Bhujangasana - Cobra Yoga Pose

Bhujangasana is normally called as Cobra pose. Bhujangasana comes from the Sanskrit word "Bhujanga", which means Cobra. This is one of the most common hatha yoga poses. The Cobra pose is greatly effective as it can relieve certain types of lower back aches as over time it strengthens the lower back.

Best Hatha Yoga Tip Ever

By Anmol Mehta

The best hatha yoga tip I ever received, was from a yoga master who understood the inner workings of life, karma and reincarnation. Employing this tip is essential if you are going to extract the full benefits of a yoga practice. Without this piece of wisdom, hatha yoga becomes just a series of physical movements and exercises. The tip is that all yoga should be practiced with the Witnessing Consciousness active.

This is really more than just the best yoga tip, this is an essential yoga guideline. Yoga means, to join or yolk, and the joining that is being referred to, is the merging of your consciousness with the Universal Consciousness. This is the true purpose of yoga. To bring you to the doorstep of Infinity, so that you can realize the true Oneness of Reality.

Yoga includes many dimensions, and of these hatha yoga is just one. This dimension is considered the physical aspect of yoga practice, but if done while employing the Witnessing Consciousness, this physical practice becomes spiritual and much more. So what exactly is meant by this tip? Let's discuss the details of that below.

The Witnessing Consciousness is the act of simply standing apart and watching that which is taking place. In other words, to have a third person perspective of what is happening in your life, within and without, and using this observation as a source for self study. This observation is pure simple awareness. It should be without judgment or criticism, and it should be maintained as best you can from moment to moment. Another way of describing this state is that it is the act of being in the world, but not being of the world.

So, as you practice your hatha yoga poses and routines, keep this awareness active. Do your yoga and watch yourself doing it like you are watching a movie. Stay alert to the three dimensions of your being. The physical, emotional and mental. This detached, passive awareness will allow the content of consciousness to come out, reveal itself and be purged. That cleansing will then allow you to have space and silence within, which are the necessary ingredients for Truth to blossom.

This important tip though extends far beyond your hatha yoga practice as well. Not only during your physical practice should you practice this watching, but you should continue at all other times as well. No one is really able to successfully be conscious throughout all twenty-four hours of the day, but the amount of time you can stay aware is perhaps the best way to measure your spiritual progress.

The person who can maintain their awareness ninety percent of the time is going to be much more spiritually advanced than one who is only aware only five percent of the time. In fact, this metric is probably the best measure of the spiritual level of a person. Putting this tip to use, will certainly change your life. You will have to make adjustments in order to practice such vigilance and the more you practice it, the more positive changes you will notice start happening.

A great time to practice this tip is, of course, while doing hatha yoga poses. This is because hatha yoga can be done without excessive mental activity. This then leaves awareness available for the task of self observation. Of course, there are hatha yoga exercises that suggest bringing the mind and attention to various regions in the body, as you do the pose, but if you can, try to maintain some free energy and awareness for self observation. In fact, I would say that maintaining the Witnessing Consciousness is more important, than the mental requirements of a particular pose.

Finally, this tip is not limited to just hatha yoga either. Regardless of which yoga style you are doing, Kripalu, Hot, Power, Kundalini, Vinyasa or other yoga style, the most important aspect of your practice is to do it with full awareness. This is the key to finding the Truth, for as you will discover, the Witnessing Consciousness is really your True Self after all.

Practice Hatha Yoga, For Chronic Stress Relief, to Save Your Life

By Paul Jerard, Aura Publications

Yoga can break the cycle of continual stress. We know that chronic stress is linked to a variety of health problems and can cause death. When you are stressed out, hormones, such as - Cortisol and Adrenaline, are released into your body to give you extra strength in an emergency situation. However, long term affects of releasing cortisol and adrenaline, into your body, can result in heart disease and potential suicide.

Among the most necessary reasons, to practice Yoga, is the resulting state of inner peace during and after a session. Multi-tasking, stress, worry, and negative thoughts work against obtaining peace of mind. How can Yoga help people who are worried about their families, employment, and health care? Let's discuss the healing powers of Yoga, and how you can reap the rewards of inner peace.

If you have problems that are blended with chronic stress, it is difficult to sort out the origin of your anxiety. Most people worry when they see an impending problem. Worrying is only a natural reaction to stress overload. However, have you ever met one person who claimed that worrying solved a problem?

Problems are much easier to solve when we train our minds to focus on solutions. This is where a regular Yoga practice helps us to take control of fear and worry. It is hard to see reality when we are consumed with fear. Many times, the amount of worrying people do has nothing to do with reality. People often worry about potential problems.

On the other hand, if the problem is real, time spent practicing Yoga will allow one to find inner calm and solutions. Hatha Yoga helps people of all ages learn to cope with stress. Most beginners are attracted to the physical postures (asanas), or the flowing of physical postures, with breath, in a sequence (vinyasa).

While there are much deeper practices to be realized within Hatha Yoga, the physical postures tend to be the main attraction on this journey of self-discovery. As time passes, the practitioner becomes much more aware of pranayama (Yogic breathing), niyama, yama, and the many variations of Yogic meditation.

When we read Patanjali's "Yoga Sutras," we begin to notice that our superficial view of Yoga is much like a child's view of the world. Our view of Yoga is a fresh start. Most of us easily believe in what we see and what we feel. This is the reason why the Hatha style became so popular when it was exposed to the world. Physical benefits are easier to realize than mental, spiritual, or emotional benefits.

Therefore, a stressed-out person will find complete relief by finding a competent Yoga teacher, learning the Yogic methods for obtaining inner peace, and will be reassured when the physical and mental benefits are realized. The deeper benefits will be revealed, as the practitioner continues on the Yogic path.

A Downward Dog Yoga Pose - Adho Mukha Svanasana

By H. Sulanti

The Dog pose or the Adho mukha Svanasana, when performed looks very much like a dog whose forelimbs and head are in a rested position while the hind limbs are pointed upwards. In Sanskrit "Svana" means dog, "adho" means downward and "mukha" means face, hence the name Downward facing dog pose.

Step by Step

The hands should be placed directly beneath the shoulders on the floor and the knees directly beneath the hips. The fingers should be spread out with the middle finger pointing straight ahead. One should make sure that the back is horizontal and straight.

One should take care not to drop the shoulders during this asana position. Create a flow of energy through each of the arms to the respective shoulders to maintain the position. Repeat this several times to get a proper feel of the position. Once you are ready to start, inhale deeply. Breathe out along with turning the hips into a cat tilt. This should be done gently by pulling the abdominal muscles towards the spine. Gently contract the buttocks and tuck the tail bone inwards. Press the floor with the hands and also lift the back upwards towards the roof by rounding the spine upwards.

Move the head inwards. If possible place the crown of the head on the floor. If you are not able to place the crown on the floor, then leave the head hanging inwards. Gaze should be fixed between the knees.

The next step is the straightening of the elbows and the extending of the back. The legs should be straight if you are able, that is the knees are without any bend. Take a deep breath while turning your hip into a Dog tilt. Slowly, release the grip of the hips and reverse the dog tilt. The spine should be curved to resemble a smoothly arched backend. Then reverse so that your body resembles an unside down V. Now Hold in the upside down V position. At first this will be difficult but after long practice this upside down V will turn into a resting postion.

Benefits

The Dog Pose or the Adho Mukha Svanasana is a wonderful yoga pose which provides tranquillity while grounding and rejuvenating ones whole being. It relieves one of minor back aches, strengthens most of the parts of the body. This Asana pose stretches the entire back side of the body, hence strengthening the arms, shoulders, hips, hamstrings, calves as well as Achilles tendon. It also opens up the chest and improves the functioning of the respiratory system. This pose alleviate fatigue and stress. The lengthening of the spine in this pose rejuvenates each and every disc of the spine. The position also improves the blood circulation to the brain.

Yoga For Women - How to Boost Your Energy at Home Using Five Easy Hatha Yoga Exercises

By Ntathu Allen

Are you a busy women and tired of being tired? Would you like to have more energy, fun and vitality? Have you thought of practising yoga, but feel you don't have the time or energy to go to a yoga class?

Working full time and raising a family requires a lot of positive energy. To maintain your energy it is essential you engage regularly in activities which nourish and nurture your soul; failure to do so leaves you feeling ratty and snapping at your children, always being late or feeling rushed to fit everything into your busy schedule..

As a working mother myself, with three teenage daughters, I know how challenging and weary life can be.

Yoga for woman is the ideal form of exercise to help you relax and nurture your soul.

The following five easy hatha yoga exercises offer you a simple and easy yoga practice you can do at home, in your own time. Regular practice will help you to stay active, relax and energised.

As with all forms of physical activity, especially if you have a medical condition or haven't exercised for a while, please consult your GP prior to exercising. Remember also to listen and respect your body. Always exercise within your own safety limits.

1. Downward- Facing Dog Pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana)

a) Begin on your hands and knees on All Fours.
b) Spread your fingers wide and press your hands firmly into the mat. Press your heels and feet downwards as you straighten your legs, lift your hips and tailbone to the sky. Lengthen your spine. So your body represents a V-shape. Let your head hang down and relax your jaw.
c) Stay in this position for three- five rounds of deep yogic breathes then slowly come out of the pose.

2. Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose)

a) Lie on your belly with your hands flat on the floor, under your shoulders and legs straight out behind you close together. Press your feet and toes firmly down into the floor. Have your forehead resting on the mat. Breathe in and slowly raise your forehead, nose and chest up from the floor, keeping your hands down on the floor and press your hips on the floor.
b) Hold this pose for 3-5 rounds deep breaths, then slowly exhale and come slowly down.

3) Extended Child Pose

a) Start in a kneeling position, sitting back on your heels. If this feels uncomfortable, lace a folded blanket or pillow between your buttocks and your heels.
b) Breathe out and slowly lower your body forward until your head touches the floor. If your legs or back are stiff and you find it difficult to place your head on the floor without your hips coming up, make a fist with your hands, place them one on to of each other and rest your forehead on the top fist. If your stomach feels uncomfortable or gets in the way, just spread your feet apart.
c) Keep your buttocks on your heels. Stretch your arms out in front of you.
d) Each time you breathe out let your chest go closer to your knees. Keep your shoulders relaxed and take your arms back so your hands are close to your feet.
e) Stay in this position for 10 - 15 rounds of deep breathing.
f) Gently breathe out, slowly kneel up again and be aware of how you feel. Stay still for a few more moments before you get up from this position.

4) Wide Leg Forward Bend/Hands Behind Back

a)Stand with your legs and feet hip distance apart. Interlace your fingers behind your back. Gently bend forward. Stretch your hands and arms up and back. Gently breathe into the stretch. Slowly release your arms and come back to an upright position. Repeat 3 - 5 times.

5) Savasana (Corpse/Relaxation Pose)

Lie on the floor or yoga mat on your back, feet spread about 18" apart and hands about 6" from the sides of your body with palms up. Take a few moments to make sure you feel comfortable and relaxed in this position, make sure your body is symmetrical. Let your thighs, knees and toes relax and turn outwards. Close your eyes and breathe deeply, in and out through your nose. Remain in this position for 5-15 minutes. Gently open your eyes and roll over to your side before coming to a seated position.

As a busy working woman, regular yoga practice will help you to stay active, relax and energised through out your day. Let me know how you get on, I would be delighted to suggest further yoga postures you could do at home to help you relief stress and boost your energy.

Hatha yoga practice and fear of falling in older adults

By Dr. Rubens D.

Indiana University researchers found promising results in an exploratory study involving yoga practice by older adults who expressed a fear of falling. After a 12-week, twice weekly hatha yoga class, taught by a professional yoga therapist, study participants reported a reduced fear of falling, increased lower body flexibility and a reduction in their leisure constraints.

Fear of falling is an important public health concern because it can cause older adults -- even those who have not fallen -- to limit their social and physical activity. This effort to avoid falls can create a harmful cycle that can diminish health and quality of life.

"Our study found that yoga was a feasible intervention with older adults and that they perceived great benefit from it," said Marieke Van Puymbroeck, assistant professor in the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Studies in IU's School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.

Van Puymbroeck discussed some of her findings this month at the International Association of Yoga Therapists' Symposium for Yoga Therapy and Research in Los Angeles and will discuss her findings further at conferences hosted by the American Geriatrics Society and the American Therapeutic Recreation Association. More about the study:

• The study involved 14 men and women with an average age of 78. Five participants had fallen previously.
  
• Van Puymbroeck said the 90 percent weekly attendance rate was notable, as was the 6 percent dropout rate, which she said was much lower than most physical activity and yoga studies. The participants took a class in hatha yoga, which is a gentle form of yoga that easily can be adapted for individual needs and can be performed from a seated position. The twice weekly classes each lasted 60 minutes.
  
• After the 12-week class, participants reported a 6 percent reduction in their fear of falling, a 34 percent increase in lower body flexibility, and a statistically significant reduction in leisure constraints.
  
• Van Puymbroeck said participants reported "tremendous benefits," with emerging themes that included the ability to generalize principals of posture to other situations, increased range of motion, increased flexibility and improved balance.
  

Co-investigators include David Koceja, Department of Kinesiology in IU Bloomington's School of HPER; and Arlene Schmid, Department of Occupational Therapy and Department of Veterans Affairs, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

Tadasana - Hatha Yoga's Mountain Posture For Chronic Back Pain

By Paul Jerard

Yoga has hundreds of postures for relief of back pain. It should be noted that learning from videos is advisable for Yoga teachers, Yoga therapists, Ayurvedic doctors, physical therapists, and medical doctors. However, if you have limited Yoga experience, please consult with your physician before going to a class or session. At that point, you should seek the advice of a competent Yoga teacher or Yoga therapist. Each step is important, so please do some research in order to make the best possible choice.

Mountain Pose (Tadasana) with emphasis on the pelvic tilt. Tadasana is considered by some to be the starting position of all standing poses, but it is also performed at the end of many standing poses. Tadasana can be commonly seen in Vinyasa sequences and Sun Salutations.

This is an indication of the value of an advanced posture, which many of us take for granted. Tadasana is considered to be an advanced posture, due to the number of subtleties and the number of muscles used. The subtleties, within Mountain Pose, make complete awareness difficult for every level of Yoga practitioner.

Therefore, never underestimate the value of standing erect. Ideally, your feet should be as close as possible. If you have difficulty with balance, keeping your feet hip width, will be fine. If you are in a wheel chair, you can still practice Tadasana by sitting up tall. While sitting, your ankles should be directly under your knees.

A simple definition of the pelvic tilt is a position in which your buttocks are tucked under the spine; while your abdominal muscles are contracted. Some teachers will tell you to "roll your hips forward," while others tell you to "tuck your sacrum under the heart center." This is easier said than done, but you can practice the pelvic tilt on the floor or in your bed.

Eventually, you can do this standing. A wall behind you makes a wonderful prop. The back of your heels, sacrum, and shoulder blades, should be relatively close to the wall. Do not over tuck the pelvis forward, and observe if you have a natural backward tilt of the pelvis.

The backward tilt of the pelvis, and lower spine, is a factor in developing excessive tension within the lower back and weak posterior muscles. The back of your head should not be touching the wall. Keeping your gaze at eye level will improve the alignment of your upper spine.

The above-mentioned points can serve as general guidelines, but this barely scratches the surface. To learn Tadasana, correctly, will require proper instruction and dedicated practice. For the Yoga practitioner, Tadasana should be practiced every time one stands.

Please remember that your skeletal body is unique. Your skeleton is different because of a lifetime of demands from work and activities. It will not conform to the strict demands of a "cookie cutter" philosophy. Do your personal best. Remain aware of your own journey toward better alignment and ultimately less, or no, back pain.

Discover the 3 Most Popular Forms of Yoga

By Veronica Volk

Everyday life can be hectic with all that there is to deal with, such as jobs, families, and relationships. Therefore, it is important to find a way to get rid of the built up tension and stress within the body; it is not healthy for you. Yoga is known to help to relieve body stress, but it also provides other benefits.

For beginners to yoga, here is a short and quick overview of the 3 most popular Yoga types that many people choose as a starting point:

1) Hatha Yoga - This is the most popular and commonly practiced form of Yoga, and it's a combination of asanas synced with a balanced breathing. It combines meditation, pranayama (lengthening of the breath), and relaxation techniques. This make Hatha Yoga perfect for de-stressing the body and bringing a sense of peace of mind.

2) Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga - This form of Yoga helps to build strength and power; it is widely practiced among athletes and those looking to get more from their physical workouts. The focus here is to build a strong level of stamina from within and internally improve the body's health. Ashtanga Yoga is comprised of many different postures where bandas (seals) and ujjayi (victory) are used as a means of raising the body heat to cleanse to the body of toxins.

3) Kundalini Yoga - This type of Yoga is commonly known as the "Yoga of Awareness" because it helps to awaken blocked energy. It is a combination of physical and meditative balance, which improves the mind-body connection; it helps a person to become one body, mind, and spirit as it helps an individual awaken the unused or blocked energy. This deep state of relaxation results from a carefully structured combination of asanas, mantra chanting and pranyama.

You might want to spend a week practicing Yoga at a retreat center to make your experience more fulfilling. You need to be somewhere peaceful so that the calmness around you can surround you, and take your mind and body to a new higher level.

Hatha Yoga Poses - An Introduction

By Lisa Michaels

The word hatha in Sanskrit is a combination of "ha" which means the sun and "tha" which means the moon. This combination of words was used and is used to describe this form of yoga as doing hatha yoga poses aim at bringing together the opposite currents in the system.

Yoga poses have been practised as some say for 5000 years. Today, then have been very popular among yoga lovers as they have proved to be very effective for improvements in balancing the body, mind and spirit. Hatha poses incorporate and include breathing techniques which helps to improve mental concentration.

Regular practice of hatha yoga and the poses associated with it can improve the flexibility of the body allowing it to stretch easily; it also regularizes the respiration process and improves the practitioner's posture. Yoga poses strengthen and balance one through stretching, giving the body a calming and relaxing effect. Hatha yoga poses are bound to improve the physical, mental and spiritual aspect of one's health. The larger goal of yoga is to blend the spirit of the universe with the spirit of the mind and hence help in achieving eternal bliss.

While practising yoga postures one should breathe normally at first and over time the breath will become deeper. Breathing deeply and effortlessly during the body exercise part of yoga allows the diaphragm to open and expand easily. While practicing, one should be cautious enough to avoid force or strain during the stretching positions. Most of the hatha yoga poses can be practised by beginners, however one should skip the poses which one is not comfortable with and should wait till the body is ready to take the physical challenges posed by the more complex yoga asanas (poses).

Yoga positions are mainly aimed at relaxing the body and enlightening the spirit within which acts to increase the harmony between the spirit, mind and body which in turn enables the spiritual energy to flow freely through the channels of energy. Yoga helps greatly in the maintenance of a healthy body which helps in building a positive attitude towards life.

The experience of hatha yoga poses is so relaxing that many people who practice these asanas regularly compare it with floating. Yoga also has benefits for people and children who face problems in concentrating, as the positive attitude developed through these hatha yoga poses keeps the mind healthy and aids in good concentration. Hanging poses like rag doll can work quickly in increasing concentration.

Hatha yoga and the poses associated with it have been tried and tested for a long time which clearly indicates it has benefited one person after another. There is no doubt that practicing hath yoga poses regularly will help attain new and higher levels of physical and mental well being.