Archive for October, 2010

Yoga – Anxiety Arthritis Asthma

Posted by admin On October - 31 - 20103 COMMENTS

Yoga can help manage anxiety, arthritis, asthma, blood pressure, carpal tunnel syndrome, chronic fatigue, depression, diabetes, heart disease, menopausal symptoms, migraines, multiple sclerosis, and osteoporosis.

And yoga is a slow-moving exercise that can help you to create awareness necessary to be in tune with your body. All that matters is that you do your personal best. If you can’t touch your knees at first, no problem: Postures can be modified to accommodate your current level.

And yoga can help us in so many ways. Recently, when Cait was having a mild asthma attack, a friend showed her a special yoga breathing technique that almost miraculously stopped the attack in its tracks. Who knew yoga could be good for asthma? And that’s just the beginning.

Practicing it is a beautiful way to help deal with Western cultural problems of incorrect posture, aggressive lifestyles, job stress, demanding family lives, overeating and indigestion, and stiff muscles and joints.

So many benefits of yoga include increased flexibility, clarity of thought, and improved muscle tone and strength, as well as improved balance, coordination, concentration, and oxygen intake.  Rubber yoga mat.

Three Yoga Poses You Should Learn

Posted by admin On October - 31 - 20104 COMMENTS

1.       Cobra Pose

This pose can strength back muscles and shoulders. It can help relieve stress.

DO LIKE THIS : Lying on your belly, draw your legs together “like the powerful tail of a reptile,” says Rodney, as you lengthen your legs vigorously from your pelvis to the tips of your toes. With your palms face-down next to the center of your ribcage and your elbows kept close to your sides, push down evenly with your hands and lift your chest, then belly, then pelvis off the floor. Keep your shoulders down away from your ears. Your hands and the lower part of your legs, from your lower thighs down to the tops of your feet should be the only parts of your body touching the floor. Arc your head back and look up toward the sky as you consciously lift your chest.

Focus on lengthening and opening up your spine. Most of the movement is from the chest, with the back and legs supporting the arching of your spine. “Don’t force it,” Rodney adds. “Be willing to spend time searching for the ease and articulation of your spine.”

2. Warrior

This yoga pose can develops strength, endurance, and discipline in the body and the mind.

DO LIKE THIS: Begin in Mountain Pose. Step your feet about three to four feet apart. Turn your right foot and knee outward from the top of your thigh. Your middle toe, ankle, kneecap, and center hip should be in a straight line. Turn your left foot in at a 45-degree angle.

Raise your arms to shoulder height, keeping your shoulders down, your spine extended, and your legs strong. Bend your right knee at a 90-degree angle, centering it over your middle toe. Keep your hipbones level, your spine long, and your weight evenly distributed between your legs. Don’t lean forward over your bent knee. Press into your forward heel and lengthen your spine up from your pelvis. Keep your shoulders down (don’t hunch them).Breathe for 5 to 10 evenly paced breaths.

3. Triangle Pose

This yoga pose can strength and tones the legs, hips and abs; relieves stiffness in the spine.

DO LIKE THIS: Begin in Mountain Pose. Step your feet three to four feet apart. Turn your right foot and knee outward from the top of your thigh. Turn your left foot in at a 45-degree angle and distribute your weight evenly across both legs. Inhale and raise your arms to shoulder height. Keep your shoulders down and stretch out from your core into your fingertips.

Exhale and extend your side body out over your right leg as you move your hips toward your back foot. Place your right hand on the floor next to your right foot, or on a yoga brick. Keep your back leg strongly rooted to the earth. Straighten your left arm overhead and look up toward your left hand. Breathe for 5 to 10 long, evenly paced breaths.

Rubber yoga mat – How To Choose it

Posted by admin On October - 29 - 20102 COMMENTS

Rubber yoga mat works towards providing the best of grip to you. And, exercises that need to be done while lying down require good support. It provides you full back support and does not let you slip. It even absorbs a good amount of sweat that you tend to expel from your body when performing yoga.

Sure,Rubber yoga mat is a must-have for those who are serious about pursuing yoga. Once you have decided to purchase a yoga mat, it is very important to learn certain things that would allow you opt for the best.

Here are certain steps to guide you on choosing the best yoga mat in order to facilitate you perform mats without any difficulty:

l         Avoid the cheapest

The most common mistakes people tend to make when purchasing a yoga mat is that they go for the cheapest. It is a blunder. Yoga supplies are not very expensive when you compare with expensive modern exercising machines.

These are very thin and do not provide the type of cushioning that you require for performing yoga. It will smell of chemicals and not let you breathe pure. These mats are made of phthalates. Leaving this mat inside a car is also harmful as it tends to expel harmful chemicals when hot. Additionally, plastic yoga mat is not environment friendly.

l         Jute mats

Cork or Jute yoga mats are environment friendly. However, these end to absorb sweat when you start practicing yoga. This result in a bad smell that may distract you while practicing. Additionally, these tend to get weak over a period of time.

l         Rubber yoga mats

This can be a real money saver and environment friendly yoga mat. It is available widely across the globe. However, if you are allergic to latex or rubber, you need to go for another option.

l         Pilate mats

These are also an excellent source for performing yoga. These are thicker and provide you the kind of grip that you require. It will prove beneficial in saving your hips, elbows, shoulders and spin from certain contact injuries.

When choosing a yoga mat you need to consider the crucial points provided below: Carefully consider whether the yoga mat you are purchasing can hold up to repeated washings. The yoga mat you purchase should lay flat on the floor. An ideal yoga mat should be able to shake off lint and dust easily. Make sure that the yoga mat prevents your feet from slipping. You need to test whether you are feeling comfortable when lying or practicing on a yoga mat. Best yoga mat for you.

Yoga As Part of Their Treatment Plan

Posted by admin On October - 29 - 20103 COMMENTS

Rubber yoga mat. So many students have found relief from depression by consistently and patiently practicing Hatha yoga. Studies have also shown that by following a yoga practice you can significantly reduce stress and help to alleviate both anxiety and depression.

Maybe you’ve experienced feelings of sadness and melancholy when life offers up challenges you are ill equipped to handle. Suddenly an invisible weight settles onto your shoulders and darkness depresses the vitality of your mind. One day you wake up, attempt to get up out of bed and realize that all the joy in living has gone, leaving you isolated on a barren island with no escape. Little by little you draw deeper into yourself, neglecting friends and family, food and exercise, seeking to stop the unbearable pain of living.

This type of tamasic condition  responds well to physical movement and deep breathing exercises. A Vinyasa flow style yoga class would be beneficial by opening the heart in backbends, lengthening the spine in forward bends, massaging organs and glands as the body revolves and twists, grounding the feet and challenging the mind to focus in balancing postures.

On the other hand a rajasic condition is ruled by anxiety, fear and anger. The mind is constantly racing, while the body remains tense, restless and agitated. Burning off energy in a Power yoga style class may work for some, while others will respond better to a more relaxing, restorative style of yoga. Maintaining a focus of the eyes helps to take the mind off the constant tape loop of negative thinking. Here too, breathing exercises are an important part of lifting depression.

For many people it is a discovery to find that they are unconsciously holding their breath much of the time. Rubber yoga mat.

By regulating the flow of breath we can choose to stimulate or pacify our system as needed. This can take some time to learn, but should be integrated into your daily practice of yoga.

Many people are beginning to see yoga as an approach to healing and doctors are beginning to recommend yoga as part of their treatment plan. However, it is important that you find a qualified yoga instructor who has been trained to assist students suffering from depression.  One such therapeutic approach is Yoga Therapy, which refers to the adaptation and application of Yoga techniques and practices to help individuals facing health challenges. Yoga therapists adapt specific regimens of postures, breathing exercises and meditation techniques to suit an individuals needs. Eastern concepts and techniques meets Western medical knowledge to restore balance to the mind, body and spirit.

Something about physical benefits of Yoga

Posted by admin On October - 25 - 20103 COMMENTS

The information given in this article is compiled from many sources and it is meant to answer common questions about yoga. Something about physical benefits of Yoga.

  1. Proper circulation of blood and oxygen can be done by practicing yoga in your daily routine.
  2. Almost all the yoga postures are responsible for strengthening your hands, legs, feet, lower back, abdominals, shoulders and mind.
  3. It helps you to improve the flexibility in your body and mind. The stretching exercises of yoga help your muscles to stay limber, helping the muscle joints, tendons etc.
  4. People suffering from rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis will find some improvement in the pain and stiffness by practicing yoga regularly.
  5. The athletic forms of yoga like power yoga, ashtanga yoga, Bikram Yoga and vinyasa yoga help in improving the endurance if practiced regularly. Unlike other yogasanas, these asanas are considered as great cardiovascular workouts and help in improving strength.
  6. If you want to relieve your neck pain and chronic back pain, then hatha yoga can be one of the best yoga workouts to help reduce your pain.
  7. After treating the injury, yoga helps you to heal from many injuries like pulled hamstrings, minor skin burns, back and knee injuries and repetitive strain injuries.
  8. One of the best weight-bearing exercises is yoga. Yoga helps in improving the density of your bones. This is helpful for women to avoid bone thinning by improving bone density.
  9. Yoga is considered as one of the best ways to reduce your blood pressure. Yoga includes various asanas which help you to improve the flow of blood in an even manner while you focus on breathing.
  10. Yoga can do a great favor to those who are suffering from cholesterol problems. Practicing yoga regularly helps in lowering the cholesterol.