The word “yoga” is a Sanskrit term which can be translated as “union” or “to yoke” or harness. It refers to the process of unification and change self realization. Initially, yoga was a thing of the East, mostly from India where it was a part of their religious rituals and activities.

Today, yoga is practiced all over the world to attain peace of mind and a healthy body. One of the key reasons of yoga popularity is the ease of practicing without equipment requirements. It is a practice mastered through the yogis own mental and physical strength.

Most popular styles of yoga include:

*Bikram Yoga (hot yoga)

*Iyengar Yoga (focused on alignment in poses)

*Asthanga Yoga (power yoga, flow yoga)

Modern, fast paced lifestyles do not allow people to take time out of their work schedules and relax their bodies and minds. This race to get ahead leaves people physically restless and mentally exhausted. Constant stress leads to many medical and psychological problems in society.

While it’s true that technology has given us many time-saving solutions for daily activities and chores, at the same time, these gizmos have also impacted the quality of our lives in a negative way.

We miss nature, personal connection, friendship and community.

Yoga is the answer to their problems which gives serenity of mind along with a healthy body. It can take as little as 15 minutes, or as much as 1-2 hours. Yoga offers something for everyone and can fit with almost any lifestyle.

SO WHY IS YOGA SO POPULAR IN AMERICA?

If you look closely, it’s clear that American society as a whole is facing various crises. These crisis includes financial, marital, health, and environmental. To complicate things more, these problems go beyond any particular class or group; it exists on all levels of society, so Americans turn to various alternatives to rid themselves of these trying times.

The following scenarios in particular lead people to seek yoga for gaining peace and tranquility of mind and body:

* People are dissatisfied with their work life

* People are dissatisfied with their failing health

* Local churches and temples are seeing less and less members

* Downturn in economy has forced many people to look inside

The most popular type of yoga among Americans is called, Hatha Yoga, which is really a catch-all term for the physical practice of yoga: posture and breath. There is an estimated 200 Hatha yoga postures that are taught in varied sequences depending on the teacher—and more importantly, the student.

Yoga classes today usually focus first on physical health and mental wellbeing, and include a combination of various poses, breathing techniques and meditation. Yoga improves blood circulation and increases flexibility in turn achieving a healthy brain and a well toned and trimmed body for the American yogi.

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Yoga for Alleviating Chronic Pain

Today, yoga is an effective pain management tool as it controls many diseases, especially the chronic and functional types. A regular yoga practice and yoga instructors can aid you to cope with chronic pain, a pain that lasts for a longer time and is unrelieved by standard medical treatment.

Effective Ways of Yoga to Relieve Chronic Pain

The chronic pain can be an irritating one and normal lifestyles can be constrained or even makes impossible. There are many people suffering with chronic pain and are unaware of a variety of treatment options that helps them to lead more normal lives. So, it is better to learn the way to relieve the chronic pain and try to relieve it or erase it totally.

Now researches show that the ancient Hindu practice, yoga, may ease chronic pain. Yoga techniques such as practicing poses, breathing exercises are very helpful in treating chronic pain. The initial step is to begin by taking full, deep breaths.

Your breathing will have a tendency to be shallow and will become difficult for you to inhale and exhale completely, when you are suffering from pain. If you are not breathing out properly then the toxins that generally are to be out from your body will stay and unable to escape.

Thus, the musty air ruins in the lungs and toxin residues increases. So, a regular deep breathing will helps in eliminating toxins from the body and also digesting the food intake.

Chronic pain also makes your muscles cold and then with limited oxygen, the muscles suffer from poor blood circulation. So, it is great to practice deep breathing yoga routines, as it makes your lungs work harder, it progress the diaphragm, the back and abdominal muscles.

Generates Heat

Thus yoga generates heat in the core of your body, which helps in healing and controlling severe chronic pain.

If you are breathing fast and shallow then you may suffer from anxiety, dizziness, stomach upsets, insomnia, heart palpitations, and visual problems. One more consequence of controlled breathing is it provides a calming effect on your emotions.

It reduces fear and anxiety in you. Thus makes you feel safer, more at ease with your body, and feel more relaxed physically. Deep breathing also helps in reducing tension that accumulates near that part of the body where the pain is.

Adjusts Your Mental Thoughts

The second step in controlling chronic pain is to adjust your mental thoughts towards that part of your body where the pain is. Some attitudes that are related with chronic pain are anger, despair, depression, and helplessness. However these are just a few of the feelings that you may experience when suffering from chronic pain.

You may reject that part of the body where the pain is and neglects to give proper care, the love and attention towards that part, which it deserves and needs to heal.

So, lie down on the floor in an easy relaxed position, which is a soothing yoga posture and place your hand on the part of the body where the pain is. Direct your thoughts and energy to that painful part of your body.

Introducing your hands to the painful part of the body makes it gentle and sends a message that you care about it. Consecutively, it sends heat and fluids. Thus, makes an overall feeling of happiness and healthiness.

With the intention of healing that part of the body where the pain is, you have to think and focus on your breathing. So, concentrate on the part that pains you. Keeping your hands on that part makes ease and relaxing to the painful area.

Generally people pray for healing and place hands on the patient. As a consequence, the hands makes comfort, and the warmth of these touching on painful area can greatly influence the painful area and there will be some progress making you a step up toward your healing.

Never allow yourself to be an injured party of chronic pain. A regular yoga practicing, stretches and deep breathing exercises will assist you to manage and even remove your pain entirely.

Alien writes for yoga for health. He also writes for yoga for beginners and arthritis relief

Article Source: http://www.thecontentcorner.com

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Due to lifestyles, there are many common diseases affecting people today such as nervous system or cardio-vascular disorders disorders. But it is actually possible to alter your breathing technique in a natural way that can help prevent problems such as these? Well that is the basis of much of what Yoga is about, and it has been proven many times by many people. In fact many cardiac specialists advocate the benefits of “correct” breathing.

Surprisingly, most people do not actually use the full capacity of their respiratory organs. A sedentary lifestyle, poor brething, eating and posture can contribute to what is known as lifestyle disorders. In yoga, breath awareness forms the basis of good practice.

But how can someone I alter their natural breathing process? By training our bodies to breathe in a particular fashion, we re-program our involuntary system to adopt this new way of breathing. Breathing exercises, known as pranayama, are used to improve and strengthen breathing and the body. The breath, known as prana or life-force is the link between the mind and the body.

As you practice breathing, it will prove that you feel calmer, stronger and better able to concentrate.
To help you gain a better understanding of the basis of correct breathing, the following are some of the basic exercises.

1. Abdominal Breathing

Lie on back with arms and legs apart and eyes closed.
Feet should be around 2 feet apart, ankles to the side.
Arms should be about 6 – 12 inches from the body, upwards facing palms.
Lower back should be flat on the floor and the chin tucked in slightly,
The jaw is relaxed and the neck is long and also relaxed.
Become aware of your breathing, and allow a slow and steady breath.
On Inhalation, the abdomen should rise gently, and on exhalation the abdomen should sink down.

2. Full Yogic Breathing

The best position to check this type of breathing is to sit in a cross-legged position.
Right hand is placed on your upper chest and place your left hand on your abdomen.
First, take a deep inhalation into your abdomen, and feel your left hand rise up, Allow the breath from your lower chest to expand into your upper chest, feeling your right hand rise as he ribs expand, and as if the breath is rolling upwards.
As you breathe out, the process is reversed when air is released from the upper chest, then the lower chest, and out of the abdomen.

This cycle should be repeated until it feels like it flows easily.

3. Alternate Nostril Breathing or Anuloma Viloma

This breath should also be practised from a comfortable cross-legged position, with the spine straight, and the body relaxed.
Focus on your right hand, with the index and middle finger bent into the palm. The thumb, ring and little finger are up into the position known as Vishnu Mudra. The right nostril is closed using the thumb and the left nostril is closed using the ring and little finger.
With the right nostril closed, inhale through your left nostril for 4 seconds. With both nostrils closed, hold the breath for 16 seconds, (but do not have pressure against the closed nostrils).

Remove thumb from nostril and exhale through the right nostril for 8 seconds.

Repeat inhalation through right nostril for 4 seconds.

With both nostrils closed, the breath is held for 16 seconds.

Release your fingers and exhale through the left nostril for 8 seconds.

Seems complicated? Not at all, just practise daily maybe, 6-10 times and you’ll have it down!

4. Yogic Cleansing Breath

From a comfortable sitting position with the spine straight, closoe your eyes.

Slowly breathe in through the nose for 3 seconds, and slowly breathe out for 6 seconds. This should be repeated 4 to 6 times at a relaxed pace.

There is no doubt that with regular practice this breathing will make you feel more invigorated, calmer and better able to deal with the world. And if you incorporate correct breathing into your yoga practice the benefits will be increased further still!

Article from www.zenthings.com where you can see our Irish handmade meditation stools ….Thanks Mick Hogan!

Barry Walsh is author of this article on Ashtanga Yoga Basics. Find more information about & Background here.

Article Source: http://www.thecontentcorner.com

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