Yoga

Yoga: The Most Effective Scoliosis Exercise

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.

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.

Keywords:

Scoliosis Exercise,Scoliosis, back pain

Yoga - Practices and History

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

Yoga - Practices and History

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.

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.

yoga, Practices and History,

Yoga - Is Free Online Yoga Safe?

Informative article about free online yoga and whether free online yoga is safe

Yoga - Is Free Online Yoga Safe?

Yoga nowadays is very in demand especially the newest free online free yoga. Yoga practice and exercise can be learned in school.

There are a lot of yoga schools all over the world. Before, yoga was only applied and practice in India but now, looks like it has evolved. Almost all the people in the world know the word yoga although there are some who don’t have a clear picture of it. Yoga for the many people is an exercise and a means to concentrate with the mind and soul.

It is a great advantage that free online yoga was offered to the people. They say that the web is the easiest way to gain, search and acquire knowledge. Almost everything is learned from the web and it is no wonder why the people get hooked on it.

Free online yoga chooses no one in particular. Everyone is a candidate in learning yoga. All you need to do is to have your own computer and get hooked on to it.

If you want to learn from the basics, the net has the resources on how to learn it the easy way. As long as you know how to understand and read, you are capable of learning yoga.

It is an amazing breakthrough that yoga is taught in the web. Free online yoga saves you from going to a yoga class. It saves your time, money and effort. Plus, you can freely do it at home without any one looking at you if that is what you prefer.

If you want to have the free online yoga, there are some certain requirements that you need.

Now you will wonder if free online yoga is really advantageous. If it is, then why are all the people going to schools and bringing their mats on their backpack if they can acquire it at home.

Keywords:

free online yoga, online yoga, free yoga, yoga, yoga practise

Yoga: How To Develop A Home Practice

Many people ask how to start a home yoga practice so here is some information to get you going. First I will review the basics and then discuss how often to practice and what to practice. Remember though, the only right practice is regular practice! Don’t let your desire for perfectionism get in your way. Just show up at your mat and practice. Yoga is a life-long journey – perhaps many lives!

Environment

The space should be quiet, and ideally used only for yoga. (Can be a section of any room)
Place a mat, blanket or towel on the floor.
The temperature should be moderate - not too cold and not too hot.
The room should have fresh air but not windy or cold.
Sunrise and sundown are desirable times for yoga (although any time works!)

Preparation

Wear light comfortable clothing.
A bath or shower before is good for limberness -wait at least 20 minutes after
practicing before bathing)
In the morning wash, urinate and move the bowels before practice.
Practice before eating or wait two hours after a meal.

Physical Practice (asanas)

Do not practice if there is a fever or deep wounds. Consult a teacher if there is an illness.
Spend five to ten minutes warming up/stretching before beginning practice.

Do not force your limbs into a difficult position. In time your body will open. We are after sensation not pain!

Beginners should hold each asana for 3-5 breaths. After about three months of regular practice this can be increased to 5 to 10 breaths.

Always inhale and exhale through the nostrils unless specified otherwise. Focus on making the breath slow and smooth.

At any time you need a rest come into child pose or shavasana (corpse pose)
Finish asanas with shavasana for five to ten minutes.

How often to practice.

The rule of thumb for how often to practice is simple: It is better to practice for short durations regularly than to practice once a week for a long time. In other words it is better to practice 4 times a week for forty-five minutes then to practice one day for two hours.

With that being said some people get what they need from practicing just a couple of times each week while other practice five or six times a week. It varies from person to person. On average though you will get the most benefit from your practice with average of four sessions per week. The length of time of each session depends on your experience with yoga, time constraints, level of fitness, and motivation. A good idea is to have a journal to keep track of your practice with information such as date, how long you practiced, what you practiced, how you felt during and after your practice, what thoughts came to mind during practice, how you felt later in the day as well as the next day, which postures were challenging and which were felt good.

General framework for your session

Always begin your practice with easy movements and build towards the more difficult postures ending with a cool down. Imagine a bell curve: at the beginning of the bell curve is a moment of centering. As you move up the curve there are warm-ups, then opening postures which help to build heat/ flexibility/strength and at the top of the curve are the most challenging postures. Moving down the other side of the bell curve are cool down postures followed by Shavasana.

Here is a template that you can use to create your own practice session:

Theme or focus (more on this below):

Centering:
Warm-ups:
Opening postures
Challenging postures:
Cool down postures:
Shavasana:

Which postures to practice.

Sometimes it is fun to have a practice without any preconceived notion of what to do and just see what comes out. Sometime it is desirable to tune into your body and see what your body is asking for. Other times you’ll want to plan your session as indicated above. It is during these session that having theme will be helpful. Some classical themes include: backbends, forward bends, twists, balance postures, standing postures, seated postures, inversions, restorative postures, hip openers, shoulder openers, strength building postures, groin openers, hamstring openers, and postures that build energy. Linking postures together (vinyasa) is yet another way to create a practice. In the Iyengar system we focus on linking alignment cues from posture to posture. Of course you may have specific health reasons that you are working with for which it would be best to consult a qualified yoga teacher to help create a practice. I encourage you to be creative – come up with your own themes and see how it is. It has been said that in yoga you are both the scientist and the experiment!

In my book “Beginning Yoga: A Practice Manual” I offer 20 different practice sequences to guide your home practice as well as a chapter on how to set up a home practice.

Keywords:

Yoga, Beginning Yoga, Practicing Yoga at Home, Home Practice

Yoga, Hernia and Madonna

Yoga exercises like Sun Salutation, Cobra pose, Locust pose, Bow pose, Standing Forward Bend and Kapalabhati few to name are strictly not recommended if somebody is diagnosed

Yoga, Hernia and Madonna

with hernia.The practitioners need to understand that their ignorance and lack of yoga
knowledge may lead them straight into an operation room”.

Energizing Yoga, the oldest system of personal development needs no introduction nowadays and is becoming popular all over the world because of its tremendous physical and medical benefits. People are practicing yoga exercises in millions all over the world, thanks to the media which is highlighting the benefits of yoga for general public.

However, like every other science, yoga is also a precise science. The question is: ‘Are all yoga exercises safe to be practiced by all people with various health conditions?’
“This is the question which requires deeper digging into the subject of yoga itself, otherwise the consequences of doing yoga practice could be more dangerous than beneficial” said Subodh Gupta, the Yoga expert from India.

”While some of the yoga exercises can be taught easily without much complication and have various benefits, others can be very dangerous for people who are having problem of Hernia. For example, the yoga exercises like Sun Salutation, Cobra pose, Locust pose, Bow pose, Standing Forward Bend and Kapalabhati few to name are strictly not recommended if somebody is diagnosed with hernia as these exercises may make the hernia problem worse” said Subodh Gupta, the Yoga expert based in London.

Considering the fact that over half a million hernia operations were performed in the United States last year and more than 2 percent of British people are affected by hernia, the question to ask is if all yoga practitioners are aware of their health condition and precautions before beginning the Yoga exercise. Madonna, the famous singer who practices Ashtanga yoga regularly recently had an operation for hernia (Ashtanga yoga exercise series is a system developed by Mysore based famous Indian Yoga guru Shri K Pattabhi Jois). In fact, the famous Ashtanga yoga series which involves jumping can be very dangerous for people who are having problem of Hernia” according to Subodh Gupta. Hernia develops when the outer layers of the abdominal wall weakens, bulge or actually rip. Among many reasons for hernia the most common is straining due to: jumping, defecation, coughing, lifting heavy objects, etc.

‘Are precautions for various yoga exercises safely delivered by yoga Gurus?’ ‘Are yoga practitioners listening precautions before starting their yoga practice?’
“Well, this is a serious point to consider by all who are teaching yoga and also for people who are practicing yoga. The practitioners need to understand that their ignorance and lack of yoga knowledge may lead them straight into an operation room” said Subodh Gupta.

A noble effort has been done by some of the renowned yoga gurus from India and the teachers from the West to spread the awareness of yoga but unless Yoga exercises are done with precautions, more and more people will get injured without realizing.

Issued in public interest by Subodh Gupta, Yoga Expert from India, for all those who are learning yoga without taking precautions.

Keywords:

Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, hernia, Subodh Gupta