clear vision of the reality.

To conclude this first party I have moreover to assert that the science of the Yoga one demands to teach a method that allows to achieve the complete union of the Itself, that is of the present spiritual reality in each of us with that general purpose whose constitution would be, according to a hypothesis of the ancient literature, reality, conscience, beatitude (Satchidananda).

This union would be the only true Yoga. The point from where he departs for this experience. A state of conscience in which the mystical ones propose him to meet and to know God. A route, perhaps to bashful, through which the produced one, for so to say, would return in the womb of the generated, rather surely melting himself in the same nature of this last losing his individual identity.

You can change your life starting Yoga, now: eBook of Basic Yoga

This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_694712_23.html

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Supported Side Stretches Cure with Yoga

The point of this article is to help you to the next level and show you what this amazing subject has to offer.

Many computer users around the world face the glitch of back torture. Having your back asecurest the fence regularly means you're in care. But for certain yoga positions, having your back tightly asecurest a fence will aid wellbeing.

In Hatha Yoga, the practitioner forms what Swami Gitananda calls body geometry--triangles, erect ranks, circles and analogous ranks. When you do a stance, forever stretch your body to its chief control and then footing it there for a leisteadyly consider of 10, steadily structure up the time, awaiting each stance can be maintained for 30 seconds. land a stance is critical to yoga begrounds it gives the body a destiny to roost into the stretch and release up. Then each time you stretch it will be just that little bit beyond.

Many of the sideways, or creative, stretches in Hatha Yoga need that the body face send, with hips stage and back and spike sloping neither send nor back. Beginners incline to incline send to spread the stretch. But inclineing send is injury and will actually detract from repayment and probably grounds damage. To present these stretches correctly, make steady to keep your spike tightly asecurest a fence. The fence acts as a piling. Even those who have adept yoga may find that they cannot bend as far as they thought they could when they do the stances correctly. The added time exhausted in forming sensible stances will pay off: Your body will secure brilliant flexibility and power.

As we continue, we will take a look at how this new information can be implemented in very special ways.

When we learn, we continue on a path of growth. Therefore, learning about this subject has already helped you more than you know.
This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_691480_63.html

Role of Wall Mounted Water Fountains in Yoga and Meditation

The main motive of yoga and meditation is to calm down and relax both body and soul. Meditation and yoga needs pieces of nature like waterfalls and rivers to make it more effective. In earlier days, people seeking a calm, natural environment for yoga and meditation had to travel long distances to find a waterfall. Today there are crowds everywhere and you could hardly find a single waterfall with a calm surrounding. The wall mounted waterfalls eliminate this difficultly by bringing home the natural alluring sound and feel of the waterfalls. Wall mounted water fountains are well known for their calming and relaxing powers. Unlike the waterfall fountains, the wall mounted water fountains prevent water from splashing.

The relaxing nature of the wall mounted water falls has made it an essential element in hospitals, clinics and meditation centers. According to meditation experts, water symbolizes creativeness and new life and hence these wall mounted fountains are very much effective in making one very creative. The fountains are also said to be excellent stress relievers. They help in rejuvenating the spirit with their inspiring sounds.

Installing a wall mounted water fountain to a meditation room will make the room more sacred and alive. A fountain in a meditation room can be used as the concentration point in an environmental healing meditation session. Experts at ‘yoga insight’ say that “While in meditation, your water chakra - which lies between the pubic region and the navel - reproduces mentally through imagination and memory.”

The wall mounted fountains have the capability to promote a sense of peace and tranquility when you are meditating. The scenery created by the wall mounted water fountains give people a chance to enjoy the quiet and peace of being outdoors within their home itself. The patterns and the soothing sounds of the wall mounted fountain are perfect for people who want to relax and achieve a state of meditation. According to experts, the sound of cascading water makes it easier to control our feelings and focus our mind.

Hence in this over-crowded world, you cannot find a better place than your home for meditation. The addition of wall mounted waterfalls to your meditation room will enable meditating in a natural environment right inside your home. Not only in meditation rooms, but also in bedrooms, office spaces, gardens and lobbies- wall mounted water fountains can be placed everywhere. They are a cheaper option when compared to the waterfall fountains. “There are some things that money can’t buy. Peace of mind is one such thing” is a popular old saying. With the introduction of wall mounted water fountains, it seems that the old saying is false.

About the Author:

Abigail Brown writes water fountain articles for waterfountainplace.com, a leading online retailer for wall fountains, indoor fountains and garden fountains. Decorate your home and gardens today with water fountains from the Water Fountain Place.
This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_696419_80.html

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Hatha Yoga - A Crowd Favorite

Increasingly, you may hear about your companions enrolling in Hatha classes at the local gym. In terms of pure popularity, Hatha yoga is number one in the yoga world. As a result, the poses are known well by both beginners and experts.

Hatha yoga poses are called Asanas. The Asanas are used in combination with meditation and the breathing techniques known as Pranayama. Together they work the body to improve strength and flexibility as well as overall health, which is one of the reasons it is so popular. Hatha is a hybrid of the Sanskrit words "ha" which means "sun" and the word "tha" which means the "moon." Together, they refer to the way that Hatha's yoga poses often bring together opposites currents in the system.

Of the eight limbs of yoga, Hatha focuses mostly on the third, which is Asana, and the fourth, which is Pranayama. These pose and posture techniques coupled with the breathing patterns are used to clear out your body's energy channels, known as the Nadis. This, in turn, removes obstacles that could hamper other limbs helping to improve your well being.

Hatha History

Hatha has been around since 15th century India when a yogic sage, Swami Swatamarama, detailed Hatha Yoga Pradipika, one of the most important yoga texts. The original intent of this form of yoga was to help support relaxation of the body and to support the "contemplation of one reality." Many of the classic Hatha yoga poses that were used at its inception, in fact, are still in use with it today. According to those first practitioners of Hatha, the postures can lead to the best in not only physical well being, but also the best state of mind you can possibly attain.

Your Hatha Path

Before beginning your journey into Hatha yoga, you need to be prepared just like with any other form of yoga. There are some basic tips that can help you have an easier, more effective, and safer experience as you begin this original yoga style.

First, remember to breathe normally while you are in and move between each of the poses. Your breaths should be deep and smooth. Try to feel your diaphragm opening and expanding as you switch from one posture to another. Hatha rarely, if ever, uses the shorter and harder yoga breathing, so stay smooth and deep.

Second, do not force any of the stretch positions in Hatha. Start with the easier ones and make sure you are moving easily and naturally into each pose and that you are holding it for 15 to 30 seconds. This will ensure that you get the most out of your yoga and minimize your risk of injury. Be patient with your body and do not attempt the more difficult poses until you are sure you are ready.

Finally, concentrate on your breathing. One of the big focuses in this particular yoga is the breathing which leads to much of the mental health benefits. Use the exercise to relax and become at peace with yourself in the moment. That is what Hatha yoga poses are intended to do for you.

Hatha has been in practice for over 600 years. Longevity like that is rare even in yoga, and can be a sign of success and true belief. If you are considering this form of yoga as for yourself, then remember: never strain, take the time to make sure you are ready for a given pose, and to concentrate heavily on your breathing. Following these tips will help you to attain the superior mental and physical well being that Hatha is said to provide.

Rebecca Prescott provides an introduction to some hatha yoga poses here. You'll also find an article about another popular style of yoga, Bikram yoga, and weight loss benefits associated with it, here. More yoga articles can be found here.
This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_75307_23.html
Occupation: webmaster
I have studied computer programming, shiatsu and various natural therapies including herbs, macrobiotics, oriental healing and swedish massage.

Yoga Philosophy

If you are one of those who want more from their Yoga class than simply a great workout, you are not alone. There are deeper concepts that are to be learned during your practice. This philosophy that is taught to you by a Yoga instructor will help change the overall quality of your life.

In total there are countless Yoga philosophy concepts but there are three main ones that will help you with your life’s struggles. Every teacher is different therefore the level of Yogic philosophy that is taught within each class will also be different. This may be caused by the specific type of class that it is, the popularity of the class, or the Yoga instructor’s choice.

You can join different types of classes such as a restorative Yoga class which includes much more of the Yogic philosophy than in the majority of other classes. This is also true when it comes to the total amount of mediation time as well. Many of the younger people who practice Yoga tend to focus mainly on working the mind and body.

There are three basic Yogic philosophy principles that will help you turn your life around and accept what is best for you. Following them will help make your life happy, simple, and much less stressful.

You need loving kindness towards your self as well as others, which should start from the moment you wake up in bed. You need to stop criticizing yourself as well as other people in your life. When you take positive actions you will see what a difference it makes in your day to day life.

You must also have true forgiveness. This is necessary for your survival and personal quality of life. It is harmful for a person to harbor bad feelings towards someone and is much healthier to let the issue go.

Written by Ambrosio Thompson. Find the latest information on Yoga for health as well as yoga philosophy
This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_211158_23.html

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Yoga: Astanga Vinyasa Yoga

Astanga, or sometimes spelled ashtanga Yoga is actually taught today by a man named Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, in Mysore, India. He has brought astanga yoga to the west about 25 years ago and still teaches today at 91 years of age. Astanga yoga began with the rediscovery of the ancient manuscript Yoga Korunta. It describes a unique system of Hatha yoga as practiced and created by the ancient sage Vamana Rishi. It is believed to be the original asana practiced intended by Patanjali.

Astanga, or sometimes spelled ashtanga Yoga is actually taught today by a man named Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, in Mysore, India. He has brought astanga yoga to the west about 25 years ago and still teaches today at 91 years of age. Astanga yoga began with the rediscovery of the ancient manuscript Yoga Korunta. It describes a unique system of Hatha yoga as practiced and created by the ancient sage Vamana Rishi. It is believed to be the original asana practiced intended by Patanjali.

The Yoga Korunta emphasizes vinyasa, or breath-synchronized movement, where one practices a posture with specific breathing patterns associated with it. This breathing technique is called ujayyi pranayama, or the victorious breath, and it is a process that produces intense internal heat and a profuse sweat that purifies and detoxifies the muscles and organs. This also releases beneficial hormones and nutrients, and is usually massaged back into the body. The breath ensures efficient circulation of blood. The result is improved circulation, a light and strong body and a calm mind.

There is a proper sequence to follow when practicing Astanga yoga. One must graduate from one sequence of postures to move onto the next. The Primary Series (Yoga Chikitsa) detoxifies and aligns the body, purifying it so that toxins do not block. The Intermediate Series (Nadi Shodhana) purifies the nervous system by opening and clearing the energy channels, allowing energy to pass through easily. The Advanced Series A, B, C, and D (Sthira Bhaga) integrate the grace and stamina of the practice, which calls for intense flexibility.

It is best to find a trained and knowledgeable teacher to assist you through this discipline. It is an intense practice that is rigorous, six days a week. You are guaranteed to find inner peace and fulfillment with each breath you take.



About the Author

Nicholas Tan has been involved in Article Writing, providing Free Articles, Internet Marketing, SEO, Adwords, & Adsense for more than 5 years and designs and develops websites. Submit your free articles and get your articles noticed! Get your Free Articles here! Submit Articles! We provide free articles and information. Check us out at Free Articles!


Yoga: Instant 10-minute Yoga - New Form of Yoga

Yoga began in India 3,000 to 4,000 years ago. The word yoga comes from the Sanskrit language and means, to join or integrate, or simply union. Yoga started, as far as we know, as part of India's philosophical system, but not everyone practiced yoga, and it has never been a religion.

Yoga began in India 3,000 to 4,000 years ago. The word yoga comes from the Sanskrit language and means, to join or integrate, or simply union. Yoga started, as far as we know, as part of India's philosophical system, but not everyone practiced yoga, and it has never been a religion.

About 5 million people in the United States do some yoga. Dance and stretching exercise classes usually have parts and pieces that come directly from yoga. If you ever go to a physical therapist, he or she may give you therapeutic exercises that are yoga postures.

There are several types of yoga. The yoga you may have seen on TV or taught at your local Y or an adult education class is called hatha yoga, or physical yoga. Sometimes it's known as the yoga for health. You may also find yoga being taught in a hospital or medical setting. Many health professionals today feel yoga can be part of a treatment plan.

Hatha yoga has three parts: a series of exercises or movements called asana (poses or postures in English), breathing techniques of all kinds, and relaxation.

Do you drag yourself out of bed on Monday mornings, exhausted before you've even begun the week. Or maybe you can't enjoy your evenings, because work drains you of every ounce of energy.

Don't worry, you can boost your energy levels and balance your body with a new form of yoga - dynamic yoga.

Its simplicity and almost instantaneous benefits have made it one of the most fashionable alternative exercises of the new Millennium. Normally known for its relaxation benefits, dynamic yoga can boost your energy levels in just 10 minutes.

It includes some of the most basic yoga postures. You can try each of them individually, or in succession, but none of them should be rushed. However, you should feel the benefits after just ten minutes.

The deep stretches and graceful movements help to unblock energy, improve muscle tone and increase your general stamina. When practised regularly, say enthusiasts, you will experience improved energy levels, greater sexual vitality and better self-discipline. In the long-term, the breathing and body exercises will help detoxify your mind of tension and strain, creating calm and an inner peace.



About the Author

Nicholas Tan has been involved in Article Writing, providing Free Articles, Internet Marketing, SEO, Adwords, & Adsense for more than 5 years and designs and develops websites. Submit your free articles and get your articles noticed! Get your Free Articles here! Submit Articles! We provide free articles and information. Check us out at Free Articles!

Yoga: Cure through Yoga

Yoga in a popular position Yoga, one of the world's oldest forms of exercise, is experiencing a rebirth in our stressful modern world. You wouldn't think that a 3000-year-old exercise could increase its popularity. But yoga is now being prescribed even by some medical practitioners for a range of health ailments and illnesses, as a stress reliever and to complement other fitness programs.

Yoga in a popular position Yoga, one of the world's oldest forms of exercise, is experiencing a rebirth in our stressful modern world. You wouldn't think that a 3000-year-old exercise could increase its popularity. But yoga is now being prescribed even by some medical practitioners for a range of health ailments and illnesses, as a stress reliever and to complement other fitness programs.

Talk to anyone who practises yoga and they will quickly extoll an endless list of benefits. It seems beginners quickly become converts. They believe it is the key to good health and happiness in today's world _ a common goal for most people. But probably the greatest advertisement for yoga is the fact that it seems to have graduated from the weird and alternative ranks into a position of fairly wide community acceptance.

Housewives, businessmen, sportspeople, teenagers and the aged are all practising a variety of yoga positions, meditation and associated breathing exercises. For many, yoga becomes a way of life _ often giving a more spiritual side to people's lives, although not necessarily linked to religion. One school of belief maintains that chronic and accumulated stress is the reason for many of our modern illnesses.

Proponents of yoga argue that it has a multiplicity of techniques to counter that cause and, unlike drug therapy, attack the cause, not just the symptoms. It offers, they say, a holistic approach to health and fitness. Many professional athletes, looking for the edge have turned to yoga as a supplementary form of training. They have found that yoga aids their state of mental and physical relaxation between training sessions, and their crucial build-up to big meets, where a competition is usually won or lost in the mind.

Perhaps one of yoga's major attractions is that it combines physical and mental exercise. It is excellent for posture and flexibility, both key physical elements for most sports-people, and in some respects, there are strength benefits to be gained. Yoga teachers say that the approach of yoga therapy is one of the most effective ways of achieving the mental edge that athletes seek.

Marian Fenlon, one of Brisbane's leading yoga teachers of the past 20 years, is the author of two books on the subject and has had thousands of yoga pupils. Many of them have, in turn, become teachers. Believe it or not, she has even taught yoga to footballers. Many years ago, she took Brisbane Souths rugby league team for an eight-week course and, amazingly, it was well-received. She says there are eight components to yoga therapy - attitudes, disciplines, posture and flexibility, breathing, sensory awareness, concentration, contemplation and meditation. Yoga can play a substantial supporting role to modern medicine, and complement other fitness and exercise programs. While there is no great component of aerobic fitness in yoga therapy, it complements aerobic exercise because of breathing techniques that can be learned. So there are advantages for even the most demanding of aerobic sports - swimming, cycling and running. There are numerous documented cases of yoga relieving or curing serious illnesses - such as Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, and respiratory illnesses like asthma and emphysema.


About the Author

Nicholas Tan has been involved in Article Writing, providing Free Articles, Internet Marketing, SEO, Adwords, & Adsense for more than 5 years and designs and develops websites. Submit your free articles and get your articles noticed! Get your Free Articles here! Submit Articles! We provide free articles and information. Check us out at Free Articles!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Yoga During Your Pregnancy - How Safe Is It?

If you are yoga fanatic and just recently discovered that you are pregnant, you may still be able to do your yoga exercises. Contrary to what others thinks, Yoga is good for you and your unborn child. Practicing yoga will not hurt the baby! Instead you will be creating a healthy environment for the baby if you learn to do the yoga poses correctly.

A word of caution, there are some poses that you will want to avoid. You need to aware of those harmful poses and master only the poses that are suggested as prenatal yoga. Learn about these poses before you begin to do yoga. Ask your Obstetrician for recommendation. Be 100% sure that you know what you are doing, as you don’t want to hurt yourself or the baby.

Yoga is beneficial - it is a mental exercise as well as a physical one. For those who learn to utilize yoga as a meditation tool, they are able to relax and control their breathing. This will come in handy when you are in labor, particularly if you are opting to give birth naturally and without the use of any drugs. You will learn how to remain calm in your later stages of your pregnancy, as many new mothers get easily frustrated.

You must learn the rules that you will need to follow when practicing yoga during your pregnancy. First, stay hydrated by frequently stopping for water breaks. This is because if you get too overheated, your core body temperature rises, which can harm the baby. In view of this scenario, “hot” yoga is dangerous and should be avoided while you are pregnant. Eat some extra calories since you are eating for two, however, do ensure that you exercise to burn those extra calories from yourself and the baby.

Avoid certain poses that can be harmful towards the baby. Lying flat on your back, for example, can disrupt blood flow to your brain and to the uterus. You will feel dizzy and it may cause developmental problems for your baby. This is especially true when you have passed your first trimester, as it is just not safe. Also skip positions that are inverted, or those that require great amounts of balance. Remember that your uterus and abdomen is growing in size every single day, so you will never be able to fully get used to your new shape and stay balanced.

Bear in mind that you do must not fall as you can hurt yourself and also jeopardize your pregnancy.

If the positions taught include major twisting or stretching in the abdominal region, remember that they are not meant for you to try out. Finally, avoid transitions in which you must stand quickly from a laying or sitting position, since this can be uncomfortable and dangerous as it will cause you to feel dizzy and restrict blood flow to your uterus.

Fret not, there are other yoga positions that you will find to be helpful and useful during your pregnancy. Most pregnant women will practice safe yoga like stretching their body.

Work with your yoga instructor and ask for his or her recommendations. Most importantly, always consult your Obstetrician to ensure that your pregnancy period is going to be smooth-sailing as well as you are able to stay healthy.
This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_654108_61.html

Yoga Videos Part 3

Advanced Yoga: Headstand.


Agustin's Yoga Routine


Basic Tantra Yoga

Saturday, October 11, 2008

The meaning of the Yoga, for a right beginning

The purpose of all the different aspects of the practice of the Yoga is that to reason the Itself individual (Jiva) with the Absolute or pure awareness (Brahman).

The word Yoga literally means "union." This union frees the spirit from every sense of separation, from the illusion of the time, of the space and of the causality. Only our ignorance, our incapability to distinguish the reality from the irreality that it prevents us from realizing our true nature.
Also in this state of ignorance, the human spirit often perceives the lack of something in the life, something that cannot be reached neither with the realization of a determined objective neither with the satisfaction of a desire. In the life of each other, the incessant search of love, of success, of changes and of happiness are the demonstration that exists in us the conscience of a reality that we warn but that we are not able to reach.

According to the Yoga teaching, reality is for unchangeable and immovable definition and therefore the world, the universe that we perceive in constant movement, is not anything else other than illusion (maya).

The universe that we perceive is only something that overlaps to the reality, that is projected on the screen of the reality as a film it's projected on the screen of the cinema. As when we walk at night we can confuse a piece of rope with a snake, so, without illumination, we exchange what it is real with what it is not, we overlap or we project our illusions on the real world.
The deceptive nature of the temporal reality reflects him in the search from the modern science of the elementary particle, indivisible, of subject.

These searches have brought to the conclusion that the subject and the energy are interchangeable and that the appearance of solidity that we perceive in the subject is created from the movement or from the vibrations: we see to stir a helix and we exchange it for a circle. Big part of what we perceive as solid it is, of fact, empty space: if we removed the whole space from the atoms that our body they form maintaining only the 'not-space', we would not even succeed in seeing what he has remained.

Yoga is a term sanscrito (from the root yuj or yug) with different meanings: to connect, to link, means used for the union, effort, method, practice, action, self-control, path to get what we don't have, what is obtainable through the knowledge and the practice, union of the individual soul with that supreme.
In the context of the Yoga philosophy, the union happens between the individual soul and the universal soul.

To begin the Yoga it is to know the way to maintain the equilibrium, the serenity, the calm, the self-control, the love; it is the tool to check it own destiny and all of our internal quality; it is To know that the simplicity and the to be satisfied damage the happiness; it is to know the correct way to use completely the strength of the thought and all the other cosmic energies.

Author bio:
Corrado Vinci is the editor of GoSubArticles. Go to the following links for to begin the Yoga and to have his benefits of yoga

This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_661109_23.html
Author: corrynt

Yoga relaxation, Shavasana or the corpse pose.

Activity is the law of life and it is carried out at the expenditure of energy produced by a certain amount of wear and tear of all the organs of the body, and particularly at the expense of the voluntary muscles. During waking hours we perform all sorts of co-ordinated movements which are dependent on the contraction and relaxation of opposing sets of muscles and thus a certain amount of recuperative time is given to the muscles which are relaxed. If the contraction of a muscle is prolonged too long or carried out more frequently than a muscle is accustomed to, we feel a sensation of fatigue which is due to the accumulation of waste products of contraction. In the relaxed position of a muscle the circulation of the blood is not obstructed.

The constant supply of blood energizes the muscle by giving up its oxygen to it and in exchange carries away the products of metabolism, or renders them inert. The chief advantage of relaxation is that it gives in a minimum time a maximum amount of renewed strength. Sleep is a great energizer as all the voluntary muscles are then at rest and recuperative processes go on unconsciously. During sleep, the subconscious mind, not being under the control of consciousness, wanders away from the body. If we could obtain the same relaxation which we get in sleep by resting at will, the sub-conscious may be made to remain in the body and vitalize and control the activity of all the involuntary organs in the body.

This conscious rest can be obtained by practicing Shavasana or the corpse pose.

Technique: Lie supine, i.e., flat on the back with the hands and legs fully extended. Keep the feet apart by about nine inches with the toes directed outwards. This position helps to relax the muscles of the lower extremities. Keep the hands close to the body with the palms pointing upwards and with the fingers slightly flexed. The face should be turned sideways by rotating the head on its own axis. This will help to relax the muscles of the neck. To relax the face muscles let the jaw drop down by keeping the mouth slightly open. Keep the eyes closed and the body quite motionless. The relaxation of the trunk-muscles is dependent on correct breathing. The muscles of the thorax and the abdomen normally begin to relax during expiration and maximum relaxation is reached during the suspensionary period occurring between the respiratory cycles. It is not possible to suspend breathing for a long time. A short inspiratory effort followed by a prolonged expiratory one will maintain the relaxation of the trunk-muscles for a longer time than their contraction in a short inspiratory effort. Even in this relaxed position of the body the muscles still remain alert for any stimulus that they may experience, because the vitality of the muscles in the form of voluntary nerve-force is still present. The next effort should then be directed towards devitalizing the muscles so as to completely relax them in the true sense. To achieve this, the nerves supplying the muscles must be made non-Impressionable to both, the afferent (in-going) and efferent (out-going) stimuli. To begin with, try to devitalize a group of muscles at a time. Devitalizing should be carried out in the following order. First the lower extremities, then the upper extremities, neck, face and lastly the trunk. The thought of devitalizing a particular group of muscles must synchronise with deep inhalation which helps to draw the vitality of the part (Prdna) upwards and this Is made apparent by a sinking feeling in that part. This makes the muscles non-impressionable to afferent impulses. Keep steady the vitality thus withdrawn at a point near the root of the nose by directing the gaze there with the eyes closed, and then slowly exhale.

This prevents the generation of a reflex impulse froih the brain and in the absence of this the devitalized part remains completely relaxed. By this process not only are all the voluntary muscles relaxed, but at the same time that concentration of the mind is achieved which is so highly prized by spiritual culturists for developing further the more advanced and spiritual stages of Yoga. When success in relaxing the muscles of the different parts of the body has been achieved, then an effort should be made to relax the muscles of the whole body at the same time. This is the true aim of Shavasana. With perfect relaxation of all the muscles of the body, the breathing becomes slower and shallower and the body becomes like a corpse. Whether the body is perfectly relaxed or not can be tested by telling some one to lift after a stipulated period either the forearm or a leg to a certain height and then let it go. If the body is in a truly relaxed condition, the limb raised will fall to the ground like a dead-weight. Retain the pose from three to six minutes taking into consideration the fact that in this pose the time seems abnormally long.

This pose, if rightly practiced, is extremely refreshing after any kind of exertion and is so soothing to the nerves that sleep is often induced during its practice. This tendency to go to sleep should be checked very determinately. As a therapeutic measure Shavasana should be practiced to reduce high blood pressure and for the cure of neurasthenia.

Chaker Saaf,
Founder of: yoga-health-beauty-energy.com

You deserve a healthy and active lifestyle.

Sign-up right now for Chaker Saaf's FREE yoga e-course to find out how to relax, keep your health, beauty and gain more energy– Go here:
http://www.yoga-health-beauty-energy.com/
This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_608531_23.html
Author: Chaker Saaf

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Dahn Yoga for a Healthy Body and Mind

Author: Luna
Our daily lives are filled with so many distractions that it’s easy to feel scattered and stressed. When you are chronically stressed it becomes harder to function properly, increasing your stress even more and often inviting disease. To help manage their stress, many people have turned to yoga because its healthy effects on body and mind are now widely recognized.

Dahn Yoga is a unique form of yoga that originated in Korea. Based upon a practice that is more than 5,000 years old, Dahn Yoga teaches you how to manage your body’s energy. In Korean, dahn means “life energy”.


To manage your body’s energy, Dahn Yoga first teaches you how to feel it. Learning how to feel and focus on your energy, known as ki, chi, qi, or prana in Asia, will enable you to clear your mind and calm your emotions. It will help you concentrate more deeply by quieting all of the thoughts in your head that distract you.

One of the best Dahn Yoga exercises for feeling your energy and creating a healthy mind is called Ji-gam. You may not be able to feel energy the first time you try it, but you will succeed with practice.

Step 1: Spread your feet shoulder width apart and bend your knees fifteen degrees.

Step 2: Bring your hands in front of your lower abdomen, an energy center in your body, with your palms facing it.

Step 3: Form a triangle with your hands with your thumbs at the level of your navel and the rest of your fingers pointing downward. Leave a couple of inches between your hands and your body.

Step 4: Relax your body and your mind. Inhale deeply and let go of any tension while exhaling.

Step 5: Concentrate on your palms and notice any sensation there. You may feel warmth, tingling, something magnetic, or even your own pulse. This feeling is a physical manifestation of your energy.

Step 6: Next, repeatedly move your hands together away and toward your abdomen while breathing comfortably.

Step 7: Let any sensation you feel on your palms or between your palms and your abdomen grow and become more real as you focus on it.

Step 8: Then move your hands in a clockwise direction while maintaining that feeling.

Step 9: Return your hands to their starting point and slowly move your abdomen in and out while feeling any sensations inside.

Step 10: When you are finished after a few minutes, lower your hands. Breathe in and out, slowly and deeply, three times.

Step 11: Rub your hands together briskly and gently sweep them across your face, neck, and your entire body.

By practicing Ji-gam regularly, you will be able to maintain your feeling of energy even when you are not doing it and regardless of your environment. As a result, you will be able to function in your daily life with a calmer and clearer mind that is more immune to life’s distractions. Inevitably, your body will be healthier as well. Ji-gam is a Dahn Yoga exercise that will keep your mind healthy and help you manage your chronic stress effectively.


AUTHOR’S BIO:

Michela Mangiaracina is an editor for the independent publishing company, BEST Life Media, as well as a Dahn Yoga and Brain Education Instructor for brain enhancement and many more.Your comments will be highly appreciated at michela@bestlifemedia.com.
For more information about Yoga Video, Brain Vitality, Brain Enhancement CD visit www.bestlifemedia.com.

This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_648877_23.html

What can Yoga do for you?

Author: Andrew
Yoga originated from India about 4000 years ago. It has been continually practised but it is only in the present century that its use and practise has become more widespread. Yoga has an effect on the whole person and combines the mental, physical and spiritual sides. The word 'yoga' originates from a Sanskrit word that means 'yoke' or 'union' and thus reflects on the practises of yoga being total in effect. For many hundreds of years in India, only a select few, such as philosophers and like-minded people with their disciples followed the way of life that yoga dictated. The leaders were known as 'yogis' and it was they who taught their followers by passing on their accumulated knowledge. These small groups of people dwelt in caves or woods, or sometimes a yogi would live like a hermit. Yoga has had quite far reaching effects over many hundreds of years in India.

The basics of yoga were defined by a yogi called Patanjali who lived about 300BC. He was a very well respected teacher and commanded great influence at that time and his classification is one that is used now. He established the fact of yoga being separated into eight different parts. The first two concern a person's lifestyle, which should be serene with the days spent in contemplation, study, maintaining cleanliness and living very simply and at peace with others. Anything that involves avarice or greed or is harmful to others has to be avoided. The third and fourth parts are concerned with physical matters and list a number of exercises that are designed to promote peace and infuse energy into both the mind and the body. The remaining four sections are concerned with the advancement of a person's soul or spirit and mental faculties by being able to isolate himself or herself from outside worries and normal life, contemplation and broadening mental faculties with the ultimate knowledge known as somadhi. Mentally, this is a complete change that gives final realisation of existence. Much more recently, yoga became available in India to everyone, in complete contrast to centuries ago.

Nowadays, the practice of yoga is not restricted to India alone, with millions of people worldwide being followers. There are five different types of yoga: raja, jnana, karma, bakti and hatha. It is this last system that is known in the west and it involves the use of exercises and positions. The other methods concentrate on matters, such as control over the mind, appreciation and intelligence or a morally correct way of life. These other methods are regarded as being of equal importance by the person completely committed to yoga as a way of life. Many people have little or no spiritual feeling. However, the basic belief in yoga is the importance of mental attitudes in establishing the physical from exercise.

In yoga it is believed that the body's essence of life (prana), is contained in the breath. Through a change in the way of breathing there can be a beneficial effect on the general health. If a person is in a heightened, emotional condition, or similar state, this will have an effect on the breathing. Therefore, if the breathing is controlled or altered, this should promote joint feelings of peace or calm, both mentally and emotionally. There is a variety of exercises and each promotes different types of breathing, such as the rib cage, shoulder and diaphragm. Some of the movements and stances in use were originally devised from the observations of animals, since they appeared to be adept at relaxation and moved with minimum effort. These stances which are maintained for one two minutes, aim to increase freedom of movement and make the person aware of the various parts of the body and any stress that may be present. It is not intended that they be physically tiring or that the person should 'show off' in front of others. The aim is to concentrate on self knowledge.

It is recommended to follow some simple rules when practising yoga. First use a fully qualified therapist and practise daily if at all possible. It is always best that yoga is undertaken before mealtimes but if this is not possible then three hours must elapse after a large meal or one hour after a light meal. Comfortable clothes are essential and a folded blanket or thick rug should be placed on the ground as the base. Before commencing yoga have a bath or shower and repeat this afterwards to gain the maximum benefit. It is not advisable to do yoga if either the bowels or bladder are full. Should the person have been outside on a hot or sunny day it is not recommended that yoga is practised straight afterwards, as feelings of sickness or dizziness may occur.

Yoga is believed to be of benefit to anyone, providing that they possess determination and patience. If a person has certain physical limitations then these must be taken into account with regard to their expectation but there is no age barrier. If you suffer from stress or disorder in your lives, teachers believe that you are in greater need of harmony and peace. Yoga was used in the main to encourage health in the physical and mental states and thereby act as a preventative therapy. Tension or stress was one of the main disorders for which it was used but nowadays it has been used for differing disorders hypertension, bronchitis, back pain, headaches, asthma, heart disorders, premenstrual tension and an acid stomach. Trials have also been conducted to assess its potential in treating some illnesses such as multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis and depression experienced after childbirth. Since the effects of tension are often shown by the tightening and contraction of muscles, the stretching exercises that are performed in yoga are able to release it. Also, being aware of each muscle as it is stretched encourages the person to mentally lose any stress or problems with which they have been beset. Suppleness is developed by the exercises through the use of the bending and twisting actions. This will help to maintain healthy joints, particularly for those people who lead inactive lives.

There should be no strain felt and after practise some or all of them can be done in order. As mentioned previously, it is best to check with a qualified therapist if the person is an expectant mother, suffers from hypertension, is overweight or is having their monthly period.

I have already mentioned that yoga has been used to treat some illnesses, such as rheumatoid arthritis and if a person has such a severe disorder, then a highly skilled and experienced therapist is essential. Since this form of yoga, known as therapeutic yoga, is new there is a limited number of suitably experienced therapists available. For those who wish to use yoga to maintain mental and physical health, joining a class with an instructor is perhaps the best way to proceed, so the exercises are performed correctly and any lapses in concentration can be corrected. These classes last usually in the region of an hour and are separated into sessions for beginners and those who are more proficient. Proficiency and progress are achieved by frequent practice, which can be done at home between lessons.

The majority of doctors regard yoga as a type of exercise that is beneficial, although some do recommend patients to refer to yoga practitioners. However, if a specific disorder is to be treated, it is very important that the ailment should first be seen by a doctor.


------

Andrew Tomkinson is an experienced writer of articles on health related subjects. He also recommends many fitness, health and nutrition products and services to improve your lifestyle and well being. Do you want to be healthier, have a better quality of life and take full advantage of the opportunities open to you? GO HERE-
http://www.fitnesshealthnutrition.org
This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_650612_23.html

Yoga And Salute To The Sun

Author: Jeff Seward
One of the all-around yoga exercises is the 12-step salute to the sun. Do it once or twice when you get up in the morning to help relieve stiffness and invigorate the body. Multiple repetitions at night will help you to relax; insomniacs often find that six to 12 rounds help them fall asleep.

1. Stand with your feet slightly apart, palms together, thumbs against your chest.

2. Inhale deeply while slowly raising your hands over your head, and bend back as far as possible, while tightening your buttocks. Hold for three seconds.

3. Slowly exhale and bend forward, keeping your knees straight, until your fingers touch the floor outside your feet. (If you can't touch the floor, go as close as you can.) Bring your head in toward your knees.

4. Slowly inhale, bend your knees, and if your fingertips aren't outside your feet on the floor, place them there. Slide your right foot back as far as you can go, with the right knee an inch or so off the floor, (a lunge position). Now look up as high as possible, arching your back.

5. Before exhaling again, slide your left foot back until it is beside the right one, and with your weight supported on your palms and toes, straighten both legs so that your body forms a flat plane. Make sure your stomach is pulled in.

6. Slowly exhale, bend both knees to the floor, bend with your hips in the air, lower your chest and forehead to the floor.

7. Now inhale slowly and look up, bending your head back, then raising it, followed by your upper chest, then lower chest. Your lower body - from the navel down - should be on the floor, and your elbows should be slightly bent. Hold for three to five seconds.

8. Exhale slowly and raise your hips until your feet and palms are flat on the floor and your arms and legs are straight in an inverted V position.

9. Inhale slowly and bring your right foot forward as in position 4. The foot should be flat on the floor between your fingertips. The left leg should be almost straight behind you, with its knee slightly off the floor. Raise your head, look up, and arch your back.

10. Slowly exhale and bring your left foot forward next to your right one. Straighten your legs and stand, trying to keep your fingertips on the floor, and try to touch your head to your knees as in position 3.

11. Slowly inhale, raise your arms up and stretch back as in position 2. Don't forget to tighten your buttocks. Hold for three seconds.

12. Slowly exhale, lowering your arms to your sides. Relax. Repeat the series.

Learn about Sun facts and Jupiter facts at the Planet Facts site.
This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_648301_22.html

Friday, September 19, 2008

Cure Diabetes Through Yoga

Author: Huda
Diabetes in various forms affects up to 5percent of the world population with 12 million diabetics in Western Europe alone. Of the different ways in which diabetes presents, noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) is probably the most commonly encountered genetic disease. NIDDM or Type II diabetes is multifactorial, depending also on environmental factors including obesity, sedentary lifestyles and nutritional imbalances.

Yoga has shown some beneficial results in curing diabetes. The yoga exercises that are prescribed for curing diabetes is different from hatha yoga exercise because it involves positions tailored to treat certain conditions, as well as meditation, relaxation and stretching exercises.

One of the studies conducted to cure diabetes was the one set up by the Yoga Biomedical Trust, founded in 1982 by biochemist Dr Robin Monro, and an Indian yoga research foundation which discovered that practicing yoga for 30 minutes a day for one month helped reduce blood glucose levels in some diabetics.

The yoga patients took part in one or two 90-minute sessions a week and were asked to practice at home. The classes included the specific yoga exercises of the spinal twist, the bow and abdominal breathing.

At the end of the 12 weeks blood sugar levels fell significantly in all patients in the group and were slightly raised in a control group which had not joined in the yoga sessions. Three yoga students managed to reduce their medication, including one man who had not changed his drug regime for 20 years.

It has been known for a long time that exercise is helpful for diabetics. Yoga therapy may help reduce stress levels which could play a part in maturity onset diabetes. But one drawback is that some patients would find it hard to keep up the regular sessions needed to sustain the benefit. All the patients said they would like to see these classes set up on a permanent basis but we don't have the money.

It is not necessarily the exercise component of the yoga therapy package which is most important, because there is not enough physical exercise to account for the changes, but stress reduction has a lot to do with it. Stress hormones increase sugar levels in the blood. People also benefit from the stabilization of their moods which yoga brings, an increased feeling of well-being and a feeling of being more in control, which may help with their diet control.

This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_619496_23.html
An online marketer for over 2 years. Participate in several Affiliate programs that provide results.

What Are The Advantages Of Using A Cotton Yoga Mat?

Author: Muna wa Wanjiru
During a yoga session, complete relaxation and proper concentration are essential, and how could one get connected to the higher realms of consciousness if body discomfort is disturbing? The choice of the wrong yoga mat can often ruin the practitioner's efforts to achieve some form of mental relief by the asanas. A cotton yoga mat for instance could provide just the comfortable and peaceful space you need to perform the body postures in the safest and best of conditions. A good cotton yoga mat can also be used for massage and Pilates exercises, which are other very popular ways of improving general health.

The advantages of a cotton yoga mat include increased softness and the capacity to retain sweat; these are the reasons for which heat yoga for instance finds cotton the ideal material to be used for the accessories required by the asanas. There is no slipping involved and the adherence to the floor is highly remarkable. Unlike items made from synthetic materials, a cotton yoga mat has a great body tolerance given the close and prolonged contact with naked skin areas. The organic cotton fiber will definitely keep you safe from skin irritations and even allergies, in case you have an over-sensitivity.

As for the cleaning of the cotton yoga mat, things are a lot easier than for other items made from various materials. You can either wash it by hand or in the wash machine, on the only condition that you set the correct temperature. Avoid washing a cotton yoga mat in too hot water since the fibers are very likely to shrink and you'll find the size of the mat drastically reduced. Depending on the level of sweating during the yoga class, cleaning may be required after every usage, but that is definitely for you to appreciate.

The price of a cotton yoga mat is definitely more than affordable; nevertheless, according to the specificity of the design, you may have to pay some extra bucks if you choose a thicker or a larger size model for instance. A cotton yoga mat can be purchased either online or from sports shops that sell special gym articles. You can get an idea about what a cotton yoga mat should be like by getting a look at the catalogs you find online, as they provide lots of info, after all, not even environmentalists would have something to object to cotton.


Muna wa Wanjiru Has Been Researching and Reporting on Yoga for Years. For More Information on Cotton Yoga Mat, Visit His Site at Cotton Yoga Mat Post Your Views On Cotton Yoga Mat At My Blog here Cotton Yoga Mat
This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_545088_23.html

Inversion Yoga Poses - Another Perspective

Author: Rebecca Prescott
Headstand (salamba shirshasana) is one of the yoga poses that are considered inversion poses. Inversion poses involve any asanas that lift the feet above the head. Other inversion poses that are well known include shoulderstand (salamba sarvangasana) and half shoulder stand (viparita karani). But even lying on the floor with your legs on a chair is an inversion pose.

The concept behind inversion poses is expressed in yoga texts as viparita karani. Viparita karani is translated as meaning 'opposite process'. This simply means facilitating a different perspective. From the purely physical point of view, this different perspective in inversion poses is literal - in terms of looking at the world from a different physical viewpoint - as well as involving the body being supported in a different way.

But as yoga is more than simply physical exercises, there are other processes that are assisted. A lot of yoga is designed to help us change mental habits as well as physical habits. Through increasing our ability to adapt to change, instead of being stuck in old habitual responses, we increase our capacity for growth and transformation. This applies in all areas of our lives.

There is a theoretical concept in yoga about why inversion postures help. Ayurveda considers that many of the body's impurities are in the lower abdomen. When we raise our feet above the head, gravity is assisting us to move these impurities towards what the Ayurvedic system calls agni, or 'fire'. Agni particularly relates to our 'digestive fire', and is thus located above our lower abdomen.

So, by being upside down, and by using the deep and slow breathing typical of yoga, we help 'burn off' the impurities that were previously stuck.

Improved circulation is a more readily apparent and less 'esoteric' benefit of inversion yoga poses.

Whilst inversion postures have many health benefits, the ability of an individual to receive those benefits depends as much on their capacity to comfortably hold these sometimes difficult postures. For example, headstand and shoulder stand should simply not be done if people are pregnant, have neck pain, high or low blood pressure, neck injuries, or are menstruating. And neither of these postures should be attempted without the appropriate preparatory postures. Otherwise the risk is there that an injury, or stiffness, particularly to the neck area, will result.

Likewise, if doing these postures is very uncomfortable and difficult, more benefit will be derived from doing either the modified versions, or simply working on other yoga poses that strengthen these areas.

There are several important prerequisites for getting the most benefit fro inversions. The first one, a strong neck, I've mentioned. The others are a strong back and abdominal muscles, and the capacity to breathe well whilst in the posture. The latter is going to get better with practice, both of yoga itself and the inversions. It is also somewhat tied into having a strong back. Our back and stomach muscles will provide the support to hold the legs straight, which inturn opens up the thoracic cavity, and increases our ability to breathe well whilst upside down!

Tips for Doing the Inverted Postures

For Half Shoulder stand:

* Lengthen the exhale
* Don't lock the chin
* Keep your weight not on the head but on the wrists and elbows
* Don't try to pull your torso (and legs) into the vertical like in full shoulder stand if you have difficulties with your neck. By doing so, you're placing more pressure on your neck.
* Make sure you do the appropriate balancing postures afterwards. These include shalabhasana and bhujangasana

For Shoulder stand:

* Don't worry so much about keeping your elbows and arms parallel. This will create more tension in your neck if you're not proficient in this posture.
* Do the appropriate balancing postures. These are the same as for half shoulder stand.

For Headstand:

* Don't ever make adjustments whilst in headstand. If you feel your alignment is not quite right, come down and do it again.
* Never do this posture first up, or without the prerequisite postures. It will lead to stiffness in the neck at best, and injury at worst. And the negative effects can build up over time. This posture is never done traditionally without preparation, and there is reason for this.
* Use a wall for support as a learning stage
* Support your head with all of your fingers, including the little fingers and thumbs
* Finding the right position for your head will make sure weight is distributed evenly, and ensure you don't have to overly press down with your elbows to compensate
* Think of the support for the whole body as being distributed evenly across both elbows and the head
* Don't hold your weight too much on the back of your body. It will place too much pressure on your neck.
* Don't use props that allow the neck to be free. It will lead to the neck muscles contracting
* Use the balancing postures. Shoulder stand is the traditional, but Mohan recommends half shoulder stand instead
* Rest your neck before doing the balancing postures, however. Lie down with your legs bent.
* Other balancing postures include chakravakasana, dvipada pitham with the arms, and shalabhasana

There may be fears or a sense of limitation about doing inversion poses that will be confronted. Sometimes, it's best to start an asana gradually. Shoulder stand comes with a few variations that you can use to build up strength and flexibility, as well as overcome any fear based feelings about the posture and your ability to do it.

Overcoming the fear, and finally being able to do a difficult pose that you thought you couldn't, can create positive psychological effects. When we prove to ourselves that our fears don't bind us, that we can move beyond our limitations, we are more able to make changes in other areas of our lives where before we thought it just wasn't possible.

References: A.G.Mohan, Yoga for Body, Breath, and Mind

If you'd like instructions on how to do the shoulder stand asana, complete with pictures, click here. For information on ashtanga yoga, check out this article on the truth and myth of ashtanga yoga, as well as it's origins. Rebecca Prescott runs the website http://www.yogatohealth.com
This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_43491_23.html
Occupation: webmaster
I have studied computer programming, shiatsu and various natural therapies including herbs, macrobiotics, oriental healing and swedish massage.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

How Anusara Yoga Appeals To Common People

Author: Muna wa Wanjiru

With a ten-year history as a school, Anusara yoga was founded in 1997 and it has been part of the Hatha yoga style ever since though it shares ramifications in Tantra yoga as well. Anusara yoga appeared in the Western world as a way of emphasizing the general universal principles that govern all yoga practices for thousands of years; in Anusara yoga, we'll find all the asanas and the meditations specific to Hatha yoga, with a great emphasis on the ways to achieve bliss and joy in day to day existence. Enjoying every moment in its uniqueness is part of the philosophy promoted by schools of Anusara yoga.

Without being dogmatic at all, Anusara yoga, appeals to common people by its optimistic spiritual approach that leads to the appearance of a feeling of solidarity and belonging not only to a community, but to mankind in a very special way. With Anusara yoga, the practitioner learns that after we have conquered so much of the outer world, there is one unimaginably rich wonder land that has remained undiscovered, and only partly explored: the inner frontier. Like many other spiritual ways, Anusara yoga brings self-awareness and the joy of the discovering the treasures within.

Among the common governing principles of Anusara yoga, we need to mention the effort to open to the intention and the love of the supreme Universal Being that has created us and the entire universe. Anusara yoga practitioners define this attempt as the opening to Grace or the alignment. Then, postures enable the concentration of the energetic flow from the peripheral body areas to a focal point usually identified around the heart. Every body movement has its spiritual counterpart as it triggers a certain type of energy winding up and enhancing inner strength. The energy then emanates towards the organs, maximizing their functions and ensuring great health.

Purity of mind, spiritual power and a great health condition: these are the promises of Anusara yoga. All you need to do is focus practice, learn and enjoy meditations and get to apply the principles of well-being in all aspects of your life. However, it is good to keep in mind the fact that, when you take up yoga practice it is essential not to do so on your own and starting from informational materials that you find on the Internet. The presence of a master, teacher or guru is an absolute must to guide one on the spiritual path of spiritual achievement: yoga is not a practice to be taken lightly, as it is far too complex for such considerations.


Muna wa Wanjiru Has Been Researching and Reporting on Yoga for Years. For More Information on Anusara Yoga, Visit His Site at Anusara Yoga Post Your Views On Anusara Yoga At My Blog here Anusara Yoga
This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_545076_23.html

Yoga for Kids - Torment Of A Silent Mind

Author: Kacy Carr

Why is it that Yoga for kids is becoming even more popular today than it was in days of yesterday, well children are just as much prone to suffer from stress just like adults do. How can this be a great many would ask. Kiddies pressure come from additional education requirements (like more homework) We all know the importance of furthering our childs education to give them a better chance in life but when it can destroy life then it is time to take action.

Yoga for kids is a priceless gift to give to a child where they lay claim to peace of mind. Pressure put upon our kids today can be brought on by other factors like being bullied. Children also suffer at the hands of the parents while watching them worry over debt or whatever comes with surviving in the 21st century. How can we help the mind of a tormented child, simple introduce them to Yoga?

Yoga for kids help them become aware of the body and start to understand how vital it is to keep in good shape. Even at an early age kids need to develop better body awareness and after doing this they take control all by themselves to lead an active healthy life. Children who practice yoga self educate themselves on self control flexibility and coordination.

Exercises for children have proven in some cases to assist slowing down Hyper active behaviours. Yoga has helped kids by channelling their impulses in a positive way. Yoga moves for minors differ just like that of the way adults practice. A couple of poses for children that work perfectly well are the Warrior pose and the Tree poses. Both are exercises that help the child to find calm, build up confidence and balance.

Some children take to yoga like water of a ducks back whereas others have to be coaxed and need assurance and the benefits pointed out to them. The secret behind getting a dubious child to enrol in a yoga class is to explain how it is a popular craze among other children. Point out how much fun it can be. Explain in fine detail of the Warrior posture moves in your quest to encourage the child. Ease their discomfort if afraid to practice yoga alone. Let them know they can team up with a partner, this will also help build up on their team skills therefore gaining a bonding with others.

There will be times where the children will find it difficult to focus and concentrate but is that not the case with all children whether practising yoga or not. Children and relaxation are not very compatible. Just to have a child close their eyes for a period of time will be task in its self. Ask the child to visualize something that he/she are interested in or enjoy doing.

Try them with the belly breathing yoga exercise while listening to soothing relaxation music. Ask them to imagine they are up in space floating or making sand castles on the beach. After the session is over invite the child to share their experience of how they felt while practicing the Yoga for Kids routine.

If they divulge their secret thoughts then this can only mean that the child has opened up and what a major breakthrough that is. To have your child share a secret is enough to say they want to be heard.

Those silent thoughts that once troubled your little boy/girl will give you as a caring parent the insight on how to deal with what was once a tormented silent mind.

Yoga for kids is the healthiest wealthiest form of knowledge for any child.


About The Author:

100% fit in mind body and soul is what healthy living is all about. With yoga you claim what is rightfully yours.- control. http://www.want2yoga.com Take steps now to move on with your life http://www.allaboutonlineeducation.com
This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_35329_23.html

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Grab the best Yoga Wear Now

Author: paula korel

So, you want to get into yoga but haven't picked out a good workout suit for it yet? Well, that's what this article here was written for. To help you in choosing the best outfit for your yoga lessons/workouts.

Choosing the right yoga wear is not hard at all. All you need to do is to be true to yourself and be picky.

The most important consideration in choosing the perfect yoga wear is the comfort that it gives you. Do not wear clothes that are loose because it will leave you distracted. Some people may be comfortable in wearing loose clothes in going out to the park or the malls. Later on when they do yoga, they realized that the wearing loose clothes are not so fitting at all.

Yoga wear that is too tight may not me too comfortable also because it may not give you enough space to breathe.

Yoga wear includes tee shirts, pants, sweaters and even bags. These are some things you cannot live without when doing yoga. It is important that you have this kind of yoga wear in order to be able to perform the practice without the worries and hassles.

Students who are teenagers are very particular with yoga wear. It is something they consider as an accessory in yoga. For them, without nice clothes, they just could not practice well.

That is common to all yoga practitioners. Of course you need to have a good yoga wear and outlook so that you will have that confidence when you make poses and exercises. It should be at the best level so that you get to perform well and not feel conscious or embarrassed when you are in the class.

Yoga wear can be costly but if you are wise and know how to choose properly,
you will get the kind of yoga wear that you have without hurting your wallet.

Check out the stores that sell all yoga wear and accessories only. Buying in exclusive yoga wear can be advantageous so that you will not have a hard time looking around. Another advantage is that you can compare the differences of the yoga wear. You can tell whether it has a high quality at a fair price of if it is marked high but with proven endurance.

Yoga wear should not be costly and should not eat up your budget because yoga is not meant to be an expensive exercise. It only needs to be given a slight expense and should be fair.

If you will be wiser, you can check out the stores all over the place and compare the prices. After you find the best store that sold yoga wear, check it out once in a while and see whether they have new freebies and discounts available.

If shopping for you is so hard and tiring, that is not a problem anymore. You can now check your favorite yoga wear online. For sure you will have a lot of choices if you check the products online. You can browse through hundreds and thousands of sites that sell yoga wear. If you are acquiring lessons online, there will never be a problem because you know which sites sell the best yoga wear.

Now for the last tip in buying yoga wear, choose the ones that you think will soothe your body and give you the deep concentration you had been aiming for. Now take this, it may not be essential but yoga wear has a lot to do with your concentration.

Now that you have some great tips on choosing the best yoga outfit for your needs, you can run out and buy it. Remember to get exactly what you're looking for, don't just settle for whatever you think will "just do". You want what really suits you and meets all of your needs and wants.


Feel free to visit Start Yoga Now for more great Yoga Information and Yoga Resources.

About The Author:
If you enjoyed the great idea in this article about the type of clothing and gear best suited for Yoga then head over to www.startyoganow.com for more great Yoga information.
This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_72396_23.html

Yoga, Union with the Ultimate

Author: Govind Kumar
Absolute Being, Absolut Knowledge, Absolute Bliss ( Sat, Chit, Ananda), the
eternal triad which is the Universe and we are, is the substratum of the
entire Universe. This is the great secret which we must discover in our long
evolutionary journey.

Now enhance your Being, Knowledge,Bliss, which are from time immemorial
is considered as Wisdom's frame of reference.

Through adding to your Sat (existence), developing your Chit (subsistence)
and enjoying Ananda you will witness a spiritual evolution or realization in
your mind. With practising yoga, one sees the Absolute Self everywhere
through his eyes of wisdom. He will become absolutely impersonal. He will
not have a bit of selfishness in him. His Id will be completely annihilated.
And in times he will attain the Eternal Bliss of the Self

The word "Yoga" itself is derived from a Sanskrit word "Yuj", which means to
unite. Union with Cosmic Intelligence is the Yogic objective.

What we sow, we reap and this Universal Law is known as the Law of Karma,
the Grand Law of Causation. We have to understand that the miseries of life
and the Negativity which we experience are all the inevitable clearing
process of exhausting our Karma. We have to understand that despite our
sufferings, mistakes and ignorance, the Divine Will is leading us, through
every circumstance, towards the final Realization. This faith will give us
equanimity.

Even in rags, I am a god
Fallen, I am divine
High I triumph when down trod
Live will I when slain !

It is natural that our faith may be assailed by some misfortunes which
happen to us. We have to understand that Initiation is a process of
intensive culture and accelerated evolution and the bad experiences which
happen to us are merely wages.

What can all these trials and tribulations do to the Godhead within us, the
Almighty Self, He who transcends Space, Time & Causality? Him the jail
cannot confine nor the gallows end !

Let us follow the Four fold path of Yoga. They are.

Jnana Yoga Union via Wisdom The method by which the intellect is used to
negate the bondage of material world.

Raja Yoga Union via Psychic Control The psychological approach focusing on
concentration and meditation.

Karma Yoga Union via Action This is the path of eliminating the ego and
attachments through selfless service.

Bhakthi Yoga Union via Love A way of union through conversion of the
emotions to devotion.
Human mind has immaculate powers. And it differs from person to person.
People can awake the hidden psychic and occult powers in them by
understanding and realizing the power of their mind. The four-fold path of
Yoga offers some unique ways to emancipate oneself from the material world
using the divine intelligence.

The Intellectual Man can go for Jnana Yoga or Union via Wisdom

The Active Man can pursue Karma Yoga or the Union via Action

The Adventurous man can followe Raja Yoga or Union via Psychic Control

The Emotional Man can look for Bhakthi Yoga or the Union of Emotions

Practising any one of the four powerful and vigorous Yoga paths will take
you beyond the five concentric sheaths to the Absolute Self, which is the
cosmic power in individual bodies

While Raja and Jnana Yogas are more or less for the initiated, Bhakti &
Karma Yogas are for the ordinary man. You can understand the basic
principles of Yoga by reading some books on the science. An good beginner's
book dealing with Self Development is Dr Ashok Selvaraja's 7 Golden Secrets
to know your Higher Self. The characteristics of both the lower and the
higher selves are highlighted and Cosmic Union becomes easy.

Article by G Kumar, Astrologer, writer & programmer of
www.eastrovedica.com. He has 25 years psychic research
experience in the esoteric arts. His Yoga blog is up at
http://fourfoldyoga.blogspot.com & his lens is up at
http://www.squidoo.com/FourfoldYoga

This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_467914_51.html
Occupation: astrol scholar, writer and programmer
astrologer, writer & programmer of www.eastrovedica.com, a site which has received more than 386 K hits and ceo of www.articlewisdom.com, which has more than 15000 quality articles. Author of 22 blogs, the main blog being http://zodiacastrology.blogspot.com

What Is Yoga - History and Origins

Author: Rebecca Prescott
The popularization of yoga in the West by yoga schools influenced by the Yoga Sutras Of Patanjali (2nd century BC), have almost led to the origins of yoga being linked with Patanjali in the Western mind. In fact, the earliest illustration we have of yoga is from the Mohenjo-daro seals. Mohenjo-Daro is the remains of an ancient city located in Pakistan, part of the Indus Valley civilization which existed along the Indus river and Ghaggar-Hakra river in north-west India and what is now Pakistan. Mohenjo-Daro's parent city was Harrapa in India.

These civilizations have been dated from 3300 BC to 1300 BC. At one stage they were thought to have suddenly ended due to an Aryan invasion, though archaeologists now believe it was more likely due to climate change. Ultimately though, nothing is certain in the world of archaeology, at least until the next find, or developments in science.

The Mohenjo-daro seals show a figure standing on its head, and another sitting cross legged.

However, some see yoga's origins as being from the Vedic shastras, or vedic religious texts, which are the foundation of Indian Hinduism. The Vedic texts were created from 500 BC, and the Rigveda is believed to have been completed by 1500 BC. The Rigveda is one of several principle early vedic texts. The Rigveda, Samaveda, and Yajurveda were used by the Brahmins, a caste that were usually priests, or allowed to be priests, in the days when the caste system originated.

A lot of these texts were concerned with sacrificial rituals. There are sacrificial prayers, incantations, and elements related to magic, to name a few aspects of the subject matter. These are now viewed symbolically, or philosophically, although they were presumably intended more literally at the time. But the word "yoga" was discussed in the RigVeda. In it, there is mention of 'yoking' our mind and insight to the 'Sun Of Truth' (David Frawley, a Vedic scholar).

Yoga is also discussed in the Bhagavad Gita, where Krishna describes 4 types of yoga:

* selfless action - in following one's soul path, one's dharma, first and foremost, and without thinking of the outcome, the end result, or being motivated by self gain (Karma Yoga)
* self transcending knowledge (Jnana yoga)
* psycho-physical meditation (Raja yoga)
* devotion - loving service to the Divine Essence (Bhakti yoga) (Source - Wikipedia)

The Bhagavad Gita is believed to have been written between the 5th and 2nd century BC. In the Gita, the goal of yoga is the realization of Brahman, or the Divine Essence. Whilst the paths to achieve this for individuals may be different, the essence of coming to an unequivocable knowing of the Oneness of the Divine, and oneself within this fundamental reality, is the same.

"The Gita addresses the discord between the senses and the intuition of cosmic order. It speaks of the Yoga of equanimity, a detached outlook. The term Yoga covers a wide range of meanings, but in the context of the Bhagavad Gita, describes a unified outlook, serenity of mind, skill in action, and the ability to stay attuned to the glory of the Self (Atman), which is of the same essence as the basis of Being (Brahman)." (Wikipedia)

Read about the invocation to sage patanjali here. Learn more about kriya yoga, here.
This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_82665_23.html
Occupation: webmaster
I have studied computer programming, shiatsu and various natural therapies including herbs, macrobiotics, oriental healing and swedish massage.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Benefiting from the unbearable - Pain in our yoga practice

Author: Jez Heath
Pain is without doubt an integral part of yoga practice. But is it really something that should be avoided at all costs? Of course pain is our body's way of telling us that it's not comfortable with the posture we're holding. Throughout our practice we should be conscious and listen to our body's messages. To really start gaining the benefits of yoga we need to practice to make the unbearable bearable.

There's pain, and then there's PAIN
Before going any further, it's important to understand that there are two different types of pain we can experience when practicing yoga and our reaction to each should be very different.

The first kind of pain is bad pain, and should be avoided to prevent serious injuries. Bad pain is a sharp shooting pain that we could experience as we enter into the posture or if we suddenly adjust our alignment while in the pose. Bad pain basically indicates that we are not in the pose correctly or we are aggravating a previous injury. If we experience bad pain then we should exit the pose and seek guidance before trying again. Common locations for ban pain to occur are the relatively weak knee joins, and our back.

The other kind of pain is 'good' pain. This is typically felt in the muscles as we stretch, lengthen, extend and hold asanas. Good pain is the kind of pain we need to experience and overcome as we progress on our yoga journeys.


Why does there have to be so much pain?
Pain comes when the body is not familiar with the exertions being placed on it by an asana. By submitting, surrendering and relaxing into the pain we can pass it and our bodies will become able to perform the asana more easily and without pain.

Many yoga teachers encourage their students to practice yoga without discomfort or exertion. Such an approach to the practice may make it more enjoyable, but we are not practicing yoga solely for the pleasure of the experience. By looking only for an enjoyable yoga experience we restrict ourselves to practice within our comfort zone. Without confronting or extending the limits of our body's ability we will not improve our yoga practice or receive all the benefits that yoga has to offer.


Through practice it becomes bearable
Rather than run from, or avoid the inevitable pain of asana, there is much to learn from it. This does not mean that we should suffer and hold the asana or move deeper into the asana before the body is ready. But you should listen to your body, persevere and face the challenge of overcoming the pain rather than run from it convincing yourself that you're just not able to practice that asana.

While we should not hide from the pain, we should not fight against it either. Rather we should find ways to make the pain bearable by submitting to it and relaxing into it.

Start with the parts of the body where resistance is most evident. Relax your face, your forehead, your eyes and mouth. This helps to relax the mind to stop your brain fighting against the pain. With a clearer mind, bring awareness to your body to understand the causes of the pain. If you have poor alignment, correct it. If the muscles are tight, fighting the asana, relax them.

You can relax further by understanding your breathing habits. Fast tense breathing leads to tension in the mind and body, which leads to resistance to the asana. Try to slow and lengthen your breath to help you relax and clear you mind, and relax deeper into the posture.


Learn about yourself
Yoga can tell us as much about our approach to life in general as it can about our physical abilities. By observing and understanding our approach to pain in yoga, we can start to understand how we approach discomfort, adversity, set-backs and failure in our general life.

By modifying our approach to the pain of yoga, we hope to eventually erase the pain completely. Using these principles to make behavioural changes to our general life, maybe we can erase some of the pain there too.

Being able to understand our reaction to pain and modify that approach requires time in each posture so we can become fully aware and reflect on what we are experiencing. To achieve this you need to follow a practice of deep stretching where each position is held for longer. This is exactly our approach at Total.Yoga.Practice. To find out how we can help you benefit from pain in your practice, visit us at www.TotalYogaPractice.com
This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_135970_23.html

Jez Heath is helping real people to achieve the health benefits that yoga has to offer, even if they can't make it to yoga class. To find out how online yoga video instruction can help you commit to a regular exercise routine necessary to improve your health, visit http://www.TotalYogaPractice.com