Yoga and Christianity a Conflict?

Some critics argue that Yoga and Christianity cannot co-exist, and yet we know that Yoga is not a religion. Are the Salem witch trials still so close to our hearts?

Yoga and Christianity a Conflict?

Being a practicing Christian myself, there are very few things in Yoga that conflict with Christianity. Some critics argue that Yoga and Christianity cannot co-exist, and yet we know that Yoga is not a religion.

However, that depends on your opinion. Recently, I was reading about someone who claims Kundalini is “new age witchcraft.” Sorry to say, another person recently stated, “Good Christians should avoid the devil’s exercise,” in reference to Yoga.

Are the Salem witch trials still so close to our hearts? These claims are interesting because ministers and priests have been practicing meditation for centuries, without any complaints.

I suppose, if someone devoted enough time to meditating on bad thoughts, meditation would be a bad experience.

To be honest, it depends upon what you meditate about; and in truth, within some schools of Yoga, Hinduism, or Buddhism is taught. For me, this has always been a conflict, as I love Yoga, but have no desire to change my faith.

The many teachings of Yoga and meditation, are non-sectarian. Now, if Yoga were a religion, which would it be? The principles of Yoga are universal.

The Yamas and Niyamas are similar, in principle, to the Ten Commandments, but as a Christian you have the right to pick and choose what you want from Yoga. You also have the right to avoid sectarian ashrams.

Yoga practice, and meditation, give many Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, and Moslems, a closer connection to God, but there will always be someone who feels tempted to change their faith.

Let’s be honest, the people who worry about a sudden change of faith are, for the most part, rooted in two distinct camps of thought.

1. Someone who is on the fence about their own religion and not quite sure where they really stand.

2. Severe intolerance of any idea that is new or might result in opening the mind.

Let’s stop the intolerance now. When you are driving in your car, waiting in line, or come face-to-face with someone who is different from you, please set an example for your children and give the other person a break.

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Yoga An Exercise For Everyone

Yoga An Exercise For Everyone

Many adults enjoy and are aware of the rewards of yoga. Yoga stretches tight muscles, builds body awareness, improves endurance, and calms the mind and body. But yoga is now attracting a younger audience who is finding out that yoga can be a fun way to exercise and relax.

Yoga may not look like other forms of exercise to most people, but they are amazed at how the seemingly simple poses can work out so many different areas of their body.

Why Yoga is Different

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Many adults enjoy and are aware of the rewards of yoga. Yoga stretches tight muscles, builds body awareness, improves endurance, and calms the mind and body. But yoga is now attracting a younger audience who is finding out that yoga can be a fun way to exercise and relax.

Yoga may not look like other forms of exercise to most people, but they are amazed at how the seemingly simple poses can work out so many different areas of their body.

Why Yoga is Different

For people lacking in confidence about their body image, some group activities can backfire causing people to further disconnect from their bodies and actively resist taking care of themselves. Yoga’s emphasis is on self-acceptance which makes it more appealing, a less intimidating way to get active. Yoga stresses a nonjudgmental emphasis on body awareness.

Yoga is not a competitive sport- there are no winners or losers. Yoga can give less confident people that much-needed support from their peers. If someone in a class has difficulty with a particular pose, often others in the room help them out. Yoga offers many people an opportunity to just relax. Just getting to be –without having to achieve anything in particular- is a huge relief to many people.

The Added Benefits of Yoga

Traditional sports tend to emphasize strength and speed over flexibility. Many adults overlook the importance of stretching. Additionally others use weight training to develop major muscles while ignoring the supportive and opposing muscles which are equally as important. Yoga can help correct these imbalances. It helps build endurance and flexibility, thereby improving athletic performance. Yoga can also enhance your ability to concentrate and focus, and improve your posture. Chest-opening postures and inverted poses strengthen arms, shoulders and back muscles, which teach you how to carry yourself with more self confidence.

Yoga can also teach you how to stay calm centered and focused in the midst of distraction and to let your body relax. This is an important skill for anyone who is experiencing transitions- physical, emotional, intellectual in today’s fast paced world. Yoga often becomes an outlet for working out people’s emotions. It can help you take control of you frustration and find alternative ways to deal with it rather than reacting right away.

Keywords:

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Yoga: Three reasons you should not do Sitting Forward Bend

The Sitting Forward Bend is one of the most demanding postures of Yoga. In this pose the body is folded almost in half, providing an intense stretch to the entire back of the body, from the scalp down to the heels.

Yoga: Three reasons you should not do Sitting Forward Bend

Sitting Forward Bend – (Paschimottanasana)

“Never force yourself into a forward bend when sitting on the floor”

Yogasana, the third limb of Raja Yoga also popularly understood by mass population as yoga is getting popular as never before in both eastern and western countries. The reason for Yogasana (popularly know as Yoga) to gain popularity are numerous ranging from releasing stress, flexibility to helping patient suffering from various diseases. Although the initial objective of Yogasana (Yoga) in Raja Yoga was different, however the ability of yoga to help patient with various ailments is really praiseworthy.

The Sitting Forward Bend is one of the most demanding postures of Yoga. In this pose the body is folded almost in half, providing an intense stretch to the entire back of the body, from the scalp down to the heels.
Students often struggle in this asana. If you pull yourself forward using your shoulders and arms you will create the tension through your body and you will end up tightening your muscles and this will not allow you to get into the posture any quicker. While doing this asana give some time for the muscles to stretch and to release the tension. Often, because of tightness in the back of the legs many students do not go very far forward. For those who find it difficult to do the full Sitting Forward Bend they can do the half pose using the right leg and the right hand at a time for a few breaths and than practice with the other leg and hand.

The Sitting Forward Bend stimulates the kidneys, liver, spleen and pancreas improving digestion in the body. The pose tones and massages the entire abdominal area and it relieves constipation. It stretches the hamstring muscles, lumbar and sacral regions and increases flexibility in the hip joints. Regular practice of this asana removes excess weight in the abdomen area.

Three important reasons (out of many) not to do Sitting Forward Bend:

1) A person who suffers from slipped disc and sciatica should not practice this powerful asana.

2) Anyone who has asthma should not attempt to practice this pose.

3) If you are in the first trimester of pregnancy avoid this asana as it puts stress on the womb. After the first trimester you can practice the pose very gently with your legs slightly apart.

Issued in the interest of people practicing Hatha Yoga by Subodh Gupta, Yoga Expert based in London.

Keywords:

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Yoga: Three reasons you should not do Locust

Yoga: Three reasons you should not do Locust

Locust – (Salabhasana)

When this pose is demonstrated it resembles a locust (grasshopper) moving its rear ends up and down, hence the name.

Locust is one of the backward bend asanas usually performed in a sequence; first the Cobra is practiced, than the Locust followed by the Bow. Locust is a posture which turns the body out expanding the chest to face the world. It is a very stimulating, powerful and dynamic asana, one of the most demanding but also one of the most unnatural posture in Hatha yoga.

The Locust pose requires the muscles of the lower back, abdomen and legs to work with each other to achieve the lift in the lower body.
Before attempting the full Locust try to do the easier version (Half Locust), which involves lifting only one thigh at a time instead of both of them simultaneously.
As a beginner you may not have enough strength to make any movement of lifting the thighs up but you will still benefit from the effort.
As an intermediate student you will be able to lift your legs higher than the beginner student but it will require more strength in the arms, forearms and shoulders.
As an advanced student you have to be careful not to hurt yourself by falling out of the posture by trying to toss yourself up into the full pose before developing sufficient strength and control.
To maintain this asana the intense whole-body muscular effort is needed.

Locust serves as a counter pose to Sitting Forward Bend (Paschimottanasana), Plough (Halasana) and Shoulderstand (Sarvangasana) which bend the spine forward.
This asana greatly compliments the Cobra (Bhujangasana), lifting the lower part of the body rather then the upper, but it is more difficult pose because it is less natural and more strenuous to lift the lower extremities (legs) from a prone position (lying face downwards) than to lift the head and shoulders.

Locust brings a large supply of blood to the kidneys, cleansing and regenerating them. It strengthens the shoulders, arms, pelvic organs and lower back muscles. It tones the muscles of the abdomen, tights and legs. It tones the sciatic nerves providing relief for people with backache, mild sciatica and slipped disc (as long as the condition is not serious). 

However beneficial the Locust is there are some health conditions in which the Locust should be avoided.

Three important reasons (out of many) not to do Locust:

1) Person with High Blood Pressure is better to avoid this pose.

2) As the asana puts lots of pressure on the abdomen it is strongly advisable for pregnant women not to attempt this asana.

3) Anyone suffering from Peptic Ulcer should not do this posture.

Issued in the interest of people practicing Hatha Yoga by Subodh Gupta, Yoga Expert based in London.

Yoga - The Solution for Insomnia

If you are continually staying awake over trivial matters, these solutions will aid you to get a good night’s rest. Remember - not every solution will work for everyone, so try the easiest ideas and make them fit into your lifestyle.

Yoga - The Solution for Insomnia

At one time, or another, all of us have experienced insomnia for any type of reason.  There are times when lack of sleep just can’t be helped, such as: the loss a loved one, going through a divorce, and losing your job. 
 
These are some of life’s serious crisis situations, where we have to let time heal, and try not to fall apart in the process.  Some of the solutions below will help insomnia, but they will not heal grief. 

However, if you are continually staying awake over trivial matters, these solutions will aid you to get a good night’s rest.  Remember - not every solution will work for everyone, so try the easiest ideas and make them fit into your lifestyle.

Do you have one or more problems, on your mind, that are troubling you at bedtime?  If so, write it down and leave it on the kitchen table where you sit in the morning.  This is a form of compartmentalization, where your subconscious mind works on a solution, and you and your conscious mind get some needed rest.

You will be surprised what happens the following morning.  The problem is much less important or your subconscious found the solution.  This technique is so powerful that many successful people use it, even when they don’t really have a problem.  This keeps you organized, on a daily basis, and you will get more accomplished in life.

That leads into the next idea, which is establishing a daily routine.  Your body has a natural cycle, and most of us ignore it.  Modern humans are more out of tune with their bodies than ever before, so we have to get back to basics and design a schedule for all tasks - including sleep.

You should exercise every day, but your exercise routine should end two hours before bedtime, at the latest.  This allows your body and mind “cool down” time.  If you can exercise earlier in the day, feel free to do so.

Exercise will give you extra energy during the day, and help you get a good night’s sleep, when you need it.  If you don’t exercise, don’t feel alone, but do take action.  Gentle Yoga postures are a great way to start.

If you find the right Yoga teacher, you will learn controlled breathing (pranayama), stage-by-stage relaxation, and meditation.  Each is a powerful technique for winding down before bedtime.  You always practice controlled breathing with either, stage-by-stage relaxation, or meditation. Some people practice stage-by-stage relaxation in bed and fall asleep in the process.  This is not a bad thing, if your ultimate goal is to fall asleep.

Now let’s look at a few other ideas, such as alcohol and hidden caffeine.  Alcohol has a way of getting you to sleep, but sleep is often interrupted during the night.  One suggestion, if you enjoy drinking:  Have one small drink; preferably wine, with your meal.

Caffeine is in coffee, many teas, many sodas, and a variety of other drinks.  Drink water later in the day, and give your body a rest from caffeine.

Here are a few actions to take before bedtime:  Eat very light, read a book about something peaceful, and take a shower or a bath.  You don’t have to do everything, but one of the above-mentioned ideas will work for you. 

Sweet Dreams.

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