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Yoga

The Lotus Posture (Yoga Exercise)

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BENEFITS

Effective For liver disorder . It is considered as the best posture for concentration and meditation.

HOW TO DO THE EXERCISE.

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Lotus warm-ups
Sit with spine erect and soles of the feet together, heels close to the body. For the Ankle-knee pose, press your knees forward with a straight back. For the Butterfly, right, clasp your feet and move your knees up and down.

Those who are biginers, it seems to be little diffucult at first, but gradually it becomes easy.

The lotus

1.To assume the Lotus position, start by sitting with your legs out in a “V” shape in front of you, with spine erect. Bend one knee and bring the foot in, placing it high on the thigh. Now bring the second foot in. If you place it under the opposite thigh, you form the Half Lotus.

2.The Half lotus(Ardha Palmasan) which is easier at first, and can be used for meditation and pranayama until your legs are more supple. For the full Lotus, you lift the second leg in over the first placing the foot high on the opposite thigh. In the classic Lotus, the left leg is on top, and the knees touch the floor.

3. Close your eyes,place your hands and fingers as shown in the picture.

4. Take one or two deep breathing and try to concentrate your mind on a particular object.

5. Stay in this position for some time and then take out the legs and stretch, take little rest.

6. Now repeat the lotus again just by altering the leg positions.

Source:Allayurveda.com

Categories
Yoga

The Plough(Yoga Exercise)

Benefits
Effective for Asthma, Back ache, Depression, Sciatica, Headache, Sexual debility Rheumatoid Arthritis, Bronchitis, Sinus, Congestion,Premenstrual tension etc.
One who practices this Yoga exercise regularly improves his or her splin and lever functions.It helps the Thyroid and Tonsil glands to function properly. This exercise is very suitable for maintening a balanced weight  also.

How to perform the Exercise

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1. Lie down on your back with your legs together and your palms on your sides.
Inhale & raise your legs up.

2. Exhale first and then inhale.

3. Bring your hips up off the floor.

4. Support your back with your hand, keeping your elbows as close to one another as possible.

5. Without bending your knees, exhale and bring your legs down behind your head.

6. If you cannot yet touch the floor with your feet, keep on breathing in this position.

7. If your feet comfortably reach the floor, walk them as far behind your head possible.

8 .With your feet curled under, push your torso up and your heels back.

9. Now clasp your hands together.

10. Breathe slowly and deeply.


Caution

If you have breathing difficulties, hernia or are having nasal congestion, do not attempt this exercise.

Source:Allayurveda.com

Categories
Yoga

Yoga

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Most people, specially from western worlds, think of yoga as merely an eastern exercise program. Nothing could be further from the truth. The underlying purpose behind the practice of yoga – the literal meaning of yoga is `joining’ – is to reunite the individual self (Jiva) with the absolute or pure consciousness (Brahma).

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Union with this unchanging reality liberates the spirit from all sense of separation, freeing it from the illusions of time, space and causation. Since according to yogic philosophy the human body and mind are part of the illusory world of matter, with a limited time span, while the soul /spirit is eternal and passes onto another world when this body wears out. Thus, central to yogic philosophy are the concepts of Karma (cause- effect relationships) and Reincarnation.

Yoga is therefore regarded as a divine science of life, revealed to enlightened sages in meditation. First textual mention in the Vedas was corroborated by oldest archeological evidence of seals from the Indus Valley dating back to around 3000 B.C. The Upanishads that followed the Vedas provide the main foundation of Vedanta philosophy (that espouses the idea of an absolute consciousness called Brahma) and yoga teachings.

Around the sixth century B.C. appeared the massive epic The Mahabharata written by sage Vyasa and containing The Bhagavad Gita. Apparently a set of battlefield instructions on one’s duties in life, they are very allegorical in showing how the challenges of life have to be faced – so much so that it is often considered the best book on management ever written. The Gita contains yoga terms and concepts to enable the reader face life similarly.

The backbone of Raja Yoga is furnished by Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, thought to have been written in the third century B.C. The classical text on Hatha Yoga, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika which describes the various asanas and breathing exercises which form the basis of the practice of modern yoga, was compiled much later by a yogi named Svatmarama.



In the modern perspective, Yoga is one of the most effective and wholesome forms of experience to control the waves of thought by converting mental & physical energy into spiritual energy. Yoga eases away pent-up tension, rejuvenates the body & soul, enhances concentration, cures diseases and keeps a hold on the aging process.


Preventive Value

* Yoga helps to bring natural order and balance to the neuro-hormones and metabolism in the body.
* At the same time, these exercises improve endocrine metabolism, thus providing you with a preventive shield.

Curative Value

* Yogic postures activate the energies that have accumulated and stagnated in the energy pockets of the body – since left inert, these energies create various ailments.
* Yogic exercises cleanse your body, mind and consciousness by venting toxins from the body

Principles of Curative Yoga
——————————–
Abstinence (yama)
Observance (niyama)
Posture (asana)
Regulation of breath (pranayama)
Withdrawal of Senses (pratyahara)
Concentration (dharana)
Meditation (dhyana)
Super Consciousness (samadhi)


1. Proper relaxation

Releases tension in the muscles
Helps letting go of all worries
Ensures conservation of energy
2. Proper exercise
Yoga postures – to be performed as per body constitution.
Yogic consultation is a must.
Correct postures work systematically on all parts of the body. Stretching and toning the muscles & ligaments. Keeping the spine and joints flexible. Improving the blood circulation.
3. Proper breathing (pranayama)
Brings an extraordinary balance in the consciousness
Teaches you to control your mental state by regulating the flow of the life force.
4. Proper diet
Chart out a well-nourished balanced diet.
Keeps the body light and supple and the mind calm.
Resists ailments.
5. Positive Thinking & Meditation

Removes negative thoughts. Stills the mind.
You attain super-consciousness. A state beyond time, space and causation.

Source:www.allayurveda.com

Categories
Ailmemts & Remedies

Anorexia (loss of appetite)

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Anorexia means loss of appetite. It is a symptom of disturbed digestion and common results from failure of activity of the stomach and secretion of gastric juices due to low vitality which, in turn, can be due to various causes. .....click & see

Person suffering from this disease may refuse to eat .Generally they suffer from Insomnia also. Root causes :

People suffer from anorexia when they habitually take a faulty diet and hardly do any physical work. It may cause from physical stress and strain. It also can be caused by mental or domestic worry, emotional disturbances. Difficult working condition and nervous disorder also may cause Anorexia. General body disorder and diseases also lead to this condition.

Symptoms:
Person suffering from this disease may refuse to eat .
Generally they suffer from Insomnia also.

Click to see & learn more about Anorexia

Remedies:

Herbs Help to heal the desease: Lime, Ginger, Garlic, Orange and Apple

Ayurvedic Supplements : Agnitundi Bati, Kshudhakari Bati and Amalki Rasayan (Link to buy in internet)

Diet : The only effective treatment of anorexia is thorough cleansing of the digestive tract, and adoption of the sensible diet thereafter, along with a change in the style of living .To begin with the patients should fast on orange juice and water for first three to five days. After the juice diet the patient may adopt a all fruit diet for a further five days, taking three meals a day of juicy fruits, such as apples, pears, grapes, oranges, pineapple, peaches at five hourly intervals. Thereafter he may adopt a restricted diet of easily digestible foods, consisting of lightly cooked vegetables, juicy fruits, and buttermilk for about ten days.

Lifestyle : During the first three to five days of the juice fast, the bowels should be cleansed with a warm water enema each day. The poisonous matter will thus be eliminated by this self – cleansing process.

YOGA: The Lotus (Padma Asana),Basic Breathing (Pranayama) & Vajrasana
(It is always adviced to practice YOGA under the guidance of an expart for beginers)
The Lotus (Padma Asana)
——————————
Benefits of the asana

Effective For liver disorder (hidden lotus)

Lotus warm-ups

Practising these bhadrasana poses will help you to achieve the lotus. Sit with spine erect and soles of the feet together, heels close to the body. For the Ankle-knee pose, press your knees forward with a straight back. For the Butterfly, right, clasp your feet and move your knees up and down.

The lotus:
To assume the Lotus position, start by sitting with your legs out in a “V” shape in front of you, with spine erect. Bend one knee and bring the foot in, placing it high on the thigh. Now bring the second foot in. If you place it under the opposite thigh, you form the Half Lotus
The Half lotus(Ardha Palmasan) which is easier at first, and can be used for meditation and pranayama until your legs are more supple. For the full Lotus, you lift the second leg in over the first placing the foot high on the opposite thigh. In the classic Lotus, the left leg is on top, and the knees touch the floor.

Basic Breathing (Pranayama)
—————————

Yogic breathing or pranayaam revitalises the body steadies the emotion and creats great clarity of the mind. Yoga breathing exercises are performed sitting down with the spine neck and head in a straight line in the lotus pose.

Kalpabhati is a kriyas of purification besides being a pranayama. The forced exhalation rids the lower lungs of the stale air making way for a fresh intake of oxygen rich air in cleansing the entire respiratory system. This is a wonderfully invigorating exercise to begin your pranayam. By increasing the amount of oxygen in the body its effect is to clear the mind and improve concentration.

Kalpabhati

Benefits

Effective for cardiovascular problems.
To clear the mind and improve the concentration
Description of the asana

Sit in ardha padmasana (lotus )–But if you have knee ache,sit on a bench or chair.Keep the feet crossed on a rug or a carpet.
Take two normal breaths.
Inhale, Now exhale, pulling in your abdomen and inhale, relaxing your abdomen.
Repeat 20 times, keeping a steady rhythm and emphasising the exhalation each time.
Inhale fully and hold your breathe as long as you can.
Slowly exhale.
Anuloma Viloma

In this alternate nostril breathing exercise, you inhale through one nostril, retain the breath, then exhale through the other nostril in a ratio of 2:8:4. If you are really healthy, you the will breathe predominantly through the Ida nostril for about one hour and fifty minutes, then through the other nostril. But in many people this natural rhythm is disturbed. Anuloma Viloma restores an equal flow, balancing the flow of prana in the body.

Description of the asana

Close your right nostril with your thumb and keeping it closed breathe in through the left nostril counting up to four.
Hold your breath and count to sixteen while opening the right nostril and closing your left with your third finger.
Breathe out slowly through the right nostril to a counterfiet.
Repeat the exercise but breathe in through the right nostril and out through the left.
Brahmari

It’s a kind of meditation which improves concentration memory and confidence. This extended exhalation makes it a very beneficial exercise for pregnant women, in preparation for labour. Sometimes known as the humming breath, Brahmari also gives a sweet clear voice and is highly recommended for singers.

Description of the asana
To practise Brahmari

You partially close the glottis as you inhale through both nostrils, making a snoring sound
Then exhale slowly, humming like a bee.
The inhalation clears and vibrates the throat area.
Humming while you breathe out, enables you to spin out the breath and make a longer exhalation.
You should repeat Brahmari five to ten times.

Vajrasana
———
Benefits

1. It ensures digestion and
prevents excess wind formation.
Caution

Those suffering from knee pain should not practise this asana.

Description of the asana

1. Sit on your knees keeping them together.

2. Draw both toes together, and with heels apart, sit on them.
Keep your hands straight on the respective knees.

3. Breathe normally with your spine straight. Relax your hands
and release the legs

4. Now lie on your back or stretch your legs in front with hands
at the back and relax.

5. Take rest for 10 counts and repeat.

6. Do this two times.


Source:allayurveda.com

Categories
News on Health & Science Therapies

Laughter, the best medicine

Laughter by David Shankbone

Image via Wikipedia

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If Dr Madan Kataria has his way, all IT and BPO offices in Bangalore(INDIA)will have a laugh room soon. “Instead of taking coffee and cigarette breaks, the employees will take a laughter break. It gives an equally good high, says Kataria, who runs a School for Laughter Yoga in Mumbai. (India)

Kataria is not joking. Last month, he conducted research with 30 employees in two Bangalore-based IT firms to determine the effects of laughter therapy on people suffering from work stress. We measured the stress levels of the employees before and after a laughter yoga session, says Kataria. The researchers found that stress levels reduced significantly after an hour of laughs and yogic exercise.

Kataria is still tabulating the findings of the research. Once that is done, he plans to float a proposal to start laughter yoga sessions in software firms — known for erratic hours and work stress.

Kataria believes a good guffaw a day keeps the doctor away. Laughter is a natural cure for many ailments like asthma, gastric ulcers and certain sexual disorders, he says. It helps asthmatics because laughter improves lung capacity and oxygen levels in the blood, explains Kataria. If you laugh uninhibitedly, it clears all pent-up negative emotions and helps keep the mind clear, boosting the immune system and relaxing the body, adds the laughter yoga proponent.

At a time when medical drugs and self-help literature rule, Bangalore boasts of 160 laughter clubs ” the highest in any Indian city, according to B.K. Satyanarayana, founder, Bangalore Laughter Clubs. As work related stress is on the rise in Bangalore, more and more people are heading to laughter clubs. People are realising the benefits of a simple hearty laugh, says Satyanarayana. He adds that on an average, each club has over 50 members.

Daylight is yet to break as people start streaming into an open area near Ulsoor Lake, in the heart of Bangalore. The mostly middle-aged members of the local laughter club start the session at 6 am sharp. It takes off with a prayer which is followed by a Namaste laughter — that is, laughing with folded hands.

The one-hour session is a mix of yoga and laughs. Each yogic exercise – which includes pranayam, kapalabhati and bhastrika — is followed by stimulated laughter, each of which have names like ‘one meter laughter’, ‘forgiveness laughter, ˜break dance laughter and the ˜AK-47-without-a-bullet laughter.

L.G. Vishwanath Shetty, who anchors two clubs in R.T. Nagar, Bangalore, says his club members have mastered 40 ways of laughing. “One meter laughter is when you laugh at a stretch. Forgiveness laughter is when you hold your ear lobes and laugh looking at someone, as if to say that you have forgiven and forgotten,” explains Shetty.

Newcomers to the club admit it is not easy to laugh for no reason. Madhav Swamy, who recently enrolled at a laughter yoga club, says he initially felt odd when he was asked to break into peels of laughter for no reason. “I felt awkward,” says Swamy. But I gradually grew out of my inhibitions. Watching 50 people bend backwards and laugh heartily is very infectious, he adds.

B.K. Satyanarayana feels laughter is a much-needed medicine in a world that is turning into a dreadful place to live in. Unhappy news and negative thoughts abound today. We are trying to break the seriousness of life and alleviate stress through laughter clubs, he says. Satyanarayana calls laughter the easiest form of meditation.

The physical benefits of laughter are an added plus-point. More than 70 per cent of all illness has some relation to stress. These include high blood pressure, heart disease, depression, insomnia, migraine, anxiety, allergies and peptic ulcers, says Kataria.

Researchers have found that laughing increases the count of antibodies present in the mucous membranes of the nose and respiratory passages. This means that people who laugh a lot catch fewer colds and chest and throat infections. Also, a laugh a day strengthens the human body’s immune system by increasing the count of natural killer lymphocytes, a type of white cell and raising the level of antibodies, he adds.

Laughter is also an effective pain killer, claims Kataria, adding, “Laughing increases the level of endorphins which is a natural pain killer. So it reduces the pain from migraine, spondilitis and arthritis.

There is good news for those who want to look good. Laughter tones up facial muscles and increases blood supply to the face and thus gives it a glow. Laughing can make you look younger, claims Kataria, adding, “But the biggest benefit of laughing is the bonhomie it creates among people. If people laugh together, they bond better and shed ill will.

Clearly, laughter therapy is no laughing matter
.

Source:The Telegraph (Kolkata,India)

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