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Tuesday 30 October 2012

Yoga With Meditation


The first act of life – breathing.
The last act of life – breathing.
Says Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the founder of the Art of Living Foundation.



Everything else lies somewhere in the middle but seems to assume utmost importance in our life. And this key element called breath, driving our very life journey, how often do we stop to observe the process of breathing in and out during the day? We don't feel the need to because it is so natural. But do you know a little attention on the way we breathe can open up numerous secrets to good health? Increased immunity, a calm and relaxed mind, and a happy state of being, for starters?

Meditation is the best way by which we can become aware of our breath. It is the practice by which there is constant observation of the mind and the breath. Through the practice of Meditation, you will achieve a greater sense of purpose and strength of will. It also helps you achieve a clearer mind, improve your concentration, and discover the wisdom and tranquility within you.

Modern life style has high exposure to anger, hate, fear and other negative emotions. These human emotions have a high tendency to duplicate and spread. For example, when a person gets cheated, he starts to suspect everything around him. This also has an impact on people around him. These emotions form strong impressions and opinions on an individual and social level. The result of which is an insecure individual and an unstable society.

Meditation helps an individual overcome these emotions to facilitate a calm peaceful mind and a healthy and stress free body.Upon daily practice an individual will blossom into an unshakable personality. With increase in the number of people who are calm, peaceful and healthy will facilitate a social transformation, enabling a society that is trusting, happy and content.


Monday 29 October 2012

Yoga for Seniors


Yoga is to be aware and all these practices are directed towards that. Yoga asanas help  become more aware of your body, Sudarshan Kriya of Art of Living and meditation help you become aware of your thoughts and your breath. All these help to witness ones emotions,  capabilities and experiences.
Yoga enables one to stay focused and centered and to contribute to every situation without getting emotionally involved in it.
Most of us think if seniors above 65 can do yoga. And yes they can. The basic premise in yoga is union - union of the various aspects of our existence like body, breath, mind etc. In fact the word yoga comes from a Sanskrit root 'Yuj', which means 'to unite'. Hence, it is possible for people of all ages and from all walks of life to utilize the techniques of yoga for creating a harmonious and joyful existence..
  •   Substitute warm-ups with brisk walking and joint movements.
  •   Standing Yoga Poses Triangle Pose (konasana series) and Standing Spinal Twist (Kati chakrasanas)
  •   Sitting Yoga Poses Butterfly Pose, Cradling (if possible), body rotation, Cat stretch and Child pose (Shishu Asana).
  •   Yoga Poses lying on the back or stomach Focus on repetitions rather than holding any posture such as the Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana), the Locust Pose (Shalabhasana) or the Knee to Chin Press    (Pawanmuktasana).
  •    Yoga nidra is by far the most essential part of any yoga practice, and as age progresses, it becomes even more essential to help assimilate the effect of the asana practice into our system.
The same yoga asanas performed by a younger individual could be more challenging in terms of effort put into the posture, the duration of holding the posture and amount of flexibility required. Some cardio vascular movements and abdominals would be more appropriate for a person with higher level of endurance and body fitness.
Do not push yourself too hard in a pose. Yoga can only be effective if you practice it properly. The harder you try, the more you expose yourself to injury. Do not put more stress to your already stressed out body. Remember that Yoga aims to quiet the mind as you exercise the body. If you feel pain, stop what you are doing.

Yoga Class

As we all know that yoga brings about the all round fitness in us along with tuning our body in proper shape, relieving us from stress and making us experience the inner peace.
The yoga classes are conducted all over the world as doing yoga in groups increases our commitment towards doing the practice. Here is the video of an yoga class in Africa.


Also learn some Yoga for Lower Back Pain

Benefits of Sun Salutation


Regular practice of Sun Salutation benefits your body with:
  • Increased blood oxygenation by copious lung ventilation and this is great news for your heart.
  • Stretches and tones your muscles keeping them supple and flexible.
  • Clears your elimination channels helping your body rid itself of toxins. This is especially good in the morning after many hours of lack of movement during sleep (the lymphatic system eliminates toxins through movement).
  • Stimulates and tones your Endocrine system (especially the Thyroid, the master gland that controls all the other glands).
  • Tones up the internal abdominal organs by alternate stretching, compression cycles that results in better digestion and bowel movement.
  • Increases spine and waist flexibility.
The mental benefits of Sun Salutation are similar with meditation. You can look at Sun Salutation as meditation in movement. 

Sun Salutation helps to: 

  • Increase your mental focus and concentration.
  • Reduce depression, anxiety and stress by reducing key markers like Cortisol.
  • Increase the quantity of “good mood” neurotransmitters like Serotonin.
  • Increase mind to body coordination which is very good especially for older persons.
Ten minutes of Suryanamaskars daily will help you look at the unwinding life from a different perspective.

What is Yoga all about..




Yoga is not just about standing on our head or bending in all sorts of contorted positions. It is the uniting of body, mind, and spirit, encouraging a full experience of the intricate relationship between them and how to bring this relationship into balance. Ultimately, yoga is about self-realization, true freedom, where the individual self merges into the universal self.
The effect of yoga develops over a period of time, subtly changing the way we move, think, feel and behave. It helps us recognize our resistances and go beyond them. Without pushing or straining, we breathe and move through a posture, simultaneously watching the mind going beyond its own limitations.
Bringing awareness to our movement allows us to inhabit our body and the postures with greater consciousness and ease. However, without understanding the vast power of the breath, yoga as it is often taught, becomes just an exercise, even if it is a wonderful one.
When we breathe into the posture the body opens, lets go and relaxes. The key to yoga movement is bending the spine backward and forward, as that is where we hold the most tension that causes us stress and a variety of physical problems. But without the breath, which is the core of yoga, then it can become very mechanical.
The breath is the entry point to the body, so watching the flow of the breath brings our attention inward, enabling external distractions to drop away. It focuses our attention and deepens awareness as we do each yoga posture, creating a meditation in action. All we have to do is follow each breath as it enters and leaves, bringing the breath, mind and body together.
All ailments, diseases are manifestations of imbalances in the body. Ailments are the body's way of calling attention for 'more care'. Yoga and yoga postures provide simple and practical solutions to all your daily problems.
Physically, the yoga postures improve the flexibility of the muscles and the joints. They also massage the organs, thus improving their functionality. Yoga heals various chronic illnesses in a natural and simple way and also improves the body’s immunity.