Posts Tagged ‘yoga works’

Benefits of Yoga – How Does Yoga Help Your Body and Mind?

Sunday, July 3rd, 2011

yoga teacher trainingBy Faye Martins

Living in a fast-paced, stress-filled society, most people find that they are anxious even while trying to rest and sleep. Anxiety and stress have become an accepted part of life, although they can both be unhealthy for the mind and body. Yoga can help a person eliminate or reduce the chronic stress and anxiety that one feels so that he or she can begin a journey toward complete holistic health.

The postures practiced in Hatha Yoga, as well as the controlled breathing exercises (pranayama) and meditation employed in its practice, are perfect for helping the body eliminate anxiety and stress. Yoga works both the mind and the body, seeking balance and peacefulness in both. Yoga poses help to increase flexibility and strength while teaching the body to push to its limits and relax at the same time. As a Yoga practitioner follows a series of poses, this is a form of teaching the body to expel all tension and relax.

Controlled breathing teaches the practitioner to control the internal energy, since breath and energy are intimately tied together. When a person has control of the breathing, one also has control of the mind and body, making it easy to fall into a relaxed, meditative state.

Since the goal of meditation is to clear the mind so that it can become alert and present in the moment, one of the things a person must do during meditation is to identify the thoughts that are causing worry, fear, and concern. At this point one learns to let go of these thoughts. As a person learns to empty the mind of these thoughts and to turn negative thoughts into positive ones, he or she begins to relax and fall into a deeper meditative state.

Practicing Yoga helps to eliminate the constant stress and anxiety most people experience because the Yoga poses demand complete focus and concentration. To achieve each pose correctly and hold it, a person needs to stop thinking and worrying about outside things. For the moment, the only thing that matters is the balance of the pose.

The meditative aspect of Yoga is also vital in providing relief from stress and anxiety. A mind that is struggling with anxiety and stressful ideas cannot be fully at rest. Since meditation seeks to clear the mind of all negative ideas, the person who is successful at this practice achieves inner peace during relaxation. This inner peace, however, is not limited to the moments set aside for meditation. It actually affects the person’s whole life, since one becomes able to deal with worrisome situations in a calm manner. That balanced, peaceful mind allows each of us to remain still and quiet within – even during emotional situations that might usually be upsetting.

Yoga allows us to become aware of the way thoughts and feelings impact us on a mental, emotional, and physical level. Yoga drains the stress away from the mind, and it also eases the tension resulting from stress from the body. Breathing meditations performed three times a day will help the practitioner maintain inner balance and peacefulness.

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Chair Yoga – Can it Help You?

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

By Kathi Duquette

You might think you can’t practice yoga because you are not steady on your feet, you have chronic pain, your balance is off kilter, or you have difficulty getting up and down, but you might be wrong. Chair Yoga can be a safer alternative to people with disabilities, chronic pain, or people who don’t feel steady enough to practice on their own.

The stress relieving practice of breathing into gentle stretches can ease some of the anxiety related to chronic pain and disability. If we can alleviate some of the stress, we might be able to change the perception of the pain. The circle of pain: chronic pain and the mental anguish that comes along with it, never allows your body or brain to rest. By bringing awareness and relief to some of the mental stress we hold onto, we can erase some of the stress and maybe even alleviate some of the pain.

As we age, sometimes we feel less sure of ourselves. We are afraid to fall and we might not feel strong enough to move through a series of poses. In chair yoga we use the chair as a base for standing poses or we can even transform standing poses into seated poses. When we feel safe and secure, we worry less about injury and focus more on the body we are trying to make feel better.

When teaching any yoga class, I want my students to keep every stretch safe. Adjusting the pose to fit your body instead of forcing into a pose is a general mantra (a mantra is a saying or slogan) of mine. Chair yoga works along the same idea.

Practicing chair yoga can bring the same benefits as a full yoga practice. The idea is that the breathing and awareness practice is the same; we are simply adjusting the poses so that we are more comfortable in them. You can’t really pay attention to your body and connect with your muscles stretching if you are unsteady and afraid to fall over or if you have chronic pain and that is all you can think about.

You should, of course, check with your doctor before trying this or any other new form of exercise. Many doctors will encourage you to move sedentary muscles. The breathing practice is also usually encouraged by doctors because it increases lung capacity and releases toxins from your lungs.

If you simply practice the mindfulness and breathing you can gain enormous benefits from your practice. Add in some gentle stretching and you can feel the stress leave your body. We don’t realize how we contract muscles when we hold onto stress, either mental of physical. If we can let go, even a little, we can be rewarded with less stress, a lighter body, more confidence and maybe a little less pain.

Bringing yourself into the present moment allows you to feel your body.

Try this: Sit in a chair and rest your feet on the ground. With your spine lengthened as much as you can comfortably, rest your shoulders down. Close your eyes and just breathe. Try to forget about anything else that you need to do or anywhere that you need to go. Take two minutes for yourself right now. Let your breath travel over and into your muscles. Simply be aware of how your body feels at this moment.

Notice how your body feels, but don’t judge it or be angry at it – simply be aware of which parts feel good and which parts maybe not so good. Now, inhale and let the fresh breath fill your upper body with air like a balloon. And exhale all that air out of your lungs. Take three deep breaths like that. Relax and breathe normally and notice how your body feels with each relaxed breath.

You just practiced mindfulness. It is as simple as that. When you start moving into gentle stretches you just breathe into them. The safety of the chair allows you to relax and enjoy the sensations of your movements. The focus lets you be aware of how your muscles feel in any stretch so that you can adjust it accordingly.

Chair yoga offers all of the benefits of a full yoga practice without the worry. Chair yoga can be found in many community or senior centers and in some yoga studios. Many nursing homes offer chair yoga classes as do adult day care facilities that care for people with severe disabilities. If it helps these people, maybe it can help you too.

Please make sure you are working with a qualified instructor who is CPR certified. Let your instructor know if anything ails you so that he or she can direct you during some of the poses to safe modifications.

Practicing chair yoga can give you confidence, stress relief, and build strength and vitality. Let someone give you those gifts. You deserve it! Check with your doctor and find a chair yoga class near you.

By Kathi Duquette

Certified Yoga Instructor

Certified Personal Trainer

http://www.basic-yoga-information.com

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Health Benefits of Yoga

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

Tree Pose - Yoga    Written By Sucharita Ray

Yoga, originating from the Sanskrit word “Yug” means to bind, to join, to attach and yoke. This in its practice typically translates to the union of the body, mind and soul. It is in this holistic approach to well-being that yoga adopts, lay its endless health benefits.

Yoga offers postures or asanas that can work every joint, muscle, ligament and tendon of the body. When done together, in the correct order and under knowledgeable guidance, these seemingly unrelated postures work in harmony to massage all the internal glands and organs of the body in a thorough manner. This stimulation and massage of the organs in turn keep away disease and often provides a forewarning of a likely onset of disorder.

HEART

According to recent research from the Yale University School of Medicine, practicing yoga for an hour and a half three times a week can make your heart healthier in just six weeks. Various yoga postures and controlled breathing techniques forces higher oxygen absorption in the blood within a shorter time. This ensures supply of richer blood to cardiovascular muscles thereby helping combat coronary artery disease and keeping the heart healthy in general. Sustained yoga practice also lowers cholesterol through increased blood circulation and burning fat.

Asanas that are excellent for the heart include the mountain, warrior, triangle, tree and lotus poses. The controlled breathing technique of Kapaalbhati also helps keep the heart healthy.

RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

The structured breathing exercises like alternate nostril breathing help clear the nasal passages which reduces sinusitis and allergy symptoms. Yoga also lays much emphasis on correct and complete breathing and uses the entire upper body for it. Thus the ability to take a complete breath can be hampered by tightness around the shoulders, back, chest and abdomen. Yoga postures stretch and strengthen these areas and encourage deep full breathing. This helps reduce the respiratory rate that indicates better functioning of your lungs.

Other than breathing exercises asanas that help open the thoracic cavity are raised legs, bridge, wheel, cobra and mountain poses.

SPINE AND CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

Successive asanas in a solid yoga routine reverses the muscular stretches of the previous ones. Yoga uses free weight i.e. your own body weight for strength training. These two factors increase spinal flexibility and ensure overall brilliant spinal health. Yoga reduces spinal compression and helps overall body alignment to reduce back pain. Additionally, yoga’s ability to lower levels of cortisol helps keep calcium in the bones, thereby reducing chances of osteoporosis.

Postures known to reduce lower back pain include pigeon and cobra poses. The half plough, spinal twist, wheel, bow, mountain poses are recommended for overall spinal health. The standing wheel pose in particular is known to correct mild scoliosis or curving of the spine. Yoga has a specific group of postures, like Bramha’s pose, specially designed to stretch and tone the neck muscles, a group usually overlooked in other forms of exercise.

Yoga stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system which lowers blood pressure and slows the pace of your breathing allowing relaxation. Downward facing dog stretch, shoulder stands, torso twist, bridge and half moon poses may help relieve pain associated with sciatica. A new study indicates that yoga can help elevate brain gamma-amino butyric (GABA) levels. Low GABA levels are associated with the onset of Alzheimer’s. Focusing on stress reduction, breathing, and restoring overall balance in the body may help prevent epileptic seizures.

LYMPHATIC SYSTEM

Since yoga works on the usually neglected muscles and body parts it is encourages the functioning of lymphatic system. Headstands, spinal twists and inversions help remove toxins and flush important lymph around the entire torso.

ABDOMINAL ORGANS

Sustained practice of yoga encourages better posture that helps the digestive and elimination systems to work more efficiently. It not only increases blood flow to your digestive tract but also stimulates intestinal action so digestion is more efficient. The calming effect of yoga relaxes your digestive system and leads to more effective elimination of entrapped gases.

Some asanas improve the blood circulation to the hepatic cells, sensitizes lymph nodes supplying your liver and remove toxins from the peritoneum and hepatic regions. A healthy liver helps reduce cholesterol, promotes better digestion and blood metabolism. Yoga helps your muscles absorb the extra blood glucose in your body, thus allowing the pancreas and liver to work more efficiently. It also encourages your pancreas to produce more insulin, which can help to reduce your blood sugar levels. Since a balanced yoga routine stretches every muscle of your body it keeps fat from accumulating all over your body. These factors make yoga extremely beneficial for diabetic patients.

Postures recommended for the abdominal region include Kapalbhatti, spinal twists and half plough, raised leg, leg lock, boat and thunder bolt poses.

KIDNEYS

Certain yoga postures like the warrior pose is extremely beneficial for kidneys as it stretches your lower abdomen, activates your large intestine, prevents constipation and enhances urination. Other asanas good for the kidneys and urinary tract are half plough, boat, wheel and rise and squat poses. Kapalbhatti breathing due to its basic detoxifying effect helps regulate the kidneys.

MIND

Yoga not only works the body but also the mind. Since much of yoga revolves around structured breathing and holding a posture, yoga practice forces you to look inward and requires astute concentration. This helps control a wandering mind which in turn increases self awareness and acceptance. The positive self image thus generated combats depression. Meditation and controlled breathing exercises can calm the mind. Improved blood circulation to the brain coupled with stress reduction and improved concentration results in a better memory.

Breathing deeply in a headstand increases blood flow to the brain and stimulates the pituitary gland, which helps relieve mild depression. Other asanas recommended for excellent emotional well being include corpse, bridge, palm tree, warrior and child’s pose.

OTHER HEALTH BENEFITS

Arthritis – The slow, conscious movements associated with yoga help relieve arthritis symptoms. Due to the low impact nature of yoga postures, gentle pressure is exerted on the joints and chances of injury is much less compared to other forms of exercise.

Cancer – Yoga has proved to increase red blood cells in the body. This helps cancer patients fight anemia, nausea and fatigue better during chemotherapy.

Migraine – Rhythmic breathing exercises help relieve migraine attacks.

Menstrual cramps – Certain yoga postures stretch and tone the vaginal muscles. Squat and rise pose is especially helpful in reducing menstrual cramps and regulating periods.

Though yoga has multiple health benefits it true value lies in the quality of life it endorses. Through continued yoga practice you will achieve better control over your mind and body. This sense of complete happiness is a yogi’s total health reward.

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