Understand Yoga, Explore Self.

You may be a night owl and be at your best during the late hours but the fact is your energy and freshness is more likely to be more in the morning. It is law of nature that morning time is the time for renewal of everything. Sun rises after the dark night, birds starts to leave their nest to begin another day with the first rays of sun. Flowers start blooming again. Similarly morning is the ideal time for Yoga Sadhana or practice.

In the morning the body may be stiffer compared to evening but it is also having more strength and no mental fatigue which happens after a day of work. Apart from the mental fatigue, there are not thoughts which accumulated after interacting with people around us during the day. The thought process disturbs the mind while in the morning when the mind is calmer, the Yoga poses can be done with more awareness.

You will need more determination in the morning for the poses because of the stiffness but with practice the poses become easier to practice. Morning time is also the best time to detoxify using various therapies like water therapy and practicing yoga after that enhances the detoxification process.

Practicing in the Morning
If possible try to practice in a airy room or balcony which has fresh air.
This is one of the routine I can suggest you to try out which works very well.

1. Start with some small routine where in you rotate the joints of wrists, shoulders with breath awareness. Then follow with neck stretching and followed by kriyas which open up the leg joints. Take some rest in Shavasana.

2. Try some stretching asanas in the beginning like Tadasana. Try out some new asanas which is easy for you but keep changing this every few days. For example you can try out asanas which strenghten the arms and upper body for few days, then go for spinal twists or back bends etc.

3. Practice 7 to eight rounds of Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutaions). This will set the blood flowing quickly in the body, remove lethargy and increase the alertness.

4. Follow with 5-10 minutes of Shavasana.

5. Practice Kapalbhati pranayama for 10 minutes and Nadi Shodhana pranayama for 10 minutes followed by 3 to 5 rounds of Bharamri pranayama.

Practicing yoga in the morning sets your day in the right direction with right mindset and healthy body. Within few days you will see the difference this practice make in your day and you will looking forward to the next morning eagerly.

Kandharasana or the Shoulder pose is an pose in which part of the body weight is on the shoulders. This asana is good for Thyroid and can be practiced after inverted asanas like Sarvangasana.

How to practice Kandharasana

1. Lie down on your back on the mat with the hands placed near the body.


2. Fold the legs from the knees and place the feet near your hips.


3. Hold the legs near the ankles with the hands.


4. Raise the buttocks and try to lift the body as much as possible.


5. In the final position keep the weight on the shoulders, neck, arms and feet.


6. Stay for as long as possible and slowly come back to ground with exhalation.


7. Practice this for 2 to 3 times.

Benefits of Kandharsana

1. During this pose there is more blood flow through the thyroid glands therefore it is good for treating the various conditions of thyroid glands.


2. The back is also strengthened and cures back pains and helps in realigning the spinal cord.


3. This pose opens the lungs and it is good for respiratory problems including asthama


4. The upper thigh and groin is stretched and toned.


5. Practicing this asana after Sarvangasana increases the benefits of Sarvangasana.

Precaution
Persons having neck pain or hernia should not practice this.

Constipation is the reason for many diseases and can be caused by variety of reasons. Irregular motions which can some times last for 2 or 3 days is known as constipation. Constipation causes lethargy, loss of appetite, head ache, bad smell from mouth, piles, mouth sores and other diseases.

Major reasons behind constipation are lack of physical exercise or activity, excessive consumption of tea or coffee, lack of fiber in food and eating refined food or high fat animal products, diseases of liver, not chewing the food properly etc.

Here are few ways to prevent and cure constipation. To cure and prevent constipation it is very important to maintain an healthy lifestyle. Drink around 1.5 liters of water first thing in the morning. Please see the article on water therapy for this. Regular exercises and inversion asanas like Sarvangasana are extremely good. Including vegetables in the diet and chewing the food properly helps in the easier digestion and prevents constipation.

Guava

Guava is a much ignored fruit but contains the vital vitamins A, B and C and various minerals like phosphorus etc. It contains lot of fiber and excellent for treating constipation. Taking one or two ripe guava in the evening is extremely beneficial.

Triphala
Triphala consists for three herbs Amla, Baheda and Hartaki and is one of the most potent combination for curing constipation. Taking two teaspoons spoon of Triphala with water or milk in the night clears the stomach quite easily and at the same time it is not habit forming. To increase the effectiveness of Triphala take it with one third amount of Carom seed powder(Ajwain in Hindi) and Rock salt and take it with warm water.

Gulkand (Rose Petal Jam)

Gulkand is prepared by mixing rose petals and sugar in a glass jar and putting the jar in the sun for 3 to 4 weeks. The ratio of Rose petals to Sugar is 1:2. This is an excellent tonic for enhancing the digestive system and relieves constipation. It cleans the intestines, reduces the body heat therefore the acne and pimples are cured. Apart from this it is excellent for treating acidity. Take Gulkand with warm milk or water for constipation relief.

Amla Aloe Vera Juice

I recently wrote on Amla Aloe Vera juice and its benefits. Please visit the article here.

Sometime back I had written an article on treating eczema through various techniques including yoga and ayurveda. Here is another potent combination which is extremely effective for treating skin diseases including eczema. Here is what you need to do.

Buy Amla and Aloe Vera juices from some reputed ayurvedic brand. Mix then in equal portion about 15 ml each. Mix this in a glass and fill rest of the glass with water. Just drink it. Make sure that you shake the Aloe Vera mixture before pouring it. If you drink it with empty stomach it will provide better results. Take it twice a day to be more effective. Within around 2 week you will see the difference and regularly consuming it for 2 month will cure various skin diseases.

Other Variations with Amla and Aloe Vera
In case you practice water therapy you can also mix it in the water which you consume. Water therapy is practice first thing in the morning and is an excellent cleansing mechanism, and adding these two juices will enhance the benefits of water therapy.

Another variation you can try is to add one or two tea spoons of triphala powder in the glass along with Amla and Aloe Vera. Pour water and keep it for 10 to 30 minutes and then consume this mixture. Triphala is another powerful ayurvedic tonic which balances the Doshas and cleanses the body.

Benefits of Amla - Aloe Vera Juice

1. It cleanses the body and flushes out the toxins and therefore good for skin diseases.


2. Amla is full of Vitamin C which is good for skin.


3. It improves digestion process


4. Problems of stomach like acidity and heartburn etc are solved. I know people who have been taking treatment for acidity for years but did not get the desired benefits. As soon as they started consuming Amla Aloe Vera juice they started getting immediate relief.


5. It is good for skin and hair problems.


6. Aloe Vera has properties which stops the spread of cancer cells. It is good for general health and can be used as general tonic.


7. Amla is also good for eyes and adding Triphala also makes it excellent for eye problems.

Naturopathy advocates the user of natural resources like water, mud or fasting etc for cure from diseases. It believes that body has the power to heal itself. Naturopathy is against treating diseases with any external medicines. I am writing two simple techniques I saw in a TV program recently in which a Naturopath presented these techniques.

1. Pain in the stomach due to Gas, Acidity or indigestion.

Taken a small towel and rinse it in cold water and wriggle out the water. Tell the patient to lie down and spread the towel on the stomach. Keep it for 10 to 15 minutes. Patient will get immense relief.

2. Pain in other parts of the body, headache etc.

Take two towels. Take boiling water in one container and cold water in another container. Dip the hankie/towel in hot water wriggle the water and apply for 3 minutes and then apply towel dipped and wriggled from cold water and apply it for 2 minutes. Repeat for 4 to 5 times. It will relieve almost all pain. Experiments on women in labor pain have also given positive results. The theory is that alternately applying hot and cold towels increases the blood flow to the affected part and as a result increases the oxygen content in that part, thereby curing the pain.

Snake pose in another in line of the easy poses I have been writing on back pain relief and cure. This pose is very easy to practice and regularly practicing this along with the other back bending pose will cure you of back pains. This pose strengthens your back and stretches the shoulders, there fore good for maintaining a good body posture.

How to practice Snake Pose

1. Lie on the mat with face facing downwards on your stomach.


2. Take your hands on the back and clasp the fingers together.


3. With inhalation lift your upper body. Try to use the back muscles for the lift and go up as much as possible.


4. Try to stretch you arms and lift them as much as possible.


5. Stay in this pose for 10 to 15 seconds.


6. Come back slowly to normal position with exhalation.


7. Repeat for two to three times.

Benefits of Snake Pose

1. Back is strengthened.


2. Opens up the lungs and therefore beneficial for Asthma patients.


3. Strengthens the shoulders and arms and makes them shapely.

Related Posts
Ardh Dhanush Asana (Half Bow Pose)- Yoga For Lower Back Pain
Makarasana (Crocodile Pose)
Sphinx pose
Ardh Shalbhasana For Lower Back Problems

A yoga Festival was celebrated in Times Square in New York on Sunday June 21. I came across this news in the news paper in India and searched the net for this. It appears around 200 yoga enthusiasts turned up for the event. This is a yearly event being celebrated for last seven years. The purpose is to promote peace and health. I feel it is a wonderful way to celebrate and spread yoga.

For the participants also this must have been a wonderful experience. Usually we practice indoors, but practicing amongst the worlds tallest buildings, where there thousands of vehicles everyday must have been real awe inspiring experience.

Swami Ramdev holds camps regularly which is attended by thousands of people at a time. Most of the times more than 10,000 people attend these camps. Practicing at a camp has its own benefits and people get inspired by others and it motivates them to practice regularly. But having the yoga festival has a different meaning and purpose.

Just like we have marathons in different cities, similarly yoga festivals should be celebrated in different cities of India and other countries. If the mood is festive, people will also bring their kids to these events and they will develop interest in yoga. Too many times we present yoga as something serious and scare away lot of people. I hope such events become part of festival calendars for all the metros in the beginning and then it will gradually spread to the smaller cities. Spread of yoga will create a stronger nation. It will create strong ethical and moral values in the people and solve many problems in the society.

More more information please visit:

http://www.timessquarenyc.org/about_us/events_solstice.html

Related Posts

Advantages of Practicing Yoga with a teacher