SLEEPING HABITS CAN GIVE AND ALSO TAKE AWAY BACK PAIN

Sleeping is a prime need. The power of restorative rest is strong and wide reaching. Symptoms of diseases like fibromyalgia, migraine headaches, chronic fatigue and flu are decreased while we sleep. But did you know that improper sleep can be a cause of pain and suffering? Poor sleeping posture is the reason for this.

We all rest in various sleeping postures for five to eight hours every day! This entails 25-33 per cent of an average day or one fourth of our life time. Certain sleeping postures increase the tendency to a sway back while others give rise to neck pain.

We usually blame the mattress or the pillow for the pain and the stiffness. Let’s review the most common sleeping positions, why they are harmful and how can we correct them to help the body.

Sleeping on the belly

Sleeping on the belly can never be symmetrical as the head has to turn to one side or the other and this pressurises the neck. Even the lower back can get extremely curved as it sags into the mattress. It lets the lower back sink far inward and causes too much pressure on the back.

This creates unbalanced muscles, wherein one side is hypertonic (contracted) and the other is hypotonic (extended). This leads to neck strain, cramping, pain, tingling sensation in arms and headaches.

To sleep on the belly, follow these precautions:

• Place a rolled up towel or a small pillow under the abdomen to prevent the sagging of the lower back.

• One knee can be bent towards the chest.

• The pillow below the head should be as flat as possible so that the neck does not get arched or twisted to one side.
Begin to change the habit of sleeping on the stomach by starting off lying on your side or the back. Relaxing for a while in these positions, before turning to sleep on the belly, will gradually build in the new healthier habit. This position has to go.

Sleeping on the back

This places less pressure on the back than sleeping on the stomach. As the weight gets evenly distributed across the widest surface of the body, this minimises pressure points and ensures proper alignment of the internal organs.

If you are lying on your back and your legs are straight, then there is insufficient support for the lower back allowing it to arch too high. This can aggravate backache especially in people with increased lower back curvature and stiff hips.

If you sleep on your back with one leg bent, then you probably experience the same hip, lower back and/or knee pain as do the stomach sleepers who sleep in this way. Add a medium firm pillow under your knees and lower legs for a relaxed back. This support stretches the back and reduces the curvature.

Sleeping on the side

Side sleeping gets the votes for best sleeping position, if done correctly. Errors in side sleeping occur when one leg overlaps the other. The top leg is folded more than the lower one with the body getting twisted on the waist — the top hip trying to race with the lower hip! As the middle back gets suspended between the hips and shoulders, the broadest parts of the trunk, it can lead to tightness and pain in the low back and knees.

Then, side sleeping with hands under or over the head and scrunching the pillow so that the head is elevated can lead to neck and shoulder pain, stiffness, headaches, tingly or numbness in the arms or hands.

Side sleeping is the best because it allows the body to maintain a proper and corrective posture for several hours. What should be done is to place a pillow between the knees to create proper distance between them, thus keeping the hips in proper balance.

The legs must be parallel, so the hips remain square and there is no strain on the low back. A pillow should be placed under the head and pulled to the shoulder for optimal neck support. The hands should be parallel and below the eyes.

Placing a pillow between your knees and legs to keep hips, pelvis and spine aligned, helps a lot as this takes off the pressure from the lower hip and also keeps the pelvis vertical. This maintains the curve of the spine and alleviates any pressure or stretching.

Keep alternating the side to prevent muscular imbalance between the two sides of the body — left and the right. Who knew there was so much to sleeping posture? If these corrections are given a try, after a while the daily neck strain, shoulder pain, headaches, hip and low back pain and arm tingling may just start to correct itself.

EASE CANCER TREATMENT SIDE EFFECTS WITH YOGA

This is a write up by my friend Jillian MacKee to spread awareness on the subject !

Here are some side effects of cancer treatment: Insomnia, fatigue, anxiety, depression, aches and pains. Though, cancer treatments, such as surgery and radiation, are necessary, the side effects are almost as scary as having cancer. Even more unfortunate, many cancer patients do not know that there are ways they can relieve many of these symptoms, if not all of them.

An article from MSNBC showed that studies reported that yoga is great exercises that can also help cancer patients relieve their symptoms.

Yoga, especially hatha yoga -- the meditation yoga, is a spiritual exercise that has many benefits for cancer patients, especially patients with rare or aggressive cancer, such as mesothelioma that is triggered from asbestos exposure. In this article it lists specific reasons why yoga is not only a great idea for cancer patients, it is a must for them.

Essentially, the stretching and holding poses from many hatha yoga asanas promote the growth of anti-cancer cells, called macrophages. Even more, these types of holding poses helps the body's circulatory system, improving the blood flow that carries important minerals and nutrients to the parts of the body that desperately need it after radiation treatment.

However, because of the patient's severe condition, yoga should only be practiced under the care of a professional yoga instructor, especially one who understands its importance as an alternative complimentary cancer treatment.

Some doctors also found from various studies that yoga helps patients maintain a positive sense of well-being, which is very important during recovery. Optimistic people are typically healthier than pessimistic people. This is usually because optimism allows the body to relax, which in turn allows the brain to send positive neurological signals to the body's organs. The meditation sessions -- usually in the beginning of a hatha yoga session -- help patients clear their mind, allowing a more optimistic and courageous attitude towards their condition.

Mesothelioma treatment, and other aggressive treatments, can destroy healthy tissues and cells in the patient's body, forcing the body to work extra hard to repair itself, thus the insomnia and fatigue side effects. However, patients who practice yoga report feeling more energized and getting better quality of sleep at night, enhance quality of life, and increase life expectancy. This is mostly because yoga asanas allow for a full body workout, distributing energy to every part of the body.

As more studies are done, doctors will soon discover just how important yoga, and other types of alternative cancer treatments, is to cancer patients. Clinics across the nation may incorporate yoga therapy as a part of their patient's recovery process.

WEEKLY WATER FASTING - HEALING CHRONIC DISEASES

Fasting is a powerful tool that provides a period of concentrated physiological rest during which the body switches to repairing and strengthening its damaged organs. It allows the body to cleanse cells of accumulated toxins and waste products.

Fasting gives the digestive tract time to completely rest and strengthen its mucosal lining. A healthy intestinal mucosal lining is necessary for preventing the leakage of incompletely digested proteins and toxins into the bloodstream, thereby offering protection against autoimmune conditions.

Fasting for six-days a month can indefinitely postpone onset of type-2 diabetes in obese individuals! Water fasting releases natural chemicals and hormones to keep chronic diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, hypothyroidism, colitis, IBS, fibroids and benign tumours and many more in control.

Obesity
Weekly water fasting is a safe and sure shot solution for resistant obesity. The aim is to create a food shortage (while water is allowed), to awaken the sleeping enzymes and chemicals that increase metabolism and burn fat. When the food supply is cut off, a switching action occurs in the body where the stored fat becomes the target of burning.

But this fat burning does not occur immediately due to the scarcity and disuse of certain enzymes needed to release free fatty acid from the stored fat, known as the hormone-sensitive-lipase (HSL).

In order to maintain adequate HSL levels, the body must know that this enzyme is needed which will happen only when a scarcity of food is produced for the body. When one does weekly water fasting, the HSL levels keep getting triggered and then increase the sleeping metabolism. Then one can actually eat the food of seven days in six days time without putting on weight!

Chronic diseases
There are other attributes to a weekly fast. On the day of fast, our daily secretion of glucocorticoid (natural steroids made by body) is doubled. This serves as a weekly pulse but without its usual adverse effects! This pulse mobilises the stored carbohydrates and also prevents hypoglycemia or lowering of the sugar.

Such pulse can prove effective in a large numbers of autoimmune disorders like thyroid disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and a number of skin problems. These patients are given steroids externally but with all the side effects of long term use. The glucocorticoids or bodily steroids are free of side effects!

Diabetes
Fasting gives a rest to the otherwise overworked pancreas which have to keep secreting insulin to push the sugar in the blood inside the cells, as we keep eating frequently throughout the day. It is found that in an obese person, the saturated fat cells release leptin which leads to spontaneous death of the insulin-secreting beta cells in the pancreas, leading to Diabetes. On the day of a fast, the same fat cells have been found to secrete adiponectin which has growth-promoting and proliferative effect on these beta cells to thus produce more Insulin.

Even in established type-2 diabetes, a graded weekly fast can be observed provided adequate care is taken to avoid drug-induced hypoglycemia. This is possible under a supervised protocol.

Making your fast a pleasant and rewarding experience!
Most people get discouraged by the first experience of headache, acidity and irritability and resolve not to fast any more. Yes there are going to be problems at the first occasion. However, by the next week, some changes would have already occurred in the body so that the trouble is reduced to only 50 per cent, and by the third week to 25 per cent. After the fifth week, there is hardly any problem in fasting for the whole day. To make the experience of fasting a pleasant one, the following regime is suggested:

• Fix up one day in a week according to your religious belief. While the conviction gets you agreed, the belief makes you observe it regularly, religiously. Remember, you have to stick to the chosen day even in face of the greatest temptations. This is to maintain a regular rhythm with bodily functions.

• Resolve. If for example you have selected Monday, the previous night, sleep with a resolve and an awareness that you have to fast the next day. Tell yourself that apart from eating, all other activities are going to take place exactly as any other day.

Graded fasting
• The first Monday: just avoid the morning tea and the breakfast. Take lemon-water instead. Those having a tendency to get 'acid formation' may be helped by taking a solution of Amla juice or simple water instead.

• The second Monday: your body will be in a better position to tolerate the avoidance of breakfast, and you can safely postpone the lunch for at least an hour.

• The third Monday: you can skip both the breakfast and the lunch, and take lemon-water or amla juice-water or cucumber instead. This way, gradually over a period of about four to five weeks, a 24 hours fasting will be a rewarding experience and you will wait for the day to get that 'positive kick' from fasting.

Yogic Vatasara to help!
Vatasara is a forgotten technique which means drinking air. Vatasara suppresses the hunger pangs and balances the acidity too. Yoga describes drinking air through Kaki-Mudra and the Bhujagi mudra, but they are difficult to practice by many. Dr P Malshe has invented a very easy and acceptable method of drinking air, using a punctured (pierced) straw. With one-two small punctures in the top one inch of a straw, you will suck in lot of air along with the half glass of water.

Drinking air on the day of fast fills up the stomach and immediately brings about a kind of satiety for several hours. After drinking water mixed with air, doing inverted postures like Adhomukha svanasana, Shashankasana and Uttanasana for a minute, maneuvers the air to the intestines. Let us take charge of ourselves. In order to be truly transformed, you must first empty yourself — fasting can transform!

Weekly fasting leads to -
• More energy
• Healthier skin
• Better quality sleep
• Dramatic reduction or complete elimination of headaches, aches and pains in muscles and joints
• Stabilisation of blood pressure
• Stronger and more efficient digestion and bowel movements.
• Loss of excess weight

WATCH THAT WEIGHT - Figures can change on scale!

Obesity is a lifestyle disorder that is influenced by genetic factors, hormonal patterns, individual will power, and food addictions. It is now recognised as a disease by the World Health Organisation. Yoga has helped many people shed extra pounds, even some who have spent years trying to slim down in other ways without much success.


Loose out

Vinita Gupta, a 36-year-old home-maker, hearing of the far-reaching benefits of Yoga, thought of giving it a try. Little did she know that she will come out slimmer and healthier, with a sense of control. As a large part of yoga is personal transformation, both on and off the mat — weight loss is just the beginning!

Vinita started with breathing yoga practices to build awareness and kick start her sluggish metabolism. A planned protocol of sustained stretches made her ‘squeeze out’ the toxins and mobilise the fat cells to get burnt up with the alternating aerobic practice of surya namaskaars.

While maintaining the poses like Naukasana, Vrukshasana, Trikonasana, Chaturanga, Parivrutta Parshvakonasana, her own body weight provided the necessary resistance to different muscle groups giving her all the advantages of a balanced weight training programme too.

She was then introduced to deep vinyasa power yoga, where movement and breath link poses together, to build heat and potentially result in greater metabolic boost and calorie burn. ‘Yoga is seriously the best thing that has ever happened to me’ is what she says now!

How yoga can change the number on the scale

Yoga works on many fronts and naturally creates balance. The key to achieving weight loss goals is not merely sweating out with asanas, but in developing mindfulness. The focus on breath, meditation and the ability to be in the present moment, translate off the mat as well.

Pepped up metabolism: Yogasanas increases core strength, flexibility, and lean muscle. They don’t just burn fat and calories but by placing healthy demands on the body, they sparks the sluggish metabolism, since more muscle burns more calories. Once the metabolism gets pepped up with the deep isometric asana holding and breathing techniques, the effects are sustained to the maximum. This helps burn fat cells in a more sustained way and not only when you exercise.

Digestive strengthening: If you are not digesting properly, your body will trick you into cravings that can affect your weight loss. Yoga improves digestion and so eliminates constipation, water retention, and bloating.

Hormone balancing: Yoga stimulates and improves blood circulation to the lethargic endocrine glands (such as the thyroid and pancreas) that control our appetite, metabolism, moods and sleep patterns, as well as improved self-image.

Detoxification: The deep breathing in Yoga expels toxins and increases the oxygen intake to the cells, further increasing metabolism. Pranayama also translates into daily life, reducing stress and maintaining focus, just as it does in each asana.

Mindful Eating: Mindfulness during asana and pranayama practices eventually spills into the lifestyle! One learns to feel when you are full, and you don’t like the feeling of overeating. You also recognise anxiety and stress for what they are instead of trying to mask them with food.

Positive Self Image: Weight gain often brings with it a great deal of harsh self-judgment. Through yoga, we can counteract this by creating a safe, positive environment to reconnect with our bodies and quiet the counterproductive messages that often arise in our minds. One learns to accept oneself (and the bodies) just the way they are.

Destressing also increase metabolism: By combating stress, yoga helps normalise cortisol levels. In response to stress, levels of the hormone cortisol rise which stimulates eating and ensures that any additional calories are efficiently converted to fat, which tends to get deposited in the abdomen. Big bellies are linked to insulin resistance-a precursor to diabetes and heart disease.

Why Yoga

Yoga has the potential to be very transformative on many levels, with the physical body being a doorway to the more profound gifts of the practices. Yoga is really a process of learning about your body, being comfortable in your own skin, and knowing it is a process that you can be in for a whole lifetime.

PEACE OF MIND - EXPERIENCE IT YOURSELF!

If we were to sit down and pen our thoughts without any editing, there would be no logical sequence. Our mind can be called a ‘madhouse’ of thoughts— unconnected and random. Out of the 60,000 thoughts we have in 24 hours time, 90% are ‘junk’ in reality. No wonder, our mind is running on the fourth gear most of the time. To prevent its breakdown, it needs to be silenced for a while!

Silence is to the mind what sleep is to the body—nourishment and refreshment. Beneath the ups and downs of life, beneath the restless surface of the mind, there is a profound state of calm and silence. By being able to rest for small periods in that state, we can create a stable and strong mind even in the face of stress. No wonder more and more of us are getting attracted towards meditation.

Finding difficulty meditating?

Meditation or Dhyana is being able to remain with the state of inner silence without any effort. The same can becomes a strain when one forcefully tries to still the mind, control the thoughts, and balance the emotions. Lack of time and patience make meditation nearly impossible for the majority. Nothing to despair as there are techniques which are within the reach of one and all and revolve around mindful breathing practices of yoga.

1. Belly breathing - Slow, rhythmic and deep abdominal breathing leads to calming of the chaotic mind as shown by the alpha waves in EEG recordings of the brain.

2. Vibrations of Bhramari - Specific sound vibrations while humming ‘MMM’ or ‘NNN’ have been shown to reduce anxiety thus leading to a mental restful state.

3. The Magical Pause – Kewal Kumbhaka - During meditation and relaxation, the breathing can become gradually fainter and eventually stop by itself—for a while. This is described as Kewal Kumbhaka. These pauses in our breathing are the abode of bliss, health and freedom. But can I and you experience it now? Yes, and the technique is Kapalabhati – a very versatile breathing kriya that is known to purify the body and the mind. After a short practice of Kapalbhati, the breath automatically gets suspended for a short while! There is no struggle or strain to hold the breaths, but a blissful experience, that peace of mind!

How can Kapalbhati lead to peace of mind?


During the practice with active exhalations, there is a washing out of carbon dioxide from the system with greater supply of oxygen. This delays the triggering of the breath, resulting in a peaceful pause in breathing, once the practice is stopped. When breathing comes to this temporary standstill, all the mental chatter disappears with a state of balanced calm and clarity – a perfectly peaceful state!

The density of thoughts significantly reduces during this time, giving the mind some rest. The breathing gradually becomes normal as the carbon dioxide builds up in the system. The duration of the peaceful pause lengthens if we relax and enjoy it consciously.

Try this –

• Sit straight in a comfortable pose, with head, neck and spine in one line.

• Place your palms on the thighs or knees. Relax and soften the face with a gentle smile.

• Begin with a chest-expanding inhalation and, maintaining it, start the practice. Use your abdominal muscles to perform active forceful exhalations, followed by passive soundless inhalations. Breathe only through the nose. Beginners can initially breath out blowing through the mouth as if blowing off a candle.

• The rhythm should be regular and consistent, like the ticking of a clock. The rate should be slow and steady, allowing enough time for spontaneous inhalations to occur. Stop after 25 – 30 strokes.

• At the end of one round, sit very still and observe the breath and the mind. The urge to breathe stops for a few seconds. Simultaneously, the mind experiences a deep state of stillness, silence, calm and peace.

Your goal is not to battle with the mind, but to witness the mind. Inner silence becomes a gift – strength, stillness and serenity! We tap a new level of health and creativity which surfaces without efforts. Worth it!

THAW THE FROZEN SHOULDER

If you find yourself suffering from significant shoulder pain, stiffness, limited range of motion, difficulty in making your hair or hooking your dress behind, you could be suffering from frozen shoulder or adhesive capsulitis. With primary frozen shoulder, there is no evidence or background history which explains the stiffness or decreased movement. When secondary, there’s an event of injury or trauma which precedes the discomfort.

A blend of customized yoga based practices, serve as a wonderful tool to help restore the shoulder's strength, flexibility, and function. They have to be performed thoughtfully and with patience and involve slow, deliberate movements requiring focus on what is being one and how the body feels. When overdone, they may make the shoulders go into spasm and freeze up even more. It is better to under exercise rather than over exercise. The practices mentioned are for primary frozen shoulder where there is no evidence of muscle injury.

Yogic Sukshma Vyayama – Release the tightness safely

1. Shoulder Circles - Start out with some very small circles; just a few minutes with each shoulder, several times a day.

2. Side lying arm circles - Lie on the side of the shoulder that is not hurting. Place your top hand on your shoulder and make circles with your elbow, thus rotating the shoulder. Start with small circles and gradually progress to larger ones to finally a figure of eight shape.

3. Side lying fist arches- Then making a fist with the hands of the painful side, pressing the upper arm to the side of the chest, bring the fist down towards the floor and then rotate it up.

4. Hands in and out breathing - While lying on your back, stretch your arm up toward the ceiling with the palms facing each other. As you slowly inhale, open your relaxed arms to the sides and before they touch the floor, breathing out slowly, lift them back to the vertical. Let the length of your breathing be equal to the length of each movement….do it continuously and slowly for a minute and then relax you arms by bringing them down with palms on your belly.

5. Controlled arm stretch – Lying down as above, move your parallel arms back. When you reach a point of stretch with mild discomfort, stop. Have a friend or helper bring some support to rest the arm at just that height. Then at that point of stretch, but not pain, let go of the weight of the arm fully supported with the prop . Breathe and relax for two minutes or more. Do this stretch at least once a day.

6. Side arm lifts - Open your arms out to the sides with palms up, while still lying on your back. Again, use support for the arm at just the right point of stretch sensation. When the arm is at about 90 degrees, you can also bend the elbows to 90 degrees or more, releasing the forearm and back of the hand toward the floor, with the palms up – making a ‘W’. As it is important to restore this movement, use plenty of height supporting the arm, planning on slow progress.

7. Chair release - Place the wrist of your 'good arm' on the top of the chair and walk back keeping legs perpendicular to the floor. The hand of your 'painful' arm’ is hanging down. Let the ‘hurting arm’ just hang down. GENTLY rotate your hips and upper body in a circular motion, you will notice that your hanging arm also rotates very gently in the same direction. Allow your hanging arm to move naturally. Pause for a few seconds, then rotate the hips and body in the opposite direction.

Shoulder strengthening -

Though one may be apprehensive about trying this, most frozen shoulders actually like mild weight bearing, especially when they have gained some confidence after subtly warming up their shoulder muscles.

Setubandasana - with hands interlocked on the floor, give a good blend of strength and stretch to the shoulders, without hurting them.

Marjarasana – Come on your hands and knees and keep your shoulder area actively wide. Then lift each arm forward and up a little off the floor, one arm at a time. Make sure that you keep lifting your trunk up out of your shoulders so there's no valley between the shoulder blades.

Adhomukhasvanasana - If you can do the above without pain, you're ready to progress. An easier variation, with hands on a chair seat suits many.

 

TECH NECK

We live in a constantly connected world but being hooked on to the cell phone, laptop and personal computer, can be a pain in the neck. Crammed up phone between the head and the shoulder and neck straining uncomfortably to view the tiny screen, is a 21st century problem called as "Tech Neck."

Deeply engrossed in our work, our head wants to lead not just functionally but position-wise too, as if it wants to win a race with the entire body. Then the body also decides to lean forward with rounded shoulders, as if catching up with the head. Who suffers – the neck, upper back and the shoulders!

The neck muscles that hold the head straight in place have to work hard all the time, trying to hold it back. They become tight and short with time, and to look in front, we lift our face by arching our neck up. This puts further strain, wear and tear of bones leading to cervical spondylosis.

Tech Neck is also the cause of low energy levels as it hampers free breathing. Slumping alone can reduce the breathing capacity by 20% - 30% as the rib cage cannot expand. This reduces oxygenation to the whole body including the brain thus making us feel exhausted and lethargic.

Yoga Therapy

1. Parshwahastasana - This practice helps to open the shoulder joints, release tension from neck and the chest and frees the breath. With the namaskaar behind, it also stretches the wrists and the hands.

·         Lengthen the spine and stretch the arms on the sides like the letter ‘T’. Then bend the elbows and bring the hands behind the back with the fingers touching.

·         Gently, without any discomfort, begin to press the finger tips upwards so that the palms come towards each other into the namaskar or the prayer pose. You can stop midway if you feel that the stretch is enough for you.

·         Breathe keeping the chest lifted and open. Keep the head directly over the spine and create length to the top of the head.

2. Garudasana arms - By opening the upper back and the shoulder joints from behind, it releases tension from the upper back.

·         Bring the folded arms in front of you, keeping the elbows in level with the shoulders.

·         Then tuck the left elbow firmly under the right and press the back of the hands against each other.

·         If you are comfortable to go deeper, then begin to wrap your arms so that the palms face each other. The palms will not be at the same level though.

·         Then lift the elbows up and out and breathe into your upper back for half to one minute.

·         Feel your upper back muscles getting stretched and softened. Release gently step by step and repeat with the other side.

3.      Setubandhasana with W arms - This pose has an overall strengthening effect on the whole back, shoulders, thighs and the legs with a soothing stretch to the tired muscles of the neck.

·         Lie on the floor on your back with the knees folded. Place the arms by the side like a wide ‘W’ with the palms facing up.

·         Tuck the belly in and lift the hips and spine off the floor. Strengthen your shoulders as you feel some body weight subtly on them.

·         Tuckyour hin and feel the lengthening and the stretching in your neck muscles.

Quick Office Fixes

·         Chin tuck – Slide your head back with your chin parallel to the earth, bringing your head and heart in line. Let this become a habit and not just an exercise!

·         Neck stretch - Move your chin towards your chest, holding for 5 seconds as you feel a comfortable stretch from your neck to the base of your skull. Then holding the side of the face, gently pull the head to the side.

·         T arms - Raise your arms upto the horizontal like a letter T with the thumbs pointing up. Now turn the thumb back as much as you can. As you do so, your palms will turn up to face the sky. Hold for 5-10 seconds, release and repeat.

·         Head press – With your hands interlocked behind your head, press your head back against the resistance of your hands. Hold, release and repeat.

·         Arm stretch - Clasp your hands behind you, inhale and pull the arms strongly back against the resistance of your clasped hands .You can keep your elbows slightly bent so that the upper arms go back easily.

Quick dupatta stretch!

Wrapping a cotton dupatta around our upper back, flip the two ends behind. Cross them as shown in the picture and pull the two ends down. Do not forget to tuck your chin bringing your head over the heart. Hold the pull for a while and feel good as the tension of the muscles eases out!

ASTHMA CAN BE MANAGED WITH YOGA - read the article 'ASAN' way out!

‘Asan’ way out!

Feeling breathless? You can cut short your frequent asthma attacks with certain Yoga exercises.
An asthmatic, Jaya always had to carry an inhaler in her bag, until she was introduced to the world of Yoga and Pranayama. The healing experience of Neti Kriya helped her get rid of steroid tablets and now she can make do without her inhaler. The regular practice of Yogasanas, Pranayama and Kriyas controls the attacks of asthma, which can be eventually cured.

Keep a check:

Bhujangasana and Ushtrasana
They increase movement in the rib cage and the spine to try and improve the working of the lungs. The forward bend of Hastapadasana helps shift and cough up phlegm.

Surya Namaskaar
A regular practice of Surya Namaskaar done with awareness and correct breathing can do wonders. The sequence of practices is such that 95 per cent of the muscles get to work in a very rhythmic way with alternate stretch and strength, forward bend and back bend, which ultimately improve lung and airway functions and helps drain secretions.

Yoga nidra
The deep relaxation induced in the voluntary muscles with Yoganidra extends to the involuntary muscles of the airways too. This helps relax the constricted bronchial tubes and ease the job of breathing. It also reduces the element of panic during an attack as the mind learns to direct inwards and relax the bronchus.

Pranayama:
It helps the full utilisation of all lobes of lungs, normalisation of the fast breathing rate thus improving the exhalations or the breathing out by relaxing the airways. Pranayama teaches diaphragmatic breathing which is a big help during attacks. Asthma patients find it difficult to breathe out due to the spasm of the airways.

They try to cope up with this by contracting their chest wall, which does not really cooperate much due to the tightness of asthma. Here, diaphragmatic breathing done with the help of abdominal muscles is a big resort to reduce the carbondioxide build-up.

Kapaalbhati
Toxins accumulate in our lungs due to our shallow breathing. Kapaalbhati Kriya, with its active abdominal exhalations, purifies the lungs, helping it get rid of carbon dioxide. This also clears the airways making the flow of breathes easier.

Special techniques:

Jal Neti
It helps gain mastery over hyper reactive reflexes by helping develop tolerance to external stimulants something similar to desensitisation therapy for allergens. In Jal Neti, one washes the internal nose with lukewarm saline water.

Here, the water in the hyper responsive nasal lining would trigger off a whole chain of events including excessive sneezing, watery running and nasal blocking. The excitability of the nerves of the air passages gets reduced eventually and one gains mastery over the allergies. This however, should be learnt under guidance.

Medi—Pranayama
This is a special left nostril breathing technique with the left hand in the ‘Surya Mudra’.This breath meditation strengthens the immune system to fight both viruses and bacteria and thus prevent infections. This is followed by breathing with hands interlaced to stimulate the thymus gland (call it the head quarter of the immune system) . The technique has been published internationally and has to be learnt correctly.

Attack the attack - Shashankasana breathing
While sitting in Vajrasana position, hold the right wrist with your left hand behind your back. Synhronise your breathing with your movements — exhale to bend forward on your hip region and inhale to lift your body up. Do this five times. Then as you bend forward, chant a soft ‘Mmm…’ and inhale to come up. Do this five times. During an attack, one can chant ‘Aaaa…’ with the forward bending instead of the ‘Mmm…’



 

BACK TO BACK - SAFE HOME YOGA FOR BACKACHE

Back pain is quite common and equally common is yoga being done for backache. Though freely available on the net, is it advisable to do it without proper guidance? It is indeed very sad to see how we perform yoga with total lack of inner awareness.


The aim of yoga is to create space between bones with support from strong and supple muscles in balance. Is our practice of doing yoga or any kind of exercise for that matter crushing us from inside? Give it a thought! So, choose the exercises wisely and also the person who is training us and is capable of customising the yoga practices for you!

Some common mistakes can hurt the back:

Yoga without Core Awareness

A weak sagging and toneless abdomen puts strain on the back while doing any yoga practice. The activity of the inner corset or the deep abdominal muscles is fundamental to the stabilisation of posture. And developing this central support will make it possible to let go of the compensatory tension we are carrying in different parts of the body. When the inner corset gives the continuous support, the outer corset helps build strength and movement.

Forward Bending on the Waist

Instead of bending from the hips, we bend from the waist due to tightness of the hamstrings or the back thigh muscles. Forward bending should be done as if the hip joints are the hinge with a straight back. If it is not happening this way, then bend the knees safe guards the back.

Unsteady Twisting

We may be twisting from the pelvis or the hip region rather than the spine. It is very important to stabilise the pelvis before going into any twist. Chair twisting is indeed a very healthy alternative that stretches the muscles that to without destabilising the hip region.

Overdone Back Bends

Bhujangasana, a back bend, is a part of every yoga protocol. If done carelessly with a sway back or the accentuated lumbar curvature, the movement may be occurring in the lumbar spine instead of happening in the middle and the upper back. Over arching from the lower back will compress the bones. So, it is important to stabilise the tail-bone by gently bringing tone in the back muscles of the hips (gluteal muscles), and then lifting the middle and upper back away from the pelvis.

Going beyond your limits

Some asanas which are good for the back can become harmful if overdone. The bridge pose or Setubandhasana is one such example. Straight leg lifts (alternate) also overarch the back when they are overdone. Let us therefore approach yoga as not for the eyes but for the inside!

A safe home protocol


Imprinting

Press the spine to bed. Fold your legs and while exhaling, press the spine to the bed for a few seconds and release. This will strengthen the core abdominal muscle or the transversus abdominis which will provide a steady support for the back.

Pawanmuktasana (Back Stretch)

Fold one leg and exhale to press the thigh on abdomen. Hold it and do not raise the neck. Tuck your chin to stretch the full length of the back muscles — the para spinal muscles. Repeat with the other leg.

Setubandhasana Foundation

This gentle rocking of the lower body in the lying down position will help restore mobility of the pelvis on the hip joints — needed for a healthy posture and smooth walking. Lie down with folded legs and feet parallel. After engaging the core belly muscles as with imprinting, raise your hips up by just two-five inches. This will strengthen the muscles in the tail bone area and the hips.

Ardha Shalabhasana (Back Strengthening)

Lie on your stomach and rest your forehead on the floor lengthening the neck without pressing down through the nose. Then place the arms straight on the sides with the palms down. Prepare the body by connecting with your core — firm the buttock muscles without squeezing them in.
Pressing one thigh down, lift the other straight leg up by two-four inches. Maintain position for a few breaths as you keep extending and lengthening. Come down with control and relax.

BACK TO NAG - EH!

BACK PAIN REMEDY WITH POSTURE ALIGNMENTS, OFFICE YOGA .....Read in the article...http://www.punemirror.in/article/64/20110528201105280612581668d9e27e5/Back-to-nag-eh.html

MINDFUL BREATHING CAN TRANSFORM - READ THIS WEEKS ARTICLE

http://www.punemirror.in/article/64/20110514201105140056577411180e1fc/Take-a-breather.html

WHAT REALLY IS POWER YOGA - POWER FULL

http://www.punemirror.in/article/64/20110507201105070556342927!8ac91c0/Power-full.html

SUNNY SIDE UP - GRAB THE 'PACKAGE DEAL OF YOGA - SURYA NAMASKAAR'

http://www.punemirror.in/article/64/2011043020110430013718249ca157eee/Sunny-side-up.html

BREATHE TO TONE THE ABDOMEN

READ THE ARTICLE AS PUBLISHED IN PUNE MIRROR ON THE LINK -

http://www.punemirror.in/article/64/201104232011042306172576159ad7ce/Take-my-breath-away.html

THE THREE MIRACLES

Continuing with the theme of three for Mirror’s third year anniversary, yoga therapist Dr Renu Mahtani shows us how the trinity in yoga benefits your body, your health and your mind

THE THREE MIRACLES


If one wants to attain the excellent troika of a great mind, a fit body and ideal health,Yoga is your answer. Three is a powerful number in yoga and is represented by the symbol Aum. Also, Yoga philosophy says that there are three bodies, or tri-sharira, that make up each being: the physical, the astral and the causal body, one more refined than the previous. “Yoga” means to unite — that practicing yoga ushers harmony to the tri-sharira. Again, Yoga, which means a ‘union’ in the literal sense, is indeed an amalgamation of three streams: science, philosophy and art. And its current popularity lies in this very fact.

THREE VIBRATIONS IN OM
The primordial vibration, Om, is so basic to the existence of all beings, living and non living. Om is made of three syllables and sounds — A, U and M. A is the first letter of the Sanskrit and the English alphabets and is a sound that comes from the belly. A is formed in the open throat and mouth. U is a sound formed in the middle of the mouth that is not fully open. With the third sound M , the last consonant of the Sanskrit alphabets, the mouth closes. Getting from A to M through U, represents everything that can be expressed in letters and words. A stands for the process of creation, U symbolises the continuation of creation and M denotes the end and dissolution.

TOTAL PERSONALITY YOGA
The three aspects of our personality on which Yoga works are body, breath and mind. All these aspects are impacted by yogic practices. It’s a misconception that Yoga is all about mere physical exercise and twisting the body into various postures. In fact, at all levels, Yoga is a marvellous blending of the personality aspects. The benefits of Yoga percolate into an entire lifestyle. Again, the three doshas — vata, pitta and kapha get balanced with Yoga.

HIGH ON ENERGY
Three major nadis or energy channels get purified with Yoga. The Ida, Pingala and Sushumna then permit a free flow of pranic energy. The body gets advantages like improved flexibility, tone and strength in muscles. All this improves balance, reduces pain and builds endurance and stamina.

THREE PHASES OF BREATHING
Rechaka, Puraka and Kumbhaka get full gratification with the conscious deep breathing practices of Pranayama. Most people breathe shallow in their chests. This gives insufficient oxygen and triggers the stress response, which contributes to feelings of anxiety. Pranayamic breathing nullifies the effects of stress on the body and mind.

MINDING THREE QUALITIES
Yoga also understands joy and sorrow keeping the three qualities of mind in consideration — tamas, rajas and sattva — called as the three gunas. Ta m a s

describes the state of heaviness and slowness in feeling and decisions. Over-excitement and restlessness of a racy mind is called as rajas. Both tamas and rajas produce stress and sorrow. The third quality of mind describes the absence of the two others where there is neither lethargy nor raciness — but only clarity! This is called as sattva and from this quality of mind alone can we get peace and joy!

Yoga is different from other forms of exercise because of this superb union of the breath, body and mind in all its practices. Each pose is unique requiring the practitioner to be aware and the mind remains with the body. Compare this to a repetitive exercise where the mind is thinking of the appointments and the worries of the day while the body pulls itself through the workout. Focused breathing helps in developing an internal poise that accompanies the poses even as it helps in relaxation.

Yoga thus clears the mind of unwanted chatter and helps us develop inner concentration, cutting off the external environment and its distractions. The result? A wonderful control over situations, increased focus on work, better productivity and no anxiety and stress!

FINAL NOTE
Three major energy points come to unite in alignment — head, heart and hara. The hara centre behind the navel, is not only the centre of physical gravity but is the centre of life and plays most important part in the harmony of body, mind and soul. Doesn’t our ‘gut feeling’ arise from there? We store our fears and anxieties which get released with deep abdominal breathing. What a fascinating trinity!

TRY THIS
The union of the body breath and mind can be so beautifully experienced while practising simple breath awareness or Prana Dharana. You can easily try this:

» Sit straight with eyes closed.
» Notice how shallow we breathe. (Our normal breaths hardly reach the chest!)
» Align the head, heart and hara (navel point) in one line.
» Lengthen the waist to bring it in line too.
Your breaths will naturally become deep and smooth ......

Healing Lifestyle Diseases with Yoga

Yoga for chronic diseases is not a select few asanas but a holistic health-preserving lifestyle. It includes drinking lot of water; eating fresh healthy foods, including 8 to 10 daily servings of fruits and vegetables, eliminating white flour and sugar; exercising and sweating regularly; moving the bowels daily; taking high-quality vitamins and minerals; taking time to relax every day, with a positive attitude towards life that accepts the unchangeable, is full of gratitude and forgiveness.


All asanas help as they cleanse the energy channels off the toxins. The stressors of the present time life-style keep us on the ebb of our nervous system keeping the sympathetic nervous system on a high, which pumps the stress hormones. The effects can be balanced by the ‘ease and release’ mechanism governed by the parasympathetic nervous system, provided we give it a chance to take over.

Researches have shown that with a program of yoga, which had a mix of asanas, pranayama and relaxation, there was an increased activation of the parasympathetic nervous system (the calming side that made the practitioners feel better. Even a single session of yoga practice can encourage the nervous system to find flexibility and balance. After yoga practice, participants weren't just more relaxed; they were in a state of autonomic balance and flexibility driven by the parasympathetic—which is exactly the type of balance and flexibility that predicts greater resilience to stress and good health.

I believe that the key is yoga's dual effect on body and mind. As we learn to hold the poses with a calm mind, focusing on the breath, the poses become a training in how to remain calm in stressful situations.

The great sage, Patanjali, must have been aware of the power of asana when he wrote the sutra - Sthira sukham asanam: Postures should embody steadiness and ease. If you can find both elements in the midst of a posture, you're also training your mind. This happens during a yoga practice by focusing on the breathing and thoughts. You're enabling your nervous system to imprint that response of comfort and steadiness to return to it during everyday stress.

Letting go of all effort in Shavasana trains the practitioner to let go off the undesired in daily living, because the pose teaches the nervous system to let go once the challenges of our practice have been met.

Breath Management


An apple a day is all well and good, but 30 minutes minimum of daily mindful breathing and meditation might prove far more effective in keeping us healthy. With simple techniques of breath-management, we can attain better physical, emotional and psychological health. Breath-management helps our life energy to resume its internal healing activities, and streamlines our mind towards harmony and balance.

Breath is the bridge between the body and the mind. The way we breathe is an indicator of the level of emotional and physical well being that we are experiencing at that moment. Breath is the physical counterpart of the mind, hence breathing is also known as ‘mind in action’.

Whatever happens in the mind influences the breath. The rate and depth of our breath changes depending on our mental state. When we are excited the breath becomes quicker, and when we are calm and relaxed, it becomes quieter.

When the mental state has a strong influence on our breath, can we not work upon our breaths to influence the mind? Yes, we can voluntarily tackle our mind and our emotions through the breath and the life force that connects us all, and that is the science of pranayama. One uses the breath to manage the amount, flow and distribution of energy to both the body and the mind. If we can manage the breath, we can manage both the body and the mind As we breathe, so shall we live! Heal the breath and heal the body and the mind!

A simple sequence


We need to first cleanse the body and the mind of the toxins and waste products to create more room for prana, the vital energy we need, which then has to get properly redistributed to different parts. The pranayamic practice should thus follow this basic sequence:

1. Cleansing breaths: Kapalabhati, Bhastrika

2. Energizing breaths: Anuloma Viloma Nadi Shuddhi (alternate-nostril breathing), Ujjayi breathing

3. Balancing breaths: Bhramari (honey bee sound) and OM chanting

Beyond the protocol –

‘Attitude’ is the most important factor in healing incurable diseases. Many people actually want to remain unhappy, dissatisfied, sad, miserable and unhealthy. Their negative personality traits develop into a tendency to attract diseases. They then assume that healing is something done to them, and their job is just to go to a doctor, who will then heal them. It is true to a certain degree but it is not the whole story. Rather than just receive treatment passively, the individual has to play an active role in this journey towards health and that is where the entire science, art and philosophy of yoga comes to play.

Yoga just does not provide ways to burn through toxins and and escape from stress. It doesn't only offer stress-reduction techniques for anxious moments. It goes deeper, transforming how the mind and body intuitively respond to stress. Just as the body can learn a new standing posture that eventually becomes ingrained, so the mind can learn new thought patterns, and the nervous system can learn new ways of reacting to stress. This is the most important step to healing skin diseases. The result: When you roll up your mat and walk out the door, you can more skillfully take on whatever life brings. Yes, it takes a particular commitment to say “ I am the one who has to taps these resources. No one can do that for me.’

For more on this - read 'Power Pranayama' - Discover the healing potential of your breaths.

FACIAL YOGA

Every woman in this world wishes to remain young and beautiful for ever. Even men dont like to see the youthful glow fading away with time. Yoga is a process of not only keeping the body healthy but also of enhancing one's charm.


Outer beauty attracts but what actually complements it is inner beauty. The goal of yoga is not just physical beauty, but inner happiness that shines through the eyes, expressions, and attitude towards others which makes one truly attractive. This inner beauty is something that the years can't take away.

Yoga gives flexibility to the body and the mind too when practiced with joy, proper breathing and an attitude of humility and faith. Basically all asanas have a positive effect as they correct the energy dynamics of the body and mind, giving a natural glow to the eyes and the face of the practitioner.

Some simple practices of Yoga which have a specific effect to tone up the facial muscles and improve the blood supply are –

Adhomukha Shvanasana (Downward facing dog) or Parvatasana – the body adopts an inverted V position, with the head lower than the heart. Gravity is pulling the facial muscles down creating puffy and saggy eyes and a dropping angle of the mouth. In this posture, these effects of gravity get nullified with relaxed blood supply to the face and head.

Simha Mudrasana - Inhale deeply & exhale forcefully with a widely open mouth and the tongue coming out. Roll the eyeballs up. Close the mouth & as you breathe in through the nose, close your eyes and relax. This practice could be simply called as a ‘Facelift’.

Khechari Mudra – Keep the head in line with the spine by sliding it behind. Press your tongue gently into the roof of your mouth. Now bring your chin down toward your neck while still holding the tongue against the roof of your mouth. This tones the chin and neck.

Kapaalbhati – As the name implies – A practice that brings a glow to the forehead / face. Kapaalbhati is a cleansing practice where with active abdominal exhalations, one throws out the toxins from the lungs, blood and tissues of the body. It is a natural facial with skin clearing effects. Acne and pimles cannot stay long on the face of a Kapaalbhaati practitioner!

Abdominal breathing – All pranayamic practices follow the dictum of complete and longer exhalations over inhalations – Be it anuloma viloma pranayam or ujjayi breathing. When done with ease and gentle depth without they give energy glow to the face. Mind you, overdoing to produce strain does not help.

Chanting – Bhramari and OM – Chanting produces soothing and massaging vibrations that penetrate the cells of the face and head. The deep healthy benefits cannot be achieved with the best of cosmetics and skin treatments.

Last but not the least – SMILE FREQUENTLY – That is the best Yoga of our mind with the body!

MENTAL HOUSEKEEPING (from my book - Power Pranayama)

We all long for freedom from disease and other sufferings. We do not realize that mental disturbances such as worry, anxiety and egoism are the real cause of misery and disease. One has not only to exercise and eat right, but also to get rid of the mental bacteria of anger, fear, consciousness of failure, lack of initiative and purpose, scepticism, a doubting mentality, and a solely materialistic outlook in life! This understanding and self cleansing is Mental Housekeeping!


Mental hygiene—keeping the mind pure—is very important. Our mind runs at high speed, day and night! We are plagued with sad and tormenting thoughts. When there is too much annoyance bottled up, it turns into poison. Then, we are conditioned to consider some emotions as bad and we unknowingly programme ourselves not to be aware of them. We cover them up with countless thoughts to insulate ourselves from feeling and confronting what needs attention.

Some deep wounds may be very old but still raw. Their emotional component has not yet been resolved leading to a vicious cycle of misery and disease. To resolve them, their identification is necessary. It has been said that fear fades as the facts are faced.

We usually associate our stress and its effects with the people with whom we have interacted, and with the way they have made us feel. Some make us feel good and positive, while others, whom we remember more easily, are the ones who trigger the entire event—that vicious cycle in our system—throwing us off balance. Introspection leads to a path of self-discovery, humility and happiness. A thorough mental housekeeping begins by introspecting our relationships.

Sit undisturbed and at ease, and think back on all the people you have interacted with to date. Divide them into three categories:

1. People to whom we need to be thankful.

2. People to whom we need to apologize.

3. People whom we need to forgive.

Doing this exercise itself releases half the emotional burdens from the mind. Somehow, it also shows the way to handling the person or the situation. Physical and mental health improve significantly, and people start feeling ‘weller than well’.

How does it help?

Gratitude - We also take many acquaintances for granted, especially our near and dear family members. As life goes on, we meet more people and we forget about them. Many of them have contributed to our present success and happiness. This acknowledgement will help develop humility in us, and an attitude of gratitude towards them and life. This positive emotion helps in the healing process. It is not necessary to call them physically to say ‘Thank you’—a mental attitude of thankfulness would suffice. At times, the incidents might be so old that offering thanks at the present moment would be a socially inappropriate act. Just acknowledging in the mind would be enough.

Forgiveness - Forgiving does not mean accepting someone’s wrong act. That would be unfair! Forgiveness means deciding to let go the hurt and the pain, and regaining control of our life and emotions. It eases the burden of revenge and hatred, and allows us to move ahead in life. Consider these words—‘As long as you do not forgive, who or whatever it is, it occupies rent-free space in your mind.’

Forgiveness does not necessarily mean reconciling. By forgiving, we move on. We consciously step out of the trap and the episode that caused us pain. The burden of the past gets released as we decide not to let hatred or anger take over. By forgiving we release the burden of unresolved emotions from our nervous system. This washes us with a flow of positive energy that has been found beneficial for our health—by reducing blood pressure, relieving stress-associated pain, depression, etc.

How to apply mental housekeeping in day to day life -

• Prioritize. But be mindful that nothing is static.

• Be flexible in attitude - Chose acceptance over resistance

• Trust & Delegate and ask for help if required

• Give up the hesitation of knowing your colleagues & neighbours.

• Don't be a slave to your e-mail or to phone calls

• Know your weakness and strengths

• Be forgiving, especially of yourself.

• Set boundaries and learn to say NO.

• Love without losing yourself

• Practice appreciation & gratitude

• Allow decisions from head to pass through the heart

• Anything that leads to peace of mind takes us in the right direction

• Create your own personal space.

and I thought I was breathing well, until....

WISHING YOU NEW HAPPINESS THIS YEAR

As another new year begins, is there truly going to be some newness? Let's do something today, that can bring a more fresh and joyful energy to our life.

In our consciousness we have a store cupboard where we accumulate everything that we have lived through - files of childhood, experiences, relationships...when we were hurt, broken or wounded. We seem to still carry it with us. The longer we carry, the more it hurts. Why do we find it so hard to let go?

Some of our old belief systems stop us from forgiving -

- they are responsible for my pain

- my hurt is justified

- they do not deserve to be forgiven


The truth is also always simple, “It’s not them, IT'S ME”. Always.


Regardless of the nature of the event or the sharpness of the words intended to insult, our response is always our own creation. And if we feel upset, rejected or sad in any way it is always our own creation. Replaying the moment again and again, we are recreating the emotions of the past, making them our present and thereby determining our future.

PAST IS PASSED. So as we begin a New Year, let's begin with a New way of Thinking. LET GO. Enough of hurting ourselves. It's not as difficult as we think it is. Don't think about it. Just do it. IT'S ONLY A THOUGHT AWAY.

When we forgive someone, we are actually forgiving OURSELVES. We release all the negative thoughts, emotions and energies that we are so desperately holding onto in our anger.


WISHING EVERYONE NEW HAPPINESS THIS YEAR!