Archive for the ‘Yoga’ Category
Yoga Poses To Firm Your Butt – Video
Posted: July 30, 2014 at 6:49 pm
Yoga Poses To Firm Your Butt
Yoga Poses To Firm Your Butt - http://www.howdoyougetleanmuscle.net Yoga not only helps you to balance your body and mind, but it also helps you to stretch and strengthen your muscles. If...
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Yoga Poses To Firm Your Butt - Video
Horoscopes – August 2, 2014
Posted: August 4, 2014 at 3:49 am
Happy Birthday: Consistency will be key in reaching your goals and achieving the success and recognition you want. Focus on self-improvement rather than trying to change those around you. Feuds or disagreements could arise if you aren't willing to compromise at least some of the time. Make choices backed by facts, figures and experience. Look inward before criticizing others. Your numbers are 3, 10, 17, 27, 36, 40, 46.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Make positive changes. Get involved in activities and events that interest you. Expand your circle of friends and look for ways to increase your knowledge and expertise. Socializing will lead to romance and a positive lifestyle change. 3 stars
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You will have a tendency to overreact or to take on too much. Personal change must be done for the right reason. Ulterior motives are present and questionable. Don't let your emotions interfere with what's best for you. 3 stars
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Plan a day trip or a neighborhood party. Expanding your circle of friends will lead to exciting new opportunities and a change in the way you do things at home. Good fortune is heading your way. Embrace the future with optimism. 5 stars
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Put time and effort into self-improvement. A creative outlet will help you calm your emotions and ease your stress. Look for a way to turn something you enjoy doing into a prosperous venture. Love is in the stars. 2 stars
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Don't take on so much that you aren't able to fulfill your domestic obligations. You owe it to those who depend on you to take care of business before you pursue personal pleasures. Organization will help you fit everything into your busy schedule. 4 stars
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Ease into any obligation with caution. Helping others is fine, but not at the expense of ignoring your needs. A last-minute change of plans will influence the way someone feels about you. Show compassion and nurture important relationships. 3 stars
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Anything that will help you get ahead professionally should be dealt with before you move on to personal plans. Being responsible will boost your reputation and a consideration for advancement will result. Don't let personal demands hold you back. 3 stars
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Observe what others do and say. Taking a back seat or spending your time quietly working on home improvement projects will keep you out of trouble and help you raise your standard of living. A physical transformation will result in compliments. 3 stars
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Financial opportunities are present. Focus on your assets and how you can make them grow. Home improvement projects or a residential move will help you build a solid and stable economic future. Charity begins at home. 4 stars
Continued here:
Horoscopes - August 2, 2014
Amazon Is Giving Away 30 'Self-Improvement' Paid Apps For Free For The Next Two Days (AMZN)
Posted: at 3:49 am
Hey, Kindle Fire owners (or anyone who is thinking about getting a new Fire Phone): Amazon is giving away 30 "self-improvement" apps for free.
The selection covers a wide range of topics, including recipes, workout tips, games, educational stuff, and budgeting resources.
Amazon says if you download all of the apps that it's giving away for free, you'll be saving more than $100. One of the apps,Language Coach, is $9.99 by itself.
The bundle of apps will only be available for free on Thursday and Friday before they return to normal prices.
One of the complaints about Amazon's new smartphone was that the app ecosystem wasn't robust enough, so this move gives it an opportunity to prove that while it may not have some of the more "name brand" apps, it has plenty of its own alternatives.
Last month, Amazon had a similar two-day free window for some of its most popular apps.
Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through his personal investment company Bezos Expeditions.
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Amazon Is Giving Away 30 'Self-Improvement' Paid Apps For Free For The Next Two Days (AMZN)
Dustin Johnson quits to 'seek professional help for personal challenges' and is likely to miss Ryder Cup
Posted: at 3:49 am
Clearly, the statement leaves more questions than answers, with the Europe captain, Paul McGinley, saying it would simply lead to a lot of speculation and rumours.
Things will be said that are not true, McGinley said on Sky Sports. Its much better for everyone if there is clarity. If something has gone wrong and he has been misbehaving, lets put it out on the table and get it dealt with and move forward.
Watson was rather more political in his statement. We will certainly miss Dustin Johnson at Gleneagles, and we wish him the best, he said. As one of the longest hitters in the game with an undefeated record at Medinah in 2012, he has clearly been an asset for the US team.
It is fair to say Johnson has something of a chequered past. He was arrested as a 17-year-old for buying bullets that were later used in a gang murder and was in trouble again in 2009 this time as a member of the PGA Tour for driving under the influence. Johnson is seen an unfulfilled talent in the golfing community, with his penchant for the party scene often blamed.
His long-time coach, Butch Harmon, handed him an ultimatum in 2011.
We had a come-to-Jesus conversation about getting his personal life in order, Harmon said. I was very blunt. I told him he needs to figure out who he is and how committed he is to utilising his talent. And that when hes playing tournaments he needs to eliminate some of the, shall we say, extra-curricular activities. Hes a fun-loving guy, I realise that. But theres a time to play and a time to work.
In May 2012, Johnsons agent, David Winkle, insisted his client had not been serving a drugs suspension from the PGA Tour when he spent three months out of the game.
For Watson, the loss could be significant, particularly if the conditions are wet and the emphasis is on distance. Johnson finished 12th at the Open two weeks ago and fourth in Junes US Open.
On Monday, he pulled out of this weeks WGC Bridgestone Invitational citing personal reasons, which many took to mean he wanted to spend time with his fiance, Paulina Gretzky, the daughter of ice hockey legend Wayne.
Now we know the reasons were more serious. It could cost Johnson millions as he was in fourth place in the FedEx Cup, which boasts a 6.7million prize for the winner.
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Dustin Johnson quits to 'seek professional help for personal challenges' and is likely to miss Ryder Cup
Tom Brady ready to get to work in Patriots camp
Posted: at 3:49 am
FOXBOROUGH, MASS. Despite 11 trips to the playoffs, five Super Bowl appearances and three Super Bowl wins over the past 13 seasons, the New England Patriots are as hungry as ever.
It starts with Tom Brady. The quarterback from Michigan enters his 15th season with the Patriots, yet continues to seek self-improvement.
I dont think you ever have it all figured out, Brady said Thursday after the teams first practice of training camp. You try to come out here and you work hard to put yourself in a good position and to compete, and when you get a chance and you get your opportunity, youve got to go out and make it happen. Its really everybody. Theres nobody thats immune to it. Youve got to put the work in. Youve got to give it everything youve got, and like I said, hopefully on a daily basis you continue to make improvements. This game is a very humbling game. You cant ever think that youve got it all figured out. Youve got to go out there and prove it every single day.
How is Brady different now from when he entered the league?
The thing thats so impressive to me is how he comes back every year like hes a first- or second-year guy, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said. Hes got that glimmer in his eye. He knows camp is ready to start. Hes excited about everything: from staying at the hotel to meeting forever, to coming out and working in 90-degree heat. Theres no dropoff and I think thats a great thing for a lot of our young players to see.
But theres been frustration too. The Patriots have lost three AFC championship games and two Super Bowls since 2006. Theyve been on the cusp of the franchises fourth title, but havent broken through.
Because of that, the veterans set the tone on the practice field.
I think thats one of the biggest things thats going to help us as a team is when we come out and you see Tom Brady competing and getting pissed off that he threw an incomplete pass and you see Jerod Mayo or Darrelle Revis mad because somebody caught a pass, thats competition, defensive tackle Vince Wilfork said.
The young guys look at that and say, You know what? For me to be successful in this league, I have to practice like that. We have a bunch of guys that lead by example because they dont say much, they just go out and do it. Great group of guys but we have to put it together on the field. Thats the goal: put it together on the field. Today is the first day. We have a long way to go.
The offseason addition of Revis puts the Patriots among the top teams in the AFC, but the return of Wilfork (torn Achilles), tight end Rob Gronkowski (torn anterior cruciate ligament), defensive tackle Tommy Kelly (knee) and linebacker Jerod Mayo (torn pectoral muscle) gives the team valuable pieces it missed during last years playoff run, when it lost to the Denver Broncos in the AFC title game.
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Tom Brady ready to get to work in Patriots camp
Yoga Journal Beginning Yoga Step by Step 3 Natasha Rizopoulos #Collagevideo – Video
Posted: August 3, 2014 at 7:47 am
Yoga Journal Beginning Yoga Step by Step 3 Natasha Rizopoulos #Collagevideo
Find this DVD at http://www.collagevideo.com/ https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/112108799219893788698/112108799219893788698/posts Yoga Journal #39;s Yoga Step-by-Ste...
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Yoga Journal Beginning Yoga Step by Step 3 Natasha Rizopoulos #Collagevideo - Video
Yoga Journal Beginning Yoga Step By Step with Natasha Rizopoulos (3-DVD set) #CollageVideo – Video
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Yoga Journal Beginning Yoga Step By Step with Natasha Rizopoulos (3-DVD set) #CollageVideo
Find this DVD at http://www.collagevideo.com/ https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/112108799219893788698/112108799219893788698/posts Contains Sessions 1, 2 3. Fro...
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Yoga Journal Beginning Yoga Step By Step with Natasha Rizopoulos (3-DVD set) #CollageVideo - Video
Yoga Fusion Workout: Total Body Strength & Flexibility – Video
Posted: at 7:47 am
Yoga Fusion Workout: Total Body Strength Flexibility
Yoga Fusion Workout: Total Body Strength Flexibility with Kim Haegele is a unique Yoga/Pilates hybrid workout that is designed to burn fat, build power, in...
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Yoga Accessories, Mats & Yoga Studio Props …
Posted: November 4, 2015 at 3:44 am
Our biggest goal is to help you reach yours with a variety of props and accessories for your practice. Yoga Props will not automatically make your studio time more successful, but accessories can pave the way to getting to that one last inch to stick a pose. We created Yoga Accessories to help you get to your best. By having the right equipment and accessories, you can focus on what is most important: the journey to improvement. Yoga Accessories and yoga props can help improve your practice by giving the extra inch you need to hold that pose or feel you chest open for the first time. We want to see the community thrive. When studios and individual practicioners do well, the whole community benefits. We've been a part of this group of awesome instructors and studios for over of 10 years and hope to lend a hand to yogis for years to come.
Thanks for sharing our love of the practice. If you have any questions about our props, feel free to give us a call at (888) 886-9642 or shoot us an email at customerservice@yogaaccessories.com.
Learn, Live & Do More with Yoga Accessories.
Whether you participate in power, Ashtanga, Vinyasa flow, or even Bikram, we have what you need to strengthen your practice. If you need highly absorbent mat towels, we have it. If you need more home & self instruction, we have pose decks, books, and CDs to make the transition to more of a home practice easier. We also have a HUGE selection of yoga mats and yoga props. If you can't find the right mat, give us a call. We can point you in the right direction.
And have we mentioned wholesale pricing? Low priced props get even lower when you buy in bulk. Check out each product page to see how much you can save. If you would like more information check out our section on Wholesale for Life. Discounts can range from 10% all the way up to 30% off of regular price. If you would like to place a larger order, give us a call to see how much you could save!
If you would like to learn more about the discipline, check out our blog. It's full of facts and tidbits of information to help you improve postures, eat healthier, have better meditation sessions, and more! Stay motivated. As part of our Facebook community, you'll get the inside scoop on all the best deals as well as industry news, inspirational stories, and quotes.
Join our yogi family by signing up for our weekly newsletters. Learn about weekly sales and what is going on in the world! Each week we highlight category for sales of up to 30% off! Does that not sound awesome?! Better still, you will receive 10% off your entire next order with us just for signing up.
We guarantee you that you will not find someone else that sells yoga props at a better value or quality. Our Yoga Accessories are the most used in the United States and Canada for a reason. Studios know they can count on us for discount yoga mats and other wholesale yoga supplies because that has been our mission from day one. We believe that studio owners' jobs are hard enough without trying to find deals. Yoga Accessories is here to make your life easier, your studio run better, and to give you yoga props that last. Discount yoga props are just one of the many ways we can help your business succeed. That is our value proposition to you.
Yoga, Benefits of yoga, Healing Effects of Yoga
Posted: October 30, 2015 at 8:44 am
Yoga The Benefits
Yogas primary emphasis is upon general well-being. Although yoga has been shown to be beneficial in a variety of conditions, it is not considered a therapy for specific illnesses. Rather, yoga employs a broad holistic approach that focuses on teaching people a new lifestyle, way of thinking, and way of being in the world. In the process, however, it is also found to bring a myriad of healing effects. By attending to practices for improving, regaining or retaining general good health, a person is likely to find that some of his more specific difficulties tend to disappear. Many of the healing effects of yoga is clinically verified. We will look at the healing effects of yoga. However, one of the most important benefit of yoga is its application in relieving stress, fatigue, invigoration and vitality and its anti-aging properties and its application for relaxation therapy.
According to Swami Sivananda, the benefits of pranayama (yogic breathing practices) include:
"The body becomes strong and healthy. Too much fat is reduced. There is luster in the face. Eyes sparkle like diamonds. The practitioner becomes very handsome. Voice becomes sweet and melodious"
Indra Devi, author of many books on yoga suggests that with yoga:
"You will be able to enjoy better sleep, a happier disposition, a clearer and calmer mind. You will learn how to build up your health and protect yourself against colds, fevers, constipation, headaches, fatigue, and other troubles. You will know what to do in order to remain youthful, vital and alert, regardless of your calendar-age; how to lose or gain weight; how to get rid of premature wrinkles, and keep a smooth skin and clear complexion."
Healing Effects of Yoga:
Yoga has been used for disorders such as:
Yoga is being assessed for its potential in treating illnesses such as:
Thousands of studies have shown that yoga can allow people to control a wide range of body functions, including
Studies show that people who practice yoga have:
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Health Conditions Benefited By Yoga
The following is a summary of the results of a survey conducted by Yoga Biomedical Trust in 1983-84. 3000 individuals with health ailments for which yoga was prescribed as an alternative therapy were surveyed. The results show that yoga is very effective for treating alcoholism, back pain, nerve or muscle disease, heart disease management, anxiety, arthritis, ulcers and managing cancer. The complete results are shown in the table below.
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Asthma
Studies conducted at yoga institutions in India have reported impressive success in improving asthma. For example, one study of 255 people with asthma found that yoga resulted in improvement or cure in 74 percent of asthma patients. Another study of 114 patients treated over one year by yoga found a 76 percent rate of improvement or cure and that asthma attacks could usually be prevented by yoga methods without resorting to drugs.
Yet another Indian study of 15 people with asthma claims a 93 percent improvement rate over a 9-year period. That study found improvement was linked with improved concentration, and the addition of a meditative procedure made the treatment more effective than simple postures and pranayama. Yoga practice also resulted in greater reduction in anxiety scores than drug therapy. Its authors believe that yoga practice helps patients through enabling them to gain access to their own internal experience and increased self-awareness.
A study of 46 adolescents with asthma found that yoga practice resulted in a significant increase in pulmonary function and exercise capacity and led to fewer symptoms and medications. Patients were given daily training in yoga for 90 minutes in the morning and one hour in the evening for 40 days. Practice included yogic cleansing procedures (kriyas), maintenance of yogic body postures (asanas), and yogic breathing practices (pranayama).
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Respiration Problems - Bronchitis and Emphysema
In an experiment conducted in Western Australia, 22 male patients aged 52 to 65 were selected. They suffered severe breathing problems such as chronic bronchitis, emphysema - that made normal breathing impossible.
Half of the men underwent standard treatment: physiotherapy, that included relaxation techniques, breathing exercises and general workouts to improve stamina.
The other 11 men were given a yoga teacher instead of a physiotherapist. He taught them techniques of yoga breathing, which encouraged the use of all chest and abdominal muscles as well as ten yoga postures.
The patients practiced their particular exercises for nine months. Then they were reexamined at the hospital: a technician tested their lung function, a physician screened them closely to determine how their symptoms had changed, and a stationary exercise bicycle was used to measure their capacity for exercise.
The difference between the two groups was striking. The men who had practiced yoga showed a significant improvement in their ability to exercise, but the physiotherapy group did not. Eight or more out of the 11 patients who underwent yoga declared that they had definitely increased tolerance for exertion and that they recovered more quickly after exertion The physiotherapy group reported no similar improvement.
Best of all, the patients who had studied yoga apparently gained the ability to control their breathing problems. A significantly greater number of patients reported that "with the help of yogic breathing exercises, they could control an attack of severe shortness of breath without having to seek medical help," according to the study.
Doctors analyzing the results from the study postulate that, after the training, the breathing pattern of the patients in the yoga group changed to a slower and deeper cycle, allowing them to tolerate higher work loads. Patients in the physiotherapy group continued in their shallow rapid breathing pattern. This may explain the higher tolerance breathing problems by the yoga group.
Other studies have confirmed the beneficial effects of yoga for patients with respiratory problems.
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High Blood Pressure
The relaxation and exercise components of yoga have a major role to play in the treatment and prevention of high blood pressure (hypertension). A combination of biofeedback and yogic breathing and relaxation techniques has been found to lower blood pressure and reduce the need for high blood pressure medication in people suffering from high blood pressure. In 20 patients with high blood pressure who practiced biofeedback and yoga techniques, five were able to stop their blood pressure medication completely, five were able to reduce significantly the amount of medication they were taking, and another four had lower blood pressure than at the beginning of the three-month study.
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Pain Management
Yoga is believed to reduce pain by helping the brain's pain center regulate the gate-controlling mechanism located in the spinal cord and the secretion of natural painkillers in the body. Breathing exercises used in yoga can also reduce pain. Because muscles tend to relax when you exhale, lengthening the time of exhalation can help produce relaxation and reduce tension. Awareness of breathing helps to achieve calmer, slower respiration and aid in relaxation and pain management.
Yoga's inclusion of relaxation techniques and meditation can also help reduce pain. Part of the effectiveness of yoga in reducing pain is due to its focus on self-awareness. This self-awareness can have a protective effect and allow for early preventive action.
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Back Pain
Back pain is the most common reason to seek medical attention. Yoga has consistently been used to cure and prevent back pain by enhancing strength and flexibility. Both acute and long-term stress can lead to muscle tension and exacerbate back problems. A number of components of yoga help to ease back pain:
* Asanas (Postures)-Practicing of postures provides gentle stretching and movements that increase flexibility and help correct bad posture.
* Pranayama (Breathing Exercises) -Breathing patterns can affect the spine in various ways, such as movement of the ribs and changes in pressure within the chest and abdomen. Exhaling can help relax muscles.
* Relaxation and Meditation- Relaxation provides a physiologic antidote to stress. Imaging techniques may also be used. For example, imagining a movement before it is actually performed makes it easier to move the muscles that are being used.
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Self-Awareness
Yoga also strives to increase self-awareness on both a physical and psychological level. This allows people to take early collective action, such as adjusting posture, when discomfort is first noticed.
Patients who study yoga learn to induce relaxation and then can use the technique whenever pain appears. Practicing yoga can provide chronic pain sufferers with useful tools to actively cope with their pain and help counter feelings of helplessness and depression.
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Mental Performance
A common technique used in yoga is breathing through one nostril at a time. Electroencephalogram (EEG) studies of the electrical impulses of the brain have shown dial breathing through one nostril results in increased activity on the opposite side of the brain. Some experts suggest that the regular practice of breathing through one nostril may help improve communication between the right and left side of the brain.
Other studies show this increased brain activity is associated with better performance and suggest that yoga can enhance cognitive performance. For example, a study of 23 men found that breathing through one nostril resulted in better performance of tasks associated with the opposite side of the brain.
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Diabetes
A study of 149 persons with non-insulin dependent diabetes found that 104 had lowered blood sugar and needed less oral antidiabetes medication after regularly practicing yoga. Because the patients were placed on a vegetarian diet during the study, however, the effect of yoga practice alone on blood sugar levels cannot be determined.
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Mood Change And Vitality
Mental health and physical energy are difficult to quantify, but virtually everyone who participates in yoga over a period of time reports a positive effect on outlook and energy level. A British study of 71 healthy volunteers aged 21 to 76 found that a 30minute program of yogic stretching and breathing exercises was simple to learn and resulted in a "markedly invigorating" effect on perceptions of both mental and physical energy and improved mood.
The study compared relaxation, Visualization and yoga. It found that the yoga group had a significantly greater increase in perceptions of mental and physical energy and feelings of alertness and enthusiasm than the other groups. Relaxation was found to make people more sleepy and sluggish after a session, and visualization made them more sluggish and less content than those in the yoga group.
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Arthritis
Yogas gentle exercises designed to provide relief to needed joints had been found to be very effective in relieving arthritis.
"Exercise has been recommended as treatment for arthritis for a long, long time -about 75 years," says Morris K Bowie, M.D., a rheumatologist at Bryn Mawr Hospital in Pennsylvania. "People were exercising their arthritic joints before yoga was ever introduced into this country. Exercise is very important to try to reestablish a complete range of motion. Of course, that doesn't mean you should induce a long continual strain. We encourage a moderate amount of non-strenuous, non-weight-bearing exercises tailored to the individual's needs. Some yoga postures are not tolerated well, particularly by those past 50."
Yogas slow-motion movements and gentle pressures reach deep into troubled joints. In addition, the easy stretches in conjunction with deep breathing exercises relieve the tension that binds up the muscles and further tightens the joints. Yoga is exercise and relaxation rolled into one - the perfect antiarthritis formula.
A major problem in prescribing exercise is in getting the patient to follow through. If an exercise program is painful and too strenuous, it isnt likely to be continued. An arthritis sufferer probably will be startled at the mere mention of the word "exercise." Yoga eases you into exercise without causing strain or undue pain. Even if you are only able to move an inch and hold a position for five seconds, you are already enhancing your body's flexibility.
Some physicians have long recognized the advantages of yoga like exercises. Dr. Bowie recommends the pendulum, an arm-swinging exercise "devised by an orthopedic surgeon' for bursitis and shoulder stiffness. He also favors deep-breathing exercising for ankylosing spondylitis, an arthritis related condition affecting the joints of the spine.
It is important not to overdo these exercises. It will do more harm than good. Start with a few of the simple stretches. The simple leg pull, the chest expansion exercise, and the knee and thigh stretch are especially beneficial to the joints. If your arthritis is severe, use a modified version of these stretching exercises that suit your needs.
Then try some slow rotation exercises. Head circles performed in the yoga fashion - that is, slowly, with pauses in the forward, side and back positions - will help loosen up a stiff neck. Similarly, ankle rotation will improve arthritis conditions in those joints.
The Flower is a great yoga exercise for arthritic fingers. Whenever you think of it, make a tight fist and hold for five seconds. Then release and stretch your hand open as far as you can for an additional five seconds.
Ready to concentrate on those major problem areas? if your arthritis has come to rest in your spine, limber up that area with the seated spiral twist, the cobra, and the neck and shoulder stretch. Got it in the hips? Then lie down in bed and try some hip rolls.
Take a few days rest if the pain gets too intense. Resume again when you're feeling better.
Of course, on days that movement comes easy, don't overdo it. Overworked joints can be as painful as neglected ones. So, no matter how good the exercises feel, don't continue for more than a few minutes at a time. For people with severe arthritis, it's usually better to divide the daily yoga routine into about three or four segments of about five minutes each. Rest periods and deep-breathing exercises interspersed throughout the day's yoga sessions will help relax the muscles that tighten up joints.
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Anti-ageing Properties of Yoga: Remain Young Forever!
According to yoga philosophy, it's the flexibility of the spine, not the number of years, that determines a person's age. Yoga slows down the aging process by giving elasticity to the spine, firming up the skin, removing tension from the body, strengthening the abdominal muscles, eliminating the possibility of a double chin, improving the tone of flabby arm muscles, correcting poor posture, preventing dowager's hump and so on. Yoga lets you trade in characteristics of old age for characteristics of youth.
Yoga is dynamite to make you feel younger with heightened mental prowness. Longer life often result from following yogic ways of health maintenance. When both external dangers and internal diseases and habits leading to degeneration have been removed, one naturally lives longer
Swami Nikhilananda wrote in Vivekananda: The Yogas and Other Works, as follows:
"The result of hatha yoga is simply to make men live long. Health is the chief idea, the one goal of hatha yoga. He is determined not to fall sick, and he never does. He lives long. A hundred years is nothing for him; but he is quite young and fresh when he is one hundred and fifty, without one hair turned gray."
The following are some of the anti-ageing effects of yoga, according to Dr. Paul Galbraith, author of Reversing Ageing:
The inverted yoga postures often convert gray hair back to its natural color and they will certainly delay the onset of gray hair. This is due to the inverted postures causing an increase in blood supply to the hair follicles in the scalp. Also, the increased flexibility of the neck produced by the asanas removes pressure on the blood vessels and nerves in the neck, causing an even greater blood supply to the scalp. The release of pressure on the nerves in the neck also causes the scalp muscles to relax, since the nerves in the neck supply the scalp muscles. This means that the hair follicles are better nourished and thicker healthier hair is the result.
Yoga will take years from your face and add years to your life. As you get older, you will take on an ageless appearance.
As you start to feet and took better and unfold more of your full potential, these positive mental and emotional states occur as a consequence.
Within a few weeks you will feel calmer and have better concentration. Within a few months, rejuvenation of the organs will start to occur.
You will take years from your face and add years to your life. As you get older, you will take on an ageless appearance.
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Yoga For Weight Reduction:
Does yoga help in weight management? Most definitely. There are a number of factors involved. Firstly, some of the asanas stimulate sluggish glands to increase their hormonal secretions. The thyroid gland, especially, has a big effect on our weight because it affects body metabolism. There are several asanas, such as the shoulder stand and the fish posture, which are specific for the thyroid gland. Fat metabolism is also increased, so fat is converted to muscle and energy. This means that, as well as losing fat, you will have better muscle tone and a higher vitality level.
Secondly, yoga deep breathing increases the oxygen intake to the body cells, including the fat cells. This causes increased oxidation or burning up of fat cells. ). Yogic exercises induce more continuous and deeper breathing which gradually burns, sometimes forcefully, many of the calories already ingested.
Thirdly, yogic practices that reduce anxiety tend to reduce anxious eating. When under nervous strain we tend to gulp our food without attaining much genuine satisfaction. We end up in eating more. If, on the other hand, we approach our meals with greater calmness of mood, whether produced by habits which have calmed our life or by yoga (like a pause for prayer before a meal), we tend to be less likely to overeat in a frantic effort to quiet our midday anxieties.
Lastly, yogic aids may be employed between meals whenever one becomes tempted to search for a snack. One may deliberately turn to yoga, rather than to the icebox or snack bar, when he feels the need for a lift or relief from restless nervousness. Practicing yoga may make you aware of your weight problem that may also act as a deterrent from overeating.
If you are not overweight, your weight will remain about the same. If you are underweight, you will gain weight. The weight you gain will be healthy firm tissue, not fat. That is, yoga will tend to produce the ideal weight for you. This is due to yoga's effect of 'normalizing' glandular activity.
An article that appeared in the San Francisco Examiner of October 13, 1959 shows that the weight reduction potential of yoga was recognized in the USA more than quarter of a century ago.
"Would you like to lose weight without resorting to the miseries of dieting? Well, try the miseries of Yoga exercises instead. One staunch advocate is Metropolitan Opera star Robert Merrill, who has been practicing these exercises for two years, and keeps trying to win converts. In those two years he has lost twenty pounds and now he's down to a trim, rhythmic-breathing one hundred and sixty, even though he continues to eat like a lumber jack. 'At one time I went on a lot of diets but just couldn't lose any weight,' he said. 'Then along came Yoga and look at me now.' He punched his hard flat stomach and started breathing through one nostril. And to further demonstrate what it's all about, he did a little flip and stood on his head. After that he showed the lotus position, legs scissored under the body. Was he still breathing through one nostril? Yes, the other one. 'If people weren't so lazy they wouldn't have to worry about diets,' he said."
For those whose eating habits, whether at meals or between meals, are believed to be due to feelings of weakness rather than anxieties, most yogic postures and breathing exercises are designed to increase one's strength. Hence, they may relieve feelings of weakness more effectively than additional eating. The exercises themselves, although consuming some energy, also store up energy which, when combined with oxidizing breathing, provide energy that is ready for use rather than for storage.
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Yoga and Mental Health
Those practicing yoga experiences a number of factors that results in a profound effect on their mental health. These can be classified under:
1. Reduction Of Tension
Many people who practice yoga speak of "freeing the mind from mental disturbances," "calming the spirit," or "steadying the mind." Reduction of nervousness, irritability and confusion, depression and mental fatigue are some of the benefits experienced. One experiences a relief from the pressure of his "compulsions." His nervousness, especially any jitteriness, should subside or disappear.
The extent to which these benefits may be expected will depend in part upon whether or not one can approach and participate in them willingly and wholeheartedly; for one who tries to practice postures with anxiety cripples his chances for very much benefit.
2. Restoration Of Pliability