By Amruta Kulkarni, CYT 250

If you have been practicing Yoga for many years, you might have a casual personality and a fairly balanced approach toward life. Maybe you don’t anger as easily as some of your friends. Yoga has a gentle way of bringing us toward the middle of the road.

Studies show that Yoga promotes happier, healthier living, but can yoga change behavior? Based on research, the answer seems to be yes. From children with ADHD to adults with aggressive behavior, Yoga is showing promise as an alternative therapy. While more research is needed, it appears the age-old teachings of Vedic philosophy are as relevant to the 21st century Western world as they were to India thousands of years ago.

Scientists are now saying the same thing as Yogis; they are just using different words. Medical experts say “neurons that fire together, wire together.” Indian sages teach that the way we think and act creates grooves, or “samskaras” in our brains that lead to specific reactions when triggered. The more we repeat the same thought patterns, negative or positive, the stronger the circuit becomes. Fortunately, Yoga provides the techniques needed to rewire these neural pathways.

We know that Yoga promotes self-control, improves mood and leads to a state of general well being. It also reduces negative thoughts and emotions. In “Yoga Calm for Children: Educating the Heart, Mind, and Body,” by Lynea and Jim Gillen, the authors discuss the effectiveness of Yoga in helping children with behavioral disorders and traumatic pasts to manage their anger and sadness. Readily admitting that their venture started out as a nightmare, the Gillens observed the children as they evolved into caring, self-disciplined individuals who could help each other as well as themselves.

Children who experience violence and chaos first-hand are not the only ones who can benefit from Yoga. With the educational system in financial trouble, the first cutbacks are to programs like physical education, art, and music. An emphasis on standardized, one-size-fits-all testing worsens the crisis, leaving students with learning disabilities or test anxiety to fend for themselves.

Studies in the Department of Psychology at Tufts University suggest that Yoga can also be helpful in preventing and controlling aggressive behavior in criminal offenders, and some schools have already adopted programs that incorporate Yoga into to their curriculums. Regardless of age or personal history, as more people become aware of Yoga’s positive effects on behavior, its popularity is bound to increase.

© Copyright 2011 – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

To see our selection of Online Yoga teacher training courses, please visit the following link.

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By Faye Martins

Until the time of the Industrial Revolution in the 17th and 18th centuries, lives revolved around the earth’s natural rhythms. People were dependent on their inner wisdom and their connection to the universe to survive. In today’s global society, technology instantaneously links people from around the world in a false sense of community that leaves its members feeling isolated and alone.

How can we feel a sense of peace in the midst of chaos? According to ancient texts, we live in an illusion – a world in which we accept our perceptions and limitations as reality. To experience our true nature, we must let go of the belief that the answers to our needs and desires come from outside ourselves.

Although we often think of Yoga as physical exercise, postures are only one of its eight different limbs. Yogic teachings provide the tools we need to find out who we are and how we fit into the cosmos. Defined in Sanskrit as “merging with God,” Yoga seeks to align innate wisdom and outward actions, promoting the greater good of self and others.

How does Yoga change a person’s way of thinking?

• Yoga promotes awareness of the mind, body, and spirit. By being aware of our thoughts and emotions and questioning their validity, we learn to distinguish reality from illusion.

• Yoga encourages us to “be here now.” Instead of focusing on the past or worrying about the past, we can enjoy the present moment.

• As we become more aware of our thought patterns, we are able to see them for what they are and spend less time ruminating. The longer we dwell on a thought, the more entrenched it becomes in our consciousness.

• The physical postures of Yoga not only release blockages in the body’s energy system, but they also teach patience and prepare us for meditation.

• The more stressed we are, the more shallow and irregular our breathing becomes. Controlled breathing exercises bring fresh oxygen into the body, eliminate toxins, and improve mood.

• Studies show that the brainwaves of monks actually change during meditation. Yogic meditation makes it easier to rewire the brain circuits that lead to faulty thinking and negative outlooks. It also creates a feeling of well-being and sometimes bliss.

• Yoga improves health and restores the body physically, mentally, and spiritually. When we feel better, our mental outlook improves.

Although he was not speaking of Yoga, the great French novelist Marcel Proust expressed this way of looking at life in the following quote:

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.”

© Copyright 2011 – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

To see our selection of Online Yoga teacher training courses, please visit the following link.

http://www.aurawellnesscenter.com/store/

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!

By Tisha Larsen

There are many benefits yoga can bring when incorporated into corporate wellness programs. Many companies are using wellness programs to improve the health of their employees. Successful, balanced programs can be very cost effective by lowering health care costs of employees, decreasing worker’s compensation claims, reducing absenteeism, and increasing productivity. It has been estimated that for every $1 spent on wellness a company saves $3 in costs. Yoga doesn’t treat just one thing (such as a flu shot clinic) but treats the body as a whole. When added to a wellness program, Yoga has the ability to benefit the employee by decreasing stress, insomnia, depression, back pain, and cardiac disease. Other benefits include improved workplace satisfaction, physical fitness, and flexibility. It also encourages spirituality without reference to religion and can be utilized by a variety of people. It can strengthen the immune system and aide in removal of toxic waste from the body. Yoga also improves mental concentration and focus producing quicker response times and clarity while completing tasks.

The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that US employers lose about $70 billion a year because of absenteeism, lost productivity, and disability caused by mental distress. Studies show that 40% of staff turnover is due to stress. Many people view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives. High demands of time and energy, along with pressure to meet specific goals, causes stress. Yoga decreases stress hormone levels and balances the autonomic nervous system which is responsible for regulating functions such as heart rate, digestion, respiratory rate, urination, and sexual arousal. Specific postures can reduce stress headaches and eye pain by by releasing the stress from the sensory organs. It allows the mind to rest and clear away negative thoughts. Yoga strengthens the nervous system and creates a peaceful state of mind. Regulation and control of the breath assists in steadying the mind. According to The Complete Yoga Book by James Hewitt, the aim of yoga is to produce tranquility which in turn draws employees’ focus away from a stressful day and provide relief.

Difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking early is known as insomnia. There are several causes including stress, diet, and hormone changes. Yoga balances the body’s systems and promotes sleep. Specific poses help decrease insomnia depending on the cause. Studies have shown that people with chronic insomnia have had increased total sleep times with daily yoga sessions.

Depression affects 121 million people worldwide. A study done at New Hampshire Psychiatric Hospital in 2005 in which patients attended yoga classes showed lower levels of their tension, anxiety, depression, and fatigue than before beginning the class. Depression weakens the immune system by exhausting the body’s stress hormone supply. People suffering from depression have lower levels of the neurotransmitters responsible for positive emotions and pain tolerance. Yoga increases the release and re-uptake of these neurotransmitters in the brain. It also promotes the release of natural adrenaline. Yoga can help find inner calm and access the power of the inner self.

Physically demanding, repetitious, or sedentary jobs can cause back pain. Frequently the cause of back pain is loss of flexibility, weak back or abdominal muscles, tight hamstrings, and/or sciatic nerve irritation. Yoga sharpens proprioception, which is the unconscious perception of movement and spatial awareness of the body. A qualified instructor will be able to assist with postures that should be avoided or eased into for those who have had back pain or injuries. People who have had back injuries should check with their doctor before starting a Yoga program.

Heart health can be improved by yoga. It can improve blood vessel function therefore lowering blood pressure. Blood pressure is stabilized when the sense organs, brain, and sympathetic nervous system is relaxed. It works directly on the hypothalamus which is the control area for the endocrine system. Yoga decreases atherosclerosis which is the hardening of the arteries because of plaque. It maintains the elasticity of the arteries and clears out the plaque by increasing circulation and providing an even blood supply to all parts and organs in the body. Many cardiologists recommend yoga for their cardiac patients.

Yoga can improve workplace satisfaction in many ways. By attending classes together employees become engaged with each other in a relaxing environment. It is a positive activity that isn’t work related. It offers a bonding experience and forms a sense of community. The ability to remain calm under stressful situations will come more naturally. Overall, yoga boosts morale and the end result is teamwork and ultimately job satisfaction.

Many employers have a policy in place in which one’s religious beliefs may not be imposed on others in the workplace while others include religion in their mission statement. Those who practice yoga are not worshiping a specific God. It is a way to learn to not be guided by the self-conscious but move past that and realize and use the universal consciousness, which is where man truly understands his real-self or God-self. The ultimate goal of yoga is to acquire truth with the individual soul by identifying with the supreme soul or God. This is not fully achievable simply with corporately offered yoga classes, but it is a good start. Patanjali, Yoga Aphorisms, explains yoga as “a supreme suspension of the modifications of the thinking principle which is obtainable through different methods such as controlling the vital breath and steady pose, both of which are intimately connected with the mind”. Yoga does not claim to have all the answers to your problems but offers a way to work through them. The philosophy of yoga doesn’t argue or agree with any specific religion or faith, therefore, anyone who is looking for the truth within themselves can participate.

A main reason that would draw employees to practice yoga, when they otherwise may not be aware of the many benefits, would be for improved physical fitness. Modern culture has driven us to gain slender physiques and increase our muscle mass by performing violent muscle exercises. This would include cardiovascular workouts where the goal is to increase circulation by getting the heart rate at an extremely high level. Increased circulation can be achieved with specific movements of the body along with deep controlled breathing. Performing asanas, also known as postures, break up the fat and tone the body. Pranayama is the Yogic science of breath control. Through pranayama we can activate the physiological and psychic powers of prana (cosmic energy) that is stored in our body. Pranayama improves metabolism. A balanced asana regimen will work on all nerves, glands, and organs in the body.

As our bodies grow older, we lose flexibility of the spine and joints due to shortening of the ligaments. This is recognized as stiffness in the neck and shoulders for people who sit much of the time, as in office work or other sedentary jobs. This can also cause headaches because shortening of the ligaments at the base of the skull irritates the nerves that run through that area to the face and head. Yoga gently stretches and returns suppleness to these ligaments.

The benefits of yoga can be enjoyed by anyone. It appeals to a variety of fitness levels. It can be done as an organized class or taught to be done individually while sitting at a desk. It is not competitive; one only challenges him or herself. It is an activity that can improve physical fitness without perspiring or becoming fatigued, therefore can be attended before or during a workday. Most asanas are more relaxing than exerting. There are no age requirements; people of all ages can participate. Yoga promotes self-confidence. It is a way to grow spiritually without imposing a specific religion as explained previously. There are no special clothing or equipment requirements.

There are several tips to successfully integrate yoga into a corporate wellness program. The class should be low cost or free. It should be offered more than one time for maximum benefits. Employers should survey potential attendees to see what times work best for their employees. A qualified instructor is a must. On-site classes would allow for increased attendance. Specific tips for the classes include encouraging students to come with an empty bowel and bladder and wear loose clothing. It should take place in a well ventilated, size appropriate, and temperature appropriate area. Bringing a blanket, towel, or mat is encouraged. Reminding students that every person’s body is different may help ward off injuries or soreness brought on by ignoring the body’s signals.

In conclusion, yoga generates an overall feeling of well-being. Not only does is increase muscle strength but improves mental health and makes a healthier happier employee.

© Copyright 2011 – Tisha Larsen

By Gopi Rao

Thanks to the Internet, Yoga education is now available for everyone with a computer. Online Yoga teacher training courses are helping anyone to become able to self-manage his or her health. Yoga continues to increase in mainstream popularity, as the ancient wisdom of a Yogic lifestyle becomes known to more and more people.

Scientists are researching and studying the various aspects of physical Yoga. Meanwhile, the medical community is impressed. Doctors are beginning to recommend therapeutic Yoga as a method that helps to alleviate mental and physical ailments.

Physiotherapy, chiropractic, massage, acupuncture are being prescribed in record numbers to combat crooked, tired, aching, knotted bodies across the globe. This is a time when a safe Yoga practice could be done at home to promote self healing and prevention of health problems.

Displacement of any part of the skeletal frame causes the nerves and nadis to suffer disease. Any of the following common symptoms result when the body expresses disease: High blood pressure, headache, backache, chronic pain, anxiety, and many more. All of these ailments can be alleviated with regular Yoga practice.

As the body compensates, adjusting to accommodate new pain in an affected area of the body, it shifts away from proper alignment, and creates awkward movements and poor posture, which create more new aches and pains. Proper functioning of the nerves, organs, and joints, are at risk to suffer a chain effect of injuries that result from the original problem.

Yoga promotes deep full body stretching techniques from which the muscles are able to release and relax. The soft tissues throughout the body expand the space between the bones and joints. This creates a natural cushion of space for the joints and organs to move freely, while our blood flow circulates from head to toes.

Ayurvedic medicine makes us aware there should be space for the nadis (nerves) to carry vital energy (prana) through open space in between the joints and ligaments. The body is better able to circulate vital life force into any blockages that may remain. Soft and compliant now, the body is able to function optimally as every organ, muscle, and bone functions with ease. Thus the body is healthy and supple, while pressure within the body is released.

© Copyright 2011 – Gopi Rao / Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

By Dr. Rita Khanna

Pregnancy – a new dimension in a woman’s life, a state of poise and grace, is one of her greatest experiences in life. Maternity is not only to bring a child in the world – instinctively, ignorantly, or machine-like – it is a process of conscious creation. So, the saying “As you sow, so shall you reap,” is very true in this regard. A woman, who has looked after her health properly, will reap the reward by having a healthy pregnancy and producing a healthy child. The pregnancy is a totally new experience; a unique journey in a woman’s life. How nice it would be, then, to begin this journey with Yoga, where there is union of cosmic and individual souls. Yoga is a system that is concerned with the evolution of body, mind, and spirit; it is the discipline that is concerned with integrated development of all aspects of an individual.

PRE-NATALYOGA

• Pre-natal Yoga can be of great help to the expectant mothers during the pregnancy, at childbirth time, and in post-delivery stages. It helps to such an extent that, not only we can minimize surgical interferences and much of the painful miserable experiences of expectant mothers, but also converts the stage into a very special, pleasant, and memorable one.

• The simple Yoga poses help to make the body more flexible, improve body posture, and ease many pregnancy problems.

• The practice of Yoga promotes optimum health of body and mind, unifying a mother’s physical, emotional, and spiritual growth with that of her child and helps her to connect to the baby growing within her.

• Yoga relieves the common physiological problems – swelling of feet (Edema), backache, and cramp in the legs.

• It also relieves psychological problems – worry, irritability, sensitivity, anxiety, and disturbed sleep during pregnancy.

• Yoga enhances overall well-being and growth of the baby. It creates a very positive environment, in which the baby can grow, in all the dimensions, and achieve its full potential. The fruits of this total growth can be seen when the baby grows into a strong, healthy, and balanced personality.

• It is rightly said that happy Mommies make happy Babies.

YOGIC TOOLS

Yoga has 6 vital tools for pregnancy. When followed together, they work wonders on mother’s health and her capability to have a smooth pregnancy. They are: Yogasanas, Pranayama, Bandhas, Meditation, Deep Relaxation, and Diet.

AUMKAR AND BRAHMARI PRANAYAMA

Start the session with Aumkar and Brahmari Pranayama. For that – sit in any comfortable posture, with the spine and head erect. You can keep your hands on the knees; in Gyan Mudra Posture (join the tips of the index fingers to the tips of the thumbs while keeping the other fingers extended and loose). Close your eyes gently, and relax all the muscles. Do each Pranayama 21 times.

BENEFITS

Oumkar and Brahmari Pranayamas done regularly, for only a few minutes daily, throughout pregnancy, keep the endocrinal system regulated to maintain the pregnancy successfully.

STANDING POSITION

HASTOUTTANASANA

• Stand straight, with your feet apart, and hold your hands above your head, with your fingers locked together, palms out.

• Inhale; bend backwards.

• Exhale; straighten up, keeping your fingers interlocked, and placing your palms upward on your head.

• Perform this Asana 5 times.

TRIYAK TADASANA

• Same standing position.

• Place your hands on your hips

• Inhale and bend to your right.

• Exhale; straighten up.

• Now, inhale and bend to the left.

• Perform this Asana 5 times.

PADASANA

PART I

• Lock your fingers together, palms up & inhale.

• Exhale & bend forward as much as you can without straining yourself too much.

• Inhale; straighten up.

• Perform this Asana 5 times.

PART II

• Stand straight, and hold your hands together, by locking your fingers behind your back.

• Inhale; bend backwards.

• Exhale; straighten up.

• Perform this Asana 5 times.

BENEFITS

The combination of these four Asanas – improves blood circulation, reduces back pain, strengthens back muscles, and helps strengthen thighs.

SHAVASANA

PART I

• Lie down on your back, with your legs resting from the knee, downwards, on a chair.

• Fold your hands together on the stomach, and keep your eyes closed while you are breathing.

• Rest comfortably in this position for 2 minutes.

PART II

• Lower your legs from the chair and turn sideways.

• Lie down on your left side, with your legs bent from the hips and the knees.

• Rest in this position for 2 minutes.

BENEFITS

Relieves muscular fatigue, improves venous circulation, and refreshes the body and mind.

VAJRASANA

Now, from Shavasana, sit up – either in crossed legs or in Vajrasana. Hands are in Gyan mudra position. Perform Vajrasana for 2 minutes. Now, move on to Marjariasana.

MARJARIASANA (CAT POSE)

• Stand on your knees and on the hands.

• Bending your back downwards, inhale, and raise your neck; try to stretch your neck backwards, as much as you can.

• Bending your back upwards, exhale, and bend your neck downwards – between your hands.

• Perform this Asana 10 times.

BENEFITS

Strengthens the breast muscles, reduces back pain, helps strengthens thighs.

BALASANA (CHILD’S POSE)

• From Marjariasana, sit back in Vajrasana, with the knees a little wider than your hips. This will create more room around the belly. It also allows deeper breathing.

• Exhale, and place your forehead on the floor, with your arms out in front, or at your sides – whichever you feel is more comfortable, breathing normally.

• If you have difficulty sitting on your heels in this pose, place a thickly folded blanket / cushion between your back thighs and calves.

• Perform this Asana for 2 minutes

BENEFITS

This exercise helps open up your chest and pelvis, and increases blood circulation. It rejuvenates the brain cells and relieves fatigue.

TITLIASANA (BUTTERFLY)

PART I

• Sit on the floor, with your soles together, and knees wide apart.

• The feet should be as close to the trunk of the body as possible.

• Hold your feet together, with your hands. Inhale, and move your knees up; exhale, and move your knees down. This motion is like the flapping of the butterfly wings. Perform this Asana 20-30 times.

PART II

• Support your knees with your hands, inhale, and raise them; try to bring them together.

• Exhale, bring your knees down. Place your palms on the knees – keeping your feet together.

• Press down (lightly) on your knees, and try to bend your legs downward, as much as you can.

• Perform this Asana 10-20 times.

PART III

• Spread your legs apart, inhale, and place the palms on the floor in front of you – between your legs.

• Exhale; walk your hands forwards, bending forward as much as you can.

• Inhale; walk your hands backwards, until you straighten up.

• Do it thrice (3 times).

PART IV

• Place your hands, palms down on your right thigh; inhale.

• Exhale; and walk your hand down on the leg bending forward.

• Touch the toes on your right foot, and hold them with both of your hands, for some time.

• Inhale; walk your hands back and straighten up.

• Repeat the step with the other leg.

• Do twice more, with both the legs.

• Come back to the half lotus position.

PART V- ON THE BACK

• Lie down on your back, on the mat, with legs bent, and place your feet on the floor.

• Hold your knees with your hands.

• Inhale, and raise your legs – bending them from the hips.

• Exhale; push down on your knees and spread your legs apart.

• Try to touch the soles of your feet.

• Put your legs down and place your feet on the floor.

• Perform this Asana 10 times.

BENEFITS

The combinations, of the above five parts, are a good way of exercising the pelvis, pelvic region, and hip joints – and keeping the uro-genital system in good health. It eases childbirth and alleviates labor pains

KATI-UTTHANASANA (WAIST RAISED POSE)

• Lie on your back, on the mat, with your palms on the sides – with legs bent, and place your feet on the floor.

• Bring the heels closer to the buttocks.

• Keep the distance, between the legs, equal to the distance between the shoulders.

• Now, inhale; raise the hips and waist, upwards, as much as possible, and remain steady. Breathe normally.

• Hold the position for 3 to 5 breaths.

• Perform this Asana 3-5 times.

BENEFITS

This Asana helps in toning your hips, lower back, and your abdominal muscles. It helps alleviate pains in the abdomen, caused by the weight of the fetus.

ASHWASANCHALA / MAKATASANA

• Lie down on your back, with your arms spread straight out – palms facing upwards.

• Raise your legs, and place your feet flat on the floor.

• Inhale; bend your legs to the right, and place them on the ground.

• Twist your back on the other side.

• Keep your shoulder flat on the floor.

• Exhale and come to the centre.

• Repeat this step on the other side with an inhalation.

• Do it 4-5 times on each side.

• Legs straight – and relax.

BENEFITS

Strengthens the waist and hips, helps reduces belly fat, reduces back and cervical pain, helpful in kidney problem.

PRANAYAMA

Good breathing, and control of Prana (energy), is vital – because just like the nutrients that you provide to your baby from your food, you are also responsible for providing him/her with high quality oxygen, and Prana, from the air you breathe.

SIVANANDA PRANAYAMA

• Lie on your back, on the mat, with your palms facing upwards. Bend both the knees. Keep the knees and feet apart.

• Take your mind to the solar plexus (navel).

• Watch the breath; breathe in as slow as possible, and breathe out as slow as possible.

• While breathing in, your stomach is rising; while breathing out, your stomach is falling.

• Remain a witness to the breath.

• You must remain happy in this watchfulness.

• While doing conscious breathing, you are filling the body with Prana (the cosmic energy contained in the air); and with each exhalation, while expelling impure air, you are assimilating the life-giving energy just inhaled – allowing it to penetrate every fiber of your being.

• Think of the body as being healthy, and the mind as being strong, and that the child is developing normally. Say to yourself that everything will turn out fine…and that the baby will be sound in body and mind, with all the physical and moral qualities one would like him to possess.

• You can practice Sivananda Pranayama, for a period of ten to fifteen minutes, in the morning, noon, and evening, as well as late night, whenever your stomach feels light – about three hours after meals.

BENEFITS

By this Pranayama, you will get mental soundness. It is a very useful panacea for blood pressure, mental tension, and irregularity of the stomach.

PRANAYAMA- SITTING IN A CHAIR

PART I

• Sit comfortably in a chair. Hands are upwards on the knees.

• Place your hands just below your stomach, and breathe deeply.

• Perform this Pranayama for 2-3 minutes.

PART II

• Now, move your hands apart, and hold your stomach from top and bottom; continue breathing deeply.

• Come back and relax.

• Hands are upwards on the knees.

• Perform this Pranayama for 2-3 minutes.

BENEFITS

Calms the mind, cleanses the system.

ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING

• Sit comfortably in a chair.

• Close your eyes, and raise the right hand; place the elbow of your right hand on the palm of your left hand.

• Do alternate nostril breathing.

• Close the right nostril, with the thumb, and breathe in through the left nostril – slowly and deeply.

• Close the left nostril, with the ring and little fingers, and breathe out through the right nostril – gently and deeply.

• This completes one round.

• Repeat for 5 minutes.

BENEFITS

Calms the mind, cleanses the system, regulates vital life force.

MULABANDHA

Moolabandha has powerful effects on a woman’s reproductive organs. By repeatedly contracting the anus muscles up, and on inner side, the elasticity of vaginal opening increases. Due to this, the child comes out easily, and the lady enjoys a painless delivery and a pleasant childbirth.

METHOD

Focus your awareness on the anus region. Exhale, and contract the anus muscles – in and up. Hold for a count of five. Inhale and relax. Repeat 10 times.

DIET

It is better to take a simple, fresh, and vegetarian diet – as far as possible. It can be digested easily. It is nutritive and very beneficial for the health of the mother and the intrauterine fetus.

MENTAL RELAXATION

Once the series of exercises are over, you can perform Yoga Nidra, or complete Yogic relaxation, and finish off by mental relaxation. During pregnancy, the way you are feeling and thinking will affect the child’s mental development. Whatever the circumstances, the future mother should try to lead a peaceful, well-balanced life, and avoid all negative feelings, such as anger, jealousy, hate, desire for vengeance, etc. The pregnant lady should remain in a pleasant mood, by observing wide open blue sky, wide spread ground covered with green grass, hear the sweet sounds of birds, observe peacocks with expanded feathers, widespread flow of water or a boundless ocean, the flow of clear water of a river, the groups of butterflies playing on the flowers, listen to the humming of black bees, enjoy the peaceful and pleasant wind coming through the fragrance of flowers and trees, showers of rain, the children playing in the water. All these give joy, peace, and comfort to the pregnant lady and to the child inside the uterus. If the food, which the mother takes in its assimilated form, goes into the production of the baby and form of the child in her womb – then to a great extent, the thoughts of the mother, during her pregnancy, give direction and impetus to the psychological make-up of the child. Hence, one of the better times to train the child is when he/she is in the womb.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Before you start with any kind of exercise, it is important to seek permission from your gynecologist.

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 in its full range is: Yoga of Breathing, Yoga of Posture and Yoga of Meditation. Practicing all three will achieve the maximum body-mind harmony and relaxation. All techniques of Yoga aim at producing tranquility and has great restorative powers.

There is plenty of research today that confirms that yoga is powerful both as preventive medicine and therapy for a wide variety of health conditions; in my opinion, yoga is the most powerful system for overall health and well- being and the best preventive medicine there is.

Yoga is a one stop shopping to reduce stress, tension, fatigue and pain, increase flexibility, balance and body alignment, heighten cardiovascular conditioning, lower blood pressure, prevent injuries, improve immune function, increase strength and circulation, strengthen bones, heighten sexual functioning and fulfillment, help with weight management, and last but not least, promote spiritual well-being and lift mood.

Yoga has different views from the western medicine as to what constitutes health, and this difference is probably why it is so effective. The absence of symptoms is in no way equated with health in yoga. Health to the yogi extends far beyond not having a headache or back pain, or even being cancer-free. Health to a yogi is optimizing the function of every system in the body from the muscles, to digestion, circulation and immunity.

It is about emotional well- being, spiritual resilience and joy. Yoga teaches that only when all these are aligned can you maximize your chance for health and healing. Yoga does not compete with conventional medicine, and can almost always be used to compliment most kinds of traditional medical approaches. In yoga, you stretch and strengthen your muscles and that affects your circulation, digestion and breathing.

You calm and strengthen the nervous system and it affects the mind. You cultivate peace of mind and it affects nervous system, the immune system and the cardiovascular system. Yoga says that if you look clearly you will see that everything about you is connected to everything else. From a therapeutic standpoint, this provides the insight that you improve the functioning of any one organ or system by trying to improve all.

Yoga reduces the physical effects of stress on the body by encouraging relaxation and lowering the levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. Related benefits of practicing yoga include lowering blood pressure and heart rate, improving digestion and boosting the immune system, as well as the reduction (and sometimes even complete elimination) of conditions such as anxiety, depression, fatigue, asthma and insomnia.

Yoga is also extremely effective in the treatment of pain. Studies have demonstrated that practicing yoga postures, meditation or a combination of the two, reduces pain for people with conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis , auto-immune diseases and hypertension as well as arthritis, back and neck pain and other chronic conditions. The biodynamic of yoga also helps in realignment of various mechanical disorders like slipped disc, hiatus hernia, umbilical hernia, arthritis, cervical spondylitis, etc.

In hiatus hernia, for example, the stomach is pulled away from the diaphragm and the herniation is thus adjusted. Consider diseases of the skeletal system like arthritis, slipped disc, etc. The mechanical realignment in the knee by rejuvenating the cartilage, pulling the tibia and fibula away from the femur relieves arthritis. For a slipped disc, the bony column and muscles are pulled apart so that the disc is not pressurized. The aim of posture (or asana) is to attain steadiness of body and mind, a feeling of lightness, health, suppleness, and psycho-physical poise.

There is a beneficial action upon nerves, glands, and vital organs, as well as upon musculature, and in perfecting the body. Yoga is about harmony and health of the total organism. Asanas- which can be done sitting, standing, lying down or upside down- evoke feelings of tranquility, psychic strength, and lucidity of consciousness. With a regular practice, gradually the spine becomes suppler, the joints move freely, the hamstrings lengthen and loosen, the legs fold and the knees spread without discomfort reducing stresses and strains on the organs, muscles, bones, ligaments, nerves, etc.

The main purpose of yogic breathing is to increase consumption of oxygen with the minimum of physical exertion, under conditions probably favorable to the storage of oxygen. Yoga teaches to take slower, deeper breaths which improves lung function and triggers the body’s relaxation response. Prana (or life-force) is the force behind the renewal of the body cells. Disease is unlikely to gain a hold on a body whose every cell is permeated with Pranic energy.

A body freshly charged with Prana can be a source of healing for others, by transmission. We can therefore assist others’  health thru improving our own. Yoga helps increase strength, flexibility and mobility by using every muscle in the body, helping to strengthen our body for head to toe. Yoga also helps to relieve muscular tension.

Even the less vigorous yoga can aid weight control efforts by reducing the cortisol levels (by reducing stress) as well as by burning excess calories. Yoga promotes healthy eating habits and provides a high sense of well-being and self-esteem. Even gentle yoga practice can provide cardiovascular benefits by lowering resting heart rate, increasing endurance and improving oxygen uptake during exercise.

Yoga helps to improve body alignment, resulting in better posture and helping to relieve back, neck, joint and muscle problems. Yoga may also assist us with longevity as what can be stated with certainty is that some elderly Indians Yogins display a bodily tone and a mental alertness that men half their age in any country in the world would be delighted to possess.

Yoga also helps with sexual health because the physiological factors which enhance sexual fitness are vitality, rich reserves of energy, good muscle tone, supple limbs and joints, and efficient functioning of the nervous system, circulation and glands. On the psychological side, sexual well-being depends on freedom from tensions and anxieties, a relaxed openness of response, and total attention.

Yoga promotes all these factors. Yoga helps us focus on the present, to become aware and help mind and body health. It opens the way to improve coordination, reaction time and memory. Yoga is a way to greater energy, better health, a youthful figure, and relaxed living. Yoga’s sublime aim is to perfect body, mind and spirit which to me, means ultimate health.

Nanou Yoga – Los Angeles, CA  – 310.497.9849