Archive for February, 2011

Yoga is an effective exercise that has proven beneficial for improving children’s mental and physical health, as well as their overall well-being. When children are young, many interesting stuff tend to divert their attention, but yoga practice and breathing exercises can also benefit hyperactive children.

Children are trained several poses which can be useful to their own health. Various types of yoga as well as kids yoga burlington are separated into mostly two elements. Part one is typically for students and also beginners. With these two parts children are trained both easy physical and mental activities and techniques. They help children in attaining their optimum capability in both their current and future living. Workout for youngsters up to the age of 6 and below years are required to last for about 1 minute and providing a maximum time the entire workout to be about fifteen minutes. For anyone whose ages are approximated to be 6 years and over should take about 1 and a half minute of training or exercising lasting to a period of 25 minutes. The kids should pose in a correct method, have a perfect breathing skills though efficiency is not required in children yoga.
I love giving kid-sized adjustments in Savasana, as long as that is OK with the kid and the facility, of course. I always give kids the option of touch, and ask that they show me with a thumbs-up in their starfish if they’d like a third-eye massage or other adjustment. I state that only still and quiet starfish can receive the Third-Eye massage, that still body language is what will tell me they are ready. This point, when stuck to, will maintain a calm Savasana moment. Don’t be afraid to swim by starfish who are wiggling!  A Third-Eye massage consists of a gentle temple massage followed by a light touch on the third eye, with or without lotion.

Yoga calm and Yoga Kids

Posted by admin On February - 21 - 2011Comments Off

Yoga is also a fun way to spend time with your children is a simple manner. There are many companies now that offer Yoga lessons, including Rainbow Kids Yoga, Karma Kids Yoga, Yoga calm and Yoga Kids just to mention but a few.

It is important for the youngsters to do warm up for their muscles before starting the actual action or exercise of yoga especially when the yoga is energetic. You should ensure that the tummies for the children full before beginning the yoga workouts, this could result in constipation. It should be noted that youngsters must never be compared since different children have various abilities. In inspiring children you must join them afterwards once they start. Yoga in kids works well for developing their calmness, developing their curiosity and creativeness, helps in the maintenance and expanding of kids consciousness and even building their self-esteem and self-confidence. It is usually important to remember that kids yoga burlington must be enjoyable and you must make it as basic and as open as you can.

After the wiggles have been released, a few sun salutations have been explored to warm up the body, and maybe we’ve breathed deeply to center, you can encourage students to sink further into their poses by making stillness a game. Pick a balancing pose or standing posture (Warriors are a favorite for this) and see Who Can Hold the Pose the longest. If you prefer not to add an element of competition to the practice, students can compete with themselves.  Find your shape, ring the bell, and begin counting. I’ve been utterly amazed by how long students will hold poses in this way. While counting, this gives us time to really “clean up the poses.” (ex. 30…is your knee over your ankle?…31…) Students have time to hear alignment points they might not otherwise. If a lot of time is going by you can step up the game by adding variations, or encouraging deeper poses. Often I’ll ask my standing Warriors to sink deeper down and will show them what this means. Or perhaps our Tree Poses will turn into Windy Trees, with arms extended and a slight “wave” in the branches, all the while keeping balance. In yoga, we always seek symmetry and the kids know this, so whatever pose we do on one side we’ll do on the other. This means another chance to try holding your pose as long as you can. Remind students that yoga is a “practice not a perfect” and that falling is OK, as is letting go of the pose earlier rather than later to rest. This is a great teaching point, too… A for effort, not perfection.

Yoga Is Beneficial For Children

Posted by admin On February - 21 - 20119 COMMENTS

Yoga is beneficial for children as it helps bring peace of mind in situations and circumstances that would otherwise provoke anger. According to research, children who have the opportunity to learn these vital skills earlier in life can control their emotions as adults.
There are a variety of poses utilized in building sets of children yoga. There are various yoga poses performed by kids including yoga archer’s pose which is perfect for psychological focus energy and most of all vitality. Yoga mountain pose is another one and this involves standing up tall reaching up the sky. It can help in stretching out the entire body and increasing kids bodies. Yoga tree pose is a pose that builds speed and equilibrium; in addition it develops the brain and its awareness. Sri rama pose which is known as giving blessings to other. It acts as a portion of leaning to give and also commitment. Yoga jumping is regarded as popular in children yoga. It start with a mountain pose then follows jumping with closing and opening your arms consecutively. Children yoga can also be done while seated. Yoga rock-n-roll is a pose for children yoga performed while seated. Other styles of seating position yoga exercises include yoga bowing pose, yoga baby pose, yoga shoulder shrugs, yoga bear walking and also yoga bridge pose.

 If you try to impose stillness and silence on a room full of 7-year-old jumping beans, they will grow even more energetic and chaos will ensue. Don’t fight the energy and the truth of what’s happening in front of you, but go with it. Didn’t someone say, “What I resist persists?”   

I often start my classes by gauging kid energy levels. If the room is measuring in the hyperactive range, we begin class with energy releasers. I LOVE playing Jello with kids even before the more controlled movement of Sun Salutations. Start in Mountain pose and count down from 3. 3-2-1 Jello!  Jello “pose” means wiggling, as fully and completely as jello itself in the old Bill Cosby ads. Remind students that the jello must stay in the “bowl”, i.e. the mat, but can be as silly and crazy as needed.  Variations include gluing both feet to the ground and playing “jello” with only your body, wiggling arms, your head, letting your lips flutter. Can you “jello” with only your face? Get all the wiggles out, but keep one ear open for the ringing of the bell or Tibetan singing bowl. The ring means to Freeze!  Can you freeze on the spot?  Can you freeze in a Tree pose or Dancer? Maybe you freeze in any way your body wants to, then look down at your body and figure out what “pose” you’re making.  I’ve heard some really creative on-the-spot pose inventions in this way. Yogis have frozen in Statue of Liberty pose, and Artist!

From Yoga to Chimpanzees

Posted by admin On February - 18 - 20118 COMMENTS

–California Congressman Darrell Issa wants to make sure none of the funds will be used to study the impact of integral yoga on hot flashes in menopausal women, nor to study “condom use skills” in adult males, nor to investigate whether video games improve mental health for the elderly.

–Colorado Rep. Jared Polis — who at Amendment No. 427 just missed the more appropriate No. 420 by a few spots — wants to defund investigations and prosecutions of people manufacturing, distributing or possessing marijuana.

–Arizona Rep. Trent Franks is trying to make any aid to Egypt contingent upon their allowing free navigation of the Suez Canal.

–Mr. Jeff Fortenberry, a congressman from Nebraska who has been involved in human rights issues, wants to forbid the use of funds in “sterilization campaigns.”

–Congressman Dan Burton of Indiana is anxious to see that no money is used to gather free-roaming horses or burros, except when absolutely necessary.

–As if to top Burton’s interest in the animal kingdom, Maryland Rep. Roscoe Bartlett is aiming to see that no funds should be used for grant agreements or contracts that allow or encourage the breeding of chimpanzees.

Qigong-definition

Posted by admin On February - 18 - 201115 COMMENTS

As consumers embrace an integrative approach to medicine, certain practices and therapies are becoming more commonplace.   This glossary is meant to introduce you to a wide variety of healthcare tools.

Note: These treatments have not necessarily been proven effective, and they may not be right for your situation or condition. Always consult your physician before beginning a new therapy.

Acupuncture is based on Chinese traditional medicine. It is the strategic insertion of fine needles into points on the body’s surface for the purpose of stimulating healing. This practice is believed to promote the healthy flow of “Qi” or life force, through the body.

Acupressure/Shiatsu is based on Chinese traditional medicine. It involves using pressure to release tension and increase circulation, strengthen weaknesses and relieve or prevent certain ailments. This practice is believed to promote the healthy flow of “Qi”? or life force, through the body.

Alexander Technique consciously changes body posture to improve physical performance, prevent injury, promote ease and freedom of movement, and lessen stress on the body. It was developed by F.M. Alexander in the 1890’s to alleviate throat and vocal cord distress.

Allopathic medicine employs a method of treating disease with remedies that produce effects different from those caused by the disease itself. This term generally refers to the conventional western medical model, which relies heavily on the use of pharmaceuticals.

Aromatherapy uses concentrated essential oils of various plants for therapeutic purposes, particularly for the relief of pain, stress, nausea and anxiety. Oils may be administered through massage, inhalation, compresses, and baths.

Art Therapy involves the creation of art in order to increase awareness of self and others. This in turn may promote personal development, increase coping skills, and enhance cognitive function. It is based on personality theories, human development, psychology, family systems, and art education. Art therapists are trained in both art and psychological therapy.

Biofeedback is based on psychophysiological (mind-body) laboratory research and trains patients to observe shifts in their bodily functions by using electronic monitors (i.e., heart rate, respiration, blood pressure, muscular tension, and brain activity). With this focus, patients learn to adapt and modify their mental and emotional responses to alleviate symptoms and regulate specific conditions.

Chiropractic seeks to restore normal function of the nervous system, usually through manipulation of the spinal column and other body structures.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy is a form of psychotherapy that emphasizes the substitution of desirable thinking patterns for maladaptive ones.

Dance Therapy asserts that the state of the body has a positive or negative affect on our feelings. It seeks to help the patient uncover and express illness, injury, or emotional and physical trauma through movement, with a goal of integrating, confronting, and accepting these issues.

Exercise includes any physical activity that promotes muscle tone and/or cardiovascular fitness. Physical activity has long been recognized as beneficial, but only in the 1970’s did scientific evidence emerge to support these beliefs.

Feldenkrais Method ® was developed by Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, an Israeli physicist and athlete, and employs exercises intended to increase the body’s range of movement, reduce stress, improve posture and flexibility, and allow functioning with greater comfort.

Herbal Medicine (botanical medicine or phytotherapy) focuses on using plant-based materials to treat specific symptoms or diseases. It is based on centuries of formulations from many different cultures and traditions.

Homeopathy advocates that “like cures like,� meaning that small, highly-diluted quantities of medicinal substances are given to cure symptoms, even though the same substances given at higher or more concentrated doses would actually cause those symptoms.

Hypnosis teaches patients to use a deep relaxation state to address issues such as smoking cessation, weight loss, pain relief, or self-improvement.

Imagery relies upon the patient’s imagination to enhance or promote healing. The patient, often guided by a practitioner or tapes, involves all of the senses (imagining sights, sounds, tastes, smell and kinesthetic bodily sensations) to achieve specific health and life goals.

Massage Therapy uses touch and tissue manipulation. There are many different forms including relaxation massage, sports massage, remedial massage, Shiatsu, and reflexology.

Meditation/Relaxation can be traced back 3,000 years to Indian yogic practices and is also found in Christian literature and Jewish mystical traditions. It invokes a self-induced, qualitative shift in the state of one’s consciousness, with related changes in cognitions and feelings that contribute to an enhanced sense of physical and emotional well-being.

Music Therapy uses music to both improve general wellbeing and to meet the needs of those experiencing stress, pain, communication difficulties, emotional trauma, memory loss, and physical rehabilitation.

Naturopathic Medicine is a system of medicine that believes in the body’s natural healing forces. Naturopaths maximize those forces using dietary modifications, massage, exercise, acupuncture, homeopathy, minor surgery, and other interventions.

Nutritional Therapy focuses on eating or eliminating particular foods, vitamins, and nutrients for therapeutic benefit. Although food has always played an important role in different medical traditions, modern nutrition is based on early 1900’s research that discovered dietary essentials (vitamins) beyond carbohydrates, protein, fat, and minerals.

Osteopathy is a system of medicine based on the theory that disturbances in the musculoskeletal system affect other bodily parts, causing many disorders that can be corrected by body manipulation. Osteopaths also employ conventional medical, surgical, pharmacological, and therapeutic procedures.

Pharmaceutical (Pharmacotherapy) treats disease primarily through the use of drugs.

Psychiatry is a branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental and emotional disorders.

Prayer is an act of communion with God, another being or object of worship, and is practiced by a wide variety of religions to promote spiritual, mental, and physical wellness.

Qigong is a Chinese practice using movement, affirmations, breath work, visualizations and meditation, to improve the flow of “qi” or life force, restore internal harmony, and restore the practitioner’s harmony with nature.

Reiki is a form of laying-on-of-hands based on the theory that universal life force (ki in Japanese) energy can be channeled for healing. It is based on Eastern healing philosophies that assert the existence of an unseen internal life force that maintains mental, physical, emotional and spiritual wellness.

Rolfing ® is a system of connective tissue manipulation based on the theory that rebalancing and realigning the body with the earth’s gravitational force results in more energy, increased breathing capacity, and alleviation of chronic pain.

Tai Chi is a Chinese system of physical exercises that is believed to facilitate the flow of Qi (life force) in the body, promoting good health and vitality. Tai Chi utilizes movements that are Yin Yang opposites: softness and strength, forward and backwards, action and calm.

TENS is an acronym for Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation, which applies a low voltage electric current to a localized area. This electrical current stimulates the nerves in the area, promoting healing and pain management for certain conditions.

Therapeutic Touch is based on the theory that a practitioner can facilitate energy exchange by using his/her hands as a focus for relaxation, which in turn promotes health and healing.

Trager Approach ® focuses on movement re-education, or encouraging the mind to recognize new sensations through the tissues. Practitioners believe that this awareness of movement and lessons in deep relaxation promote wellness.

Yoga is a physical practice of stretching the body in different ways, focusing one’s attention, and becoming one with the universe. It uses body, breath and senses to reconnect the practitioner with the universe and move emotions and thoughts into stillness.