Yoga Asanas for Beginners

YOGA POSTURES: Answer to Health and Well-being

Yoga Asanas for Beginners

YOGA POSTURES: Answer to Health and Well-being

From a lay man's point of view, YOGA means ASANAS or postures only. Very few are aware that yoga is an integration of posture with breath control, concentration, and meditation. Maharshi Patanjali was full of wisdom and foresight. He defined Yogasan as " STHIRA SUKHAM ASANAM PRAYATNA SITHILYA ANANT SAMAPATIVYAM. Asan is a steady and relaxed posture with breath control and minds meditating on the higher self. Postures, therefore, always have a holding period ranging from thirty seconds to thirty minutes.

Yoga Postures as Therapy

Here comes the therapeutic effect of postures. One thing must be cleared that postures by itself never cure a disease, on the other hand, Asanas put a direct impact on the various systems and internal organs of the human which, in turn, alleviates the body symptoms.

The postures have two major impacts on the body and mind level, Stimulation, and Relaxation. These two effects are reflected in physical energy and mental level. In physical level Asanas stimulate and relax the internal organs of human physiology which brings a positive and progressive effect on the affected organs. Breath control with its massage effect on various organs enhances the healing effect. Breath in postures works like a power grid that provides healing energy to the postures.

More You stay, Better the Result

The more you stay in the final stage of the posture, the better you perform and gain. Ananta samapatibhyam means merging with the higher self. This is meditation, quieting the mind, and shifting the awareness from self to the higher self. Here the practitioner gets an opportunity to manage his stress level. In yoga therapy body is the vehicle, breath is the fuel and mind is the pilot and controller. The modern age is the age of stress that needs relaxation. Staying more time in postures does the trick. It trains the mind and the body to activate the parasympathetic nervous system which, in turn, controls the relaxation response.

A single posture never solves

Yoga therapy is not a tablet approach to disease. It is an integrated approach. One has to do a series of postures in order to derive the desired result. Never trust in a single posture prescription. Also never follow a group practice unless it is beneficial to you within a week or so.

Dose is important

30 minutes yoga may be either short or excess for you. To be on a safe side better start simple postures which are meant for beginners and are painless. If you get a qualified yoga guide you can seek his support to manage your problems. Refer to my posture videos both at the preliminary and intermediate levels and fit yourself into one of them.

21 Yoagasan for Beginners

JANU SIRASAN

PARSWA BHUNAMAN ASAN

UPABISTA PARSWA UTTANASAN

UPABISTA KONASAN

BUDDHA KONASAN

ARDHA MACHENDRASAN

VAJRASAN

USTARASAN

SASANKASAN

PARVATASAN

FRONT SPLIT

BUJANGASAN

SASANKASAN STRETCH

MAKARASAN

DHANURASAN

PASCHIMOTANASAN

CHAKRASAN

ARDHA HALASAN

SARBANGASAN

ARDHA MATSHYASAN

SAVASAN

YOGA THERAPY FOR BACK PAIN AND SLIP DISC

YOGA THERAPY FOR BACK PAIN AND SLIP DISC

It's amazing to note that ninety-five percent of the population suffer from back pain one day or another during their life span. It’s a skeletal disorder relating to the lumbar and sacral areas of the spine. It happens due to either disc bulging between vertebrae or slip disc. When a person suddenly bends down and tries to lift a heavy object, he may locate a sudden onset of pain in the lumbar region. It becomes severe in a front bending position, while getting up from a sitting position, coughing, etc.

 

Aggravating factors :

1.      Speed, pressure, and jerk in the activities

2.      Cold, constipation, and over weight

3.      Internal abdominal disorders like gastritis, diabetes, colitis, etc.

4.      Loss of post-operative muscle tone.

5.      Terminal diseases

CAUSES

After the young age of twenty-five to thirty, the intervertebral disc softens and gradually starts to degenerate. Any extra pressure put on the lumbar spine leads the disc to slip from its original site and press the adjacent nerve which causes pain and muscle weakness. Sometimes the pain may radiate to the legs and toes and that gives rise to sciatica. Unless treated and taken due precautions, the problem may aggravate leading to osteoarthritis of the spine and chronic muscle weakness.

   Yoga works both as a prevention and cure for backache, slip disc, lumbago, and sciatica. It is a holistic approach that works in all levels of human existence; physical, pranic, mental, intellectual, and spiritual. In the case of prevention and health promotion, there is no problem if a single approach ( yoga set ) is prescribed for the entire humanity.

In the case of the medical application of yoga for any ailment, it requires that each patient needs to be treated separately. It is wrong to say that there is no adverse effect of yoga on patients.  A treatment plan prescribed to Mr. A can not be applicable to Mr. B. Everyone needs separate treatment depending on his age, sex, and physical status.

With the above background, we can divide the patients of back pain into the following groups

… Acute onset of pain for young patients.

…. Acute onset of pain in the case of old patients

… chronic cases in the case of young patients.

… Chronic cases in case of old patients and

… patients with other complications.

The basic approach of yoga therapy for back pain and sciatica is to provide pain relief, resetting the bulged disc  and building up the strength of muscles and tendons of the affected site.

It is wrong to prescribe physical manipulation in case of severe pain. The pain needs to subside before yoga applications. For that, we can take the help of hot water applications, acupressure, chiropractic reset of the bulged disc, etc. After the pain subsides, simple permissible body movements with breath synchronization can be prescribed on case to case basis for a gradual reduction of pain.

The patient needs to avoid any activity where the pain restarts. Jerk, pressure, and speed in daily life to be strictly avoided during the treatment period. like medicine doses, he has to do prescribed yoga twice or thrice daily. Diets to be modified for a better bowel movement. Bed management is important for pain management. Good sleep relieves pain faster. The bed should neither be too soft nor too hard and pillows to be adjusted to keep the spine and head in a straight line.

WHAT TO DO?

The old patients with acute conditions need complete bed rest with hot water applications and medicines for pain relief. After the pain subsides, simple yoga breathings to be prescribed with consultation from an expert with experience.

In the case of old patients with chronic cases they can start with our yoga breathing video ( refer our prayaas yoga youtube channel) without breath-holding twice daily for three weeks.

For young patients both acute and chronic, they can go for our video on “ yoga therapy for back pain and sciatica” posted on our youtube channel.

The back pain patients with other complications  should consult an expert before they go for yoga therapy.

You can post your queries at our email  pyari.yoga@gmail.com

YOGA THERAPY FOR GAS INDIGESTION AND CONSTIPATION

YOGA THERAPY FOR GAS, INDIGESTION AND CONSTIPATION.

Astanga yoga consists of eight limbs out of which yoga therapy targets four of its limbs for yoga research and therapeutic applications. These are asana, Pranayam, Dharana, and dhyan. Asan deals with the physical body, Pranayam deals with the subtle body, Dharana and dhyana manage the mind and intellectual body. According to yoga therapy the symptoms project in the physical body, source of the diseases lie in the mind-body, and cure and management are done by the physical body, pranic body, mind, and intellectual body in relative proportions.

While dealing with indigestion, gas, and constipation, yoga therapy considers postures and breathings as two major tools to control the symptoms. The PAWAN MUKTASAN KRIYA is the patent yoga techniques to deal with such symptoms.

WHAT IS PAWAN MUKTASAN KRIYA ?

It is a set of yogic practices that target abdomen pressure with body movements and breath control. It is not a single posture solution. It is wrong to prescribe a single posture for a single or a combination of diseases. Yoga therapy is a holistic approach to include management at all levels, physical, pranic, mental, intellectual, and spiritual levels.  One needs to go for a number of postures in combinations with repetition involving breath and mind which penetrate the deeper level of consciousness that helps in source management of the cause of the disease.

Before start, one needs to drink a glass of lukewarm saline water. regular morning practice for a minimum period of one month is required for a fundamental improvement in the health conditions. Refer to my youtube video for practice details.