Wednesday, August 5, 2009

I'm a yoga buff














I'm a yoga buff. I've beeen doing yoga for more than 20 years now. It has been helping me to cope with stress at work and from everyday life. For me, the best time to do yoga is after I get home from work. After I freshen up and change into something comfortable, I sit on my yoga mat and do the lotus sitting position. I start my session with breathing exercise first raising my diaphragm (Uddiyana-Bandha) as high as I can. This helps stimulate and cleanse my lungs, and also beneficial to digestive organs. Then I do some stretching and asanas positions. My long time favorites are Bhujangasana, or the cobra posture which deliciously stretches my back after sitting in front of the computer all day long. This also helps the blood circulation, regenerates the spinal nerves, the sympathetic nervous system, and remedies insomnia. It combats flatulence and digestive problems, and in the case of women, ensures a healthy uterus and ovaries, and corrects irregular menstruation. Dhanurasana or the bow posture helps my hips to relax after wearing those high heel shoes at work. It also helps exercise the spinal column, the abdominal muscles and the articulation of the hips. It produces a tonic effect on the pelvic region and the digestive organs. It also helps regenerate the male prostate gland, and the endocrine glands and genital organs of both sexes. For my finale, I do the Sarvangasana or the shoulder-stand. It relaxes all my legs, hips and tummy muscles. The benefits of this position are: it remedies seminal weakness in men, and gives benefical effect on the ovaries and uterus in women. It is also recommended for those suffering from ptosis or downward displacement of the womb. It is also the asana par excellence for counteracting the faulty functioning of the thyroid and parathyroid glands. My only regret is I can't do Sirshasana or the head-stand position. I've been wanting to do this, but I find it a little dangerous to practice this alone. I might injure my neck. There are actually variations of yoga exercises from the simple ones to advance. If you are thinking of starting yoga, please consult your physician first, or a professional yoga teacher. After doing yoga, I sleep like a baby and wake up in the morning feeling joyful. I'm adding some visuals here so you may have an idea what these positions look like.

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