Archive for August, 2010

IDLENESS OR LAZINESS

Monday, August 30th, 2010

By Dr. Rita Khanna

Idleness, or laziness, means working half-heartedly, without alertness, unknowingly, or unconsciously. It is a lack of action or activity. It is as if the work is done during sleep. Unfortunately, our condition has become such that our morning arises to welcome idleness, only. Some people are so lazy that they don’t like to get up on time. They don’t like to bathe for two to four days, or they don’t take a bath at all. After waking, they take tea, read newspapers, listen to the radio, watch TV; and then again, they lie down. They have lots of excuses for all lazy attitudes.

THREE GUNAS OR QUALITIES

The mind has three Gunas, or qualities, born of nature. These are known as:

• Sattwa or light, bliss and goodness

• Rajas, or passion and motion;

• Tamas, or inertia and darkness.

There are three Vrittis, or modifications of the mind, corresponding to the three Gunas.

• Shanta Vritti or peace, equilibrium and balance come from Sattwa Guna.

• Ghora Vritti or anger manifests from Rajo Guna.

• Moodha Vritti or carelessness, laziness, and drowsiness come from Tamo Guna.

Tamas binds the living beings by idleness, laziness, and sleep. Due to idleness, we cannot imagine of healthy thoughts. Idleness is the gateway to death.

HOW TO ELIMINATE LAZINESS OR IDLENESS

Laziness must be eliminated with activity. To get rid of idleness, Tamas must be conquered, with Rajas first, and then Rajas with Sattva. Swami Sivanandji used to say – do not depend on others. All work should be done, by the body, to leave laziness. When we make a habit to do all possible work by ourselves, we get its reward, also. The health remains best. We remain healthy. The intellect becomes sharp, pure, and alert.

Our scriptures say to exist with awareness – wakefulness while awake, wakefulness during dream and during sleep. There should be awakening during eating, drinking, speaking, and walking. Bhagvan Shri Krishna has said that the person is a Yogi when he does not sleep – even while he is sleeping. It means that his inner mind is awake when he is sleeping. So, he does not have binding of Tamoguna. He is free. Once you try to live with alertness and full awareness, you will be able to experience new life and will be free from idleness.

WHAT ARE THE METHODS

There are lots of methods to remove idleness. One of them is Yoga. Normally, what happens when we are not well – the doctor advises us to do some activity, such as Yoga, Pranayama, and Meditation. However, it is better if we get up early by ourselves and do some Asanas. By this, we get the benefit of prevention – before the problem occurs.

Asanas, such as Suryananmaskar, Halasana, Paschimottanasana, Bhujangasana, Shalabhasana, Dhanurasana, Chakrasana; and Pranayamas, such as Sheetali, Kapalbhati, and Bhastrika are very beneficial. All these Asanas open up the vertebrae, increase elasticity in the spinal column, and the blood circulation in the whole body. These exercises will remove laziness and will give you energy and vitality for the whole day. After this, there is no will to lie down in the bed. In the beginning, the Tamasa is destroyed, and then Rajas increases. The active life, proper thinking, and social dealings will lead towards Sattva completely. So, do the Asanas, which are possible for you, out of the above-mentioned Asanas.

For those who can’t do the above-mentioned Asanas, there is a very simple Asana named – Setubandha Asana. Having the shape of fly over bridge, this Asana has numerous potential.

By the practice of this Asana, the vertebrae of the spinal column, shoulders, upper arm, both forearms, elbows, wrists of the hands, palms, fingers, neck, back, waist, thighs, knees, and the calf muscles of the legs, experience energy and vitality.

TECHNIQUE OF SETUBANDHA ASANA (FLY OVER BRIDGE)

• Spread mat or double folded blanket on a flat ground.

• Now, lie down straight on your back.

• Then bend each leg at your knee one by one.

• Both knees should touch each other.

• The heels and the toes should also touch each other.

• Take the heels quite close to the buttocks.

• Feet flat on the floor.

• Keep your hands, by your sides, parallel to the ground.

• By pressing the palms on the ground, lift the waist up.

• The middle part of the body should be lifted up as much as possible, and it should be supported by both hands.

• The fingers of the hands should remain on the outer side and the thumbs should point inwards.

• The waist should be supported with the hands.

• The arm, between the shoulder and the elbow, remains parallel to the ground; and the forearm, between the elbow and the wrist, remains vertical to the ground – as a pole.

• Now, very slowly straighten your legs – one by one; the right leg first, then the left leg.

• Both thighs, both knees, calf muscles, heal, and the toes of the feet should touch each other.

• There should not be any angle at the knee joint.

• This way, the shape of the whole body will be like a fly over a bridge.

• Hold this pose for as long as comfortable.

• When releasing the Bridge Pose, slowly fold the legs – first, one by one, remove the hands, and put them on the sides of the body – then, slowly put the body down back on the floor.

• Relax.

BENEFITS

By the practice of Setubandhasna, the body experiences the big tide of energy. The muscles of the legs, hands, and the joints become strong. By its regular practice, one becomes free from psychological abnormality, and obtains the life filled with good thoughts, hopes, and joy.

Do not forget this formula, rest is rust. Always be engrossed in one or the other activity, such as sports, swimming, skiing, learning, or research – so that one should be free from idleness.

AUM SHANTI

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Courtesy: Dr. Rita Khanna’s Yogashaastra Studio.

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Dr. Rita Khanna

Dr. Rita Khanna is a well-known name in the field of Yoga and Naturopathy. She was initiated into this discipline over 25 years ago by world famous Swami Adyatmananda of Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh (India).

She believes firmly that Yoga is a scientific process, which helps us to lead a healthy and disease-free life. She is also actively involved in practicing alternative medicines like Naturopathy. Over the years, she has been successfully practicing these therapies and providing succour to several chronic and terminally ill patients through Yoga, Diet and Naturopathy. She is also imparting Yoga Teachers Training.

At present, Dr. Rita Khanna is running a Yoga Studio in Secunderabad (Hyderabad, India).

Yoga as a Health Practice

Sunday, August 29th, 2010

By Sabrina Smith

Yoga has been revered for centuries by many countries of Asia for its ability to heal and promote health and wellness. Some of the countries have derived medical practices that revolve around the key concept of yoga: balancing the mind body and spirit to achieve their goal of health and wellness. India, one of the Asian countries that has been at the heart of yoga for many years, developed the practice of Ayurveda. Yoga and Yogic practices such as meditation, and postures are key to its medicines. Aside from this form of traditional medicine Yoga has been proven to be very beneficial in modern day, curing such ailments like depression, decreasing the risk of heart attacks, stimulating irregular bowls and creating healthy eating habits, helping to release your body from addiction, as well as promote a healthy physical, mental and emotional body.

Ayurveda has been very much a common medicinal practice in India working hand in hand with yoga and it has most recently been made popular by Deepak Chopra, M.D. Chopra explains the methodology of Ayurveda, and its view of the human body as a quantum mechanical device, that is not easily fixed through the prescription of magic pills. But can return back to a balanced state once the body’s energies begin to function in harmony. He explains Ayurveda uses Yogic techniques of mediation to heal the emotional issues such as depression. In his book Perfect Health, Chopra tells a story of a young man whose parents had divorced causing him to fall into a deep depression. When he went off to college the symptoms worsened, causing him to suffer from blindingly severe headaches, acute pain, dizziness and vomiting. He dropped out of college before the end of the first semester, his father sent him to see a therapist that prescribed him an array anti-depressants. But nothing worked very good or for very long. After a few years of dealing with the depression and thoughts of suicide he had heard about meditation from a friend. The young man began to employ the techniques he learned. He began to find the place deep down inside of him where the headaches and the depression did not dwell. Through continued meditation his small island of awareness slowly became larger, and slowly he began to see his true self that had been hidden underneath the depression and pain (Chopra, 160-63).

The yogic practice of meditation can also reduce the risk of heart attack among those who suffer from borderline hypertension, and high cholesterol. A study conducted at Harvard medical School in 1974 studied twenty-two hypertensive patients. The study showed that the average reading dropped from150/94 to 141/88 it was enough to bring the diastolic pressure (the bottom number) down from borderline to a normal range. However the systolic pressure (the top number) was not lowered enough to be considered normal. However any elevation in blood pressure for an extended period of time can take years off one’s life. So, one might consider the experiment a success (Chopra, 164). Similar experiments to this one have been done regarding patience with high-cholesterol.

Meditation has been used in a study done by two researchers in Israel, M.J. Cooper and M.M. Aygen showed that employing meditation could lower cholesterol. The researchers took a group of 23 patients with elevated cholesterol, twelve were taught meditation and eleven were not. At the end of eleven months they screened their cholesterol again. The twelve that meditated dropped their levels from an average of 255 to an average 225 (the expectable number in the U.S. is 200). This same team did the same study with patience that had normal cholesterol numbers as well. The study showed that cholesterol could be lowered in people who had a normal cholesterol number (Chopra, 164-165). The mind is a powerful device in Yoga and meditation is a showcase of its power at work. However it is not the only device that is activated through yogic practices.

The postures used in Yogic practice as well as the Yogic diet can help to stimulate irregular bowels. Yogic postures give a gentle message to the abdominal viscera, postures like the cat and the plow help to correct constipation, aid in digestion and bowel action (Hewitt, 222 & 244). In regards to the yogic diet, “overeating and underrating are alike detrimental to success in Yoga. A Yogic rule is that one should finish a meal feeling that a little more could have been taken,” (Hewitt, 398). A Yogic diet is considered lacto-vegetarian, not eating meat for ethical as well as health reasons. The yogic diet is further broken down in smaller food groups.

There are particular food groups in the Yogic diet that are considered to influence the human personality, sattvic “pure” food, rajasic “stimulating” food, and “tamasic” impure food. The “pure” foods consist of milk, butter fruits, vegetables and grains. “Stimulating” foods are foods that are stimulating to the nervous system like, spicy, strong tasting foods, meat, fish eggs and alcohol. “Impure” foods are foods that have been putrefied, overripe, rotten or impure in some way (Hewitt 154.) Much of the modern diet consists of these “impure” foods, especially for those who consume meat and processed food.

Have you ever wondered how come meat is not hard and stiff due to rigor mortis, it becomes tender again due to putrefaction, or the decaying process. Much of all food that comes pre-packaged will fall into the category of “impure” due to the additives and preservatives that grace the ingredient list.

According to the Bhagavad-Gita these “impure foods make a person dull and lazy. Their thinking capacity diminishes and they sink almost to the level of animals or bushmen. They have no high ideals or purpose in life; on a physical side, they suffer from chronic ailments of the body,” (Swami Vishnu-devananda, 209). Throughout the practice Yoga one opens themselves up to a new level of awareness in regards to what they put in their body and how it affects them.

“Pure” foods are said to bring purity and calmness to the mind and are soothing and nourishing to the body. Rajasic or “stimulating” foods arouse the animal passion in man and brings a restless state of mind (Swami Vishnu-Devananda, 209).

Beyond the food that we put in our body there are substances that are not only physically harmful to our bodies but are very detrimental to our Being. For instance drugs and the addiction that accompanies them, ranging from nicotine to narcotics cause not only physical harm but disrupt the chemical patterns in bodies. For many, addiction is a hard pattern to break free from. Addiction is like when you manually over ride a program to make it do something out side of its memory. The body has a memory of how the body is suppose to work in a healthy pattern, but the addictive pattern has taken over. Yoga can be used to help restore and remind the body of what the healthy pattern is. When one begins to practice yoga they begin to open up the chakras in the body, freeing up the energy flow within the body. Yogic postures that are specific to the particular chakra where the addiction is held can be extremely helpful in freeing the body from the addictive pattern. For instance if the addiction rest in the Root Chakra or Muladahar, one would want to practice an asana that would ground them, consisting of seated postures, supine, as well as prone. It is good to have a well rounded set of asana’s so that the chakras do not become over or under stimulated but when you have areas that need focus it is good to give them the attention that they need.

This attention does not only have to be in the form of the physical asana, as mentioned before the mind is a very powerful device and through meditation addictions pattern can be broken as well. This can happen unintentionally. A study done in 1972, by physiologist Robert Keith Wallace, showed that a group of 1,860 mostly college students that began to practice meditation decreased their drug use significantly. After twenty-one months of practicing their drug dependency in the areas of narcotics, barbiturates, hallucinogens, marijuana and amphetamines decreased so much that most had stopped using all together. Marijuana was still used by about twelve percent and all the others ranged from one to four percent of users. The most interesting part is that they were not part of a rehabilitation program, they were not asked to quit, and the researcher did not follow their progress, nor reward them for abstaining (Chopra, 201-202). It was the mediators’ body coming back into sync, and no longer being part of the addictive pattern.

Yoga as a whole promotes a healthy lifestyle. Yoga makes you more aware of what you are putting in to your body, how you are. Whether you are exercising or not exercising, healthy and un-healthy habits that you have developed in your life, or habits that you hope to develop. Yoga can be used to encourage healing within the body whether it is physical, mental or emotional. This is often through meditation but not limited to meditation. Yogic postures and diet play an integral part in Yoga as a “health practice.”

Work Cited

Chopra, Deepak M.D. “Perfect Health.” New York, Three Rivers Press; 2000.

Hewitt, James. “The Complete Book of Yoga.” New York, Schocken Books; 1977.

Vishnu-Devananda, Swami. “The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga.” New York,

Three Rivers Press; 1988.

Sabrina Smith is a certified Yoga teacher. She teaches classes in the Oakley, California area.

Teaching Hatha Yoga – How Do You Become a Yoga Teacher?

Saturday, August 28th, 2010

By Sanjeev Patel, CYT

Traditionally, Yoga teacher training was an ongoing process for dedicated students who practiced under the guidance of a Guru for years. During the early phases of Yoga training, students learned the fundamentals of their particular style. These years of questions and answers are invaluable for any student, even if he or she has no desire to teach any form of Yoga.

These days, one may become a Yoga instructor in much less time. Technology and the ability to travel great distances has changed the way we learn and has created a global society that is constantly changing. Technology will continue to change everything, whether we like it or not.

If you decide to become a Yoga teacher, nothing can stop you. In this time, a new Universal truth has been spawned. Contrary to traditional thinking, a new system of free thinking beliefs exist where anyone can become anything they want, if they work hard enough.

There are a few flaws in this belief of a short apprenticeship. Teaching Yoga classes requires constant study. The quality of our classes depends upon our own study, continuing education, practice, and application. If we refuse to develop our knowledge, our students reach a finite level of understanding and never fully develop beyond aspirants.

There are also other ingredients to becoming a better Yoga teacher. Do we know ourselves? If we do not understand ourselves, how can we understand our students? Another valuable quality is: The willingness to share everything is in the heart of top quality Yoga instructors. Class time is for our students and it is not “our time.”

One final point to mention is that my Guru teaches you to find the teacher within. As my Guru would say, “Lead the horse to water.” We cannot drink the water for our students (or for our horses), but we can gently guide them toward their ability make self-discoveries.

© Copyright 2010 – Sanjeev Patel / Aura Publications

Sanjeev Patel is a certified Yoga teacher and an exclusive author for Aura Wellness Center.

http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/

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Hatha Yoga to Boost Your Immune System – Part 3

Friday, August 27th, 2010

By Susanna Kubarth

In Yin Yoga, muscular activity is largely avoided so as to by-pass the superficial muscle layers and gently stretch connective tissue and fascia, and affect the meridians. This is why Yin style Yoga has been compared to an acupuncture massage. (POWERS, p. 9)

Suggested Yin-Yoga Poses:

The following sequence, inspired by Sarah Powers, aims at stimulating the Kidney and Urinary Bladder meridians, which are associated to the energy and element of water.

The Kidney meridian runs up from the little toes, soles, and insides of the legs through the longitudinal ligaments of the lower spine and the front of the torso to the throat. It is best af-fected through passive backbends.

The Urinary Meridian runs from the eyes along the skull, along the back body parallel to the spine, through the backs of the legs to the little toe. Stretching the back of the body through forward bends best affects this meridian.

Yin Poses are held approximately 3-5 minutes. They are often named differently than tradi-tional Asanas, so as to make clear that they are less about the outer form, than the internal flow of energies. The traditional names are given in parenthesis.

Saddle (Reclined Hero), Sphinx/Seal (Cobra), Child’s Pose, Half-Dragonfly (Head-to-Knee), Full Seated Forward Bend. (POWERS, 37 f.)

Half-Dragonfly and Seated Forward Bend should have priority amongst these suggestions, since they are restful and invigorating at the same time. (POWERS, p. 47)

Movement and “YANG” style Yoga

After rest, exercise is the second recommendation of Eastern and Western doctors to support the immune system. Once you feel generally healthy and fit, it is important to incorporate movement into your Yoga practice to assist the optimal repartition of gathered Prana.

When we feel agitated, stressed and exhausted, we sometimes find ourselves unable to relax, even though we feel in dire need of rest, and know that our restlessness may jeopardize our health. In this case, it is best to get moving. Complete relaxation will come easy afterwards.

The more active, “Yang”, styles of Yoga target the superficial layers of the body, especially the muscles. Rhythmic movement produces heat and increases circulation of blood and lymph in all tissues. This remedies many of the problems caused by a sedentary lifestyle, releases psycho-physical tension, de-toxes and tones the entire body, as well as improving stamina and oxygen intake.

Suggested “Yang” sequences:

Practicing Sun Salutes may be the simplest option, as they represent a complete body-workout that can easily be adjusted to different needs and constitutions. Based on the suggestions men-tioned under the “Yin” Yoga styles, you can incorporate your favourite poses into this flow-ing, uninterrupted choreography of breath and movement, but keep your muscles engaged this time.

• Forward bends (like Standing Forward Bend) are generally soothing and calm-ing, and assist digestion and elimination by providing a gentle massage to the abdominal region.

• Backbends (such as Standing Backbend, Cobra or the Bow) are invigorating. They lift the mood, increase breathing capacity by expanding the rib cage, and support the thymus.

• Twists (like Revolved Side Angle, Revolved Triangle, or Revolved Awkward Posture) are also a good choice to relieve poor digestion (be careful when you are prone to diarrhoea).

• Inversions (such as Downward Facing Dog, Dolphin, or Headstand if you have been taught by a Yoga teacher) rest the heart, soothe the mind, improve circula-tion, and improve self-regulation of all systems, but especially blood circula-tion. The assist clearing the airways and relieve their congestion.

Pranayama

It is important to bear in mind that any kind of healing requires energy. If we want to improve our immune defence, Pranayama has two advantages: the exercises immediately bring in more oxygen and life-energy, and transport stale air out of the body. And in the long term, they train the entire respiratory system to work more efficiently. Breathing becomes deeper and more nourishing even when one does not consciously think of it. This raises the overall energy level and resilience to illness.

When practicing Pranayama, I have found it most helpful to keep my body as relaxed as pos-sible, since even the slightest muscular tension acts as a barrier to the flow of Prana in the body. It is also important to in- and exhale up to a comfortable point. Breath retentions and muscle locks should be practiced with caution and only if they do not build up subtle tensions in the body. Many sources state that a free and natural flow of Prana is indicated by a sense of inexplicable joy. (HEWITT, p. 76) This well-being is not only a sign of correct practice, but also its immediate reward.

Pranayama should be practiced under the guidance of a teacher. Yogis have great respect for the power of these techniques, since they observed that wrong practice may intensify un-healthy patterns in the Yogi’s psycho-physical make-up. The breath should come smooth, regularly and subtle, which makes the experience joyful. Practice out in nature, or let in fresh air through an open window, if possible.

Suggested Pranayamas:

• Kapalabhati and Bhastrika are powerful cleansing breaths, suitable for the morning hours, especially when you need to warm up, or want to prepare for other Pranayamas. For both practices, you breathe in and out rapidly, using your abdominal and respira-tory muscles to push out air of the lungs. Bhastrika is combined with a retention on the inhale after each round.

These Pranayamas clear all the airways from mucous and phlegm, purify the blood, improve digestion and circulation, generate Prana, and tone many muscles of the torso. (HEWITT, p. 92f.) When practiced with care, they will leave you refreshed, feeling light and cleansed.

Do not practice if you feel overly warm, have high blood pressure, or feel very weak or ill!

• Full and slow breathing in Ujjayi Pranayama, or Victorious Breath, is a simple and very effective Pranayama you can practice any time during the day. Make your exhale twice as long as your inhale to help release stale air and toxins from your lungs, in-crease your breathing capacity and relax your entire system. This Pranayama will also help clear mucous from your airways.

• Breathing with the same ratio as in Ujjayi, but without the characteristic sound, is a variation you can practice anytime, anywhere, to re-energize yourself and soothe your mind. This is also one of the few exercises you can perform when ill or weak. You can practice this Pranayama gently and without forcing, while in bed or lying on the floor, to assist healing. Be careful about breath retentions, as they might be too much for your system when you feel weak. In this case, opt for “breathing in the round” and creating smooth, even transition between in- and exhales.

• Anuloma Viloma Pranayama, or Alternate Nostril Breathing, has been praised as a gentle way to purify body and mind, and to re-establish balance in the system. The fingers are used to close the nostrils alternatively as you breathe slowly and smoothly. There are many variations to suit this practice to your particular needs, ranging from more energizing, to cooling and grounding Pranayamas.

Anuloma Viloma Pranayama is said to clear and balance the two main Nadis (or meridians/energy currents) of the body, called Ida and Pingala. They flow left and right along the spine, which houses the central energy-channel called Sushumna. Pingala (right nostril) represents the “Sun” or heating subtle energies, while Ida (left nostril), represents the “Moon” or cooling subtle energies. Thus, Ida and Pingala are representative of our duality.

Anuloma Viloma variations cleanse these two governing energy channels and balance their activities, something that has a domino effect on the entire energy system. It is said that once Ida and Pingala come into harmony, Sushumna becomes active and we surpass our duality. (POWERS, p. 162)

Even if you feel doubtful of such claims, you can certainly experience Anuloma Viloma’s pleasant effects on your mind and nervous system. This Pranayama leaves you relaxed, balanced and refreshed even after short practice.

Environment and life circumstances – “Chi Yoga”

Hatha Yoga also helps counter some of the burdensome environmental influences on the im-mune system. It is easier to fall ill during changes of seasons and life circumstances, since a lot of energy goes into adapting to these new situations. Chi-Yoga is a relatively new branch of Hatha Yoga, combining Chinese and Indian knowledge to create practices flowing along with the change of seasons.

Suggestions:

• Spring: more vigorous flows, side-bends and twists assist de-toxing.

• Summer: you may have a need for movement, but make sure to also incorporate cool-ing/Yin exercise to counter the hot weather. Inversions rest the heart.

• Fall: Like in spring, the focus is on de-toxing, but the practice is more gentle. The air-ways may need some support; so heart opening postures and Pranayama are most helpful.

• Winter: It is important to warm up the body without losing energy. A balance of ap-proximately 25% Yang/Heating Postures, and 45% Yin/Restful Postures is ideal. You may practice the poses suggested under “Yin Yoga” above.

• Transitions between the seasons: slow, but powerful Sun Salutes and standing poses help ground body and mind. Incorporating postures and Pranayamas that focus on the abdominal muscles will also help staying centered.

(All suggestions: SCHMIDT)

Attitude: Meditation/Mindfulness-Exercises

We have already seen how through an awake and inquisitive mind one can gain greater awareness of the effects of habits and actions, and make more informed choices based on one’s true needs and inner rhythms.

The following meditations and mindfulness-exercises do not directly affect the immune system, but they help foster the much needed stillness and contentment, which are optimal condi-tions for the body to heal and get stronger.

The goal of meditation should not be rid oneself of thoughts, emotions, or pain, but to become aware of them and relax into them.

Breath Meditation: one of the simplest ways to come into the present moment is to sit still to focus on the flow of the breath for some time. If you get distracted, you can count each inhalation, counting up to 10, and then starting over. (POWERS, p. 175)

Mindfulness: sitting in stillness, focus on your senses, primarily the sense of touch. Get in contact with everything that you can feel and experience in this very moment. This is a simple, yet powerful tool that can help handle pain or any uncomfortable emotion, which are often present when we are ill or weak. It trains us to open up to all of our experiences instead of rejecting ones and desiring the others. As we focus on the physiological sensations that come with everything that goes on in our bodies and minds, our ability to embrace our experiences increases, and we relax into them, giv-ing our bodies space to heal.

Healing Breath Meditation: There are many healing meditations in Yoga, but this one is very simple and binds together breath and mindfulness. After grounding yourself and coming into the present moment, focus on the part of your body you would like to heal. Get in contact with it through imagining, feeling or touching it. Be gentle and ac-cepting especially when there is pain. On every inhale, let your breath flow to this place in your body, and imagine touching or “kissing” all the sensations you have there with your breath. On the exhale, imagine the breath retreating, taking tensions, worries, fears and resistance with it. (SCHMIDT, p. 66f.)

Susanna Kubarth is a certified Yoga teacher. She teaches Yoga classes in Graz, Austria.

Hatha Yoga to Boost Your Immune System – Part 2

Thursday, August 26th, 2010

By Susanna Kubarth

Flow of Energy

The reason behind Yoga’s harmonizing and healing effects may lie in its impact on the energy system of our body. Unlike traditional gymnastics or sport, Hatha Yoga not only affects the superficial layers of skin, muscle and ligaments, but literally reaches deeper, to the connective tissues and fascia. Modern science has recognized that the network of connective tissue in the body actually houses the network of energy-currents described by Eastern medicine and phi-losophy. (GRILLEY, p. 6) This network is called Nadis (Indian tradition) or meridians (Chi-nese tradition). The currents of life-force can be vitalized and harmonized through intelligent, gentle and persistent traction on the fascia and connective tissues in Asana practice.

Some knowledge of meridian theory can be very helpful, as it will help us understand how postures affect the flow of life-force, or Prana, in our body. With this understanding, we can make better use of Asanas to assist our immune system:

Ancient Chinese medicine and philosophy hold that our bodies are made up of five elements (water, fire, earth, wood, and metal) which are not literal designations, but are best thought of as five processes and behaviours of life-force. The fundamental statement in this theory of elements is that all five elemental expressions of energy regulate and nourish each-other. If one element gets out of balance, being weakened or overly dominant, the entire system will suffer. The imbalance first shows as some kind of psychological malaise before actually be-coming a physical ailment.

This holistic Eastern approach also explains why even seemingly unconnected ailments, such as headache and constipation, are connected. Sometimes, bringing just one element back into balance will have a domino effect on the entire system. (POWERS, p. 13-19)

How are the five elemental expressions of energy produced and distributed in the body? Simi-larly to the Indian concept of the life-essences (Paramojas and Aparamojas) described earlier, Chinese yogis believe that we are born with a set amount of life-energy (prenatal Chi), which is stored in the kidneys. However, we can accumulate energy through external sources (food, liquids, air, etc.). (POWERS, p. 19 f.) This raw energy is then broken down into five elemental energies, which flow along specific currents, or meridians, within the connective tissue of the body. Each element has two main meridians, which are named after the organs they primarily supply energy to.

Although weak immune defence can be caused by the imbalance of any element in the body, sooner or later, the imbalance will affect the entire system. However, Chinese medicine sug-gests that the element of water should be strengthened first and foremost to help immune de-fence, since it is linked to the basic life-force stored in the kidneys. The element of water is represented by the urinary bladder and kidney meridians. Setting up a Yoga practice to en-hance the flow of energy in these two “water”-meridians, as shown in the practice suggestions further down, can have astonishing effects on your overall well-being, health and immune system.

The Mind

Yoga encourages us to be inquisitive and reflective on and off the Yoga mat. Our mental and psychological state has a tremendous effect on body and health. Prolonged experience of emotions such as anger, fear or loneliness, and the thoughts that come with these emotions, negatively affect our immune, nervous, and hormonal system. Yoga’s techniques and medita-tive approach help soothing such strong emotions, and relax and train our mind. They can boost our “psychological immune system”, helping us to remain calm and adaptable in the midst of life’s ever-changing flow.

Practicing mindfulness in Asanas, Pranayama and Meditation will ultimately create more awareness in everyday life. We’ll begin to understand the effects that our lifestyle choices have on our mood and energy level, and we’ll be faster to recognize factors that are health-hazards (be they inward or outward). By slowly getting in touch with our needs and rhythms, and ridding ourselves of misunderstandings about our wants and identity, we will be able to make better and more informed choices in all aspects of our life, whether it is Yoga practice, our diet, work, hobbies, friends, environment, and the ways in which we think and act.

Our immune system will profit as we get to know our needs and constitution better. We will be able to better adapt to changes inside and around, and to live our lives in ways that nourish us, keeping us stable, healthy, and resilient.


How to boost your immune defence through Hatha Yoga practice

The following suggestions aim at tying together all the factors discussed above in a practical way that can help assist the immune system. The practices were carefully selected, based on the findings of generations of dedicated Yogis and my own personal experience dealing with repeated infections, fatigue, and low resilience due to a weakened immune system. However, they can only represent a selection of the most beneficial practices..

In general, it is not recommended to practice Yoga when ill or very weak, but there can be exceptions. I have sometimes felt the urgent need to come to my Yoga mat when I already felt ill, and in these cases my gut feeling always proved to be right. On the other hand, I have noticed that some practices have the “side-effect” of triggering illnesses hidden in our system, if practiced inattentively and beyond the body’s momentary capacities.

The practices of Hatha Yoga are powerful, and can be used for good or bad. It is mindfulness that makes the difference. Yoga provides guidelines, and encourages its students to find their own answers based on these rules of thumb.

Restorative and “Yin” style Yoga

Both Eastern and Western medicine recommend rest and sleep when the immune system is already weakened. If this is the case, chances are that vigorous exercise and movement will only cause more loss of energy and aggravate the situation. A daily set of restful Yoga poses will help the body refill its energy. Even when you’re “just” experiencing a stressful period in your life, it is still helpful to weave in restorative poses into your practice. This will refresh you and increase your resistance to illnesses.

Try practicing close to the floor and with props when you feel weak. Choose few poses, but hold them longer. Rest and recuperation are most important.

In Restorative Yoga, Asanas are chosen and combined based on their therapeutic value, and practiced with props for maximum relaxation in the pose. You will spend more time in a pose, become quiet and still, and your body will be able to fully assimilate its benefits on all levels.

Suggested restorative poses:

B.K.S. Iyengar recommends practicing mild supported inversions and supported reclined backbends; such as Supported Bridge, Supported Bound Angle, Supported Inverted Staff, Supported Shoulderstand and Plow, and Supported Legs-up-the-Wall, and Corpse Pose. (IYENGAR, p. 308 f.)

Inversions are immensely beneficial to the entire organism. They rest the heart (venous blood return is supported by gravity), improve circulation, soothe the mind, clear the airways from mucous, and help strengthen the diaphragm which will in turn lead to better oxygenation. Backbends help open the lungs for better oxygenation and stimulate the thymus. (This organ is located above the heart and part of the adaptive immune system, producing T-cells.)

From all the mentioned poses, Legs-up-the-Wall Pose and Corpse Pose may have first priority. Legs-up-the-Wall is praised by many Yoga teachers as a panacea for many ailments. It is also recommended when the Shoulderstand is not an option for you (severe hypertension, sensitive neck, or menstruation). When practiced with props, Legs-up-the-Wall Pose, is a combination of a mild inversion and backbend. Corpse Pose is the ultimate pose for rest and relaxation.

Susanna Kubarth is a certified Yoga teacher. She teaches Yoga classes in Graz, Austria.

Hatha Yoga to Boost Your Immune System – Part 1

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

By Susanna Kubarth

This paper examines Hatha Yoga’s contribution to a strong immune system, based on research both of modern western and ancient eastern medicine. It will also provide guidelines of how one can to adapt their your practice so as to boost their immune defence.

How the immune system works – the Western approach

Our immune system protects us from invading pathogens and eliminates malignant and modi-fied cells from the body. It can be likened to a complicated team-play of organs, cells and molecules. It relies on two different systems, : the innate and the adaptive immune system.
Our innate immune system represents the defence mechanisms we are born with. It comprises physiological and anatomical barriers, such as the skin, mucous tissues, tears, sweat, urine, intestinal bacteria, etc. When pathogens pass the physiological barriers, the innate immune system is responsible for the first line of defence, and it reacts quickly and equally well to in-vading pathogens.

Our adaptive immune system on the other hand constitutes of all defence mechanisms devel-oped by the body over time, as it is capable of remembering previously encountered patho-gens. This is why the adaptive immune system reacts more slowly, but specifically to each pathogen, for instance by producing antibodies that match the pathogen. (GENE MAYER-MAYER).

Ayurveda’s & Yoga’s approach to the immune defence

The ancient Indian medicine of Ayurveda names Ojas as the overarching term defining our immunity and life energy. Ojas is the extract or essence of the seven body tissues known in Ayurveda. It is only produced when all the requirements to build healthy tissues are fulfilled. (TRÖKES & GUNERT, p. 32) Ojas can be likened to an immaterial metabolite of the body tissues that defines our energy level, immune defence, zest for life and charisma.

Similar to our the two immune systems that the Western approach identifies, Ayurveda di-vides Ojas into two categories: Paramojas represents the stock of life-essence we are born with, and it can not be refilled. The second kind of life-essence, Aparamojas, can be amassed. Ayurveda and Yoga give a great number of suggestions to increase health, immunity, and well-being by accumulation of Aparamojas. These measures include right proper lifestyle, right proper food, correct exercise, the right proper attitude and many more. (ROSENBERG, p. 24 f.)

What impairs the immune system and how Yoga strengthens it

Factors such as prolonged exposure to environmental toxins, consumption of drugs (including alcohol and nicotine), lack of exercise and sleep, malnutrition, and chronic stress are some of the main factors that impair immune defensedefence. Many of the mentionedthose factors throw the self-regulating mechanisms of our body off- balance and inhibit proper communica-tion between various regulation units in the body. Psychoneuroimmunology has shown there is a direct interaction between the immune system and the central nervous- and hormone system. The pituitary glands, the adrenals and the immune cells are the main control systems in this interaction. (NEUMANN & TRÖKES, p.11). We can see the importance of this interaction when looking at stress, which is one of the major causes of a weak immunity. Stress blocks communication between the central nervous system and the immune system (GODBOUT & GLASER).

A well-designed, regular practice of Hatha Yoga will not only alleviate many of the symptoms caused by a weak immune system, but can help eliminating eliminate many of the factors that caused its debilitation to begin with. The practices of Hatha Yoga have many positive effects on our health, but these are the most outstanding ones (ones?) relating to immune defence:

 Circulation & Oxygenation

When it comes to health, Western culture advocates proper diet, exercise, and drugsmedica-tion when problems arise.. Eastern approaches suggest that proper breathing should come even before those factors. Taking in drugsmedication and foods to heal ourselves is much more effective when our bodies are able to process them. Proper eating without proper breathing is like putting excellent firewood into a stove, but forgetting to open the airvent so it will burn properly. The result is that the processing of drugsmedication and foods can actually costs the body more energy than what it gains.

The practices of Hatha Yoga were designed to foster life-energy and re-establish the deep and vitalizing breathing patterns we can observe in little children. These patterns are often lost due to lack of exercise and poor posture, social and psychological inhibitions and constraints, and unhealthy environment and lifestyle choices. By the time of adulthood, breathing is usually shallow and short, and provides minimal energy – just enough to get by with. (HEWITT, p. 68) It doesn’t come as a surprise that we fall ill easily in such a state.

Many poses as well as the practices of breath control (Pranayama)Asanas and practices of breath-control (Pranayama) improve the elasticity and strength of the respiratory unit, clear the airways, and help increase the oxygen intake. Holding poses for a longer time creates healthy stress or pull on various tissues of the body, supporting the release of toxins and blood circulation through them. The combination of slow movements and deep breathing (e.g. in Sun Salutes) favourably affects beneficiallyincreases oxygen intake and the circulation of blood and lymph. The mechanical impact on the bowels stimulates digestion. According to some Eastern doctors, Eastern medicine views the intestine is as the seat of our immune system, so it is crucial to assist its work of assimilation and elimination.

Thus, Hatha Yoga helps supplying all the organs, tissues, and ultimately the cells and immune cells, with fresh oxygen, as well as excreting toxins from them . (SIVANANDA YOGA CENTER, p. 178-187) According to Ayurveda, only well-nourished tissues will produce the life-force of Ojas, which gives us resilience and radiant health.

 Central Nervous System & Hormonal System

As we have seen, stress is one of the greatest enemies of immune defence. Slow and restora-tive Yoga practice gives body and mind time to calm down and to cleanse from the negative effects of stress. Remember that low immune defence goes hand in hand with an interruption of communication of the hormonal, immune, and central nervous system! Mindful and slow-paced Yoga practice will assist the body’s innate effort to re-establish integrity and harmony between all the units that make up a healthy immune system.

Yoga indirectly affects the central nervous system in the spinal cord through bends, twists, and stretches of the spine, which tone the nerves and free them of compression . Thus, Yoga postures improve neurotransmission and stabilizes the reactions of the central nervous system to stress, strong emotions, atmospheric conditions, and other circumstances. This in turn increases resilience against illness.

Besides working on the nervous system, Yoga affects hormone secretion. Regarding immune defence, the pituitary and adrenal glands play a particular role. The pituitary gland is a master gland regulating the entire endocrine system and determining our “inner rhythms”. The adre-nals produce cortisol and adrenaline. The adrenal hormones are necessary to prepare the body for a “fight or flight” scenario in stressful or life-threatening situations, by raising the heart rate and blood pressure, and minimizing immune defences and digestion to save energy, amongst others.

If the body remains in this condition for longer periods of time, as it is often the case with ‘modern’ Western lifestyle, this drastically weakens our defences against illness. Yoga can normalize the secretion of adrenaline. It also has a balancing effect on the pituitary gland, which synchronizes the entire hormonal system. (SIVANANDA YOGA CENTER, p. 186)

However, we need to be cautious about how Yoga affects the hormone system. There exists a wide-spread belief that Asanas stimulate the endocrine glands directly through pressure or massage. However, western science disagrees. Our health depends on constant readjustments in the body to maintain balance (Homeostasis). It would have disastrous effects on this bal-ance if hormones were released into the blood stream every time we bumped into an object, twisted or bent in specific ways, or experienced any other kind of mechanical impulse on the endocrine glands. We would be experiencing almost dizzying fluctuations of our mood, en-ergy level, hunger, sex drive, and so forth! (SCHMIDT 2010)

Still, western science does not deny the obvious effects of Hatha Yoga on the hormone sys-tem. Scientists concede that they still do not know exactly how this happens, even if research has shown that it can not happen through mechanical impulses. One possible answer is that Asanas train our entire body to self-regulate faster and more efficiently, increasing its capaci-ties to ward off illness.  (SCHMIDT 2010)

Susanna Kubarth is a certified Yoga teacher.  She teaches Yoga classes in Graz, Austria.

How to Find an Affordable Yoga Teacher Certification Course

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

It is true that not all Yoga teacher training programs are created equal. The reason for such a wide variety of difference is based upon the individual needs of potential Yoga instructors. Some interns are seeking spiritual knowledge. Some future Yoga teachers want to share a science that has improved their lives; while other interns may want to teach an alternative health maintenance system.

It also seems that a significant number of graduates have no intention of teaching Yoga at all. The primary reason for taking a Yoga teacher course, and not teaching, is self-improvement. While this may appear to be unique – it is not. In fact, I would venture to speculate that one out of five graduates is seeking Yogic knowledge for personal growth.

Therefore, those who take a Yoga certification course are seeking the best possible program, that matches their needs, at an affordable price. This search, for the right Yoga course, may turn out to be an Internet quest that lasts days, weeks, or months. You may also want to research if there are any student complaints against the training center.

After that, you want to find a training facility which picks up the phone, returns your calls, or answers your Email inquiries. Regardless of how long it takes, one can always find the right course. If you are open to online and correspondence courses, there are many more affordable options.

However, you will want to take the time make sure that an online, or correspondence course, was designed by an actual Yoga teacher trainer. If the prospective school has courses in pet grooming, child day care, and electronics – do they have a teacher trainer on staff for Yoga?

In addition to this, research the school, studio, ashram, or center. Is your prospective school a mail box or a wellness center? What is their track record with graduates? Does the Better Business Bureau, or the town clerk’s office, know who they are? If you have difficulty getting a live person on the other end of the telephone line, during business hours, you may want to think twice before entering a course.

Take the time to explore each of the Yoga teacher training facilities on your list. For some of us, affordability is an overriding factor, but we should also consider all of the possible options available to us. Sometimes, inexpensive options are available, if we research just a little bit deeper.

© Copyright 2010 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

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Modifications for Seated Postures Part III

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 demonstrates in this final lecture, more modifications for seated posture. This video was filmed in Aura Wellness Center’s Onsite Yoga Teacher Training studio.

Yoga for Children

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

By Candida Vassallo

For this essay, I will show how Yoga for Children will and can work in schools and how it can be included as part of the school curriculum, thereby giving our children opportunity for improved health and wellbeing, and a very valuable life tool. As it is an account of an actual Yoga program I designed and implemented, I have found it important to give a brief history of how the idea evolved, before implementation and design. This, I believe is relevant to the topic of Yoga for Children, and fits with several aspects of Yoga philosophy (ie Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga, Hatha Yoga and some Raja Yoga). It is this preliminary thinking and preparation, I believe, which contributes to the (Yogic) essence of the completed program and its delivery.

Yoga for Children is a topic very close to my heart and as such in early 2002 I began work on designing a program for children to be used in schools.

I called this program Heart Matters. This name, to me, is most appropriate for such a thing, as having worked in a school since 1988, I have seen many children troubled and handicapped by physical, mental and emotional problems, and at the same time, saw many teachers troubled and handicapped in those three ways, but for different reasons than the children. This is on top of the usual everyday school and life stresses which trouble children and teachers and indeed all of us. There was (and is) very much a need for children (and indeed for us all) to feel better in order to be and do better. I realized from the often-times horrors that I saw (drug overdoses, attempted suicides, self-harming as in self-cutting etc., as well as extreme behavior issues stemming from mental/emotional stresses to ADHD and other problems) that no amount of rationalization on its own, was going to penetrate the hearts and minds of these children, and so no positive change could occur. My thinking was and is, that unless one feels better (as opposed to feeling bad for whatever reason) one could not be or do better. The mental aspect was not enough to push through the dark clouds of emotional/mental stress, depression and the like, hanging over these children, to make a positive difference to their behavior, their health or their learning.

I felt strongly that I was in a position to offer a way to make this difference, given my background of study with a spiritual teacher – a Yogacharya (Yogacharya Devidasan Giri, affiliation with Gitananda Ashram, Pondicherry, India) (as of present day my study with him has spanned 12 years, mostly weekly and lately fortnightly, without a break except for 4 weeks over Christmas-times); my teaching diploma and also my deep motivation and passion to pass on my knowledge and experience, particularly in an area such as this, the educative system, with which I was so familiar.

So how does one feel better? To me the answer is clear – through the heart. So I set about to design a program that would connect with the heart of both students and teachers, and be practical for both parties as they influence each other in normal everyday school life, so for this program to work, it also needed to be a tandem effort. It would create a kind of unity within the minds and hearts of students and teachers individually and would also unite them as a group. What better way than through Yoga – the ultimate union.

What then, were the key aspects needing to be taught through this Yoga program? As I said earlier, Heart Matters evolved with the main focus being “feeling better”, in order to ‘do’ and ‘be’ better. My belief is that this can be done by teaching children the necessary skills for the enhancement of calm, mental alertness, focus, physical and emotional resilience, correct posture and general wellbeing – skills that are essential not just in the classroom, but throughout life – and that was another of my aims, to equip students with some fundamental life skills – through Yoga. Unfortunately, in this part of the world, the student is still only seen as an academic/mentally based being, and not much teaching if any, goes into the other aspects of the person, as in the emotional and spiritual. Even with the physical, often this is only looked at from a surface view as in providing physical education and sports programs without considering or integrating any other influences to physical wellbeing, as in emotional and spiritual.

From there a lot of thinking time transpired as to how I would actually implement the program, before I had even thought of the aspects of Yoga I would put in the program. I realized that for me to deliver this in classrooms would be a more than full time occupation, without even thinking of the obstacles of the Education Department accepting and employing me for this project. In 2002, as indeed I believe it is still so now, although not as strongly, there was much more thought by authority powers, given to why this sort of inclusion into the school curriculum couldn’t/shouldn’t be, rather than to why it could/should. No one really wanted to touch such a thing because it was different and new (to this part of the world), it would arouse questions by certain religious groups and parent groups (which it did, to me personally) and I believe these authority powers just didn’t have the insights or expanded vision, or courage to give such a project at least some serious consideration. Although I certainly did try to get them on board.

At the time I was working my own health business on a part-time basis and a part of that was teaching relaxation, meditation, stress management and Yoga to staff members of schools (and was also being asked to run the odd one-off 6-week program and single sessions for students). As well I was being asked to do the same for various other workplaces, from a wellbeing and occupational health perspective. So I realized that people generally were interested and open to participating in this sort of thing in this way – as they would not be held accountable in any way – only I, as the private facilitator/presenter would be. So it became clear to me that if I could offer Heart Matters out of school hours, and as part of my personal business, train teachers to present it to their students, which meant that teachers paid me and they could claim the cost and the hours as Professional Learning, that this would be my and the program’s best chance. From this perspective I would not need to get the whole of the Education Department on board, just my local school Principal and the teachers, and from there other schools would come on board – and this proved not to be too difficult, as I had been in the school system for many years, was known and thankfully trusted. So emerged Heart Matters, for which I am very grateful to the people who trusted me.

I set about designing a program of Yoga for teachers to present to students. This program would need to fit into the school curriculum both for content and duration (so as not to take up set curriculum time during the day, as this would make it unworkable for teachers to include in their day). Whilst teachers were permitted and willing to present the program, they still were not given the time for it, within the curriculum – they had to fit it in – so this narrowed the coverage down a bit as not all teachers were willing to make this effort.

The content of Heart Matters would focus on mental, emotional and physical resilience, physical strength and wellbeing.

My teacher alerted me to an excellent text, which I very gratefully used as a reference, entitled Yoga Education for Children, by Swami Satyananda Saraswati (founder of the Bihar School of Yoga). This book is written as “a guideline for teachers of Yoga to children and based on a considerable number of years of experience and takes into account requirements of children of different ages, abilities and disabilities, as well as some of the constraints imposed by the teaching environments”. It is excellent in many ways, not the least of which is that Swami had been a teacher of English in France, and used Yoga extensively in his classroom. So for me to train teachers and to be able to say my references were from a teacher, who understood classroom demands and accountability, made my job so much easier, in terms of credibility. This was a very important aspect, because if the teachers didn’t believe (and feel for themselves) what I was teaching, then they could not effectively teach it to their students. Also, most if not all schools in South Australia, have a Special Education program catering for children with physical and mental disabilities. My school had the largest of these programs in the state, and I was very keen to make Heart Matters available to both the teachers and students of this program, as Swami Satyananda wrote a special section for children with disabilities, and likewise, when I designed Heart Matters, I devoted a special section, a whole term, to Yoga for the disabled.

Yoga for disabled children (and adults) works very well as it connects them to their heart, their inner self, which is not disabled and is most often the place from where these children shine. It becomes something they look forward to and it brings them joy. Also because they can be like all the other children in the class and not seen to be different. This assimilation of course, occurs for children who are not severely physically or mentally disabled. For those who are, it still works as I have said above, except that I would work with them as a group separately from the mainstream.

As I said earlier, my focus was for children to feel better in order to be better, and I knew that Yoga would do this even if it was in a seemingly small way (although I knew there would be nothing small about it). As well, my aim was to visibly engage the whole person, that is body, mind and spirit (which naturally occurs with Yoga practice but perhaps is not so visible to the novice teacher and student). In order to facilitate this, I knew that firstly, at least improved breathing needed to occur, then the physical body needed to be strengthened, and for mental calm and clarity, relaxation in the form guided imagery needed to also occur – the integration of these three aspects would then engage the spirit to some degree at least.

To that end, Heart Matters Yoga program is specifically for teachers to present to students for the purpose of teaching skills to enhance calm, mental alertness, focus, physical and emotional resilience, correct posture, and wellbeing. The three aspects I speak of above (which comprise the whole Heart Matters session) I broke down for the information of teachers, students and parents as follows:

• Yoga poses for physical wellbeing, flexibility, resilience, posture and balance

• Breath awareness for wellbeing, mental alertness, focus, concentration and clarity

• Relaxation – guided imagery – to enhance calm, clarity and wellbeing

These three segments work together to give the student the above skills and allow the reconnection with the Heart – so that the Heart and Mind can work together.

In everyday busy-ness it is easy to lose connection with the Heart and to operate solely from the Mind. There has been a lot of positive feedback from teachers and students about Heart Matters, as the program has resulted in many benefits for all involved.

Heart Matters is presented each day for 15-20 minutes, usually at the start of the day, but not necessarily or exclusively. It comprises the 3 segments above (Yoga Asanas, Pranayama and Guided Imagery/Relaxation), which work beautifully together, with each session fitting into no more than half an hour – ideally it can fit into 20 minutes (10 minutes for each segment) but of course, it also takes a few minutes to organise a class.

There are 4 levels to Heart Matters, one for each term of the year, and each level is sequential and progressive, so it is a program for the whole of the school year. With this, students have enough time to notice and also feel their improvement and skill growing, and teachers have the year to make assessments of their students, themselves and their teaching. Importantly, the aim is also to see these improvements in life outside the classroom, i.e., in the home, the playground, within their social circles etc., and this is re-enforced throughout the practise of the program. So Yoga becomes a living science for students and teachers, which they can live and use forever if they so wish. I also designed an assessment sheet for each term where teachers could map the improvements in their students and overall class, also their own teaching performance.

Within each term there are six separate sessions, one per week, for six weeks. So the same session is done every day for a week, then teachers move on to the next session for the following week, and so it goes. Whilst the school term is usually at least 10 weeks, I made the levels of six weeks duration, so as to make it easier for teachers to fit it in as at the beginning and end of each term, there are usually other extras they need to fit in and also so that Heart Matters could fit into school life and not take on a stress factor.

Heart Matters greatly benefits teachers as well, by the calm and focus it generates by merely presenting the program. This enhances teaching and learning with focused attention, and provides a calmer and therefore more receptive classroom and a calmer and healthier teacher. In feedback I have received over the years, particular benefits are experienced in relation to physical wellness, to study and exams and the program has specifically shown benefits in subjects including English, story writing, maths, art and physical education. Older students have reported improvements in their sleeping, as in getting to sleep and sleeping better

Teachers attend professional learning sessions (from me) for 6 weeks every term (4 terms) for one hour per week, to learn and feel confident with presenting the weekly sessions to their students. The program is progressive and spans for the whole of the school year. Each week builds on the previous week’s sessions and the program can then be presented to subsequent classes the teacher may have, year after year.

Below are some testimonials from teachers

“Students are calmer, more appreciative and aware of others; keen to discuss the sessions”

“More productive overall”

“A great opportunity for relaxation all round and hence provides improved output”

“Sensed a ‘greater calm’, more focus”

“Calmer, smoother transition into a task”

“Is an important part of anyone’s life; creates balance but needs to be practiced”

“Students much quieter, more focused”

Students ask when doing Heart Matters again, don’t like it when I say ‘not today’ “

“Of benefit to the curriculum”

“I have learned valuable skills which can be used as an extra teaching tool”

“Has helped to develop students’ physical wellbeing”

“Helps me to bring my class to order when unruly or excited by an unexpected event”

“I can use parts of it, particularly the breathing, many times during the day to refocus the class and myself”

“The calm atmosphere is almost tangible when the students are doing Heart Matters, particularly during the breathing and relaxation”

“More orderly and calmer thinking”

This last comment related to a particular incident in when a reception child brought the teacher’s attention to the ‘caterpillar’ at the door. It was regarding how children left their shoes before entering the room for Heart Matters. At first they would throw off their shoes and they would all be in a pile. After a while, the shoes were (without any prompting from the teacher) lined up, two by two in order at the door – looking like a ‘caterpillar’. This to me is Living Yoga!

I believe that my account of this program and how Yoga for Children can be implemented is a living example of what is possible for our children and indeed our future through the practice of Yoga. It is also an example of how our established and entrenched western educative system can hold us all back. I think of Paramhansa Yogananda with his Ranchi School in India, and his close disciple Swami Kriyananda with his Ananda Schools in the United States. Both amazingly dynamic and gigantic human beings and incarnated souls, who worked tirelessly for the educative system and its evolution, and I am saddened to say that it seems to me that the people who need to be listening (those with authority and power) seem not to be. However, I passionately believe it will come about, in time….. the inclusion of skills for living, at least in part, with Yoga being accepted and indeed considered necessary, in our educative systems throughout the world.

Om Tat Sat

Tathaastu: So Be It

Candida Vassallo is a Yoga teacher from South Australia.

Candida Vassallo
Isis Holistic LifeCare Development

www.ntpages.com.au/therapist/15944

http://www.massage-therapy-clovelly-park.websyte.com.au/

http://www.oneworldretreats.com/ubud_bali_yoga_retreat_candida.php

FLEXIBILITY EXERCISES FOR HANDS & FINGERS

Sunday, August 22nd, 2010

By Dr. Rita Khanna

Our hands and fingers are the chief organs of our body, which are maximally used. They are functional since birth. Immediately after birth, the fingers of the child start functioning; and within six months, the hand grip becomes stronger. From birth to death, generally, the fingers move for twenty five million times. The hands get rest only during sleep.

Our hands are useful in various ways. We use them right from brushing of the teeth, morning rituals, writing, eating, computer operating, car driving, etc. The fingers and hands have lots of capacity. There is no surprise about the fingers typing 120 words in a minute, holding heavy bags by fingers only, and its capacity is to lift the weight of 45 to 60 kilograms. The average capacity of the fingers of the female is half than that of the male.

HAND AND BRAIN

The major area in the brain is occupied by hand area. It is known as motor cortex, which controls all movement in the body. One thousand messages are passed in the brain, while there is movement of the thumbs towards and away from the fingers. While rotating the thumb, innumerable afferent (message going from peripheral part of the body to the brain) and efferent messages (from brain to the peripheral part) are sent to ensure coordinated movement of the muscles of the thumb.

During that time, the nervous system works a thousand times the movement of the fingers. Like other paired organs (eyes, ears, legs), each hand is dominantly controlled by the opposing brain hemisphere; and thus, handedness or preferred hand choice, for single-handed activities, such as writing with a pen – reflects a significant individual trait.

The hands give us very essential and important messages, also. The fingers can’t function properly without the thumb. The same way the thumb, alone, can’t work without the fingers. The thumb can touch all the fingers, but all the fingers can’t do it. If the thumb remains isolated, nothing can be achieved. The thumb should have coordination with the fingers. None of them should be neglected. The fingertips contain some of the densest areas of nerve endings on the body, are the richest source of tactile feedback, and have the greatest positioning capability of the body. Thus, the sense of touch is intimately associated with hands. The tips of the fingers have sensation to know cool, hot, soft, and hard. The blind people can read by having touch sensation.

WORKING ON COMPUTERS

Many people complain about pain in their fingers, ligaments related with those joints, due to working on computers, and handling the mouse for many hours. At the time of handling the mouse, the forearm rests on the table, palm of the hand remains on the mouse and the fingers are on the buttons of the mouse.

Because of this working position, for many hours, the cartilage and the tendon sheath may get degenerated. It may cause tenosinovitis (inflammation of the tendon and tendon sheath). There are eight bones in the wrist, five in the hand and fourteen in the fingers. So, there are a total 27 bones. In both the hands, there are 54 bones. We have to take care of them by keeping them active. The solution for all these is to do exercises, as follows.

SITTING POSTURE FOR EXERCISES

Sit in Vajrasana on the mat, or sit in a chair.

Throw and Draw Movements of the Hands

• Exhale and throw both the hands forcefully, parallel to the ground, in front of the chest. Keep the arms, from shoulders, to fingers, straight.

• Inhale, and gently draw the hands back towards the chest, by bending the fingers partially on the inner side, as if you are scratching something.

• Move the hand away rapidly, and bring the hand near, slowly.

• The muscles of the arms and forearms (triceps, flexors, carpi, ulnaris, inter muscular septum) get stretched by doing this exercise.

• Do it for eight to ten times.

Exercise of the Wrist

• Bend the elbows, and keep them away from the chest. Make half closed fists.

• Now, rotate the wrists clockwise, for eight to ten times; and then anticlockwise, for eight to ten times, with normal breathing.

 

 Pressing the Fingers In and Out

• Bend the elbows, and keep them away from the chest.

• Now, inhale and close the fingers over the thumbs to make a tight fist.

• Then exhale and open the fist.

• Inhale and close the fists again, by keeping the thumbs out side. Exhale and then open it.

• Do this process eight to ten times.

Stiffening the Muscles of the Hands

• Keep the palms of the hands, facing in front of each other, at a distance of 6 to 8 inches.

• Now – inhale, stiffen the muscles of the hands, and stretch the fingers on the back side.

• Then exhale, and relax them by moving them away from each other.

• Do this process eight to ten times.

Exercise of the Finger Joints

• Inhale, and bend the fingers at the finger joints, towards the palms.

• Then exhale, and relax by moving the fingers straight.

• Do this process eight to ten times.


 

Relaxing the Hands

• First, just hang the hands from the wrist, by relaxing it.

• Then, rotate clockwise, eight to ten times, and anti clockwise, eight to ten times, with normal breathing.

All the above exercises will give enough exercise to your elbow, palm, and fingers and will be beneficial to prevent the feeling of exhaustion in the tendons and muscles.

AUM SHANTI

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Courtesy: Dr. Rita Khanna’s Yogashaastra Studio.

A popular studio that helps you find natural solutions for complete health.

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Dr. Rita Khanna

Dr. Rita Khanna is a well-known name in the field of Yoga and Naturopathy. She was initiated into this discipline over 25 years ago by world famous Swami Adyatmananda of Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh (India).

She believes firmly that Yoga is a scientific process, which helps us to lead a healthy and disease-free life. She is also actively involved in practicing alternative medicines like Naturopathy. Over the years, she has been successfully practicing these therapies and providing succour to several chronic and terminally ill patients through Yoga, Diet and Naturopathy. She is also imparting Yoga Teachers Training.

At present, Dr. Rita Khanna is running a Yoga Studio in Secunderabad (Hyderabad, India).

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