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Showing posts with label yoga & meditation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yoga & meditation. Show all posts

What is yoga


What is yoga -  you might be one of the millions who has taken a yoga class and perhaps even mastered the peacock pose or maybe the downward dog pose. You might do Yoga for physical benefits or to rest your mind but Yoga has a lot more to offer for a deeper consciousness and higher awareness.

When you think of yoga you probably imagine exercise and complicated positions. But actually, it's traditionally based on meditation and spirituality believed to originate from the 5th or 6th century BC. Yoga is an Indian practice that also covers religion and philosophy.  



Yoga is a philosophical school of Hinduism and therefore some consider the way of life. It offers guidance on ethical practices, offers self-development techniques and blends in its own brand of metaphysics. Yoga supports the concept of a personal God with the ultimate goal of achieving a liberated unified state of existence called Kabbalah Hatha yoga.
However, the physical practice more commonly seen in the West became popular in the 1980s and has been on the rise ever since. Over 20 million people practice it in the US alone. Shawn Morgan author of the mastery of change. He travels the world and he wants to talk to you about how yoga can be a complete system for you to recover from depression. So he suffered from depression anxiety social anxiety depersonalize panic disorder. All of these pencil problems for like 10 years and he recovered two years ago and so what's that like HE means. HE used to feel horrible every day and it got so normal that HE didn't even know. HeHEHe felt horrible and then two years ago HE no longer feels horrible every day. He sometimes goes through challenges but they're temporary, they know maybe lasts an hour and then HE gets over it so recovery is real and so HE to talk about how yoga can be everything.  you need if you could drop everything else and just use yoga as your system of recovery for depression. it's physical postures known as our saunas are used to relieve health problems reduce stress and make the spine and muscles more limber.  you might recognize some of the positions the bow pose the warrior pose and the downward-facing dog. the latter helps build bone density and because the heart is above the head encourages blood circulation. however, you practice yoga there's now a special day to celebrated June 21st.



Take a seat close up your vision and discover some intrinsic calmness and equilibrium. He talked about the formula you know of everything that HE  learned. HE boiled down everything into a formula for health and happiness and it's clean nutrition plus clean thoughts plus friendship nature and exercise equal health and happiness and yoga has everything that you need within that formula. it has a community the community of people that you practice with is the friendship you know you're getting out of your house and into nature. Hopefully to do yoga that was the best way to do it so there you've got the friendship.  the nature the exercise and as you get healthier and healthier the clean air clean water and clean food just becomes part of your lifestyle and the other major thing that really helps with yoga is that it's a physical practice and a mental practice so as you go through the different postures or asanas you're actually triggering emotional things that you stored in your body over your life and letting go of them or processing them.  so it's a physical thing that happens like memories are stored in your body.

but as you practice yoga and you change your physiology you change the way your body is you changed. so when you change your physiology you change the way your mind is you become more limber with your body. you can become more flexible with your mind and as you go through these different postures and you're triggering and releasing toxins in all your different systems of your body and all the different internal organs you're letting go of all the toxic memories and emotions that you've suppressed through your life and it's a really intense experience as you practice yoga more and more you definitely could experience crying emotional outbursts. HE experienced anger on a regular basis when HE does certain yoga postures and yoga also helps you increase concentration or Samadhi and this is really important to be able to have the more free will to choose your emotional state.



somebody once described Oprah as an amazing adult playground where people can let go and return in a way to the playfulness of childhood. before HE came HE thought in between this session HE would be bored what shall HE do how many books can HE read HE hasn't been bored for a second. HE thinks for me the most important thing is that it is simply what it is and it's up to each person who comes there to make of it what they make of it. He thinks the old Potter yoga retreat is about people experiencing the nature here and the simplicity of. HE guesses how we used to live without modern technology and coming back to our feelings.



so we learn to slow down here and with the eyes closed just take ten breaths in and out. okay just to gradually notice each time you breathe in the possibility to breathe in a little bit more air let the breath out find its natural resting point. HE had never tried yoga before and HE found it extremely nice HE feel like in sleeping positions HE could not do before and notice the difference when we are having lunch or dinner that HE can sit differently and eat because HE can bend differently. HE can use and stretch it makes me feel very good. we're not rushed by other classes coming in after so we have the time to explore our breathing practices meditation practices relaxation techniques a little bit more time to allow the body to relax and be in the nature being a peaceful surrounding. so those vibrations HE thinks feed more into the body when HE came last Sunday HE felt stressed. HE felt my body was tense HE've had bloated now HE feel relaxed HE feels my face is relaxed. 
State studies have been done that the actual sheath of the DNA becomes weaker so that it can change form when you're in a relaxed state. not only that you're accessing the unconscious mind by being in that relaxed state and your teacher is like imprinting all these positive beliefs into your unconscious mind. so really yoga has everything absolutely everything that you need to recover from depression. so the key is to get started. there's a root of the problem and that the actions you're going to take are likely to succeed. make yoga yours and discover the diminutive when the five senses are still. once the brain is stilled once the thoughts are stilled that is definitely known as the maximum condition with the intelligent. they say yoga is this complete stillness in which one enters the unit of state never to become separate again. if one is not established in this state sense of unity will come and go.

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How do I quit lust with Meditation / Sadhana


Quiting Lust using Meditation

How do I quit lust with Meditation / Sadhana

Religious Sadhana is the solution to love-making appeal Genuine lifestyle will be the place of ideal both mental and physical Brahmacharya. Genuine lifestyle will be the awareness of your personality of the people heart and soul together with the Superior Spirit by means of primary knowledge.

For just a enthusiastic worldly-minded person, the terminology Self-realization, The almighty, Personal, Vairagya, renunciation, loss of life and funeral soil are extremely nauseating and frightening, as he is connected to the physical objects.

Religious Sadhana


The phrases music and singing, grooving, discusses women of all ages and so forth are extremely satisfying. The fascination for physical objects will progressively disappear if an individual actually starts to believe significantly on the not real dynamics on the planet.

Individuals are burned up from the flame of desire. All procedures which can be determined to eliminate this dreadful illness ought to be started and set through.

Absolutely everyone ought to be built completely familiar with all the various ways that can help those to eliminate the serious adversary desire. As long as they are unsuccessful in a single technique, they could consider alternative to a different one.

Lust is really a intense impulse in unregenerate guys. Individuals must be embarrassed to replicate over and over the sexual behaves when some may be completely conscious that the purpose of our life is Self-realization from the achievement of wholesomeness and the technique of continuous introspection.

An objector could state that these matters mustn't be handled publicly, but ought to preferably be discussed privately. This really is incorrect.

What will be the usage of concealing problems?


Concealing anything at all is really a sin. These days of latest lifestyle and new society, in this particular period of technological development, these lines will not be appreciated by a few individuals.

They could comment that a number of the phrases are jarring, grosse, annoying and indecent and may not match individuals of enhanced preferences. They may be completely erroneous.

These lines will create a pretty strong impact within the imagination of thirsting aspirants that are desiring freedom. Their brains will likely be completely altered. There isn't any genuine religious tradition among the individuals of latest contemporary society.

Manners is simply display. All over the place you can observe significantly exhibit, hypocrisy, pretended pleasantness, pointless procedures and exhibitions.

Practically nothing hails from the main of your soul. Individuals don't have truthfulness and ethics. The utterances of your Mahavakyas from the sages as well as the useful lessons of your bible verses is not going to generate any impact within the thoughts of passionate, worldly-minded men and women.

They're going to be like seed-stock added too rugged earth. They're going to be like pearl nuggets chucked before swine. If a person plainly is aware of the intense harm which comes with an contaminated lifestyle and establishes to achieve the purpose of existence by leading a 100 % pure lifestyle, he or she must maintain his thoughts busily involved in the heavenly thought processes, awareness, relaxation, research and support of mankind.

Insufficient religious Sadhana is the root cause for all those lovemaking destinations. Simply theoretical abstention from sexuality is not going to provide you with great results. You have to mercilessly shut down all requirements in social interaction and head a pious existence free of the process of physical lifestyle.

Leniency to inner reduced habits will get you around having difficulties. Justification is going to be useless in this way. You've got to be straightforward within your pursuit of the elegant life span of spirituality. Half-heartedness leaves you within your aged condition of unhappiness.

Consequently, awaken buddies, out of this mire of illusory Sansara now. Eagerness has wrought terrific chaos in your soul since you are perished in Avidya. What number of numerous parents, moms, spouses and son's you've had in the past births!


This human body is filled with contaminants. Such a disgrace it really is to take hold of this unclean human body! It really is simply nonsense only.

Quit Moha with this human body. Also, surrender identification with this particular human body by meditation with the magnificence of your Suddha Soul.

Surrender praise of your human body. Worshippers of your human body are Asuras and Rakshasas.

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Benefits of Yoga – What does Yoga do?

yoga poses and benefits


Yoga:  Yoga improves your endurance, especially the more athletic forms of yoga such as ashtanga yoga, power yoga, vinyasa yoga, and Bikram yoga.  Yoga is often prescribed to help heal various injuries, including repetitive strain injuries, knee and back injuries, pulled hamstrings, even minor skin burns.  Yoga is an excellent weight-bearing exercise that can improve your bone density.  Yoga reduces anxiety and stress, resulting in better health, better mood, and better concentration throughout the day.  Yoga has been used to help treat a wide variety of emotional and mental disorders, including acute anxiety, depression, and mood swings.

Yoga has been used to help heal victims of torture or other trauma.  Yoga can rid you of tension headaches and migraines because yoga circulates blood and oxygen to your head, which can often prevent headaches from starting.  Yoga can help you lose weight and maintain a healthy weight throughout your life.  Yoga is an effective treatment for a variety of autoimmune diseases because it can reduce the symptoms these diseases often cause, such as stiffness, malaise, fatigue, and weakness.  Yoga   Darshan or   Yoga   Philosophy also happens to be a valid discipline of Indian metaphysics (Brahma Vidya).  Yoga is the impeccable tool for attaining balance in our lives more. Yoga Benefits Women In Every Life Stage Yoga for women is appropriate at every stage of life and special yoga apparels for women are not required. Any loose, comfortable clothing will work just fine.  Yoga keeps the heart strong but the blood pressure low and if the expectant mother is anxious about her impending delivery, yoga will help her to manage that stress more effectively.

yoga and health benefits

Our yoga school, Rishikesh Yog Peeth, was established in 2006 under the Indian Societies Registration Act of 1860 as a non-profit making organization to spread the knowledge of the ancient Indian tradition of yoga, meditation and Ayurveda and its benefits.  Hatha yoga can relieve chronic back and neck pain, since the poses and postures gently stretch and strengthen your back and neck muscles.  Power yoga is an excellent form of cardio conditioning, which strengthens core muscles while it keeps blood and oxygen circulating throughout your body.  Power yoga is a vigorous form of yoga that burns calories, resulting in weight loss.  All   yoga   schools of thought emphasize the importance of the mind remaining calm, because as the saying goes, only when the water is still can you see through it.  Bikram yoga and pregnancy, however, may not be as good a match because even though bikram involves a series of 26 exercises, it is performed in a heated room (95 to 105° F) that may prove too stressful.  Because yoga is a form of meditation, it results in a sense of inner peace and purpose, which has far-reaching health benefits.  Regular yoga practice will create multiple and noticeable benefits to your health.  A regular yoga practice helps boost antioxidants throughout your body, resulting in a stronger immune system and improved ability to heal quickly from disease or injury.

Ayurveda & yoga retreats, holidays & vacations in Rishikesh under the guidance of professional and govt.  The various yoga postures strengthen your feet, legs, hands, abdominals, lower back, legs, and shoulders.  These rigorous yoga practices follow a specific sequence of poses (asanas) that become more challenging as you progress.  According to   Yoga   philosophy, by cleansing one's mind and controlling one's thought processes one can return to that primeval state, when the individual self was nothing but a part of the Divine Self.  Busy Women Regard Yoga as Their Time For many busy women, the hour they spend at their fitness center practicing yoga is exclusively their time, a break from the demands of being career women, wives, and mothers.  Specific types of yoga for pregnant women should be carefully chosen, however.  Top    

Benefits of Yoga on Mental Health      Yoga benefits anyone's mental health by helping him or her relax, and it is an effective form of psychological therapy.  Top    Benefits of Yoga in Everyday Life      Yoga can help cure insomnia, as regular yoga practice leads to better and deeper sleep.    Yoga can help fight fatigue and maintain your energy throughout the day.  Top     Benefits of Yoga to Your Bones, Muscles, and Joints      The physical benefits of yoga are myriad. Yoga keeps your body strong, as it involves all the muscles in your body to hold and balance yoga asanas (poses).  The basic idea of   yoga   is to unite the atma or individual soul with the paramatma or the Universal Soul.  Whether you practice yoga to relax, stretch, breathe, meditate, or simply because it's in fashion, you may not realize the numerous health benefits of yoga.  If you want to learn yoga away from the hustle and bustle of your fast urban life, you can visit the spiritual town of Rishikesh nestled in the lap of Himalayas and receive your yoga training in a traditional way.  During pregnancy mild yoga exercises help the mother to stay fit without placing too much strain on the baby.  Pregnancy and ashtanga yoga is an especially good match since this form of yoga follows a well-defined set of movements to come into and out of poses in a way that completely absorbs the consciousness while stilling the thoughts.

yoga & meditation


We deal in ecofriendly yoga and Ayurveda products and we offer it to our esteemed clients on discounted and wholesale price by virtue of our association with various manufacturers and suppliers located in remote parts of India.  Find out how all types of yoga  can improve your health.  Unlike the gentler hatha yoga, the forms of ashtagna yoga, power yoga, vinyasa yoga, and Bikram yoga require you to keep your body in constant motion between poses, resulting in a strenuous cardiovascular workout and improved core strength.  Many practitioners claim that yoga has also lowered their cholesterol.  A dedicated adherent of Ashtanga yoga, when Madonna suffered injuries in a horse riding accident in 2005, including broken ribs, her doctors credited her rapid recovery and ability to fend off potential chest infections to the important role of yoga in her life regimen.  Some women have found that a regular yoga routine will even out their periods and alleviate the anxiety and depression common at "that time of the month. 

Most notably: The gentler forms of yoga lower your blood pressure because the asanas (yoga poses, postures, and  yoga positions ) keep blood flowing evenly throughout your body while you focus on your breathing.  And while there are many different kinds of yoga, ranging from the more gentle hatha yoga to the more strenuous, like Bikram yoga (which is performed in a 105°F room) or power yoga , every form of yoga improves your health from head to toe.  Rishikesh Yog Peeth is also registered with Yoga Alliance - USA as RYS 200 and RYS 500.  Perhaps one of the most famous practitioners of yoga in the headlines today is world renowned singer Madonna. 

More and more women are expressing interesting in yoga after hearing stories like Madonna's.  People suffering from hypertension can benefit from yoga tremendously, as hatha yoga can lower your heart rate and blood pressure.  We also offer 200, 300 & 500 hour residential hatha yoga teacher training programs and yoga instructor courses (RYT 200, RYT 500, YTT, YTTC, TTC) registered with Yoga Alliance (USA), intensive yoga courses for beginners and yoga-Ayurveda-meditation retreats in Rishikesh (a spiritual town nestled in the lap of Himalayas, also known as yoga capital of the world).  Our product portfolio comprises of ecofriendly & organic yoga mats, yoga mat bags, yoga clothes for men, yoga clothes for women, yoga blocks, meditation cushion, yoga pants for men, yoga tee-shirts, yoga apparels, neti pots, yoga shirts, cheap yoga gears, Ayurveda equipment’s etc. All these products will be available online on discounted rates or on wholesale prices.  You're never too young or too old to reap the health benefits of yoga.

Because the exercise is low impact, women can do other things after a yoga session without having to be worried about being hot and sweaty.  It's internationally recognized 200, 300 & 500 hour residential hatha yoga teacher training programs in India fully comply with the standards set by Yoga Alliance.  This is particularly beneficial for women approaching menopause, since yoga can help ward off osteoporosis, or thinning of the bone.  Many women going through menopause report an easing of symptoms when they begin practicing yoga.  Those with attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity can learn to relax and get control by using yoga breathing and yoga asanas.  

You need to renounce your sense of either wanting to do it or not wanting to do it, to achieve success with any yoga poses more. It is often said that Hiranyagarbha (The Cosmic Womb) Himself had originally advocated the traditional system of yoga, from which all other   yoga   schools have evolved. But for all extant knowledge of   yoga   and its practices, such as yogasanas and pranayama, the entire credit goes to Maharishi Patanjali.  People suffering from osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis will see a noticeable improvement in their stiffness, pain, and other arthritic symptoms by practicing yoga poses and postures.  Starlim India is a New Delhi based company providing education consulting to international students and travel related services to foreigners who intend to visit India for yoga, Ayurveda or tourism purpose. So, perform yoga on daily basis.

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How Does the Mind Work? – Yoga Theory


Yoga science is first and foremost a psychological subject. Yoga deals with controlling the mind and therefore considers all the diseases of the mind and the ways in which these can be cured. It examines all the "impediments" of body and mind which hinder or stop a person from taking up and progressing yoga practice. It sets out how these impediments can be overcome. It also looks at the functioning of the mind: how it reacts to experience and how these reactions in turn influence the mind. These are the six constituents of psychology.

Firstly, we need to know what the mind is.

All that exists is God. He has a Soul and a body. His body is the universe, made up of Souls and matter.

Souls include all the Gods and Goddesses which mankind worships, and also your own Soul. The Soul has the power of seeing. The self within experiences, but does not see, being of the form of matter not Soul.

Matter in respect of living beings includes the self and the inner organ (antahkarana) (brain functioning) which has chitta (consciousness), buddhi (intellect), ahamkara (ego) and manas (mind).

Chitta is individual and cosmic consciousness. Individual consciousness, whereby the Self (atman) knows that it exists because it is aware of itself, and cosmic consciousness, of objects held in the mind. Chitta has five states: experienced knowledge, misconception, imagination, deep or dreamless sleep and memory (pramana, viparyaya, vikalpa, nidra, smrtayah).

Buddhi, the intelligence of the Self, has the power of knowledge and has will power. It discriminates between right and wrong, and decides what to do.

Manas, the sense-mind, perceives objects and reacts. Mind is a servant, not a master of the self. If the self through its buddhi determines that it would like a woman to think of a man, then this is what the woman's mind will do. The contents of the mind are thoughts, feelings, peace and bliss. In this age everyone is stressed. What the mind most needs in the short run is relaxation (even more than happiness). In the absence of this it gets stuck in a rut, the next best thing. The mind also has inclinations, which are determined largely by the history of its experiences in this life.

Matter, being made up of the three gunas of satwa, rajas and tamas, is always in motion. Hence, so long as the mind is not under control, chitta experiences fluctuations.

Diseases of the Mind. Klesa

There are five afflictions: worldly or erroneous knowledge (avidya), sense of 'I' ness (asmita), desire and attachment (raga), dislike (dvesa) and attachment to life and fear of death (abhinivesah).
Pain and sorrow (duhkha) result from the affliction (klesha) of dislike (dvesha)

Causes of the Afflictions or Diseases of the Mind

Afflictions are the end result (vipaka) of bad actions (bad karma). Karma gives rise to subtle tendencies and desires (known as asaya). The interaction of these tendencies (samskara) and desires with your life experiences gives rise to afflictions, if actions are not in accord with yama.
If asayah exists one is reborn with a specific type of birth (jati), span of life (ayuh) and set of prospective experiences of sensual joys (bhogah).

Free Choice

We all have free choice, to do good or bad actions, karma.
The balance of good and bad choices of actions that you have made in this and in your previous life is also called karma. Good or bad is defined in terms of whether they are consistent or not with the five ethical principles of Yama. Your karma determines whether your life experiences will be pleasurable or not, according to the law of karma. Karma is only overruled by God's mercy.

Impediments to Yoga Practice, Antarayah

Yoga practice is that which helps to still the fluctuations of the consciousness.
The impediments to yoga practice, that is which create fluctuations of the chitta or consciousness are: disease (vyadhi), sluggishness (styana), doubt (samsaya), carelessness (pramada), idleness (alasya), sense gratification (avirati), living in illusion (bhrantidarsana), lack of perseverance (alabdhabhumikatva) and inability to maintain one's achieved progress (anavasthitatvani).

Overcoming the Impediments to Yoga Practice and the Diseases of the Mind

The first chapter of the Yoga Sutra sets out the mental disciplines required to overcome the various impediments to having a yogic mind.
The second chapter sets out the physical disciplines required to cure the diseases of the mind, consisting of the Yoga of Action, Karma Yoga, namely Tapas, Svadhyaya and Ishvara Pranidhana.





































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Yoga Health Secrets – “Rediscovered”

Yoga is the term which makes you feel like eternity in all respects. Yoga is an ancient science of physical, mental and spiritual development which originated in India more than 7000 years ago. Just as we take vacations and go to the mountains or the sea to "get away from it all" and to get mental peace. Meditation enables a person to do this on a daily basis without expensive travel costs. In a subsequent article the role of meditation in the achievement mental well-being will be fully discussed.  As we know that sound mind in a sound body, we should take care of our body first in order to maintain your mind healthy and active. So Yoga is the best one foe this. Your happiness depends on your mind and your mind obviously depends on your body. Without physical health you can't be completely happy and without mental happiness you can't be completely healthy. Health doesn't mean that curing your diseases completely and one should maintain same state longer. Many people have misconceptions about yoga and think that it is mainly a set of strenuous postures which only circus acrobats can perform, or associate it with mystic or esoteric ideas which are far removed from the daily life of the masses of humanity. Yoga Health Secrets also focuses on teaching you how to take advantage of the environment in gathering strength and vitality. The sun, the air and our food and water are our sources of energy. Yoga’s leap in popularity is NOT because it’s a fad, but because it has proven benefits, is completely scientific and it has existed for centuries. Thousands are discovering to their surprise how yoga is actually making subtle transformations in their lives - at the physical, mental and spiritual level.

The best part is that yoga acts on all 3 aspects simultaneously in such a way that the development of one automatically aids the improvement in the others. And vitality is said to come from the energy in the body, the mind and the soul. It will be our source of strength and inspiration. And it will keep us going in life. Rather, yoga has much to offer to contemporary humans and it contains clear ideas and practices which can be implemented by many people who wish to live a healthy, happy and meaningful life. ln short, the ideas and practice of yoga are the "missing" operating manuals for the successful functioning of the human structure. In this discussion about the physical aspect of yoga, it is important to remember that meditation has a direct influence on our physical body and helps for example to lower blood pressure. Thus, meditation is one of the keys to a long and productive life.
The word YOGA means to unify. It is a technique to maintain body-mind-soul harmony.
Let us have a look on the advantages of doing Yoga daily.

ü            Physical Health, relaxation
ü            Stress relief
ü            Stamina, vitality, zest for life.
ü            Clarity, concentration, memory.
ü            Motivation, will power.
ü            Creative insight.
ü             Love for all.
ü             Inner peace and happiness.

So try to follow these simple techniques to make your day feel special and active.

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What is Yoga and whether it is safe to practice it or not?


Is Yoga Unsafe?

We often hear about the many health benefits to be gained from a regular yoga practice. But while there is much potential for healing, there is less-widely reported potential to harm—that is when we push our bodies so far we end up injured. “How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body,”  published yesterday in the New York Times Magazine, states that “a growing body of medical evidence supports [the] contention that, for many people, a number of commonly taught yoga poses are inherently risky.”  The piece was excerpted from the forthcoming book, The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards, written by a Time senior writer and longtime yoga practitioner William Broad.

Most yoga students understand that poses like Shoulder stand and Headstand should be practiced under the guidance of an experienced teacher, but Brood cites examples like the man who sat in meditation in Vajrasana (Thunderbolt Pose) for hours at a time and ended up temporarily incapacitated from nerve damage. He also describes a case where a woman suffered a stroke in Urdhva Dhanurasana (Upward-Facing Bow or Wheel Pose).  “Yoga’s exploding popularity—the number of Americans doing yoga has risen from about 4 million in 2001 to what some estimate to be as many as 20 million in 2011—means that there is now an abundance of studios where many teachers lack the deeper training necessary to recognize when students are headed toward injury,” Broad writes.

 “The question is not whether yoga is safe. What matters is whether the specific practices you are doing are safe for you, and whether you are doing those practices in a safe way. Someone who pushes too hard, who ignores the body’s signals that something is too much, is risking injury”

 “Yoga asana done appropriately is one of the safest forms of exercise.”


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What is the difference between Ayurveda and Asana


Ayurveda and Asana

Have you ever wondered why some yoga poses seem to leave you calm, centered, and balanced, while others make you agitated, sore, and off center? Or why your best friend flourishes in a rousing "Power Yoga" workout, while you do best on a regimen of slow, gentle, and stretching?

The ancient Indian healing system known as Ayurveda can help you answer such questions. According to Ayurveda, different people require very different yoga practices. As a yoga teacher and doctor practicing Ayurvedic medicine, I've experienced firsthand how Ayurveda—in addition to the dietary and lifestyle advice that it is best known for—can shed light on the practice of yoga.


Take the case of the 31-year-old woman who came to me complaining of nervousness and chronic neck pain. She had been practicing yoga for six years and still could not understand why she was still experiencing these difficulties.

Our work with Ayurveda helped this women understand how the asanas she had been practicing had aggravated the subtle energies of her body. She also learned new asanas that were more in harmony with her unique energetic balance. With this new knowledge, she was able to modify her practice and eliminate her neck pain and nervousness, bringing greater well-being to her body and mind.

Sister Symptoms

Yoga and Ayurveda are two paths intertwined in such a close relationship that it is hard to imagine traveling down one of these paths without knowledge of the other. Ayurveda, which means "knowledge of life," is the ancient art and science of keeping the body and mind balanced and healthy. Yoga is the ancient art and science of preparing the body and mind for the eventual liberation and enlightenment of the soul.

Like hatha yoga, Ayurveda teaches how to keep the physical body healthy, and how this health relates to our spiritual journey. Both yoga and Ayurveda spring from the ancient Sanskrit texts called the Vedas. According to Vedic scholar David Frawley, "Yoga is the practical side of the Vedic teachings, while Ayurveda is the healing side." In practice, both paths overlap.

In fact, Ayurveda and yoga are so closely related that some people argue that Patanjali, the first codifier of yoga, and Caraka, the first codifier of Ayurveda, may have in fact been one and the same person. Philosophically, both yoga and Ayurveda are rooted in Samkhya, one of six schools of classical Indian thought. The foundation of this philosophy can be described as follows:

ü  There exists a fundamental state of pure being that is beyond intellectual understanding and which all life consciously strives for. This is the state of enlightenment or self-liberation.

ü  Suffering is a part of our lives because of our attachment to our ego or self-identity (ahamkara).

ü  The path toward ending suffering is the path of dissolving or transcending the ego. In doing so, all fear, anger, and attachment are eradicated.

ü  To achieve this goal, we must live a purely ethical life. (Ethical guidelines are listed as the yamas and niyamas in the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali.)

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What should be the proper Wake-Up Routine?


Wake-Up Routine

If that morning mantra "rise and shine" strikes you as the ultimate oxymoron, you might have something to gain from Ayurveda's approach to waking up. According to Ayurvedic philosophy, choices that you make regarding your daily routine either build up resistance to disease or tear it down. Ayurveda calls for getting a jump-start on the day by focusing on morning rituals that work to align the body with nature's rhythms, balance the doshas, and also foster self-esteem alongside self-discipline. Adopting just one or more of the following practices for a month can radically alter your experience of the day. Don't be surprised if you begin to view mornings in a new light.

Beat the Sun. Roll out of bed at least 20 minutes before sunrise. Vata energy fills the atmosphere during these pre-dawn hours, and since vata is known for movement this is the ideal time to rouse your body. "By waking up before sunrise, you are exposed to the special energy in the air," says Vaidya Rama Kant Mishra, an Ayurvedic expert in Colorado Springs, Colorado. "It's a good idea to wake up, go out, and get that breeze in your body." For when sunlight illuminates the sky, vata energy is replaced by kapha, or muscle, energy, explains Michael Sullivan, the director of Riverview Spa, an Ayurvedic yoga retreat in Buckingham, Virginia. Sunrise means it is time to get moving. And indeed if you are already up, the transition will be a snap. Once your feet hit the floor, savor the stillness by indulging in a brief round of pranayama and Sun Salutations or by going to the cushion for a short meditation.

Activate Your Innards. The Ayurvedic philosophy believes the first item you ingest sets the mood for the remainder of the day. With that thought in mind, drink a glass of lukewarm water flavored with a fresh slice of lemon or lime. Here, the Ayurvedic reasoning is twofold. The warm water serves to stimulate the gastrointestinal tract and peristalsis—the waves of muscle contractions within the intestinal walls that keep things moving. Secondly, lemons and limes are high in minerals and vitamins and help loosen ama, or toxins, in the digestive tract.

Face Value. Sleep is tough on the face. Rinsing your face upon waking is an easy way to disperse heat, or leftover pitta energy, and prepare the skin for the day's challenges, namely heat, stress, and pollution. Thus Mishra recommends splashing the face seven times with cool, preferably nonchlorinated water. (An auspicious number in Ayurveda, seven represents the body's chakras, or energy centers.) "The face is the most exposed area of the body, so morning rehydration is crucial," he says. "All day the face is bombarded with stresses. The more hydration the better." Overnight, trapped heat also dries out the mouth. So while rinsing your face, take a sip of cool water, swish it slowly, and spit it out when it gets lukewarm. Repeat two to three times.


Mind Your Mouth. Whereas many of us may dismiss morning tongue-fuzz as an innocuous by-product of sleep, Ayurveda interprets it as a sign of undigested ama lurking in the digestive tract. Ayurvedic practitioners thus rely on the aptly named tongue scraper to dislodge ama, lest it be reabsorbed while eating or drinking. (Both plastic and metal tongue scrapers are sold at many health food stores, but a stainless steel spoon works in a pinch.) Scrape the tongue gently, working from back to front. Use seven to 14 strokes to cover the entire area. This not only rids the tongue of ama, but also unearths the taste buds, awakening the gastric fire for another day of savoring food.

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Jalneti- An art to bath from inside


Jalneti

Introduction- Let’s get deep inside.

Out of the six shuddhikriyas, the shuddikriya for the cleaning of the nasal path is known as neti. The aim of the process is to purify the breathing path right from the nostrils to the throat. If the aim is achieved using water, the process is known as Jalneti. If the aim is achieved by using a thread of cloth ( sutra ), then it is known as Sutraneti. If with the help of modern science, a catheter is used instead of sutra, then it is known as Dandneti. In short, neti is the process of cleaning the nasal path. In this syllabus, we will see how it is done with the help of the water. That means we will study only Jalneti.

How to perform?

Traditionally, the process is performed by dipping the face into the river water, inhaling the water through the nostrils and letting it out through the mouth. The reverse process is sucking the water in by mouth and exhaling it through nostrils.

If it is not possible to visit the river everytime, then the process maybe performed by taking the water into the folded palms and inhaling it through nostrils or sucking it by mouth.

If the process is to be performed in this manner, there are too many difficulties. If the water is to be inhaled through nose, sneezes occur and the water is let out through the nose only. Or if the water cannot be thrown out by way of mouth, it gets stuck and can cause trouble. The water can deposit itself into the sinus and can cause headaches. Hence, there is another method which can be practiced by all without such difficulties and it is easier and useful to practice it.

In this method, a feeding cup of china with a pout is used. Earlier, there were pots with the pouts, they can also be used. In fact, a utensil which can easily pour water into the nostril can be used. A utensil with stainless steel or brass is prepared specially for the process, which has double barrel pout with a little broad tip.

Put warm water into the utensil and add a little salt in it. Tilt the neck and touch the tip of spout to one of the nostrils. Open the mouth and continue breathing through it. Gradually pour water into the nostril. Since the breathing is continued through the mouth, the water straightway goes through the food pipe into the throat to the stomach. Just as we drink water through the mouth, in the same way it can be drunk through the nose. When some water is drunk though one nostril, perform the process with the other one. This is process is not neti, but when one is accustomed to drinking water through nose, then practicing neti is easier.

Instead of swallowing water drunk through the nose, tilt the neck further and take it out through the other nostril. It is essential to find the pose of the neck here. When the pose is found, the rest of the process is easier. The water poured through one nostril can easily come out of the other. The breathing is naturally through the mouth at this time. Pour water into the left nostril and take it out of the right, then drink it by the right one and take it out of the left.

Then stand bent at the waist, put the hands onto the waist, move them in half rotation and perform a process similar to Kapalbhati.

Duration for the Act

The duration or the reiterations of the process cannot be stated. But the amount of water to be used can be stated. For one nostril, generally half a liter of water is to be used. The water should be used at a stretch or with some rests. Since this is a shuddhikriya, one should not include it in daily lifestyle. Whenever, the nasal path needs cleaning, the process can be used. However, till the process is learnt thoroughly, it may be practiced daily. Once learnt, it should be used as per the need.

Physical Effects of this treatment

The process achieves cleaning of the nasal path with the help of the water, but this is not the only aim behind the process. The texts state that the process eliminates kaphadosha and diseases occurring in the old age.

If the process is studied by differentiating the temperature of the water used and also the amount of the salt used, the skin in the nasal path gets used to the osmotic pressure. Also, the organs get used to the different temperatures and can continue working without any disturbance. The nasal path does not suffer from any changes in the season, hence can get freed from the long duration cold or sinus troubles. If the water is heated a little bit more and contains extra salt, then it can also absorb the water from the swollen parts of the nasal path or the fluid in the sinus and these parts can get purified.

Apart from the purification of the nasal path, the other attached sensory perceptive organs such as eyes, ears can also be affected in a good manner and their efficiency is increased.

If the mouth of the Eustachian tube in the throat is swollen and clogged, it also gets opened up. It is also experienced that the study proves useful in case of many diseases of the nasal tract.

For the practice of pranayam, both the nostrils should be open, that can be achieved through this process.

References in the ancient texts in the vedas

None of the texts mention the above described process as Jalneti. However, Gherandsamhita, describes three types of Kapalbhati, the first being Vatkram Kapalbhati, which is same as Kapalbhati that we have seen earlier. The second and the third is Vyutkram and Sheetkram Kapalbhati. That is the Jalneti that we have learnt. The first chapter describes :

Nasabhyam jalamakrishya punarvaktren rechayet |
Payam payam vyutkramen shleshamdosham niwaryet || G S 1.57

Meaning -
The process of inhaling water through both the nostrils and throwing it out by way of mouth repeatedly is known as Vyutkrama Kapalbhati, which eliminates shleshma doshas.

Sheetkritya pitava vaktren nasanallervirechayet |
Evambhyasyogen kamdevsamo bhavet || G S 1.58

Meaning -
Inhaling water through the mouth and exhaling through both the nostrils, the study of this makes the body glow as that of Kamdeva.

Na jayatecha vardhakyam jwara naiva prajayate |
Bhavetswatchandaddehashcha kaphadosham niwaryet || G S 1.59

Meaning -

Due to the study of Sheetkrama Kapalbhati, the diseases of the old age do not arise, there are no fevers, the body is controlled completely and the kapha doshas are eliminated.

When the meaning of the shlokas is understood completely, it is released that they describe complete stage. If an attempt is made to achieve complete stage, it will be difficult. So we have described the process starting from easier to difficult and then the complete stage. If it is studied in that manner, it will not be troublesome.

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