Author: Jack Chord

Yoga poses are good for health and there is no debating this fact. But if done wrong they can lead to dangerous consequences and can effect your health in an adverse manner. Ofcourse these side effects of yoga can be avoided but you got to know them first to avoid them. Here are some of them:

Yoga Stretches Lead to Muscle Strains and Ruptures

If your body is not flexible, some yoga poses can adversely harm your muscles and cause heavy pain and internal bleeding. Some yoga poses can even lead to fracture or ruptures of delicate bones. This case is especially true if you have delicate or brittle bones. Ruptures like these can take months to heal and might sometimes even need surgical intervention.

“Heat increases one’s metabolic rate, and by warming you up, it allows you to stretch more,” said Dr. Robert Gotlin, director of orthopedic and sports rehabilitation at the Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan. “But once you stretch a muscle beyond 20 or 25 percent of its resting length, you begin to damage a muscle.”

Yoga can give rise to Gastric Problems

Some yoga poses can even lead to adverse gastric problems in some individuals. Most people complain gastric symptoms to be associated with hatha pranayama techniques. This is especially true if you do not perform all yoga asanas in a particular sequence.Some pranayama techniques can also cause this kind of impact.

You could get the Kundalini Syndrome

Some of the yoga poses are so complex that even experts don’t understand them properly. For instance the kundalini yoga. Yoga poses like these done wrong can have adverse effect on you mentally. This is known as the kundalini syndrome. The possible side effects on kundalini syndrome are pseudo death, psychosis, pseudo psychosis, confusion, anxiety, panic attacks, depression, sadness, suicidal thoughts, urges to self-mutilate, homicidal urges, arrhythmia (irregular heart beat), exacerbation of prior or current mental illness, insomnia, inability to hold a job, inability to talk, inability to drive, sexual pains, temporary blindness, and headaches.

Even if you practice yoga under a instructor, chances are that he or she is not fully aware of the techniques and might give you wrong instructions. Yoga for hypertension gives a comfortable relief from the stress mood. So you need to be super careful if you even consider attempting these advanced yoga forms.

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Author: Nikki Davila

The benefits of yoga are numerous. That is why more and more people would like to get into it. If you are just about to embark on the journey of learning the discipline, you should know more about what yoga can do for you. Here are only some of what you can expect from practising yoga.

* Overall Harmony

It is the ultimate goal of yoga to provide unity and harmony among the body, mind and spirit. In a way, this means you ultimately achieve oneness. This is the most important benefit of all. It is only through harmony that you can prevent one part of yourself from blocking the others. For example, your regular daily life will no longer be bothered by destructive thoughts or physical pain.

* Awareness

Yoga will also help you understand possible causes of physical or psychological discomfort or pain. Practitioners realize at an early stage if there is something amiss with body alignment, posture, body parts and even with one’s emotions. Recognizing troubled spots early can help you correct them earlier.

* A Powerful Stress Reliever

Among the most crucial benefits of yoga is stress management. The meditative techniques in yoga helps a person relax and view life and stress differently. Yoga encourages people to focus and concentrate on the exercise or technique, thereby pushing stress away. Practitioner is also taught how to breathe properly and detach himself from tension.

* An Effective Way to Relieve Pain

Many discover yoga for the first time because they wish to learn how to deal with chronic pain. Yoga is good for both people who have minor physical complaints and those with overpowering chronic conditions. For some, all they may need is muscle and body strengthening which yoga can provide to relieve pain. Others may need more intensive techniques to bring about calmness and natural pain relief. In some cases, chronic pain sufferers may have to be aided into achieving whole new perspectives to reduce their pain sensations.

* Body Strength and Flexibility

Some physical pains and discomfort may be due to problems with the bones, muscles and joints. These parts may lack physical strength and endurance and therefore are limited in the ability to move about. Yoga can remedy the problems in these parts by improving your overall body strength and flexibility. With yoga, you learn to move better and in a wider range. You can also endure certain activities better.

* Physical Healing

For most people who are not ill, yoga can improve physical and mental health by improving the circulation of the blood and the functioning of the organs and body systems. Those who have certain medical conditions however can also benefit from yoga. Those with diabetes, arthritis, weight issues, high blood pressure and asthma can all hope to improve their condition and reduce symptoms through yoga techniques.

The benefits of yoga are truly numerous and encompassing. You owe it to yourself to try it.

Now that you know about the numerous benefits of yoga, you probably feel like to get started. Be sure you also check out our main site for more yoga topics, such as yoga class, yoga teacher, yoga therapy and different types of yoga.

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Now that you know about the numerous benefits of yoga, you probably feel like to get started. Be sure you also check out our main site for more yoga topics, such as yoga class, yoga teacher, yoga therapy and different types of yoga.

Author: Anmol Mehta

Most of us live very busy and hectic lives. If you are married, have children, have a job, you are going to be busy and even if you don’t have all these commitments, you are probably busy nonetheless. Throw in other activities you may be participating in, such as higher education, a fitness routine, other hobbies & interests, sports, blogging etc., and 24 hours starts to seem like awfully little time per day. Unfortunately, what seems to often get sacrificed in keeping up with the rat race is the one thing that should not, your daily spiritual practice. So in this article I will give some handy tips on how you can get more Yoga and Meditation practice into your busy lives by doing some clever multitasking.

Of the many yoga pranayama breathing exercises there are, I think the following 2 stand apart: Breath of Fire Yoga Pranayama & Kapalbhati Yoga Pranayama. These 2 pranayamas have an encyclopedic list of benefits and what’s best about them is that they are both simple to do and easy to incorporate into your daily life, specially when you are driving!

Yes that’s right, driving. Obviously DO NOT do these breathing exercises if it at all affects your driving, but, generally speaking since driving is mostly automatic for most of us, it provides the perfect opportunity for getting in some additional spiritual work.

A car really is pretty conducive for such pranayama practice. You are already sitting up, so just straighten your spine (use a lumbar cushion if you need to), you have music available so put on some inspirational tunes, you have a clock to time yourself and you even have a fan to stay cool. What more can you ask for?

If you have family in the car with you, great, you can all practice together, why not :-). Both Breath of Fire pranayama and Kapalbhati pranayama are breathing exercises that activate energy pathways within you and increase your energy, so there is no risk of them making you sleepy or drowsy. Really, no significant modification is needed to practice either pranayama while driving so take advantage of this time and give it a try.

To practice Breath of Fire, begin to breathe rapidly through the nose putting equal emphasis on the inhalation and the exhalation. Allow the stomach and diaphragm to stay relaxed and simply pulse to the rhythm of the breath. It is important in breath of fire to not force the air in very deep, but instead keep it at the tip of nose and just breathe rapidly.

To practice Kapalbhati pranayama, again keep everything relaxed and simply expel the air forcefully through your nose, then allow the inhalation to take place as a simple passive recoil. As you exhale forcefully, pull your abdominal muscles in towards your spine, and as you inhale just allow them to re-expand naturally.

If there are other pranayama exercises you are doing, they too might be suitable to do while driving. So be creative and see if driving is conducive to incorporating them. So as you are getting to your physical destination continue to make progress towards your spiritual destination as well.

About the Author:
Anmol Mehta is a Yoga Teacher & Zen Expert. See Free Yoga Videos and explore Free Kundalini Yoga Poses & Exercises on his extensive Meditation and Yoga site, Kundalini Yoga.

Author: Sitagita.com

Yoga helps exercise the various parts of the body individually. For example, the abdomen can be made taut with proper breathing and the Uttana Padasana. Here are two simple yogasanas to tighten your abdomen. These asanas can be done either in the morning or in the evening.

Talasana or the Palm-tree Posture Talasana is one of the basic poses in Yoga. This pose looks like a tall tree. It is ideal for improving concentration and helps shape your figure…
http://www.sitagita.com/view.asp?id=7516

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Author: David E. Morgan

Yoga is flourishing now even in the conservative South, with studios popping up everywhere offering enough different yoga classes to make the head spin. That is certainly the case for yoga in Knoxville, TN.

This can be great news if you’ve been practicing yoga for some time and you’re interested in trying out different styles of yoga practice.

If you’re new to yoga in Knoxville, TN, however, so many choices can lead to confusion over where to begin. One false start could end your interest in yoga forever.

Knowing beforehand what you’d like to get out of your yoga class coupled with an idea of what the different yoga styles have to offer will likely lead to a very positive experience of yoga.

Here are concise descriptions of the different styles of yoga in Knoxville currently. To find a specific studio where your preferred styles are offered, simply do a web search on Google or the browser of your choice.

Yoga Knoxville, TN: Styles and descriptions follow.

Ashtanga Yoga: Ashtanga is one of the more athletic forms of yoga, emphasizing movement through a prescribed series of postures.

Hatha yoga: Hatha literally means ‘forceful,’ and on another level it means ‘Sun-Moon,’ meaning the union of opposites. In this country, hatha yoga has unfortunately come to mean generic gentle yoga, which is not at all how hatha was meant to be practiced. There’s nothing wrong with gentle yoga, of course.

Iyengar yoga: Iyengar yoga emphasizes precise alignment of the body while holding postures.

Kripalu Yoga: Kripalu Yoga integrates yoga postures and breathing with meditation, making it as much an inward experience as it is an outward exercise. Classes range from gentle to vigorous.

Kundalini Yoga: Kundalini Yoga is an intense combination of purifying, energetic movements with breathing and chanting to awaken energy centers called chakras.

Restorative Yoga: Restorative yoga is a very gentle practice. Participants hold postures while supported by various props.

Prenatal and Momma-Baby yoga: Yoga can enhance the pregnancy experience, help a healthy birth and keep mom in shape afterwards.

Vinyasa yoga: Vinyasa yoga (also called flow and power yoga) is the movement from one posture to the next connected by the breath. Usually the flow is based on the sun salutation and the pace of movement between poses is fairly fast, but that is not always the case. The classroom is sometimes heated for increased flexibility and body purification.

Yin Yoga: Yin Yoga targets the connective tissue – tendons, ligaments, and cartilage – for increased flexibility. Postures tend to be held for longer periods as a restorative technique.

Every student has an opinion of what the best yoga in Knoxville, TN is because every student is looking to get something slightly different out of the experience. Try out a few different teachers and classes, and you’ll soon have a favorite of your own.

About the Author:
David E. Morgan teaches Yoga in Knoxville, TN. Get a free relaxation recording and a guide to Knoxville yoga and meditation groups by subscribing to his newsletter.

Author: Paul M. Jerard Jr

Although Hatha Yoga is much more than exercise, we can make factual comparisons, to other forms of physical exercise, to understand how this ancient practice manages to have such an enthusiastic following. On the physical level, the practice of Hatha Yoga can help a student develop strength, balance, flexibility, and cardio vascular endurance. In comparison to other forms of exercise, Hatha Yoga encompasses all of their physical benefits and more.

Some people would question the cardio vascular aspect, but they have not practiced Surya Namaskars (Sun Salutations). This is a sequence of postures, which by itself, enhances strength, balance, flexibility, and cardio vascular endurance. Usually, Surya Namaskars contain twelve postures, but there are exceptions, and there are many different sequences.

Some forms of Power, Vinyasa, and Flow Yoga, connect movement in a similar fashion. Anyone who has practiced these forms of Yoga can attest to the aerobic value. Yet, some studies will question this, because Hatha Yoga is not a high impact exercise. All forms of Yogic exercise respect, and safely work, to preserve the joints.

Yet, exercise of moderate intensity, performed over time, is classified as aerobic. To go a bit further, any exercise activity, which requires oxygen to metabolize glucose, in exchange for energy, is aerobic. With that said, no one usually questions the benefits of strength, balance, and flexibility from Yogic exercise, especially if they witness a room full of women over 50, who can balance their body weight on two hands in bakasana (also known as crane or crow pose).

The postures (asanas) are designed to massage internal organs, preserve skeletal health, and tone the muscles. Massaging internal organs is of primary importance to our survival. We can send toxins on their way by keeping the body in motion, and we do not need high impact movement to perform this task. Prevention of disease, and early detection of disease, are benefits of an internal awareness, which comes with Yoga practice.

On the skeletal level, we want to keep our joints intact for as long as possible. The ligaments and tendons are precious, so we work to keep them in good working condition, as well. On top of this, spinal alignment, during posture practice, helps with mobility, when we become seniors.

How many other exercise systems work so completely? This does not take away the value of cross training. By all means, walk, swim, and play your favorite games; but in comparison, Yoga, on the physical level, is the “Great Healer” of all forms of exercise.

Copyright 2008 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

About the Author:
Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center in, Attleboro, MA. He is an author of many books on the subject of Yoga and has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org

Author: Paul M. Jerard Jr

Those who have taken their love for the discipline of yoga, and turned it into a profession, report a remarkably high level of job satisfaction. Whether you want to start your own business, or simply want to teach a few yoga classes per week, quality training is essential.

The number of yoga schools, and courses available, is staggering. It’s often confusing in trying to decide which one is the best. To get started on the road to yoga certification, it helps to understand how yoga instructors are certified.

In order to receive yoga certification, as an instructor, a prospective student completes a minimum of 200 hours of training. The 200 hours are divided between a number of areas. Much of the training focuses on the various techniques, positions, and principles, of yoga.

Several hours are also spent on aspects, such as the philosophy and history of yoga, anatomy and physiology, teaching methods, and ethics. Since different yoga schools often have a slightly different focus, flexibility is allowed - with several hours given to a more intense study of the school’s specialty.

One of the most important components of the training is the practicum aspect. Students must spend several hours observing, and training, in designing lesson plans for actual yoga schools/classes. Upon successful completion of 200 hours of training, the student is granted Certified Yoga Teacher (CYT) status.

Students, who wish to pursue their study of yoga, and yoga teaching, can go on to complete another 300 hours of training. This level of training covers more intensive study of anatomy and physiology, and a deeper look at the different branches of yoga. It also includes a study of the yoga scriptures (such as the Bhagavad Gita). Additionally, it incorporates student teaching and observation of teaching methods in a yoga class setting.

There are myriads of other training courses offered for yoga instructors. However, not all of these courses lead to yoga certification. If you are thinking of taking a course, make sure you understand what your qualifications will be once you’ve completed the course.

Many courses offer a deeper study of a particular aspect, or branch, of yoga, such as Iyengar, Kundalini, Bikram, and others. These are valuable sources of information for those who are considering the path of yoga teacher certification, but desire to focus on one particular discipline.

Finding a yoga teacher training school, with a professional teacher trainer on the staff, is one way to ensure your success as a yoga instructor.

Copyright 2008 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

About the Author:
Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center in, Attleboro, MA. He is an author of many books on the subject of Yoga and has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org

Author: Paul M. Jerard Jr.

Why do most of your students come to your Yoga classes? If you conducted a student survey, you would be surprised at how many arrived to your classes for the same reason. Surveys reveal much about the needs of your students.

Granted, there are a variety of reasons why students attend Yoga training sessions, but many people participate in our classes because they are seeking solutions to stress management.

It has been estimated that 75%, and possibly more, of doctor visits, are stress related. Stress is a major culprit in illness. Worse yet, stress will make a pre-existing illness worse. If you are seriously ill, one of the last things you need is an extra serving of stress, or anxiety, to go with it.

Most Yoga teacher training courses barely scratch the surface, when considering the needs of stressed-out students. More often, attention is paid to the technical aspects of Pranayama (yogic breathing), asana (yogic posturing), student safety, teacher ethics, teaching methodology, anatomy, physiology, philosophy, and much more.

So, how, in the world, could a Yoga instructor be prepared for the needs of the anxiety-riddled masses? It all comes down to the needs of our students and our continuing education efforts.

For example: If most of our students are young, flexible, strong, alpha-type personalities - our student’s needs - will be geared toward physical prowess. In truth, this is fine, because there is a legitimate need for it.

On the other hand, if most of our students are feeling the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual effects of excessive stress and anxiety, there is a need for us to learn much more about effective Yogic stress management solutions for the sake of our students.

Now that you teach Yoga to the public, you clearly realize the need for stress management solutions, on a massive scale. Most Yoga teachers tend to go through life with an inner calm that is sometimes taken for granted.

As a result of conditioning, the Yogic lifestyle is not a stressful one; therefore, you may need to understand much more about what causes anxiety, panic, and worry, within your students. If you are suffering from a panic attack, the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual conditioning of a Yoga teacher, seems like fiction.

Stress is a chemical message to the body from the brain, which is very basic. This “fight or flight” message is very primal, and saved our ancestors lives, throughout the history of humankind. When we perceive a threat, our brain signals the adrenal glands to send, adrenaline and noradrenaline, to our heart, which increases the blood flow to the muscles.

This, in turn, gives instant power to the muscles. At the same time, the breath rate is accelerated to bring more oxygen to vital areas. In terms of survival, the mind and body are programmed to perform an efficient chemical and mechanical reaction to save our lives.

Yet, many people have this same reaction, while commuting to work, on a daily basis. Once one arrives at work, he or she may be subjected to unrealistic deadlines and office politics. This is just one scenario of many possible stressful situations, which may occur in the lives of our students.

Once you have become a Yoga teacher, you have taken a vow to help students in need. The atmosphere in your classes, studio, or ashram, should be tranquil. There is no place for a teacher without compassion. Likewise, the teacher with a personal agenda, about getting his or her best workout during class time, will fall short in helping students who suffer from excessive stress.

The reason why Yoga works for panic, stress, and anxiety control, is not complicated. Most people feel as if they are a victim of outside circumstances, which become triggers for excess stress, such as traffic jams, financial difficulties, raising children, and a variety of daily life situations.

In turn, many people become tense, and irritable, because the body reacts physically to stress. Blood pressure may rise, breathing correctly is difficult, and muscles may tense up due to excessive stress and anxiety.

Yoga works to create solutions for excessive stress, panic, and anxiety, from within. One class, or session, is the exact opposite mind and body experience, when compared to an anxiety attack. Yoga practice makes a tremendous difference in the quality of our student’s lives because students feel empowerment.

You see - tension, anxiety, and worry, are a natural part of daily life, but Yoga allows us to decipher the real from the imaginary. This is in stark contrast to someone who is creating their own form of “Hell on earth.” To be concerned over our children is logical, but creating negative images in our minds, without any sound reasoning, will cause us harm, and there is no real reason for it.

Students should understand that some forms of daily low level stress are unavoidable, and make them stronger because of the experience, but extreme stress can cause panic attacks, heart attacks, or premature death. The rewards of their practice can be felt during, and after, their first lesson. The first part of the solution is a matter of making them aware of it.

Copyright 2008 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

About the Author:
Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center in, Attleboro, MA. He is an author of many books on the subject of Yoga and has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org

Author: Paul M. Jerard Jr

Yoga practice has realistic solutions for stressed-out teenagers. Young people need to take time out for non-competitive and wholesome activities, such as Yoga. When teens have a chance to explore themselves from within, this is time well spent.

There has never been a time when teenagers were subjected to more stress than right now. Reuters Health reported, “One third of US teens say they feel stressed-out on a daily basis.” This was based upon a study of over 8,000 teens, and young adults, at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

For adults who lack compassion, for young people trying to cope in our society, consider this: The leading cause of death in teens and youths, ages 10 to 19 years old, is “teenage suicide.” Stress can place young people at risk. According to the US Department of Justice, “It is estimated that 500,000 teenagers try to kill themselves each year.”

The sources of the reasons for teenage stress, on such a massive scale, is subject to theory, but let’s take a look some of the reasons why so many young adults and teenagers are at risk. Family units are challenged, because many teens live in single parent families.

Parents work so much that “bonding time” is compromised. Peer pressure has always been part of the back drop in finding one’s self as a teenager. Technology also plays a role in pushing teens further than ever before.

Sure they are privileged to have access to so much information, but they also suffer from information overload. On top of this, high expectations are placed on teens for social status, academic performance, athletic performance, performance in the entertainment industry, etc.

So how can Yoga help teens to cope with stress? Regular teen Yoga sessions, or classes, should contain physical posturing (asanas), Yogic breathing (pranayama), laughing, positive affirmations, and learning to create an automatic relaxation response on a daily basis.

Teens must learn to reserve regular “Yoga time” for themselves. Working part-time, studying for SATs, getting a date for a prom, and preparing for college, are part of becoming a young adult, but there needs to be time to constructively “unplug” from all of it.

Yoga delivers mental clarity to all practitioners. Teens can learn to pursue one short-term goal at a time. This will make daily life much more manageable. Teens should learn various Yogic relaxation techniques, such as body scanning, stage-by-stage relaxation, and progressive muscle relaxation.

Physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional health, can be restored by learning to accept oneself, as is. Teens can condition and prepare themselves to realize that they will not be in control of every situation life throws at them. Open discussions with their peers, after a Yoga session, in support groups, teen meetings, after school activities, or a public speaking class, will strengthen teen social skills and character.

Copyright 2008 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

About the Author:
Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center in, Attleboro, MA. He is an author of many books on the subject of Yoga and has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org

Author: Paul M. Jerard Jr

It is important to understand that Yoga manages to lower stress levels - not eliminate them. Stress is a very natural survival process, because manageable stress motivates us to improve our lives. If humankind never felt stress, we might still be very content painting on the walls of caves.

Parents want to take all of the stress from their children’s lives. While this is a noble cause, children also need a little stress to prosper in life. Parents should be responsive, compassionate, and take the time to give constructive guidance, but it should be realized that children become successful when they learn to overcome their challenges.

How would any of us be able to test our personal limitations without stress? If everything was handed to us, without any effort on our part, we would not be self-sufficient. We would be no different from a spoiled child, who receives an allowance for doing nothing.

Therefore, in regard to stress, the goal of Yoga is to reduce it to a manageable level. High levels of stress can cause head, back, and stomach aches, anxiety, trembling, vomiting, panic attacks, fainting, and worse.

Yoga teachers are equipped with many techniques to alleviate stress. Pranayama, mantra, japa, asana, meditation, mudra, proper diet, and relaxation, are useful aspects of the nine traditional branches of Indian Yoga. Coincidentally, all of these Yogic aspects can be refined separately, or in combination with each other, to make life less painful and less stressful.

After Yoga students experience the bliss of being able to reduce their stress levels, at will, they learn to appreciate life’s ups and downs. It is hard for anyone to appreciate a challenge if they are overwhelmed by it.

Some people have reached a state, so full of anxiety, that they have lost touch with reality. Life can be so full of pain, panic, and anxiety, that it seems as if all hope is lost. Immediate solutions are needed - including a consultation with a counselor, family physician, or a therapist.

In this case, the student or client should also learn Yogic stress management techniques as soon as possible. Yoga teachers must teach students to experience a state of tranquility, before discussing the reality of a life with controlled or reduced stress.

If a man is dying of thirst in a hot, dry desert, it is extremely hard to convince him that he will find clean water over the next hill. The proof comes to him when he drinks the water and feels his body cool off. With that said, students must actually experience happiness, tranquility, and bliss, in our Yoga classes, for them to gain the insight of managing their stress levels.

Copyright 2008 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

About the Author:
Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center in, Attleboro, MA. He is an author of many books on the subject of Yoga and has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org