Posts Tagged ‘practicing hatha yoga’

Yoga for Asthma Relief

Tuesday, June 21st, 2011

yoga teacher trainingBy Faye Martins

For thousands of years, people have been trying to find the link between the body and the mind. There has been a question as to whether, or not, the mind can be used to heal the body from diseases and disorders such as asthma. As long as people have been trying to understand this link, people have been practicing Yoga for therapeutic reasons.  Although Yoga has also been known to reduce or eliminate breathing disorders, the exact reason has not officially been pinpointed. Many studies have claimed that practicing Yoga regularly can have a significant affect on asthma.

When practicing Hatha Yoga to help improve the condition of asthma, there are many types of poses that can be utilized, but they generally involve an effort to correct poor posture and learning breathing habits. Many people do not realize that they are not breathing properly. Even though it is considered something that should be second nature, the way a person breathes can weaken their lungs and cause health problems.

Poor posture also prevents air from entering and leaving the lungs as effectively as possible. By learning the correct posture and breathing habits, asthma suffers can significantly increase their comfort level.  Yoga can also help to reduce mucous, which can greatly impede breathing. Some of the more advanced poses can help to loosen up the mucous that may have built up inside the chest and nasal cavity. A therapeutic Yoga session a couple times a week can eliminate this impediment and prevent build up.

Also, by simply decreasing the stress and anxiety in one’s life through the practice of Yoga, an asthma attack is less likely to flare up. A healthier body often creates a healthier mind, and this is especially true when it comes to Yoga, which has been known to decrease the impact of daily pressures. By decreasing the stress in one’s life, it is more likely that asthma attacks will not be triggered or worsened by emotional flows.

Yoga techniques can be used to compliment the traditional medical management. Thus someone may already be using meditation, asana, and pranayama to control his or her asthma. It is not advised to discontinue any medication or a doctor’s advice. Yoga should be viewed as an adjunct therapy for treating asthma.  However, with regular practice and dedicated training, it is possible to lessen the amount of prescription drugs that are needed. This alternative treatment can allow an asthma sufferer to not be controlled by their condition and feel internal relaxation.

The following Yoga techniques are recommended for asthma.

Anuloma Viloma Pranayama

Pavanamuktasana

Bitilasana

Urdhva mukha svanasana

Ustrasana

Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

Warning: The following postures are contraindicated for asthma.

Paschimottanasana

Halasana

Janu Sirsasana

© Copyright 2011 – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

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Posted in Yoga for Medical Conditions | No Comments »

Hatha Yoga for Weight Loss – True or False

Saturday, October 30th, 2010

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

There are many myths that are spread to encourage people to consume a product or sign up for a service. Is losing weight as a result of taking Hatha Yoga classes a fact or pure marketing fiction? Let’s look deeper at this issue to see if Hatha Yoga helps people lose weight.

Losing weight, and keeping it off, has never been easy. There are many products, diets, and exercise programs that promise you fantastic results. Yet, it is a proven fact that the best dietary, and behavioral changes often result with less than optimal results. Many people point to the study of Yoga for weight loss at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington.

The results were promising. It is a shame that there have not been more publicized studies about the results of practicing Hatha Yoga and the ability to control weight. In truth, this study left many doctors and weight loss experts baffled that Yoga was considered a factor in weight loss, weight prevention, or weight control.

One study does not tell the whole story. Science and medicine constantly scramble for more studies; yet, there are no studies getting publicity at this time. This is curious because Yoga classes, and the practice, itself, are far less expensive than the many diets, drugs, and fitness equipment that are constantly advertised to be effective for controlling one’s weight.

With a large portion of the world population in middle age, the demand for products and services, that helps people control or reduces weight, is the highest it has ever been. With middle age, the body becomes much less efficient at burning calories. This is the primary reason why there is such demand for a solution. There are also other age groups, who are concerned with controlling or preventing weight gain.

Hatha Yoga was not created as a weight-reducing exercise program. Why would the practice of Hatha Yoga help people control their body weight? One factor, not considered in any Yoga-for-weight-loss study, is that Yoga is a lifestyle. All forms of Yoga, whether they be physically-oriented, or not, would make a practitioner mindful of dietary habits.

Hatha Yoga, and its many sub-styles, are often considered physical, health-maintenance programs. This is not completely an accurate view of what Hatha Yoga is, but it is the general public’s perception. For the sake of argument, let’s think of the most physically-oriented style of Yoga that we know of, and consider the amount of calories burned in one hour. For a student to have optimum calorie burning results, he or she would have to practice two hours per day, every day of the week. Therefore, it is not actually the burning of calories that is the reason why Hatha Yoga has helped people control their weight.

In this world today, it seems everyone complains about stress. We know that stress causes people to eat too much. If we have occupations that are not physically demanding, but stressful, and we don’t burn calories as a result of our work, we have a recipe for weight gain. Every form of Yoga helps its practitioners manage daily stress.

In summary, Hatha Yoga has many aspects and practices. It would seem they all come together to help a person live a healthier lifestyle. The combination of all these factors should help each of us manage our weight, even though middle-aged years.

© Copyright 2010 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

To see our complete selection of Yoga teacher training courses, please feel free to visit the following link.

http://www.aurawellnesscenter.com/store/Teacher-Courses/

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FREE CONTENT: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles). Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste, Paul

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Hatha Yoga After 65

Monday, September 20th, 2010

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Are we ever too old to start practicing Hatha Yoga? What is the definition of old? Are we old when we get stale in our thinking? Are we old when we are 50, 65, 80, or 95 years of age? There are many myths about life after 65, and the state of retirement.

Some people never retire because they love what they do, or they simply cannot afford to exist on a fixed income. There is also a myth that Yoga is only for the young. People who think, “I am too old to practice Yoga,” have been misinformed.

Photographs of young pretzel bodies doing a “mission impossible” pose are splashed over the covers of every Yoga and wellness magazine. When was the last time you saw a picture of someone, over 65 years old, practicing a Yoga posture on the cover of a magazine?

The public image of Yoga can be discouraging to the average person who is over 65, even though Yoga is an activity for people of all ages. Seniors often remark how Hatha Yoga makes life worth living. They feel healthier, expand their knowledge, and open the flood gates to Yogic consciousness. Hatha Yoga is a balanced activity, which can be modified for people who have difficulty getting up-and-down from the floor.

In fact, Chair Yoga classes accommodate people of all ages, who have difficulty with mobility. Those students, who are wheelchair bound, appreciate the finer points of Yoga practice. Many of them are interested in the deeper healing aspects, such as – Pranayama, Meditation, Relaxation, Mudras, and Mantras.

© Copyright 2010 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

To see our complete selection of Yoga teacher training courses, please feel free to visit the following link.

http://www.aurawellnesscenter.com/store/Teacher-Courses/

FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter. FREE Yoga Videos. Free Podcasts. Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.”

FREE CONTENT: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles). Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste, Paul

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Posted in yoga for seniors | 3 Comments »

Yoga Training to Discover the Divine Within

Saturday, April 24th, 2010

By Sanjeev Patel

Yoga has been around for thousands of years. Our wise ancestors, and ancient Yogis, found holistic practices that connected mind, body, and spirit at higher levels of consciousness. These Yogic theories have now been proven effective by modern science and medicine. There has been substantial research on the physiological, psychological, and biochemical benefits of practicing Hatha Yoga regularly.

Among other benefits on the physiological level are: stable autonomic nervous system, pulse rate decreases, respiratory rate decreases, blood pressure decreases, alpha waves increases, cardiovascular efficiency increases, respiratory efficiency increases, gastrointestinal function normalizes, excretory functions improve, musculoskeletal flexibility and joint range of motion increases, posture improves, sleep improves, pain decreases, energy levels increases, immunity increases, balance improves, and strength increases.

Results of Yoga practice on the psychological level include the following: memory improves, well-being increases, concentration improves, anxiety and depression decreases, mood improves, somatic and kinesthetic increases and self- acceptance increases. On the biochemical level: glucose decreases, sodium decreases, total cholesterol level decreases, triglyceride levels decrease, cholinesterase increases, catecholamine decrease, hemoglobin increases, lymphocyte count increases, total white blood cells decreases, thyroxin increases, vitamin C increases, and total serum protein increases.

Yoga can be practiced in every action we choose to perform, every breath we take, every thought that arises, in every part of our life. Yoga can be a transformative experience at every moment in our lives. Yoga is a way of life. Yoga is highly connected to spirituality and devotion to the Oneness and to life. Yoga is Union with the Universal Power (Supreme Being) and the divine within each of us.

© 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

FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter. FREE Yoga Videos. Free Podcasts. Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.”

FREE CONTENT: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles). Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste, Paul

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Posted in Yoga for Health, Yoga for Mental Health, Yoga for Spiritual Health | No Comments »

Practicing Hatha Yoga for Emotional Health

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

How can Hatha Yoga practice improve your emotional health? How important is emotional health? How could a physical practice of posture sequencing create changes in emotional growth within children and adults? Let’s investigate Hatha Yoga beyond the surface layer to realize how it affects emotional health.

Hatha Yoga for Positive Emotional Health

Upon ending each Yoga session, students often remark how they feel refreshed, happy, inspired, and balanced. Each of us reacts differently at the close of each Yoga class. Happiness is a result of focusing on something that is not a problem. A typical Yoga practitioner uses mind, body, emotion, and spirit throughout the class.

Feeling refreshed is primarily a mental state, but your body is also relaxed and restored. The feeling of being inspired during, and after, a Yoga class is a mental and emotional sensation. It can also be said that the sensation of feeling balanced, encompasses all planes of our existence.

The Importance of Emotional Health

Without positive emotional growth and health, we have no stability in life. As an example of emotional instability, observe a misguided or troubled child. In such cases, a child will cry for no reason, but to gain attention. This child may learn how to manipulate parents, and some family members, but will be frustrated when using the same techniques on the public.

Hopefully, the child may grow out of this need to draw attention to him or herself. On the other hand, each of us has met an adult who wants attention. As adults, we tend to refine our techniques, but a few adults never manage to grow emotionally. This emotional instability tends to make us appear mentally unstable.

Yoga Creates Emotional Growth

Good emotional health is to some degree a form of happiness. Each of us is happy when we begin to understand our true purpose in life. Hatha Yoga enthusiasts learn many methods of practice. When you consider meditation, pranayama, kriyas, mantras, bandhas, asanas, and relaxation techniques; Hatha Yoga is much more than a physical exercise or a sequence of postures.

The objectives of various practitioners are different, but steady Yoga practice will ultimately train and calm the mind. To have complete control of your mind is not easy, and it takes practice, but to have no control over your mind is mental agony. To practice Yoga is an easy choice to make, but the true benefits take time to notice.

Many people practice Yoga for the physical benefits, but begin to feel better in all aspects of life as a result of continued practice. There is nothing wrong with this approach. People believe in what they see, but feeling better in all aspects of life takes a little more time to notice.

© Copyright 2010 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter. FREE Yoga Videos. Free Podcasts. Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.”

FREE CONTENT: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles). Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste, Paul

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Posted in Yoga for Emotional Health, yoga for happiness, Yoga Lifestyle | No Comments »

Practicing Hatha Yoga for a Personal Growth Path

Friday, April 17th, 2009

Yogic Self-analaysisBy Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

In Yoga classes, we are taught about Santosha (contentment). Yet, how can we be content with our lives, when we are influenced by the past, and the society we live in? We have to accept the fact that we are products of our family, culture, and education. To accept oneself at “face value” and without judgment is the beginning of finding inner peace.

For each of us this is a starting point in the journey of Yoga practice, and the path of personal growth, which runs parallel to our Yogic studies. Sometimes the reality that we are in control of our destiny is hard to face. Some of us have been trained to believe we have limited or no control over our lives.

Many people would like to resign the responsibility of personal growth to a higher authority. In a military society, it is easier to forward decision making to the next highest rank. This is a necessary part of the military structure and “the chain of command.”  There are also very repressive forms of government, which take all decision making out of your hands.

Regardless of which society you live in, if you are able to access the Internet, you are free to absorb good and bad ideas at the same time. You have the freedom to determine which forms of information you will accept or deny. The Internet is an educational gift, or a tool of self-destruction, depending upon what we choose to do with it.

Here is just one example: You could spend time listening to financial networks and experts who preach gloom and doom. In fact, they shout over each other all day long. If all the shouting does not get your blood pressure to rise, you have truly developed a reasonable level of patience. About half of the information you hear will be reliable. The problem is deciding which half of the information to react to.

Some of these financial experts were trained on the floors of stock markets worldwide. Their shouting, rudeness, and “cutting each other off” is a part of the financial culture. Shouting and running around in a panic may seem like unreasonable behavior to the rest of humanity, but this is how the world’s financial markets work.

So, what does this have to do with your paths of Yoga practice and personal growth? Take the time to look within yourself and do not judge yourself because of your social status, past mistakes, culture, or education. See your unlimited potential for what it is. Do not let someone else determine your true worth.

Do not allow yourself to fall under the spell of a cloud of doom. If you find yourself gazing at bad news on television, switch the channel to something positive and educational. We cannot afford to waste time, by listening to pessimism without direction or solutions.

© Copyright 2009 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

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Practicing Hatha Yoga During a Financial Crisis

Sunday, October 12th, 2008

By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Hatha Yoga teachers are suddenly seeing a resurgence of student numbers, within their classes. Many new Yoga students have one common factor, which has driven them to attend classes. In short, the population is experiencing chronic stress.

Local news stories from Boston to Providence, and across the United States, are confirming that the current financial crisis is “sending people over the edge.” In the face of stress, Yoga provides solutions that relax the body and calm the mind.

When people chronically worry, they also tend to lose sleep. When this scenario becomes a regular part of daily life, many different health ailments can occur, such as heart palpitations, high blood pressure, heart disease, back pain, headaches, panic attacks, and more. Many short-term forms of heart arrhythmia are caused by chronic stress and anxiety attacks.

Emergency rooms are currently filled with people who are stressed out over home foreclosures, financial problems, and the loss their retirement funds. According to some surveys, it is indicated that as many as 75% of the American population is experiencing chronic stress, over the current economy, and personal finances.

Yoga’s holistic approach toward total health is seen as an aid toward relieving stress and high levels of anxiety. Every student of Yoga is taught an ancient method, which brings about a state of inner calm. As you probably know, there are many forms of Yoga. Depending upon your age, and fitness level, one method may work better, than the other, for relieving stress.

Movement-based Yoga might be perfect for you, but it might not be the best solution for students with pre-existing joint injuries. Styles like Vinyasa, Power, Flow and Ashtanga, perform much more continuous movement than most Hatha Yoga styles.

However, gentle Vinyasa styles might be a perfect solution for the student who loves movement, but must be very careful about the amount of impact on his or her joints.

Styles, such as – Restorative, Iyengar, and Kripalu, tend to hold their asanas longer. These styles attract students from a wide variety of ages and fitness levels.

There are many more Yoga choices for stress relief, but it is wise to research the style and meet a potential teacher before you make a decision.

When considering Yoga, as a solution for chronic stress, consider the following questions.

1. Is the class, style, and teacher, you are considering, safety oriented?

2. Does the teacher take the time to answer questions?

3. Will you make a real commitment to practice Yoga on a steady basis?

As a student, you have every right to safe instruction within your Yoga classes. You do not have to settle for less than the best possible Yoga teacher. It should also be noted that Yoga has realistic stress management solutions for those students who make a commitment to practice on a steady basis.

© Copyright 2008 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

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Yoga For Stress
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FREE CONTENT: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles) – Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste, Paul
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