Utthitha Parsvakonasana - Yoga For Legs

Utthitha Parsvakonasana is a basic yoga pose which should be practiced along with Utthitha Trikonasana to build up stamina and strength required for later poses. This can also be practiced to build up leg strength for people who are weak people. After practicing for few weeks you would be able to see noticeable difference in your leg strength and the shape.

Utthitha means extended. Parsva means flanks and Kona means angle. The body is stretch in the flanks while creating angle hence it is named so.

Steps to Practice Utthitha Parsvakonasana

1. Stand on the mat with the feet around 4 feet apart and arms extended sideways.


2. Turn the right foot outside so that is it perpendicular to the body. Turn the left floor to adjust the body position accordingly.


3. Stay in this position for few breath counts.


4. With exhalation bend the right leg so that thigh is perpendicular to the ground. Take care that the knee should be in line with the ankle.


5. Take two breaths and place the right hand on the ground making sure that the armpit touches the right knee.


6. Extend the left arm over the head and look up.


7. Now push the upper chest higher so that so that there is stretching in the skin of the back.


8. This is the final position. Stay in this position for as long as you are comfortable with normal breathing.


9. Come out of the pose with inhalation and repeat the sequence on the other side.
   Gradually increase the time in this pose.

Benefits of Utthitha Parsvakonasana

1. Increased strength in ankles, thighs and overall legs.


2. Stamina increases a lot.


3. Chest Opens up, Good for introvert people.


4. Upper Back Strength increases.

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Advertise For Free on Headfirst Yoga

Let me make a confession. I got this idea from an article I read on Problogger short while ago. I offer to run free advertisements for your a month on my blog. I plan to start the advertisement in March.

Who is Eligible?
This offer is valid to anyone who runs a blog or website on fitness and health or any other health related resorts or yoga studios. Basically anyone offering any health care especially alternative medicine system is welcome. In case you are interested please write to me on nilendu.bhattacharya@gmail.com with the subject Free Advertisement. In case your website does not fall in this category but you still feel you may be eligible you are welcome to write to me.

What Information I Need From You?

1. Description of your Website in a paragraph or two.


2. How people are benefited from your product or website?


3. Why you think you should be chosen

So hurry up and grab your spot. Once I go through the responses I will require the advertisements. I will decide on the size depending on the response. Looking forward to your mails.

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5 Great Reasons to Start a Yoga Course

I am into the sixth week of the 32 week course which I have started as a part of my Yoga goal for this year and till now it is going on quite well. I am doing this course at home as per the sequences prescribed by Shri BKS Iyengar. Starting this course has been an eye opener for me.

Till now I used to practice as per what I read and what I wanted to experiment and improve at that point of time. For example for some point of time I used to concentrate more on forward bends and then for some period of time I used to go for leg strength poses. Though I would make progress on those poses, but as a whole I was not making great progress.

This year I was thinking on what should be my Yoga goal and it is then that I decided to go for the 32 week course. Though I am still into the initial phase of the course I can already see the benefits of committing to a course and would highly recommend everybody to join a course.

What comprises a Yoga Course
Usually a Yoga course would be combination of various poses. A course of Yoga is composed of a sequence of poses which need to be practiced one after another. In some of the courses the sequences are altered and some poses are inserted or removed based on the level the participant reaches. The sequence goes on becoming tougher as the course advances till it reaches a particular level.

In some other courses the sequences remains the same during the entire course, though the participant is expected to improve on the poses with practice like in Bikram Yoga. Each course has a different objective and you should ask the instructor about the course in details before you start. Whichever course you take, it is guaranteed to benefit you.

Here are 5 great reasons to start a Yoga Course

1. Gain Rapid Health Gains
   When you start the course the benefits would be visible with in a week and it will increase rapidly. The courses are usually designed to include various elements of Yoga including yoga poses, breathing exercises and relaxation.
   
   The practice is done in a relaxed manner in most of the courses, and it will make you physically stronger, increase your immune system and stress free. If you have any physical ailments you will make rapid progress towards overcoming those. Be sure to tell your instructor about your illness so that some poses can be avoided which can cause complications.


2. Make Faster Progress
   When you practice without any tangible goals you will not make any substantial progress. When you have a goal you would make more progress in 3 months compared to what you can struggle to make in a year. I have seen this happen to myself also. Although I have been practicing many of the poses in this course for years, including the same poses in this course has helped me make more progress the poses within this short time.


3. Increase Focus and Motivation
   There a lot of times when you will not feel like practicing, and we look for motivation. When you join a course it proved the right motivation to practice. Most of the times you will look forward to the practice. For those who practice at home, a course gives you focus to stick to a particular sequence and the practice is more organized. This will ensure faster progress.


4. Practicing in Correct Sequences
   Practicing in a correct sequence is very important and more beneficial. When correct sequence s followed the organs and muscles which are used in one pose are relaxed in the next pose. This increases the progress and benefits compared to when you do it in incorrect sequence and reduces the chances of injury.


5. Expands Your Horizon
   You get a broader view of the practice instead of a localized experience. The mind, brain and the body experiences a different experience when we practice an organized sequence. This will increase your awareness of the body and mind and help you understand the relation between body and mind. When we have that awareness we can deal with stresses of life in a better way and take more intelligent approach to solve them.

My Current Schedule
I would like to share my practice sequence with you for the sixth week. My current schedule is mixture of Poses which increase Strength, stamina, flexibility, and relaxation of primarily the lower region of the body.

This sequence is same for fifth, sixth and the the seventh weeks, which means this routine is same for three weeks. The reason of keeping 3 weeks for the sequence is to provide enough time for developing strength and perfection in the pose. Though three weeks is not sufficient enough time to build perfection, it gives a good start. While practicing, you should strive to reach as much near to perfection as is possible by you. It will take time but that should not be used as an excuse of not progressing.

At present I am following the routine mentioned below. It is divided into two sets. The first set comprises of eight standing poses and the second set comprises of six remaining poses. I practice first set for two rounds and the second set for one round.

Set 1 - Two Rounds
Tadasana (Tree Pose)
Utthitha Trikonasana (Triangle Pose)
Utthitha Parsvakonasana
Virbhadra Asana I (Warrior Pose I)
Virbhadra Asana II (Warrior Pose II)
Parivrtta Trikonasana (Revolved Triangle Pose)
Parsva Uttanasana (Sideways Facing Forward Bend)
Prasarita Padottanasana (Wide-Legged Forward Bend)

Set 2 - One Round
Urdhava Prasarita Padasana (Upward Extended Feet Pose)
Navasana (Boat Pose)
Ardh Navasana (Half Boat Pose)
Sarvangasana (Shoulder Stand Pose)
Halasana (Plough Pose)
Ujjyai Pranayama in Shavasana (Corpse Pose)

I will write in more details regarding the way I practice in the coming posts and the various techniques which can help in the practice. This week was challenging and fun. I am looking forward to the seventh week's practice and would be sharing the details of my experience once I am through that.

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Throat Breathing For Relaxation

When we practice the different poses of yoga sometimes we give more importance the poses and less to the relaxation after the practice. Relaxation is equally important part of yoga practice. Relaxing properly will ensure that the tiredness is minimum, mind becomes stable and we can feel the affect of the poses on the various body parts on a deeper level.

After the practice of Asanas there are various ways to relax like Shavasana or deep breathing while the body is loose. Throat breathing is another technique which is an easy way to relax and remove tiredness. This is basically a variation of Ujjayi Pranayama and relaxes all mind and the body. In Ujjayi Pranayama the awareness is more on the throat. The air we breathe passes through the throat to the lungs but we are usually not aware of this phenomena. This Pranayama aims to bring the awareness to this region and helps in relaxation.

The steps for this relaxation technique is very simple and anyone can practice this. This can be practiced in both sitting and lying position. If you do it for some time the experience which you will have is similar to what we have just before we go to deep sleep.

Steps to Practice Throat Breathing

1. Lie down on the mat in Shavasana and adjust the body so that it is in its most relaxed state. You can also sit in a meditative pose like Padmasana or Vajrasana and make sure that the spine is straight.


2. Close your eyes and start breathing and make slight effort to ensure that the air touches the top of the throat while passing. Try to observe the noise of air touching the throat. The noises will be different while inhaling and exhaling. While inhaling it will like "sa" and while exhaling it will be like "pa".


3. The sound should not be too loud but you should be able to hear that.


4. Do it slowly and with deep breathing.


5. Do this for 5 minutes and then come out slowly from the pose after being still for some time.

As a variation it is also practice with tip of the tongue touching the upper floor of the mouth. This is known as Kechari Mudra.

Benefits
This pranayama will relax you completely and drain out the tiredness and nervous tension in all the muscles of the body.

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Build Determination and Strength with Uttitha Trikon Asana (Triangle Pose)

Uttitha Trikon Asana (The extended triangle pose) is one of the basic poses in Yoga. During this pose we create angles at three different places in the body. This pose increases the flexibility, determination and strength which is useful in all spheres of life.

I have already written on Uttitha Trikon Asana and it benefits earlier. You can read that post here. Though it is a basic pose, it is one of the must poses when you want to start practicing yoga. It develops physical strength, in the legs, lower back and improves the flexibility which is required as we go on to the next poses. Usually the practice starts with this pose for the beginners.

I love this pose and practice this every day. At present I am practicing the 32 week course which is my yoga goal for 2010. Today I finished the 5th week of the course. In the 32 week course also Uttitha Trikon Asana is one of the core poses and practicing this along with few other key poses ensures that remaining poses becomes easier.

All the standing poses require strength and stamina especially in the legs. Trikon Asana increases the leg strength and therefore its mastery is important for progress in the practice.

Change in Awareness Utitha Trikon Asana
When you start the practice of Utitha Trikon Asana depending on the level of leg flexibility you have, different muscle areas of your legs would get affected. Initially you would find it difficult to touch the hands to the floor. At that time major stretch would be on the lower hamstring near the knees.

Later those muscles will loosen up and you would be able to go down a little bit more and be able to touch the fingers to the floor. When you make some progress in the pose, the area of the muscle group on which you work will increase. With some more practice gradually you would be able to touch the palms to the ground. Now the entire hamstring and the ankles are affected and strengthened.

Initially your concentration would be mainly on the legs but with regular practice you would be able to concentrate on other areas also like the back and the proper arms alignment and the neck position. This is a clear sign of the progress you are making. Gradually you would be able to concentrate on the minor aspects of the pose and achieve more mastery in this pose.

Relating Life Experience with Uttitha Trikon Asana
During my practice, I start with Uttitha Trikon Asana and then practice the other poses in the sequence. Then again repeat the sequence and during the second round, all the poses come easier and I am able to go deeper into the poses. When we start the practice the body may not be loose and warmed up, and it is difficult to bend down fully. At that time you would need more determination and effort to start. Once you are willing to do that, you would be able to make more progress in the pose as well as the subsequent poses.

Similarly in life also more many tasks it is difficult in the beginning, but once that barrier is crossed it is easier and smother for the rest of the steps. Also, when we face similar hurdle next time we are able to face that challenge more easily and with more confidence. Practice of Uttitha Trikon Asana is a perfect example of this philosophy.

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My Yoga Goal For 2010

I have been thinking about what should be my Yoga goal for this year since the past few weeks. I had thought of few alternative courses but was not able to decide. Yesterday I finally closed down on this and I want to share that with you all.

This year my goal is to complete Basic course of Yoga Poses as prescribed by BKS Iyengar. It starts with around 7 to 8 poses in the first week and goes on to finish with around 50 poses. There needs to be a push or a pull which can drive the practice. Usually most people are driven by external push for most work.

Purpose of Writing Down my Goal

Regular and dedicated practice of Yoga is very difficult. There are days when due to certain circumstances of sheer laziness it is difficult to practice. Writing down your goals is a excellent way to ensure that we stay on the course of our desired actions. I experience it when I wrote in my blog about completing 21 Sets of Surya Namaskar for 30 days late last year. The results pleased me a lot and more than that I felt that even on days I did not feel like practicing the power of written commitment pulled me towards the practice.

Similarly I feel that this time announcing this on the blog will help me to reach the goal and at the same time act a guide for my Yoga practice this year.

Another aspect of announcing this is for me practice of yoga is now a important part of my life. All the posts which I write, I try to include my personal experiences also, and that can come only from practice. This goal will provide me hundreds of ideas which I can convey to other and lot of people will benefit from this.

More details of my Yoga Goal for 2010

I follow quite a few schools of Yoga. For this year I want to follow Iyengar methodology. I have been thinking of doing this around 2 years now, but lack of commitment or self belief to this routine has been the reason that I never did this. I feel I have the courage now to attempt this.

I follow the "Light on Yoga" book from Iyengar. It is very comprehensive and contains huge list of poses. At the end of the book there is a prescribed course for practice. I am going to take up the beginner's course for this year. That is a minimum of 32 weeks course. Of course I will allow myself to finish that by the year end. At present I am in the 5th week and there are 12 poses and one pranayama. By the time I reach the 30th Week it will reach 50 poses in the session. One I complete the 30th week, the practice will divide the poses in three parts to be practice on three days and then repeated again. Realistically I feel I will need more than 32 weeks and for me if I am able to finish the course by year end that would be great achievement.

The benefits of this goal
Let me confess something. Though I quite practice regularly (Around 4 to 5 times a week) still my body is not strong enough to do this at this moment. I still have fat layer around my waist though it has reduced considerably after the 30 day Surya Namaskar practice I did as an experiment.

My aim is not to concentrate on fat reduction specifically, because if it was so, I would have continue to practice Surya Namaskar for 2 more months and I am sure would have lost the required amount of fat. My aim is to explore yoga more thoroughly and while doing my regular practice the body would automatically reduce fat from the wrong places. I cannot do that if I practice Surya Namaskar alone as that will take major chunk of my yoga time. I also want to explore to what height I can reach. This will be difficult journey and I look forward to this.

Another thing which will be good are the twisting poses like the matyendra asana where there is a spinal twist. Presently I rarely practice these poses. At the end of the course I will be doing all the types of poses like forward and backward bend, twists, sitting and standing pose etc. This will enhance my knowledge by many folds.

I plan to update my blog with my progress and experiences from time to time on this blog.

This will be hugely challenging year for me and I am also not sure whether I will be able to complete this. But there is no harm in trying and I am sure I will come out a better person. I am excited about this venture and particularly so after announcing this on this blog. This will make my commitment stronger than before.

Those who already are at the next level would be smiling at me, because it is a small step which I am about to take, but for me it is going to be a giant leap.

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6 Simple Shoulder Exercises for Stiff and Frozen Shoulders

Stiff shoulders can be a real problem. It can be problem in lot of day to day activity from wearing a shirt to driving for work. Stiff shoulder problem can be caused due to many reasons like some injury or sitting continuously in office jobs. There are many nerves which pass through the shoulders to the brain via the neck. If the shoulders are stiff you will be exhausted very soon with little work. It can also lead to prolonged visits to the doctor.

Shoulders stiffness can be cured with some simple exercises. These should not take more than 10 minutes. If you do these exercise thrice a week your chances of shoulder problems will be greatly reduced. If you are already facing shoulder problems then you can do these exercises everyday.

All these poses are done while sitting in a comfortable position.

1. Fist Clenching
   Extend your arms in front with palms facing down. Arms should be parallel to the shoulders. With Exhalation clench the fists tightly and with inhalation open your fingers. Do this 10 times..


2. Wrist Rotation
   Close your fist and rotate the wrists clockwise 10 times and anti clockwise 10 times slowly and with awareness on the wrist. This will increase the wrist flexibility and strength.


3. Arms extension - Front
   Extend your arms in the front with arms parallel to the shoulders. Face the palms up and touch the shoulders with finger with exhalation. With inhalation extend them again. Do this 10 times with the awareness on the shoulders.


4. Arms Extension - Sideways
   Extend the arms sideways. With inhalation touch the shoulders and with exhalation extend them outwards. Practice this 10 times.


5. Shoulder Rotation
   Touch the fingers to the shoulders and rotate the shoulders. Try to touch the elbows with each other. Do this in both directions for 10 times.


6. Shoulder Pulling
   With inhalation extend the arms up. Hold the left wrist with the right hand and pull the left arms behind the head. Hold for 5 to 10 seconds with normal breathing. Repeat the same for the other arms. You can do this for 3 times on each side.

These simple exercise will increase the blood circulation in the shoulder region, increase the shoulder strength and remove the joint stiffness.

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