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| YOGA EXCERCISE OF THE MONTH | |||
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Guests: You may view the list of Yoga Excercises Archives which are accessible to members. We present you with some suggestions that we and others have found useful for maintaining health and vitality. Note: We are educators and believe in the information we are sharing with you. But we are not doctors and cannot take any responsibility for your health. Ultimately in all cases, even with your doctors, you are responsible for your health and must follow your inner voice concerning how to maintain your health or heal your self. If you have any doubt about any suggestions you find here, consult your doctor or simply do not employ them. May you be well on all levels of your being. THE FOLLOWING GUIDELINES SHOULD BE FOLLOWED 1. DO NOT FORCE YOUR BODY under any circumstances. No matter how many times we say this to people, they just keep on doing it. They have been programmed to believe that the most, the biggest and the fastest are the best. They want to push their bodies right into the exercises, whether the body likes it or not. This is a great mistake that does more harm than you can imagine. Work slowly with your body. Respect its limits. These limits will gradually extend and you will gain flexibility if you work REGULARLY and sensitively at stretching just to your limits and stopping there. The body will get the message and the tension which is preventing you from proceeding will gradually be released. 2. BE REGULAR in you practice. A few times a week is not enough if you really want to heal or transform or develop your body. You do not need a lot of time but you do need to be regular. Twenty or even fifteen minutes a day are more effective than two hours once a week. Do not believe that you don’t have time. You will just have to make an assessment of what you are doing which is not leaving you any free time. Something can be sacrificed for this life-enhancing activity. In the end, the time you sacrifice for these exercises and other techniques, will be gained many times more? and even more through greater clarity, efficiency and less need to sleep or daydream. 3. DO NOT CONTINUE ANY EXERCISE WHICH CAUSES PAIN. Check with your doctor or exercise instructor what you should do. Pain is a message from the body which must be listened to. In some cases it may simply be the body’s process of changing which is causing the pain. In such cases, you simply need to bear with it and continue (without forcing) and it will gradually pass. In other cases you may be doing harm to some part of your body and may have to stop and to some other preparatory exercises before returning to that one. 4. EXERCISE ON AN EMPTY STOMACH at least three hours after eating. (The half shoulder stand in which we put our feet on the wall is an exception to this. It can be done after about half-an-hour if there is no other time in which we can do it). 5. REMOVE ALL JEWELRY AND TIGHT CLOTHING. Let your body be free of any restrictions. Find some loose, comfortable clothing or body-hugging dance tights for exercising. 6. BE CONSCIOUS AND CONCENTRATE on what you are doing. Try to keep your mind on feeling what is happening in the body and concentrate on your breath and position. Do not think about other things or talk to anyone while exercising. If possible, it would be best if you were alone in the room, without distractions such as radio or TV, so that you can concentrate. If this is not possible, just try to concentrate on yourself and ignore what is going on around you. 7. GIVE IMPORTANCE TO YOUR BREATHING. Each exercise has a specific way of breathing. This is an extremely important aspect of the exercise. In many cases it is even more important than the physical movements themselves. By conscious of your breathing and breathe slowly and deeply, according to the instructions for each exercise. In general (with some exceptions) we inhale when we stretch upward or backward and exhale when we bend downward or forward. 8. COMPLETE YOUR EXERCISE SERIES WITH DEEP BREATHING and, if possible, with DEEP RELAXATION. For each specific problem various series of exercises will be given for morning or evening. 9. AVOID EXERCISING AT LEAST THREE MONTHS AFTER SURGERY, unless you have specific permission from your doctor. Some exercises, as indicated, should be started only 6 months after surgery, unless you have your doctor’s permission to start earlier. Also, avoid all exercises at any time when you suspect internal bleeding or an inflamed appendix. 10. Many of the advanced exercises as well as different variations of the ones given here are not covered in this book because they are not frequently used in self-healing but more so for self-transformation. CREATING A SERIES FOR YOURSELF If there is no yoga instructor or experienced person in your area to guide you in selecting an effective series of exercises, breathing techniques and deep relaxation best suited to you, do the best you can with the following guidelines. Be aware, however, of the fact that no guideline is absolute and that each body has different needs and each person a different life-style which may or may not allow him to abide by the guidelines given. Thus, you will have to be creative and resourceful in seeing how you can apply these techniques to your life. 1. WITH EXERCISES should be done in each case will be discussed in the section on specific problems. In general, we do the dynamic exercises which wake up the body and make its energies flow more freely in the morning, so as to prepare ourselves for our day’s activities. The more static and relaxing exercises are usually done in the evening when we want to relax the body and the mind from the various tensions which have accumulated, at the same time revitalizing them for the evening activities. If, however, someone cannot abide by this suggestion, he can make his own program. For example, he may have time only once a day and want to combine both types of exercises together in the morning or in the evening. Or, he may have time only in the afternoon (but not after the meal, please). Others may simply freely that their body prefers some other timing. It is important, if at all possible, to do some exercise which brings blood to the head towards the late afternoon or evening or even before bed if no other time is possible. Most of us have a lack of flow of blood and thus oxygen, nutrients and hormones to the brain. The more hours we are sitting or standing, the more the blood tends to gravitate towards the feet. Thus, it is useful to do some exercise, such as the half shoulder stand or the prayer position, so as to replenish the blood supply to the brain. In the case of the half shoulder stand, which is essential for all, but especially for those with varicose veins or other problems of the legs, such as swelling. Bringing blood to the head is especially important to all those who have low blood pressure, anemia or hormonal problems. Check, however, with the chart of contraindications to see if perhaps you have some problem which prevents you from being able to do the half shoulder stand. Alternatively, check with your doctor or yoga instructor. Back-bending exercises should be balanced by forward-bending ones and movements to the right balanced by movements to the left. 2. THE LENGTH OF THE EXERCISE PERIOD will depend on how much time you are willing to spend each day on revitalizing your self. We will give various series for each specific problem. There will be the basic series of absolutely necessary exercises which you will have to perform if you want to get some help in overcoming that problem. This is for those who are willing to do only the absolute minimum. We do not recommend this series for most. It is just the best we can do for someone who is unwilling to pay real attention to his health. Then we will give the series which would be what one should really do if he wants to harmonize his body and mind. Then, in the section on comments, we will give additional exercises which will aid you even further in creating a healthy body and mind, if you can spare that time. For more exercises it will be best to consult an instructor. 3. THE ORDER IN WHICH THE EXERCISES SHOULD BE DONE will be given in each case. If, foe some reason, this does not suit you, you may adjust it by following your inner voice or consult an instructor, if there is one available. Most series will finish up with some breathing exercises and deep relaxation, possibly involving some positive imagery. If you are unable, for reasons of time or unsuitable environment, to complete the series with a relaxation at that time, then try to do it some time in the afternoon, after the evening exercises or even before going to sleep, if there is no other solution. Relaxation will be suggested after both the morning and evening series. Best results can be obtained if you can do both. If there is no time, select the most suitable hour of the day for yourself to do your relaxation. Relaxation is a very important aspect of your self-healing; in some cases it is even more important than the exercises, especially in psychosomatic illnesses. 4. TAKE YOUR HEALTH INTO YOUR HANDS. Be sensitive to your body’s needs and be creative in developing a daily program for maintaining your health. EXERCISE OF THE MONTH FOR THE REJUVENATION OF THE BODY AND MIND PLEASE READ AND FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES FOR PRACTICING YOGA EXERCISES ABOVE IMPORTANT MESSAGE Yoga Postures should be learned from an experienced and competent teacher. We would suggest that you seek guidance before practicing the following techniques. In at any time you feel pain or discomfort cease practice and seek help. HALF SHOULDER STAND Place your mat or blanket close to a wall or any vertical surface. Lie down on your back, with your buttocks close to the wall and your legs resting upward on the wall. If you find it more comfortable, or want to bring more blood to the head and neck area, then place a pillow or two underneath the buttocks. Now there are various stages one can perform according to his needs. a. If possible bring your lower back and buttocks into the air and support your body with your hands placed on your waist, with your elbows on the mat. While supporting your self with one leg, start rotating the other leg 3 to 7 times in one direction and then 3 to 7 times in the other. Then change legs and do the same. b. Resting your lower back on the mat or pillow, inhale while simultaneously raising the arms up over the head and if possible placing them on the mat or floor behind you. Hold your breath in that position and then start exhaling as you bring your arms back down by your side. Do this ten times with a ratio of 1:1:1 which means that the inhalation, retention and exhalation of the breath are equal in duration. c. Now inhale, hold your breath and turn your head as far as you comfortably can to the left. Hold your breath in this position. Then exhale as you return your head to the center. Do this to the ratio of breathing mentioned previously, three times to each side alternately. d. After completing the previous stage continue to inhale, hold your breath and exhale slowly and deeply, with concentration on your breath. Do this until your breathing apparatus becomes tired. Make the breath as slow as you can, now making the square breathing (1:1:1:1) in which the inhalation, retention, exhalation and suspension are all equal. Do this for ten to twenty breaths. e. When you become tired of breathing, then simply relax in this position. With your eyes closed, relax all the upper part of your body, with special attention to your shoulders, neck, head, face, cheeks, eyes and forehead. When the body is relaxed you can imagine healing energy flowing into the organs which need help. Imagine light, love, peace and energy flowing into those organs and healing them. Altogether, you should eventually be in this position for from 10 to 20 minutes. Contraindications: High blood pressure, detached retina Benefits: Blood flows down from the legs alleviating various circulatory problems of the legs. The blood flows through the lungs and takes more oxygen and then begins to flow into the neck, brain pituitary gland, thyroid and parathyroid glands, through the liver, gall bladder, kidneys and all other organs of the upper part of the body. The muscles of the neck are relaxed while all the organs are rejuvenated with a fresh supply of blood and oxygen. a) LEGS b) THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS c) THE ABDOMEN d) THE UPPER PART OF THE BODY |
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