Monthly Archives: October 2008

Lesley Lyon asked:


Yoga is an ancient form of discipline that is both physical practice and spiritual journey, using primarily meditation to clear the mind of negativity. There are quite a number of varieties of yoga that are being practiced and ashtanga yoga is one of them.

Ashtanga means eight limbs in the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit. Ashtanga yoga is an extremely rigorous form of yoga unlike the power yoga which is less strenuous and ashtanga yoga is practiced more rapidly and consists of difficult poses that gradually become harder as the work out is continued.

It is  compulsory to follow a specific series of workout like sun salutation, seated poses, poses in the twisting order and head stands- in that order.  Ashtanga yoga synchronizes the breath with a series of postures that produce a lot of internal heat in the body and a profuse sweating that purifies and detoxifies the muscles and organs.

This process and ultimately, the body improve circulation of the blood and becomes a light and strong body, calms the mind. Ashtanga yoga is aimed at developing discipline and vitality in a person. The rigid rules of ashtanga yoga extend even to the personal lifestyle of a person, like eating and sleeping habits, sexual practices, spiritual life and medical strategies.

Ashtanga yoga has to be learnt only from a guru who has been traditionally trained to teach others and the yoga is highly structured. Ashtanga yoga follows a particular sequence and is of three categories based on the postures, namely, the beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. Each level teaches the different poses of ashtanga yoga which increases in difficulty, challenging the student to improve further.

The sequence of poses is thus. First come the sun salutations, next the standing postures and then the seated postures. The student moves on to inverted postures and back bends and relaxation which come next. Ashtanga yoga can also be practiced at home but it needs a separate place that is bright, well ventilated and clear of furniture. A full length mirror can be installed in the room to check the body position during the course of the process. Visual aids, wall charts and books can be utilized to get a good knowledge of the different types of poses of ashtanga yoga.

Ashtanga yoga lays emphasis on the correct body position and therefore, it takes a lot of time to practice and develop the exact body position. But if done in the correct manner and when the rules are followed properly, ashtanga yoga has a lot of benefits to offer and makes a great impact on the entire body of a person. Ashtanga yoga is ideal for home practitioners.



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Alien asked:


Yoga Practice for Relieving Arthritis Pain



Simple yoga practice relieves the pain of arthritis and is really helpful in dealing with chronic pains such as Arthritis. Arthritis is actually a joint inflammation, which is a condition that affects joints, the tissues surrounding the joints, and other connective tissue. Arthritis keeps you away from enjoying life to the fullest.

Most of the health professionals have the same opinion that some form of regular exercise can lead to muscle tone intact and prevent firmness in the joints. No matter what your level of arthritis is, it can be facilitated by the yoga practice.

Yoga Practice Reduces Stiffness Caused Due to Arthritis

With yoga, a person’s physique and life can be greatly improved. Yoga poses or asana can help strengthen your joints, which is vital in preventing and coping with arthritis. Yoga makes your joints to function normally, thus reducing the possibility of stiffness.

When the pain of arthritis strikes, it makes the rest of the body to stiffen up in order to keep the hurting part from striking more. Most of us would act in response to that by doing even fewer exercises, but indolence is the worse solution to fight with the pain of arthritis.

Inactivity deteriorates the muscles and can increase stiffness and pain. Easing the pain of arthritis with simple yoga practice encourages you to keep moving allowing your body to restore, heal and preserve muscle tone.

Easing the pain of arthritis with simple yoga practice also helps psychologically by increasing your confidence in order to function as a normal person and participate in regular activities. You don’t have to let arthritis detain you to a wheelchair.

Yoga Practice Brings Healthier Lifestyle

Yoga can bring about an overall healthier lifestyle that can improve your resistance power not only from arthritis but also from other sicknesses as well.

There are some yoga exercises that begin with activities and movements while sitting in a chair, which are revisions of the regular yoga poses that help to loosen joints and relax muscle groups.

Breathing Pattern

Easing the pain of arthritis with yoga practice can begin with a regular breathing pattern. A regular breathing pattern can progressively increase the level of difficulty in your yoga practice. Deep breathing helps in bringing fresh blood and the proper nutrients to muscle tissue and also helps in relieving physical and emotional tensions.

As you gradually start to loosen up from these yoga movements, you can progressively practice poses through standing. You are improving strength, flexibility, and balance by adding extra yoga poses. If it’s necessary, make use of a sturdy chair as a support in your yoga routine so as to feel safer and steadier.

With the regular practice gradually you become more flexible and can stop using supports. If it is not possible then don’t strike yourself to do so because it defeats the purpose of yoga, to relax and loosen the muscles. Yoga will also build up those joints less painful.

Easing the pain of arthritis with yoga practice can make joints less painful.

Self-massage is also a way to improve circulation and warmth to the joints affected by arthritis. The American yoga association has instructional tapes and books to illustrate you the ways to effectively massage the regions of pain.

In easing the pain of arthritis with yoga practice: breathing, meditation and other relaxation techniques should be practiced regularly as they improves the respiration, ease anxiety, and make your mind off the pain.

Oxygen flooding the body provides relief for both physical and emotional tension and the best thing is, you can do it anywhere! There are many books and tapes that are developed to help in dealing with the pain of arthritis.

Arthritis doesn’t have to be a disease, which turns into an impossible disability. Easing the pain of arthritis with yoga practice can be really helpful in dealing with arthritis. Remember that not all poses are advisable to be practiced by people with arthritis. It depends only on their health condition and their ability in practicing yoga poses.

So, it is better to consult a physician or practice the poses under the administration of a yoga instructor. By practicing breathing, gentle exercises, and meditating every day you can restore your strength and follow your daily activities with improved energy, better health, and less pain.



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Alien asked:


Yoga Styles to Balance the Body, Mind and Spirit

Yoga is all about poses, breathing exercises and meditation. Yoga can be practiced in with a variety of styles. Thus, there are many yoga styles and you, as a yoga practitioner needs to select the one that best suits the requirements of your body.

Various Yoga Styles

Here are some of the yoga styles and the information about each style

Hatha Yoga

Hatha is a general “catch-all” term for many physical yoga styles. If the yoga class you are going for describes hatha style of yoga, then it will be a gentle, slow-paced class. It will offer you a fundamental instruction on yoga poses.

The different styles of yoga are embedded from hatha yoga. All these styles provide a balance to the mind, the body, and the spirit through the yoga poses. However, the prominence differs. Some focuses on strict alignment of the body while some on the coordination of breath and movement.

Hatha yoga is suggested for yoga beginners. It’s best to gain knowledge of yoga fundamentals before moving to other styles of yoga.

Vinyasa Yoga

Vinyasa is an explanation of many types of yoga classes. These yoga classes cope with breath-synchronized activities. It is somewhat more vigorous than the hatha yoga and is more powerful.

Ashtanga Yoga

Ashtanga is an interesting one among all yoga styles, which is a series of yoga poses that always practiced in the same order. This style is physically demanding as in this style you are moving from one pose to another.

It is also called as power yoga. Being one of the popular styles of yoga, it needs to be practiced everything in an order. Without any break, you naturally move from one pose to another.

Iyengar Yoga

Iyengar is also among popular yoga styles, which needs to practice with the body alignment. It is a moderate intensity style. There is very little focus on breathing exercises and meditation for starting levels.

The importance is on proper alignment, mainly for the spine and core of the body. That is the exact way that your body should place in the yoga pose in order to obtain the best results and to avoid damages.

In this style of yoga, the yoga poses will focus on holding the poses for longer periods of time rather than flowing from one pose to another. In addition, this style of yoga makes use of some supports such as yoga blankets, yoga blocks, and yoga straps in order to bring your body into a proper alignment.

Integral, one of the good yoga styles for beginners, which are a gentle form of yoga practice and the concentration of this style, is to integrate body, mind, and spirit with the combination of yoga poses, breathing exercises and meditation.

Hot Yoga

Hot yoga, is among the intense styles of yoga. This yoga style is practiced in a very hot room with temperatures between 90 and 100 degrees. The heat or the hot air makes the muscle relax and causes heavy sweating. This sweating is treated as cleansing to the body.

Bikram Yoga

Bikram is the most popular among yoga styles. It is a style with 26 poses. It is a vigorous physical style of yoga created by bikram choudhoury. This style is designed to bring the body to maximum health and fitness. An intense session of vigorous poses to reinforce the body, liberates pent-up emotions, and purifies your body.

It also helps in healing the body by releasing the pain. This yoga style is a concentrated exercise using abdominal intensification and deep, relaxing breathing.

Sivananda Yoga

Sivananda is also among the yoga styles that have been practiced since 1957. This style is based on five principles.

* Proper exercise

* Proper breathing

* Proper relaxation

* Vegetarian diet

* Positive thinking and meditation.

People about eighty locations all around the world practice this style of yoga. Many of them sponsor retreats for the dedicated yoga enthusiast.

There are many different yoga styles. These are the most popular styles of yoga and are just a sample of yoga styles offered in yoga classes. By getting an idea about a few of these yoga styles, it will become easy and you can safely select a yoga class as well as yoga styles that are best for you.



Soul Level Work

merry parker asked:


Generally, Yoga consists of and is described in eight stages astanga-yoga, (‘eight-membered Yoga’). Yama (‘restraint’) denoting abstinence from injury (ahimsa), falsehood, stealing, lust, and avarice is the first stage; with niyama (‘observance’), denoting cleanliness of body, contentment, austerity, study, and devotion to God, the second stage.

The next two stages consist of physical preparations, such as, Asana (‘seat’), a series of physical posture exercises intended to condition the body, making it supple, flexible, and healthy. Mastery of the asanas can be calculated by one’s ability to maintain a prescribed postures for an extended period of time, without involuntary movement or physical distractions. Pranayama (“breath control”) is a series of exercises intended to stabilize the rhythm of breathing in order to encourage complete respiratory relaxation.

With great benefits, Yoga is becoming very popular all over the world, including making a come back in the land of its birth i.e. India.

Pratyahara (‘withdrawal) is the fifth stage, which involves control of the senses, whereby one can centre all of one’s senses from outward objects to the mind. The first five stages of Yoga are considered external aids, while the remaining three are purely mental or internal aids.

Dharana (‘holding on’) is the ability to focus awareness of externals to one object for a long period of time, such as, focusing the mind on an object of meditation e.g. an image of a deity or some such. Dhyana (‘concentrated meditation’) is the uninterrupted contemplation of an object of meditation, beyond any memory of ego. Samadhi (‘self-collectedness’) is the final stage and a pre-condition for attaining moksha or being released from the cycle of life and death. This stage, allows the meditator to perceive or experience the object of his meditation and himself as one entity.

Though, the pre-history of Yoga is not clear, however, early Vedic texts speak of ecstatics, who may well have been predecessors of latter day yogis or the followers of Yoga. Although Yoga has been made into a separate school (‘darsan’), its influence and many of its practices have crept into other schools.

In the course of time, certain stages of Yoga become ends in themselves, notably, the breathing exercises and sitting postures, as in the school of Hatha Yoga. In a less technical sense, Yoga used for achieving union with God, in the epic poem the Bhagavadgita, is also used to distinguish the alternate paths (‘margas’) to such a union.

With the philosophy and practice of Yoga increasingly becoming popular in the West, the physical and spiritual benefits of Yogic techniques have become available through a wide variety of sectarian Yoga organisations, non-sectarian classes, and television programmes in the United States and Europe.

‘Prapti’ is the fifth power that a practitioner of Yoga can gain mastery over. Anyone, who becomes proficient in it, is able to reach distant places according to his will, in just a matter of moments. Those people wishing to expose this psychic claim as a hoax conducted experiments, only to find that 95% of the time the yogis were able to transport themselves to distant, remote places.

Next, mastery over ‘Prakamya’ shows one how to achieve whatever one desires. Like the Genie in the bottle who granted every wish and carried out every command issued by Alladin, a person who can perform Prakamya can make his every wish come true e.g. asking for Eternal Youth will ensure he is forever young.

In meanwhile, you can read yoga books or buy yoga accessories, if you are convinced it is time to become a yoga devotee. One can purchase online yoga books on meditation and spirituality, yoga audiotapes, including yoga accessories, such as, yoga mats, yoga straps, yoga blocks! from Yogabestseller.com Prepare yourself well to make yoga practice a pleasant and fruitful experience! We can promise you, it is one decision you will never regret!



Soul Level Work

Me-Shell Mijangos asked:


Surfing is one of the most thrilling sports there can be on sea. But unlike most sea sports, it does not require machinery of some sort. All you need in surfing are: a board, surfing gear, rippling waves and a sense of adventure. But just like any other sport, surfing can also drain your energy and patience. It can be grueling especially to the neophytes, as it requires perfect mind and body coordination. To have a body in total harmony with your inner self to get your body in the best surfing condition, surfers will recommend one thing and that is to practice yoga!

You might think that surfing and yoga are far out from each other but you are wrong. Both have similar concepts that really blend well to give you a better life. Here are five reasons why surfing and yoga is a great combination.

1. Yoga and surfing have a common denominator. They are ways of life.

Yoga is more than an exercise as surfing is more than a sport. Both are ways of living that help make people attain a fuller and more complete life. They also help you know more not only about yourself but also about your surroundings: yoga seeks enlightenment of your spirituality while surfing makes you one with nature. The yoga world is also similar with a surfing moment; a place of freedom, a place of peace, a place without time… Either way, you become your better person as you completely immerse yourself in the activity and in the process, rest your mind and spirit to release your fullest.

2. Surfing without exercise such as yoga can have health repercussions.

Although surfing is a good exercise, it is not perfect because it is not completely symmetrical. Surfing does not work all body parts as it concentrates only on some especially the shoulders and arms. In the process, the rest of the body does not get its proper exercise. That is why it is always recommended that surfing be paired with a form of exercise that gives emphasis on stretching such as yoga. Yoga can work the body parts that are not frequently worked out in surfing. With that, you are ensured that you have a complete activity for your entire body.

3. Yoga will teach you patience in surfing.

Starting to surf may be difficult to some people who do not have the skill of balance pros have. However, with a little more practice, you can gain more knowledge about reaching your body’s equilibrium but this may take time. Some may learn to surf in only a few days but some may take several weeks or months with a very long learning curve. With the help of yoga, meditation and breathing can make you become a more patient student surfer. The extended patience that you gain from practicing yoga can also be helpful while waiting for those surf quality waves to practice on.

4. Yoga will increase your strength and flexibility on the board.

Yoga can enhance your self-awareness and make your body and mind exist in perfect harmony. Yoga will sharpen your concentration, enabling you to attain perfect equilibrium. Because yoga includes stretching and different forms to be followed, it will improve the flexibility of every part of your body. Flexibility is the key to constancy on top of the board while surfing a wave. Flexibility gained by practicing yoga also helps you move with more freedom, balance and comfort. And in this area, it is obvious how yoga can really be helpful.

5. Yoga will help you improve posture and breathing.

Just like in yoga, proper posture and breathing is also important in surfing. You reach maximum performance when your body has proper amounts of oxygen taken in and is in the proper position. With yoga, you will learn to breathe and pose better. Yoga benefits such as minimized tension on the body especially on the back and the shoulders can maximize surfing performance. Proper breathing and posture will give you strength and balance that can increase stability while you glide on the waves.

Surfing and yoga is a perfect complement that assists in excelling each other to higher levels and that is why most surf schools have yoga activities as well. The pair not only enhances your spirituality and physicality but also harmonizes your mind and body in perfect balance. So the next time, before you surf, practice a few minutes of yoga and breathing. Then you’ll realize that surfing is not only a purely physical activity but can have spiritual liberation effects as well.



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