Benefits of Yoga Breathing Exercises (Pranayama)

Yoga evolved in ancient India more than 4000 years back. The word “Yoga” originates from the Sanskrit language and means, to join or integrate, or simply union. The meaning of Yoga is union of the body, mind and spirit with truth. Yoga encompasses the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of life.
 
In spite of all its greatness and goodness though, Yoga was never practised on a large scale in India in the sense that the common people were not in its ambit. It is only in the last decade or so that Yoga has spread among the masses, thanks to Yoga Gurus like Baba Ramdev and literally tens of millions of people in India and elsewhere are coming within its fold and benefitting from it in a very real sense. You just speak with anyone who practises yoga and they will quickly extoll an endless list of its benefits and sing its praise. Housewives, businessmen, sportspeople, teenagers and the aged are all practising a variety of yoga asanas (postures), dhyana (meditation) and pranayama (breathing exercises). For many, yoga becomes a way of life – often giving a more spiritual side to their lives.
 
The modern world scenario with its stressful life and cut-throat competition is providing a very fertile ground for the growth and spread of Yoga. Medical practitioners always questioned the efficacy of Yoga, but now it is being prescribed even by doctors for health ailments and illnesses, as a stress reliever and to complement other fitness programs. There are numerous documented cases of yoga relieving or curing serious illnesses such as Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, and respiratory illnesses like asthma, diabetes, bloodpressure, etc.

The sphere of Yoga is very very big. However, for the common man practising Yoga, the problem is of shortage of time because of which he cannot go into all aspects of Yoga. So two aspects become very important for him for good health, physical fitness, flexibility and mental relaxation, viz namely asanas (physical exercise) and pranayama (breathing exercises). Here, I will concentrate on Pranayama.

As you all know, oxygen is the supreme necessity for our bodies and without it we cannot survive perhaps even for a couple of minutes. There is almost unlimited oxygen all around us. But we do not know how to get its benefits fully as we never utilize our full lung capacity. Consequently our body is sort of starved of oxygen. Pranayama is a technique to govern the breathing process. Breathing is normally an unconscious process. Through Pranayama, a person learns to consciously govern the breath to bring harmony into the body, mind and spirit. Regular breathing exercises tremendously increase the capacity to inhale and absorb life-giving oxygen. The capacity of the lungs even during unconscious breathing increases. There are four breathing exercises which are particularly helpful :

1)BHASTRIKA PRANAYAMA : In this you repeatedly breathe in to the full capacity of your lungs and then breathe out completely. Should be done for minm. 2minutes ; maxm is 5 minutes
Helps heart, lungs, brain, nervous system, and in migraine, depression, paralysis, etc.
   
2)KAPALBHATI PRANAYAMA: In this breathing exercise, you exhale completely and with force while pulling in your abdomen.
Inhaling is done in a normal manner. Should be repeated 30 times, maxm 10 minutes.   
Helps in diabetes, constipation, gastric problems, hepatitis B, obesity, cholesterol, asthma, snoring and even in cancer and AIDS. 
                          
3)ANULOM VILOM PRANAYAMA: This pranayama is slightly more complicated but the benefits are enormous. (a) Close your right nasal orifice with your thumb and breathe in deeply with your left nose. (b) Now open the right nose, close the left nose with middle and ring fingers, and breathe out completely with your right nose. (c) Next, breathe in deeply with the right nose, close the right nose with your thumb, and breathe out completely with the left nose. Start again with (a), then move onto (b) then (c).
Repeat for at least 10 minutes.
Helps in heart, high blood pressure, heart blockages, arthritis, migraine, depression, neural system, paralysis, asthma, sinus, allergy, Parkinson’s disease, etc

 4)BHRAMARI PRANAYAMA: Here you close your ears with thumbs, keep index fingers on your forehead and rest three fingers should cover both eyes. Breathe in deeply and then breathe out through the nose while making a humming sound like a honey bee. Should be done seven to ten times.
Helps in cases of tension, hypertension, high blood pressure, heart, heart blockages, paralysis, migraine pain, etc. Improves concentration and confidence.
 
Now let us summarise the benefits that accrue if a person does Pranayama every morning (or evening) for a period of 20 to 25 minutes

It increases lung capacity and improves breathing efficiency,

It improves circulation, helps normalize blood pressure and improves cardiovascular efficiency,

It boosts the immune system and enhances immunity,

It increases energy levels and gives a lot of positive energy,

It strengthens and tones the nervous system,

It combats anxiety and depression and improves sleep,

It improves digestion and excretory functions,

It provides massage to the internal organs, stimulates the glands and enhances endocrine functions,

It normalizes body weight and provides great conditioning for weight loss,

and lastly it improves skin tone and complexion

 ARE YOU NOT DEPRIVING YOURSELF OF THE BENEFITS OF YOGA AND PRANAYAMA?

The author nunu ram is fascinated by the net as an unlimited source of information. He searches for useful things and loves to pass on the same to others also. For more details, please go to the following site:

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Article Source: Benefits of Yoga Breathing Exercises (Pranayama)

Advantages offered by a Laughter Yoga Class

Laughter is the easiest form of meditation and it brings instant relaxation to your body. Dr. Lee Berk of California labels laughter as a state of eustress, which in psychological terms, is the opposite of distress. This is the reason why you may find many talking about laughter yoga as stress management yoga .

If you are one of those who do not know how to practice laughter yoga, you can join a laughter yoga class. A laughter yoga class you teach you a wide variety of laughing exercises like

* Hearty laughter: This exercise is practiced by raising both the arms in the sky with the head tilted a little backwards.
* Greeting laughter: You are required to join both the hands and shake hands with at least four or five people in the group.
* Appreciation laughter: In this form of yoga, you have to join your pointing finger with the thumb to make a small circle while making gestures as if you are appreciating your group members and laughing at the same time.

All these forms of laughter yoga taught in a laughter yoga class help you by offering multiple advantages.

Laughter yoga instantly lowers blood pressure for hypertensive persons. It stimulates the brain, expands and enriches the blood vessels with oxygen, and sends more blood racing to the extremities.

The stress hormone cortisol is reduced during laughter. On the other hand, the level of the happiness hormone oxytocin is enhanced. This happiness hormone triggers a spike in immune-boosting antibodies

Laughter also raises the antibodies immunoglobulin A in the respiratory passages. These antibodies strengthen the immune system of the body and protect it from infections, allergies and cancers.

Laughter causes the endothelium – the inner lining of blood vessels – to dilate, increasing blood flow.

Laughter is a form of stationery jogging and provides the same health benefits as vigorous aerobic. This it does by stimulating the heart and blood circulation. 20 seconds of heavy laughter is equal to 3 minutes of hard rowing and will burn up to 400 calories per hour!

Laughter increases the levels of endorphins in the body – these are natural pain killers and help in fighting arthritis, spondylitis, migraine, and muscular spasms.

There is a host of laughter yoga classes in New York. One can join any laughter yoga class as per your needs and requirements. One renowned yoga class in New York is Yoga Laff. You can visit their website yogalaff.com for more information.

Laughter yoga is the best stress management yoga that helps to induce laughter & removes all your stress. Laughter yoga classes in New York help you by offering various advantages like yoga of laughter lowers your blood pressure, it increases the levels of endorphins in the body, it causes the endothelium – the inner lining of blood vessels – to dilate, increasing b

Article Source: Advantages offered by a Laughter Yoga Class

How you can Apply the Principles of Yoga to Any area of your Life

Yoga is a physical demanding workout which can develop in you physical, emotional and spirtual strength. Studies demonstrate that yoga creates more peaceful, well-balanced people who are more able to deal with the difficulties that come up in their lives. Well balanced people are much better at attracting wealth and happiness into their lives. Increased power, flexibility and sense of balance are also great physical advantages to practicing yoga.

Even after only a short time of practicing yoga I have seen my flexibility, strength and balance improve. It has also helped me to develop a deep connection to the source of my power. Yoga has taught me where to find the source of my power and how to use it to bring clarity, vision and purpose into my life.

The Core Power of Strength

Your back and abdominal area is where your core strength lies. These are the muscles you engage and develop in order for you to develop strength and balance throughout your body. In yoga, your focus needs to be on engaging your core strength in order for you to complete many of the postures. This is the source of your power.

Power from your core will spread out out through your whole body. Yoga teaches you how to tap into and engage this power. It was when I started to use the power of my core that I noticed that it was my core that provided me the strength to do most everyday tasks. Focusing in on it, I could easily radiate that power out within my body to the areas I needed to perform the certain tasks.

I began to see how the power of my core could be used to be the source of power for all things not just physical tasks. It made sense to me that the powerful energy that radiated out from my core could be used to help me be successful in visualizing, decision making and in creativity.

Experiencing life through your core allows you to make pure and right decisions. Your head is far too sensible and your heart is too emotional. Your gut will always converse to you in truth and perfect balance. ‘Listen to your gut’ is a powerful piece of advice. This is the part that connects to the true source of power right in the center of your being.

During times of tough decisions turn directly to your core, it will clearly instruct you as to what you need to do It never lies, it is never wrong and you will feel the strength of your core decision radiating outwards to keep you balanced and strong.

When I operated from the place of my core, great things happen. Things fall into place perfectly with seemingly no effort on my behalf. My creativity opens up and my work is fueled by the strength and passion of my core.

Stretch a little Deeper Each Time

Only stretch from the level you are at when getting into a posture. Stretch a little deeper so that you feel a slight challenging discomfort but never go to far so that you cause some damage. Moving at this pace will give you steady improvements each week. You are not going to increase your flexibility to yogi status in one go- that’s wrought with much danger. Just small increases in your stretch will bring to your eventual goal in a more knowledgeable, safe and peaceful way.

When you are progressing to the actualization of your goals, take it steady. Stretch a little deeper each time so that you feel a little uneasiness but not too much that it shatters you and puts you out of the game.

Your Breath Helps you to Maintain Focus and Stay Calm

To assist you in your poses you have to know how to breathe. When you pay attention to your breath, you notice that when a pose or posture becomes difficult, your breath sharpens, increases or disappears. You have to make sure you breathe evenly and deeply through each posture. This will help you to relax and settle into the posture.
Your breath is the most central aspect of any stance or anything in life- obviously, as long as you’re breathing you’re doing okay, right? During the challenging times of your life, the first step is to remember to breathe correctly. This will bring to you the clarity you need to relax, and the strength you need to reach a little further will follow.

Let Go

Yoga is all about learning to let go and experiencing your body. Experiencing your body will allow you to challenge it and take it to a whole new place. When you release yourself to the posture your whole body and mind will relax which will allow you to increase your flexibility and create a whole new flow of energy.

In life, you have to learn to let go of everything you are holding. All your stresses, problems and stories. Just let them go and allow yourself to relax, gain strength and create a whole new flow of energy.

To attain wealth and happiness in your life you have to develop a healthy mind and body. Yoga is such an empowering way for you to balance and strength your whole self. Learn to use the principles of yoga to bring about dramatic improvements in all areas of your life.

Caroline Makepeace is an expert at living a life of wealth and happiness. You can sign up for her free weekly inspirational newsletter at her blog

Article Source: How you can Apply the Principles of Yoga to Any area of your Life

Is YOGA The Mother of All Stop Smoking Programs!

Yes, it is not exaggerating to say that the boss of all stop smoking programs is the Indian origin practice of bodily postures – a set of which together is popularly known as ‘Yoga’. Its relevance to every aspect in a common man’s life and its effectiveness in gifting the doer what he started it for has rolled in plenty of people from all around the globe into it. And the ball is rolling and only getting bigger by day.

There will also be a yoga instruction centre in your city if you find the right way to find it. You will be told over there, first thing, that Yoga, when followed regularly and in the right way, is the most rewarding stop smoking program. It works above and over all stop smoking medications, stop smoking aids, stop smoking hypnosis, stop smoking pills and stop smoking drugs!

And the good news is that you, looking frantically for a stop smoking program, need not learn by rote the hundreds of postures (known as Aasanas in Sanskrit language) to just quit this one deadly consumption. There exists in Yoga, a particular set of Aasana, called the Pranayama, only learning and practising which suffices. The results of this miraculous science are best reaped when practised early in the morning (even before sunrise if possible) after brushing the teeth and having a glass of water.

However, they can be performed whenever an urge becomes stronger. Two types of pranayamas exist and are listed below. They can all be comfortably practised at home if you do not wish to attend classes. Perform them one after the other, slowly in the beginning then picking up pace as days pile up.

Kapalabhati:
Sit in a meditative pose and keep the spine, neck and head straight. Close the eyes and keep the palms resting on the knees. Then, while exhaling contract the abdominal muscles sharply, raising the diaphragm and forcing the air out of the lungs. Inhalation should be passive and silent, while exhalation forceful, brief and audible. Gradually increase the speed. Return to normal position slowly.

Bhastrika:
This is the climax part of the stop smoking program. Squat on the floor, straighten the back and close the eyes. Close the right nostril with the right thumb and exhale. Immediately inhale through the left nostril. Then close the left nostril, exhale and inhale through the right. Repeat alternatively, and slowly return to initial speed.

The above are not only useful as effective stop smoking program, but have been scientifically proven for curing several diseases like bronchitis, tension, depression, insomnia and high blood pressure.

For more information visit: www.StopSmoking2010.com

Article Source: Is YOGA The Mother of All Stop Smoking Programs!

Yoga Has It All and Does It All

Yoga’s benefits are becoming more and more known in the western world. A lot of people think of yoga as acrobatic poses. There’s that pose that you’re not sure if you’re going to come out okay from. Or there’s the one that just doesn’t look humanly possible. How about the one that involves doing a push up which is hard enough just to do never mind hold.

Fortunately there’s good news. Those poses are for when you become more flexible and stable and there’s easier poses that you can begin with that anyone can do.

Yoga is not just for toning up and becoming more flexible though. Yoga is good for you physically, mentally, and spiritually. It’s a tri-factor of health.

Increased energy and vitality, a calmer outlook on life, and a connection to the real you can all be expected from practicing yoga. It’s really something you can’t afford to not do if you are looking to be healthier and happier.

Yoga for the body

Yoga helps in many areas of physical fitness including flexibility, strength, muscle toning, and better breathing which means it creates a toned, flexible, and strong body. This obviously will help you to get up that extra flight of stairs or push yourself a little harder on the treadmill.

It improves respiration by learning how to breathe properly while doing the poses. Not a lot of people know how important breathing is but it can affect how you feel and look, your resistance to disease and even your life span.

There are poses that help your thyroid. That’s right, there are several yoga postures that “massage” your thyroid and when you do these yoga postures the thyroid gland will feel relaxed, cleansed and cared-for. Your thyroid makes hormones that regulate your metabolism. So if your thyroid is not healthy, then your metabolism is not healthy. And since your metabolism is the rate at which you burn calories, when your metabolism is “off” you won’t have the energy you need for a happy life and it will be almost impossible to lose weight.

You’ll feel and look stronger and eventually be able to do those poses you thought were out of reach.

Increased flexibility and strength can help prevent the causes of some types of back pain. Many people who suffer from back pain spend a lot of time sitting at a computer or driving a car. That can cause tightness and spinal compression, which you can begin to help with your yoga. It also will help with your alignment which will prevent many other types of pain.

Yoga for the mind

Yoga is excellent for stress relief. If you’ve ever done meditation then you know that concentrating on something whether it is listening to a sound or staring at an object focuses your mind and helps you let go of all the worries and problems that can plague it. So concentrating on your pose and most importantly your breath is an excellent form of calming yourself.

Yoga also gives you a heightened awareness of your body. Not the awareness of how much fat is hanging over your shorts but the movements your body makes or the muscles used to make those movements. The reason for this is the slow transition between poses. Knowing and appreciating what your body can do leads to greater self confidence and self esteem.

Yoga for the spirit

Just as the concentration of focusing on your breathing and pose helps with calming you down, it can also help get you to another level of spirituality or connection to that area of your life.

Yoga is a Sanskrit word. It means union with God. This union is a conscious union. We are all united with God but we are not aware of it. When we practice Yoga, we become conscious of our union with God through our stillness and awareness.

Once you feel that oneness, once you connect with yourself you will begin to understand your beliefs and what feels right to you. You’ll recognize truth for what it is and I can attest that there’s nothing better than that.

For an excellent book on the many ways yoga can help you go to gnani yoga by clicking here and start feeling the benefits today.

There are so many natural ways to improve our overall health. For some ideas check out my website at www.manifestconnection.com and check out the health page.

Article Source: Yoga Has It All and Does It All

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