Why Diets Fail You

Summary:

When most people fail on a diet they are left with little option other than to blame themselves. This article suggests that the failure may be caused by thought processes rather than a lack of "will-power"

Keywords:

Diets, failure fo,

Article Body:

Why Diets Fail You.

This year millions of people will embark upon a diet and fail to lose weight.

The usual response to this failure by the people marketing the diet is to

blame the individual for the failure. This leaves the person feeling

defeated and guilty because of their lack of "will-power"

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Blaming the individual also preserves the illusion that diets are an effective

way to lose weight.I think it is time to move the discussion beyond

this "blaming" level and explore the real reasons diets fail.

I will use an example to explain my position.

When most people are presented with something like a chocolate (candy) bar it

is not long before they feel a desire to eat the thing. Most will simply blame

the chocolate for causing the desire. They will then try to battle the craving

with "will-power". Usually they lose this battle and sooner or later give in

and eat the chocolate bar. This "giving-in" often marks the end of the diet.

Now lets look at why this "giving-in" occurred. We know that the cognitive

process that caused the craving to eat the chocolate bar went something like

this; sensory input was received through the appropriate receptors [mainly

eyes in this case] and the mind formed some type of neural or sensory

representation of the object that will be defined as a chocolate bar. We can

regard this process as inescapable. If the sensory receptors are in working

order, the mind must form a representation or neural image of the object.

When a neural image has been formed we have been taught to assign meanings,

from memory, to these images as they occur in the mind. The assignment

of meaning is followed by an emotional response appropriate to the meaning

assigned. In the case of the chocolate bar the meaning assigned included past

memories of pleasant experiences assosciated with eating chocolate bars, hence

the craving to eat this chocolate bar. So really it was not the presence of

the object that will be defined as a chocolate bar that caused the craving,

but the cognitive process outlined.

Specifically it was the assignment of meaning that caused the craving. And

because this assignment of meaning has become totally automatic in most

people, the chocolate bar gets the blame for the craving when in fact it only

had the power to cause the mind to form a meaningless image. For most, the

meaning and image have become "fused", with the meaning now seen as an

inherent part of the neural image itself rather than something assigned from

within the mind. This of course gives the stimulus the power to be the cause

of the response.

Just thinking about or reflecting upon a chocolate bar has the same

effect. A neural image is formed from that reflection and when it has

been formed the cognitive process of automatically assigning meaning to it is

exactly the same as with images caused by the external stimulii. We feel

like a eating the chocolate bar.

This all means of course that every time we are presented with a chocolate bar

or some other desirable food, the mind automatically performs the cognitive

process outlined and creates a desire to eat the delicacy. The continual

emotional responses build up and eventually wear us down. This is the reason

we "give-in" and the diet goes out the window.

My point is then, the only way to reduce our food intake and still feel

comfortable is to modify this process of automatically assigning meaning to

the images that come into our heads. This way we can reduce the desire to eat

unnecessarily and thereby modify our eating behaviour so that we lose weight

and keep it off.

Diets do not supply these techniques and in actual fact they fail the

individual not the other way round as their providers would have you

believe. If changing our behaviour was easy as making a decision to go on a

diet, most of us would have changed many things about ourselves long ago. The

truth is we need techniques that will help us to bring that change about or we

are doomed to failure. -->

Yoga - Practices and History

Summary:

Yoga has many thoughts and practices.  Yoga come from many different cultures throughout history.

Keywords:

yoga

Article Body:

Yoga is a practice that people do keep their bodies in shape.  All of the elements of Yoga were inherited form the practice of Hinduism.  Ethnic principles, and body principles, along with spiritual guidance and philsophy are just some of the features associated with Yoga.  Yoga is usually taught, by a person called a "Guru".  Their intentions are to teach people how to obtain a quieter state of mind through meditation.  Quiet breathing and chanting "mantras" are practiced to help the person get to the "quiet" state of mind. 

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Yoga is supposed to lead a person to better health, and a calmer, more emotional well-being.  Mental clarity and a joy in living are the main thoughts imposed upon a person who practices Yoga.  The steps in Yoga ultimately are supposed to lead to an advanced state of meditation called "samadhi". 

All the goals of Yoga are expressed in different ways among a lot of different traditions.  In Hinduism the main thought is that yoga brings people closer to God.  In Buddhism practices, yoga is supposed to help people get a deeper sense of wisdom, compassion, and insight.  In some of the farther Western countries, individualism is the strongest emphasis, so yoga would help people there get a better meaning in themselves.  But, the ultimate goal of yoga is to actually attain liberation, from any type of suffering and/or the cycle of birth and death. 

The word "yoga" derives from a sacred root of "Sanskrit", which in English means "yoke".  The general translation of yoga is a "union of the individual with the universal soul".  The diversity of yoga involves many subdivisions, but everyone would agree that "the path to enlightenment" is the best suited phrase for yoga. 

A common theme of yoga  is the practice of concentration.  The concentration is mainly focused on one point of sensation.  When you sustain this "concentration" for a long enough period of time you will reach, what is called "meditation".  Most meditators express deeper feelings of joy, peace, and self-oneness.  The focus of meditation differs between yoga teachers.  Some may focus more on peaceful thoughts, spiritualism, or a better sense of well-being, while others will focus on the more physical aspects like, different types of stretches for getting the body into being more fit.  All would agree though that meditation for either the spiritual part or physical part of yoga is the most practiced. 

A little bit of history on yoga comes from the Indus Valley Civilization that was around somewhere in between six or seven thousand years ago.  The earliest accounts of yoga were documented in the Rig Veda.  This was a certain type of writing used back around 1500 to 2000 BC.  However, the full description of yoga was first found in the "Upinasads" composed around the eighth century before Christ.  The main thought of the Upinasads was that they constituted the end or conclusion of the "traditional body of spiritual wisdom".  The Upinasads used to offer sacrifices and hold certain types of ceremonies to appease the Gods.  They used the thought that man could please the external gods by these sacrifices and in return that they would become one with the Supreme Being, through moral culture, restraint, and a stronger training of their minds. 

With all the different types and practices of yoga, one person has so many types to choose from.  Whether they want a more peaceful inner self, a stronger sense of well-being, or a body that will be put into better shape.  All practices contain a characteristic designed for each purpose.  While some practices are argued about, all have one thing in common, it is practiced regularly around the world by many, and it is growing more popular every day. -->

What Is Yoga?

Summary:

Yoga can seem like a complicated concept - or, at the least, a dizzying array of physical manipulations that turn seemingly happy-looking human beings into happy looking human pretzels.

Even more disconcerting, a stereotype does exist in places where the term yoga is synonymous with cult, or some kind of archaic spiritual belief that compels one to quit their job, sell their house, and go live in the middle of nowhere.

In actual fact, Yoga is a very basic "thing". If y...

Article Body:

Yoga can seem like a complicated concept - or, at the least, a dizzying array of physical manipulations that turn seemingly happy-looking human beings into happy looking human pretzels.

Even more disconcerting, a stereotype does exist in places where the term yoga is synonymous with cult, or some kind of archaic spiritual belief that compels one to quit their job, sell their house, and go live in the middle of nowhere.

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In actual fact, Yoga is a very basic "thing". If you’ve had the opportunity to visit a country where it has been established for generations – India, Japan, China, and others – it’s really rather, well, "ordinary".

The practice of yoga came to the west back in 1893 when one of India’s celebrated gurus, Swami Vivekananda, was welcomed at the World Fair in Chicago. He is now known for having sparked the West’s interest in yoga.

Literally, the word yoga comes from the Sanskrit term Yug, which means: “to yoke, bind, join, or direct one’s attention”. At the same time, yoga can also imply concepts such as fusion, union, and discipline.

The sacred scriptures of Hinduism (an ancient belief system from India that has a global presence) also defines yoga as “unitive discipline”; the kind of discipline that, according to experts Georg Feuerstein and Stephan Bodian in their book Living Yoga, leads to inner and outer union, harmony and joy.

In essence, yoga is most commonly understood as conscious living; of tapping into one’s inner potential for happiness (what Sankrit refers to as ananda).

What Yoga Isn’t:

Sometimes it’s helpful to understand things by what they aren’t; especially when dealing with a topic, like Yoga, that is quite easily misunderstood.

Authors and yoga scholars Feuerstein and Bodian help us understand yoga by telling us what it is NOT:

Yoga is NOT calisthenics (marked by the headstand, the lotus posture or some pretzel-like pose). While it is true that yoga involves many postures – especially in hatha yoga – these are only intended to make people get in touch with their inner feelings.

Yoga is NOT a system of meditation – or a religion – the way many people are misled to believe. Meditation is only part of the whole process of bringing ourselves into the realm of the spiritual.

What is the essence of Yoga?

Virtually all yogic science and philosophy states that a human being is but a fragment of an enormous universe, and when this human being learns to “communion” with this vastness, then he/she attains union with something that is bigger than him/her.

This attachment or tapping into something bigger thus enables one to walk the true path of happiness. By flowing along with the force, the individual is able to discover truth.

And with truth comes realization; but to attain realization, our words, thoughts and deeds must be based on truth. People attend courses on yoga and go to studios to learn new techniques in yoga, but yoga teacher Tim Miller said that “True yoga begins when leave the studio; it’s all about being awake and being mindful of your actions".
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Scoliosis Exercise,Scoliosis, back pain

Summary:

Scoliosis is a condition in which a person has side-to-side spinal curves in addition to the normal curves through which the lower portion of the human back curves inwards. The most effective remedy for such a condition is Scoliosis exercises. Although many exercises help in reducing the Scoliosis-related problems, yoga is considered the best Scoliosis exercise. Yoga postures are helpful since they enable us to stretch our body.

Keywords:

Scoliosis Exercise,Scoliosis, back pain

Article Body:

Scoliosis is a condition in which a person has side-to-side spinal curves in addition to the normal curves through which the lower portion of the human back curves inwards. The most effective remedy for such a condition is Scoliosis exercises. Although many exercises help in reducing the Scoliosis-related problems, yoga is considered the best Scoliosis exercise. Yoga postures are helpful since they enable us to stretch our body.

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The most effective yoga exercises for the treatment of Scoliosis-related problems include the Crocodile twist, the Supine knee chest twist, the passive back arch and the one leg up-one leg out posture. These exercises are very helpful in raising one’s lowered shoulder and reducing the back pain.

The Passive back arch scoliosis exercise has been found to be helpful in not only reducing scoliosis-related pain, but also the problems related to condition called pectus excavatum (sunken chest). Pectus excavatum is generally caused due to tight muscles across one’s chest and back and soft bones in the rib cage and spine.
The One leg up and one leg out scoliosis exercise have been found to be very effective in reducing muscular tension in legs. The Seated twist is a good remedy for the treatment of thoracic twist. This exercise also helps to rectify the alignment of the body and is simple to perform.

The Joint freeing series of scoliosis exercises are particularly helpful for people suffering from scoliosis with tight shoulder muscles. The Head to Knee pose helps in maintaining the alignment of the body and straightening of the spine. The spinal and the abdominal twists result in the stretching of muscles in the shoulder.

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Yoga: Three reasons you should not do Locust

Summary:

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.

Keywords:

yoga, locust, subodh gupta, salabhasana

Article Body:

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.