Benefit Of Yoga For Back Pain

By Jakob Culver

Our sitting work style demands us to be in the same sitting posture for long durations and now it has started showing its impact, many of us report of lower back pain and normally resort the quick and crash exercise schedule which instead of benefiting us, worsens the pain. This is because back injuries are often delicate, chronic matters that are resistant to many physically demanding therapeutic solutions.

While opting for rigorous traditional Western exercise, be aware of the fact that it can actually increase pain levels and exacerbate their condition. Though normally many physicians will instruct those with back problems to engage in some form of physical activity to strengthen the area and to reduce overall pain. We too are aware that some kind of exercise is needed, but we also know that exercise could be ruinous.

Off lately people have started having faith in yoga and repetitively recommending to their peers.

Yoga for back pain reduction seems tells the practitioner to focus on bringing mind, body and spirit together and this unified approach is completely holistic and many participants believe the exercise's well-rounded nature is the most important benefit of yoga for back pain treatment. Yoga treats the body, but it also feeds the soul and mind.

Let me briefly discuss the benefits of yoga for back pain

Yoga is the overall pain management and exclusion strategy and is a great way to transcending into a far less painful life.
Yoga is soothing, meditative and physically challenging exercise plans wherein rigorous movements are not required.
As no quick movements are required by yoga so it is low-impact in nature. Yoga concentrates on developing enhanced flexibility and on stretching out the body.
Because of the slow nature of eth exercises the risk of additional injury or increased pain as a result of one's workout is reduced to minimal.
And lastly before choosing any of the exercise it is mandatory to get the approval from your doctor/physician.

Certainly with the pace with which yoga is getting popular among the masses, it is going to become the unparalleled way to combat the back pain.

To find additional information like this or about health visit – http://thefitnesslife.com

http://thefitnesslife.com was founded Jakob Culver. Jakob has a background and large knowledge in and about fitness and health.

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Yoga is Suitable for Everyone

By Nathan Biery

Yoga is suitable for everyone, of any age or physical condition. This is due to the nonstrenuous nature of our approach to exercise, even
people with physical limitations can find it beneficial to practice yoga. There are many different schools of Yoga. Here is a short list
of some of the most well known and they are described below:

Hatha Yoga: It is physical movements and postures combined with breathing techniques. This is style that most people associate with the practice of Yoga.

Raja Yoga: Sometimes refered to as the “royal road,” because it incorporates exercise and breathing practice with meditation, thought to produce a
well-rounded individual.

Jnana Yoga: Or the path of wisdom. It is considered by many to be the most difficult path.

Bhakti Yoga: The practice of extreme devotion in one-pointed concentration upon the concept of God.

Karma Yoga: All the movements and all labor of any kind is done with the mind centered on one's personal concept of God.

Tantra Yoga: A way of showing the unseen consciousness in form through specific diagrams, and movements. One of the diagrams that is
used to show the joining of the physical and spiritual bodies is two triangles superimposed upon one another. The downward-pointing
triangle represents the physical body. The upward-pointing triangle represents the spiritual body of support, energy, and vastness.

Kashmir Shaivism: It is based in emotion rather than intellect. The practice of this yoga philosophy states that everything in the universe
has both male and female qualities. In Kashmir Shaivism, these male and female principles form an equal partnership, so interdependent that
they cannot be separated. The attraction between them produces the ultimate union of opposites, creating the immense complexity of the
universe that we enjoy and celebrate.

Yoga is not a religion. It has no fixed set of beliefs. There is no godlike figure to be worshipped in a particular manner. The core of yoga’s
philosophy is that everything comes from within the individual. Therefore there is no dependence on an external figure, either in the sense of
a person or god figure, or a religious organization. The practice of yoga does not interfere with any religion. Another common belief is that
Yoga is derived from Hinduism. This is a misconception. Yoga actually predates Hinduism by many centuries. Ancient text unearthed in the Indus
Valley provide clear evidence of yoga have been adopted by Hinduism as well as by other world religions. Yoga is a system of techniques that
can be used for a number of goals, from simply managing stress better, learning to relax, and increasing limberness all the way to becoming more
self-aware and acquiring the deepest knowledge of one’s own self. Regular daily practice of all parts of yoga produce a clear, bright mind and a
strong, capable body.

Nathan Biery writes for Yoga for Fitness, a place to read about Yoga, breathing techniques,fitness and more. Plus we are constantly adding articles that can help people with many different topics.

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Yoga: Three Reasons You Should Not do Locust

By Subodh Gupta

Locust – (Salabhasana)

When this pose is demonstrated it resembles a locust (grasshopper) moving its rear ends up and down, hence the name.

Locust is one of the backward bend asanas usually performed in a sequence; first the Cobra is practiced, than the Locust followed by the Bow. Locust is a posture which turns the body out expanding the chest to face the world. It is a very stimulating, powerful and dynamic asana, one of the most demanding but also one of the most unnatural posture in Hatha yoga.

The Locust pose requires the muscles of the lower back, abdomen and legs to work with each other to achieve the lift in the lower body.

Before attempting the full Locust try to do the easier version (Half Locust), which involves lifting only one thigh at a time instead of both of them simultaneously.

As a beginner you may not have enough strength to make any movement of lifting the thighs up but you will still benefit from the effort.

As an intermediate student you will be able to lift your legs higher than the beginner student but it will require more strength in the arms, forearms and shoulders.

As an advanced student you have to be careful not to hurt yourself by falling out of the posture by trying to toss yourself up into the full pose before developing sufficient strength and control.

To maintain this asana the intense whole-body muscular effort is needed.

Locust serves as a counter pose to Sitting Forward Bend (Paschimottanasana), Plough (Halasana) and Shoulderstand (Sarvangasana) which bend the spine forward.
This asana greatly compliments the Cobra (Bhujangasana), lifting the lower part of the body rather then the upper, but it is more difficult pose because it is less natural and more strenuous to lift the lower extremities (legs) from a prone position (lying face downwards) than to lift the head and shoulders.

Locust brings a large supply of blood to the kidneys, cleansing and regenerating them. It strengthens the shoulders, arms, pelvic organs and lower back muscles. It tones the muscles of the abdomen, tights and legs. It tones the sciatic nerves providing relief for people with backache, mild sciatica and slipped disc (as long as the condition is not serious).

However beneficial the Locust is there are some health conditions in which the Locust should be avoided.

Three important reasons (out of many) not to do Locust:

1) Person with High Blood Pressure is better to avoid this pose.

2) As the asana puts lots of pressure on the abdomen it is strongly advisable for pregnant women not to attempt this asana.

3) Anyone suffering from Peptic Ulcer should not do this posture.

Issued in the interest of people practicing Hatha Yoga by Subodh Gupta, Yoga Expert based in London.

Mr. Subodh Gupta, a Corporate Yoga Trainer has conducted more than 500 workshops on Yoga and Stress Management. He has been interviewed by various TV channels in India and London.

For reaching to Subodh Gupta Yoga website http://www.subodhgupta.com/ and for Subodh Gupta Corporate yoga webpage http://www.subodhgupta.com/corporateyoga.html

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Karmic Yoga--Enlightenment Through Following Your Bliss

By John Gilmore

When you hit bottom what do you do? This is a very important question, especially for those who have. What happens when your life falls apart? What happens when all of your friends and family seem to betray you for something you haven’t done? Or because you have done something right? This happens, and has happened probably since the beginning of time.

Every great human being that we can think of, and I don’t mean actors or sports figures, who have done something to make the world better have been persecuted. Everyone never agrees with a person who stands out and changes things. People like Ghandi, Jesus, Paul Robeson, Mother Jones, and many others were often persecuted by their contemporaries. We then hear about them and their lives and it sounds as if their lives were easy and glamorous. The truth is, however, that their lives weren’t. They were very hard. That is why it is important to learn how most of them dealt with stress and persecution before we decide to live you own lives fully. If we can learn what they did, we too can accomplish great things without having to worry about compromising our deeply held core beliefs. We can deal with the stress.

The first step in following one’s bliss is to find out what our core beliefs are. Our core beliefs are associated with, not necessarily the same as, what gives us our bliss. What gives you your bliss? What is it that you’re doing, or would like to do, that makes you feel alive? All of the great people that I have referred to earlier didn’t buckle or fall under horrendous persecution because they found their bliss and were doing it. There bliss was aligned with their core beliefs about themselves and the way the universe works. I think that it is time for all of us to also find our bliss: one that is aligned with the way that we know the world is in our hearts.

When we work at finding our bliss, and then trying to do whatever it is, we will be like the great people. We will have the strength to make it through the hard times and the lowest, darkest moments, so we can continue to reach for the heights. Firstly, however, if we don’t know what it is that gives us our bliss we have to find it. Secondly, we have to begin to do it.

We have to do what makes us happy, if it is legal, healthy, and contributing something to the world and our community even if we don’t get paid very much, or not at all. Even if we try to perform some kind of art and we are not good at it, we must continue if it is our bliss. We must keep doing it, until we get good at it. When we stop and give up we will convince ourselves that we are not in control of our own lives and we will die on the inside.

If you have found your bliss and you are not doing what makes it real in your life, it’s time for you to start. This is applied theology and spirituality. Sit down, make a plan, prepare yourself to be chastised. Be ready for someone that you love to put you down, or try to turn you away from your goal. As sure as day follows night this discouragement will come just as it came to those people who worked to make the human condition better and got persecuted. Isn’t it strange to think that one can be chastised and discouraged for following one’s bliss by friends and family, until some outsider recognizes the quality of what you are doing, or until you can make some money doing it?

This is a very strange thing. We often get support after we don’t need it. That is why it is important to begin to support your self. Hold on to your dream. Meditate, stretch, do exercises, study, do whatever it is necessary to stay strong so you can persevere. If you want to make some type of contribution to the world, you must be diligent and consistent, doing your work little by little, moving forward step by step carefully and not carelessly, and finding joy in the process, the very act of becoming better and better, instead of in the outcome. If you can do this, you will attain your goals and your dreams. You will not have experiences where you feel that you have lost everything, because you will be aware that there is something inside of you, a loving and powerful spirit, that is connected to everything all around you. In the midst of the darkness the light of the universe will shine forth, and that light will be you, my friend—the awakened human spirit where God and humanity meet.

You will also realize, as you work and are being yourself for the first time, that some people actually like you and your authenticity. These people will be your friends and your family—your true friends and family Until you find them, however, it is necessary for you to keep your stress level down. Bad health comes from too much stress. Do some type of meditation, develop a spiritual life, and stay healthy. If you can do these three things for health maintenance, and you refuse to stop following your bliss even if you think you are failing, you will have overcome the world. You will have succeeded already in life. For the living of one’s life, and contributing in some unique way to the world, is the calling of every human being. As you do what you are called to do and you feel fulfilled in life, you are changing yourself and the world, and living the way we were all meant to live.

Dr. John W. Gilmore is a writer, a spiritual director, a certified healer, a martial arts instructor, and an ordained minister. To read more articles like this visit this ezine or our free Practical Spirituality Journal at http://www.dswellness.com. There you can explore our website in detail and our absolutely free Circle of Creation Spirituality and Stress Reduction 101 at our cyber school.

Newly Published: Reclaiming the Religion of Jesus in a Modern Age: Called to the Sword of Truth, by Dr. John W. Gilmore

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Kids Yoga: A Solution to Global Obesity in Children

By Paul Jerard

Two topics that most people are tired of hearing about are obesity and childhood obesity. The problem is we will not find solutions for these problems if we “bury our heads in the sand.” Kids Yoga is a viable solution to obesity in children, but this requires schools and parents to take action now.

Obesity has crept up on all age groups quickly; children in some countries need to change their lifestyles immediately. If not, there will be serious health repercussions that will shake our health systems and fragile economies.

How did massive numbers of obesity get here? How can less physical activity in children be acceptable? How could Kids Yoga be a solution?

Parents today have less buying power than our parents had. Many children are shifted from school to day care, while both parents are working extra hours to support the family. Many of today’s meals are composed of processed foods -whether they are store-bought, or bought for takeout, from a restaurant.

Physical education has suffered serious cutbacks since the “Cold War” ended. Back in the 1970’s, and before, children ran and played outside more often.

The Yoga lifestyle helps parents and children manage diet in a very busy and stressful world. If you are conscious of it, there are wiser food choices, even from restaurants. When children practice Yoga, they become much more aware of their diet, posture, activities, and daily exercise routine.

Educators, doctors, Yoga teachers, and parents cannot afford to wait until the next study on childhood obesity is completed to take action. Children are bigger than ever, due to inactivity and a high fat / carbohydrate diet. Large numbers of big children will become even bigger adults, who are at risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, various forms of cancer, and much more.

Therefore, educators, doctors, Yoga teachers, and parents must be proactive. Do not expect grant money, government assistance, or any help from “big brother.” Look at the reaction to global warming by the world’s governments and you see how long it takes to get a reaction.

For parents with school-aged children, there has never been a better time for them to attend Yoga classes. Children consider Yoga an extension of other games and exercises they would normally do. Children will naturally jump, roll on the ground, run, and spin around, in the course of playing with their friends.

With proper supervision from a certified Yoga teacher, children learn what they can and cannot do. Kids Yoga classes teach safe Hatha Yoga techniques for flexibility, strength and muscle tone.

If a child is obese, parents should not expect instant miracles with weight loss, and parents would do well to learn the practice of Hatha Yoga. In this way, parents and children will both be aware of proper dieting and a much healthier lifestyle.

© Copyright 2006 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. To receive a Free e-Book: "Yoga in Practice," and a Free Yoga Newsletter, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

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