Archive for the ‘Yoga’ Category
Learning the Yoga Basics
August 20th, 2011 | 
Author: Studying the yoga basics can really help you to understand the real essence of what yoga is all about. If you are interested in learning about yoga and how to perform it, starting with the basics is the way to go. This will help you decide if this type of exercise is right for you. For starters, you can search online for resources that teach about yoga and its different aspects.
What will you get from studying basic yoga?
1. The basic poses
Through yoga basics, you will learn the poses and forms needed to get you on your way to a healthier life. You can try out some of the classes in your local community centers. These classes provide you with an easy introduction to yoga and from here on out, you can decide if you still want to continue or not.
Efficiency In Work Is Yoga!
Sometimes, what a voluminous book cannot explain can be explained in a single sentence! It is true about yoga. Yoga is not a mere word; it is a vast subject with many dimensions.
The wise saying goes, “Yoga karmasu kaushalam!‘-which means, ‘Efficiency in work is yoga!”
What you do is not important. How you do what you do, is important!
Yoga also means union. What union? Whether union between the body and the mind? Or the mind with the spirit? The traditionally accepted belief (or truth, depending upon the level of your spiritual progression) is the union between the Jeevatman and the Paramatman– between one’s individual consciousness and the universal consciousness.
Tags: Assertions, Belief, Benefits of Yoga, Efficiency, Explanations, Fundamental Principle, Human Body, Impossibility, Intellectual Health, Karma Yoga, Many Dimensions, meditation, Mental Health, Silence, Small Articles, Spiritual Appreciation, Spiritual Progression, Universal Consciousness, Wise Saying, yoga, Yoga and Work, Yoga Meditation, Yoga Yoga, Youngster | 
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How To Perform Yogic Exercises
When you have decided to start with your yoga practice, it is imperative for you to learn how to perform a pose properly. Thus it is advisable for you to find a right teacher who will guide you in the correct manner of performing these poses. Since yogic exercises involve the static and isometric contraction of the muscles, where the muscles are held in a state of tension without causing the corresponding body part to move; it is important to note that the stretching or contraction of the muscles should not be done abruptly or suddenly. You should endeavour to reach the final pose as slowly as you can, so that there is a steady rise in the tension of the muscles. Always reach the final posture slowly through the intermediate postures. Master all these postures slowly one by one.
The movement of each body part should be done under complete control of the muscles exercised. This is achieved only after practicing for a certain period of time. There should be no jerks or violent movements. Each step should be executed easily, smoothly and gracefully. Initially, when you start learning the yoga, there is a tendency to use muscles not concerned with the specified movement. But over a period of time with due practice, you can eliminate the unproductive muscular activity. As you progress, you’ll learn to use only the specified muscles for contraction or stretching while the other muscles are kept relaxed.
Yoga Promotes A Healtheir Life
What goes on in the body when you are doing your asanas? Most of us realize that yoga increases and maintains flexibility, strengthens muscles and increases one’s stamina. All forms of yoga invite the participant to attend to their breath and notice the inward quieting. Most individuals who participate sense a uniqueness in this movement form. Many of us are satisfied with just sensing this, leaving an explanation of how it affects our bodies and spirit to the realm of the mystical.
Those who seek to understand how things work ask:
What effect does yoga have on one’s physicality? When one assumes and holds a yoga posture, this act of stretching and bending at the joints facilitates feedback to the central nervous system. This is done by means of beds of proprioceptive nerve endings located within the joints and muscles. Proprioceptors provide information about position, direction and rate of movement as well as the amount of muscle tension in a locality.
Three reasons you should not do Cobra
The Cobra Pose – (Bhujangasana)
“The Cobra pose destroys all diseases and increases body heat”.
In a Sanskrit language Bhujanga means a cobra hence the name, mostly used in the West. In the Bhujangasana the body is facing downward while the upper body is curling up and back resembling a snake with its head raised ready to strike. This pose is mostly practiced as the first in the series of backward bending asanas followed by Locust and Bow postures.
Before attempting this powerful movement of the Cobra pose the warm up of the muscles of the back is strongly recommended. During holding the pose the legs do not remain passive; they are extended down from the hips. While you start lifting your upper body from the floor be aware of the point where you have extended as far as you can without straining your back. Keep your elbows slightly bent and do not push it up over your zone limit. The best way to check if you are not too high is to take your hands off the floor for a moment so that the height you find will be comfortable and safe.
During Bhujangasana the spine receives a powerful backward stretch which increases flexibility of the spine, strengthens the spine and rejuvenates the spinal nerves. Each vertebra of the spine is given a rich supply of the blood. This posture is excellent tonic for women as it tones the ovaries and uterus and it helps to alleviate the menstrual problems. By regular practice of the Cobra pose the backache can be removed.
Three important reasons not to do the Cobra pose:
1) This asana should not be attempted by pregnant women at all cost.
2) A person suffering from Hernia should not practice this pose.
3) If you have injured your back please, avoid this posture.
Issued in the interest of people practicing Hatha Yoga by Subodh Gupta, Yoga Expert based in London.