Archive for March, 2008

Written By Thaddeus Johnson

Try doing yoga exercises for stress relief and keeping the body in shape. Have you been searching for a program or practice to help make a healthier and better you? Yoga has been practiced for many years and found to be very effective in stress reduction as well as keeping the body fit. This is a wonderful and fulfilling way to build a foundation of inner peace when experiencing difficult times and at the same time transform the body to have more range of movement and strength.

Find a yoga instructor and class that will work best for you

Being a newbie to yoga, it will not be a quick cure for any difficult situations you may be experiencing. Yes, it does amazing things to the mind and body but it takes time to embrace its importance. Simply put, yoga is a way of life. You become part of yoga as yoga becomes a part of you.

It is very important in selecting the right style/class and instructor to help guide you on your path of well-being. There are different styles being taught, so it would be wise to do some research. You can find information online, advice and referrals from family and friends, or go to the studios and observe a class. Take the time to get information from the instructors if time permits. Check to see if the instructors are certified. A good certified instructor might be able to help with certain range of movements in the event of past injuries or surgeries and to prevent undue injuries in class.

Inner peace and flexibility

Yoga is not a competitive exercise. You might find other students quite flexible way beyond what you can perform but that is their level of skill. Your attention should be focused on what your capabilities are and how you can create more expansion both mentally and physically. Yoga gives you the opportunity to become “one” with yourself through relaxation, meditation, breathing and stretching, making it possible for the mind and body to be in balance and harmony.

The exercises will make it easier to let go of the “mind chatter” that can clutter much thought and will allow space for higher consciousness and flexibility in the body. As this unfolds, you may experience calmness and clarity. This can be quite beneficial in that it may give you greater insight in managing difficult situations effectively. As you become relaxed when doing the exercises or poses, you will find that the body is able to transcend limits of movement. Yoga is important because it helps lengthen, strengthen and creates room for the body to move freely.

Find your balance

Though there are other ways to combat stress and tone the body, yoga has been instrumental in improving the lives of many individuals. Let yoga be the gateway to finding your balance and a healthier life.

About the author:

Thaddeus W Johnson is a writer who enjoys providing online shoppers with valuable information for purchasing and the benefits of shopping online. Discover great savings on products such as yoga t-shirts, health, beauty and much more.

C 2008 Thaddeus W Johnson

Written By Dustin Bartholomay

Yoga helps depression in many ways. There is no doubt that yoga helps depression. Because of the somatic relationship between the body and mind yoga is perfect for addressing depression. The attitude of depression affects the overall structure of the entire body. When the body takes on the minds depression it takes the posture of depression. Yoga is effective in treating depression because it takes the whole being into consideration rather then only one part. Typically western medicine treats the symptoms of depression instead of going to the root of the problem. Depression starts with a thought. The mind takes on the attitude of this pattern and then body soon follows repeating the pattern of the mind into the structure of the body.

Four ways that yoga helps with depression:

1. One of the main ideas of yoga is to bring balance into our lives. Yoga creates balance in the structure of the body that leads to balance of the mind. Depression is like leaning to far of to one side, it only becomes easier to fall into it the closer you get. Being depressed causes the mind to become obsessed with a particular thought pattern. So in yoga we stand evenly on both feet. This balances our body that leads the mind to balance and out of depression.

2. Practicing asanas makes us strong, flexible and resilient. As these qualities move into our body the mind takes on the similar patterns. With time yoga helps us develop strength to push through depression, flexibility to accept changes in how we believe things should be and resilience to get up every day and carry on.

3. All body fluids and tissues are oxygenated through yoga practices. Watch your breath and notice if it is shallow. Because depression is shutting down our ability to absorb life it is closely related to our breathing pattern. The more depressed you are the shallower breaths you will take. Just try to take a few deep breaths while you are depressed. You will notice instantly you feel better. As you breath deeper can you feel the weight of depression wanting to shut down the breath? Don’t let it continue to breath deep.

4. Yoga changes our body’s alignment. Notice when you are depressed that it’s hard to sit up straight. This downward pull is depression. In fact if you could just sit up straight for a while your depression would gradually ease. It’s impossible to have a upright posture and be depressed at the same time. If you really want to be depressed hunch over and drop your head forward, this is depression. Body is not separate from the mind. With yoga practice you don’t only understand this concept you put it into action.

Depression is a serious condition that is capable of worsening over time. Get help and surround yourself with friends and family. You can do it! Remember you are not alone we are all here together. We are the same and what one of us goes through we all experience on some level. Remember breath deep, take a yoga class, go for a jog or go dancing. Take one step at a time you will make it through your depression.

Dustin B. was born and raised in Mount Shasta CA. He has practiced yoga for over seven years and is a certified Ashtanga Yoga teacher.

For more information on yoga practices Click Here http://www.squidoo.com/yogaarticles

Written By Dustin Bartholomay

Yoga and stress are two opposite sides of life. A little stress is necessary to function and too much is be exhausting. On the other side a yoga practitioner sleeps less and has more energy. How is this possible? Yoga is concerned with relaxing the nervous system. One of the originators of yoga stated, “Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind”. When stress is happens the mind hammers a thought over and over. Yoga allows us to become aware of our own inner functions. In this way change happens from deep within our selves.

Here are four ways yoga helps manage stress.

1. One of the first things yoga says is to come back to your body and get out of your head. This by its self is enough to come out of stress. How a mind reacts to its surroundings determines how much stress the body takes on. By redirecting our attention to the body we avoid focusing on the things that are making us stressed out. To practice this start feeling any part of your body. Don’t worry if it’s not what you want it to feel like. At first it might be hard to redirect your attention towards your body sensations. This is resistance is partial habit and the stress it self. If you drift back into thoughts just recognize your thoughts and move your attention back to the body.

2. Watch your breath when you are stressed do you hold it? When we get stressed out it’s because we are hung up. This hung up transfers into the body as holding the breath. Yoga helps us to be aware of our breathing pattern. There are many yoga poses that stretch the breathing muscles that have become perpetually locked.

3. Yoga helps us find balance in or body and mind. Being stressed out is a imbalance of the direction our mind moves. Yoga draws or attention to the other parts of our selves that balance out stress. When we are stressed every thing else falls away and only the stress is in our stream of awareness. With time yoga can broaden our experience. With a broad view on things we can bring equanimity into day-to-day experience.

4. If you want to deal with your stress then spend time with your self not being stressed out. A daily yoga practice is a perfect chance to spend some alone time with your self. Use your practice time to pay attention to the subtler feelings that are arises from with. This way every day you get a mini vacation. Use your practice to spend time with your self with out all of the pressures of life.

It’s ok to be stressed out. Just remember don’t sacrifice your health other it. There is nothing on this planet that is that serious. Are you being serious all the time? This is no fun; your inner child is probably suffering because of it. So laugh, dance and free your mind.

Dustin B. was born and raised in Mount Shasta CA. He has practiced yoga for over seven years and is a certified Ashtanga Yoga teacher.

For more information on yoga practices Click Here http://www.squidoo.com/yogaarticles

Written By Dustin Bartholomay

Yoga does not create balance. Yoga teaches that balance is the zero point that all dualities arise from. For example right and left directions are relative movements from a shared center point. Two sides of one coin is another way to understand balance. In this case there is two and one depending on perspective. Leaning to one side in a yoga asana is equal to the amount of imbalance from the center. Yoga does not deal with dualities. This is evident by instead of treating disease yoga corrects the imbalance that causes the disease.

Balance of the body’s structure, in alignment to earth’s gravity, is the primary concern of Yoga. Because of habitually poor posture most bodies are perpetually out of balance in relationship to gravity. If a body is slumped over for years then opposing muscles are overworked attempting to hold the body up. To bring your bodies alignment in balance with gravity sway lightly forward and backwards slowly coming to a center point were there is no tension.

Yoga teaches that when the body is in balance with earth’s gravity the mind naturally becomes balanced. Patanjali describes this to be yoga’s purpose by saying, “Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind.” When the body is out of balance the mind is out of balance and vice versa. When the body becomes still the mind will naturally still. This is the same concept as Zen meditations “Just sitting.”

Emotions are energy in emotion. Yoga teaches that emotions become balanced when the mind becomes balanced. As the mind becomes balanced forgotten suppressed emotions arise into perception. These repressed emotions naturally balance themselves in a balanced mind. A practice called stopping demonstrates this principle. To practice this technique get mad then totally stop all body movement and remain perfectly still. Emotions are dependent on the body’s movement. When the body is held completely still anger is impossible. This is different then lying about emotions and repressing them. Rather this is the practice of non-reaction and non-attachment.

Yoga teaches that balance already here. To find your balance just stop. Not to say that stillness is the goal of yoga. Rather yoga teaches how to move into any situation from a point of stillness. In this way we always act from our full potential. Our wholeness is the balance point within us. This wholeness is our deepest self without all the extra programming. From our center point we have the potential to move in any direction at any time. As soon as a belief or an idea about how something should be like such and such then we have lost our center. Only let go and notice balance.

Dustin B. was born and raised in Mount Shasta CA. He has practiced yoga for over seven years and is a certified Ashtanga Yoga teacher.

For more information on yoga practices Click Here http://www.squidoo.com/yogaarticles

Written By Rohit Tomar
Gas, acidity, indigestion and constipation are so common today mainly because we take food when the body is not prepared to process it, as is when the breath is passing from the left nostril. This indicates that the right hemisphere of the brain, which controls mental activities such as planning and calculating, is active and not the left hemisphere that is responsible for physical activities such as digestion and elimination.

Food taken at that time is bound to be digested poorly. So check the flow of breath before a meal. If the left is flowing, wait for it to change naturally, (which normally takes about an hour) or do a simple yogic practice to change it. Kneel down and sit on your feet, placing the hands under the opposite armpits. Maintain the posture for 2/3 minutes.

Remove the left hand from the right armpit and check the flow. Continue the asana if it has not changed. Some people can’t breathe well through the right nostril due to either sinusitis or some problems. Such people have low digestive heat. The inner temperature can be raised through pranayama.

Visualizing a cracking fire in the pit of the stomach while eating is also helpful. Stress, too is responsible for improper digestion. Therefore it is essential to relax before a meal, which can be achieved quickly through the following practices:

1 Oum chanting. It has been seen that when oum is pronounced, the brain produces alpha waves indicating a relaxed state. If chanting aloud is not possible, thinking of the sound also helps.

2 Abdominal breathing (10 times). First breathe deep to fill up the abdomen i. e the lower part of the lungs;breathe more to fill up the chest and then deeper still to lift the shoulder up. To exhale, release air from the top, then the middle and lastly from the lowest part.

3 Mental anuloma-viloma (a minute or two). For this you only need to imagine that you are breathing in from the left nostril and breathing out from the right and then breathing in from the right and breathing out from the left.

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