Physiological Benefits of Yoga

Physiological Benefits of Yoga


- Stable autonomic nervous system equilibrium
- Pulse rate decreases
- Respiratory rate decreases
- Blood Pressure decreases (of special significance for hyporeactors)
- Cardiovascular efficiency increases
- Respiratory efficiency increases
- Gastrointestinal function normalizes
- Endocrine function normalizes
- Excretory functions improve
- Musculoskeletal flexibility and joint range of motion increase
- Breath-holding time increases
- Joint range of motion increase
- Grip strength increases
- Eye-hand coordination improves
- Dexterity skills improve
- Reaction time improves
- Posture improves
- Strength and resiliency increase
- Endurance increases
- Energy level increases
- Weight normalizes
- Sleep improves
- Immunity increases
- Pain decreases
- Steadiness improves
- Depth perception improves
- Balance improves
- Integrated functioning of body parts improves


Psychological Benefits of yoga

Somatic and kinesthetic awareness increase
Mood improves and subjective well-being increases
Self-acceptance and self-actualization increase
Social adjustment increases
Anxiety and Depression decrease
Hostility decreases
Concentration improves
Memory improves
Attention improves
Learning efficiency improves
Mood improves
Self-actualization increase
Social skills increases
Well-being increases
Somatic and kinesthetic awareness increase
Self-acceptance increase
Attention improves
Concentration improves
Memory improves
Learning efficiency improves
Symbol coding improves
Depth perception improves
Flicker fusion frequency improves

Religion, Spirituality And Yoga

Religion is the house, spirituality is the living room, Yoga is the prayer and meditation room. The house is beautiful, the living room is meaningful, the prayer and meditation room is fruitful.

When seekers come to the house, they feel a divine vibration. If they are really sincere seekers, they will look for the living room. Otherwise, they will eventually go away from the house. Only sincere seekers feel God’s Presence in the house. It gives them tremendous joy, so they want to see God and speak to Him.

Eye Position during meditation

Focus your attention at the point between the eyebrows. This area, called “the spiritual eye,” is a center of great spiritual energy. Your eyes should be closed and held steady, and looking slightly upwards, as if looking at a point about an arm’s length away and level with the top of your head.

Meditation Tips - Quiet, pleasant, comfortable:

Your space should be quiet, pleasant, and comfortable. While it should be a nice space, it is better to not become rigid about this. A yogi should have some degree of flexibility in what defines comfort, pleasant, and quiet.

Comfort should be reasonable. Pleasant should be simple, and not overly stimulating to the senses.

A meditator knows that it is not sounds which disturb meditation, but our reaction to that sound. So it needs to be reasonably quiet, not absolutely quiet.

Meditation - Choose a time that works for you

The time you choose should be comfortable for you, and should fit in with your daily schedule and the schedule of others.

Ideally, the better times for meditation are early morning or late evening. The ancient teachers of yoga meditation say that the ideal time is about 3:00 or 4:00 am. The times just around sunrise and sunset are also particularly nice for meditation.

Although such times may be theoretically better than other times, they may not be right for you personally if they do not match your schedule, your current predisposition for meditation, or the people with whom you live. The real key to regularity of meditation is to choose a time that works for you.

It is also nice to think of time in the context of activities. For example, in the morning you may find your meditation is best after bathing, but before taking your breakfast. Having it programmed in your mind that this is the sequence in which you do your morning activities and practice will go a long way towards developing a good habit.

On the other hand, there may be something about your household schedule which alters the ideal situation. For example, you may know that it is better to bathe before meditation, but you may find you are too disturbed by the sounds of others in the house after your bathing time. You may decide to sit for meditation first, while others are bathing, and that this is a quieter time for you.

These are only examples–What is important in selecting a time is that you experiment with it, finding out what works just right for you. So-called rules about sitting times are useless if by trying to follow the rules you end up not sitting at all.

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Moksha hot yoga
November 22nd, 2006
Moksha hot yoga is a series of postures practiced in a heated room. The series works to stretch, strengthen and tone the muscles while detoxifying the body and calming the mind.While each of our instructors brings their own unique experience and style to their teaching, all classes follow a basic structure that is fundamental to the Moksha practice…

Savasana or corpse pose is how we begin. Lying flat on the back with the palms turned up and the feet slightly separated, we start a challenging practice in relaxation, allowing our expectations to fall away and be replaced by the potential for pure experience.

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Yoga & Hernia
November 22nd, 2006
Yoga exercises like Sun Salutation, Locust pose, Bow pose and Kapalabhati few to name are not recommended if somebody is diagnosed with hernia. The practitioners need to understand that their ignorance and lack of yoga knowledge may lead them straight into an operation room.


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Jivamukti Yoga
November 10th, 2006
Jivamukti Yoga - Developed in 1986 by Sharon Gannon and David Life, the Jivamukti Yoga method expresses the spiritual and ethical aspects of the practice of yoga that have been disregarded or devalued in contemporary times. It is a vigorous and challenging asana form with an emphasis on scriptural study, Sanskrit chanting, vegetarianism, non-violence, meditation, devotion to God and the role that music and listening play in the practice of yoga. Life and Gannon currently operate a popular yoga studio in New York City.

Steps that help you feel more relaxed, ways to relieve stress

Massage: Close your eyes and use your fingertips to vigorously massage your forehead and the back of your neck. Rub in circles, and rub hard.

Breathing: Increased tension results in rapid, shallow breathing. For better relaxation, inhale slowly, hold your breath, and exhale slowly. Count to eight during each phase.

Abdominal breathing: Lie on the floor with your face up, body relaxed, and eyes closed. Exhale, blowing all the air out of your lungs, and push out your abdomen. Then pull in your abdomen, press down on it with your hand, and inhale deeply. Relax, letting the abdomen return to its normal position. Breathe normally for several minutes; then repeat the cycle.

Relaxation response: Sit comfortably in a quiet place with eyes closed and muscles deeply relaxed. Silently count to yourself with each inhaled and exhaled breath. Concentrate on deep breathing.


Yoga and circulation

The blood stream is the body’s major transport system, carrying red blood cells to ferry oxygen to the tissues and remove carbon dioxide, white cells to fight infections, nutrients, messenger chemicals, and so on. Efficient circulation depends on a healthy heart and on elastic and unobstructed blood vessels, from the major arteries and veins to the tiny capillaries. The inverted poses, benefit the circulatory system. Nauli and Kapalabhati massage the heart, while the alternate increase and decrease in pressure on the heart created by the asana sequence helps to build a stronger heart muscle.

Few Clothing or Yoga wear Tips for Yoga Class.

Yoga wear should allow for a full range of motion without being too loose or too tight. Close fitting clothes made of breathable materials are best. If your clothes are too tight, they will restrict your movements. If they are too baggy, they can get in the way of certain poses. Above all, they should be comfortable

# Clothing should be comfortable and allow for free range of motion. Instead of tight jeans consider leggings, shorts or yoga pants.

# Remove any dangly jewelry and pin up long hair.

# Take out any daily wear contacts so you can close your eyes for the resting poses.

# In keeping with the spirit of yoga, you may wish to wear organic and/or natural fabric apparel. Natural fabrics let the body breathe easier and do not release low grade toxic fumes that can be inhaled and absorbed by the skin.

To help minimize yoga-related injuries

To help minimize yoga-related injuries, the AAOS recommends the following:

If you have any medical conditions or injuries, speak to your doctor before participating in yoga.
Work with a qualified yoga instructor. Ask about his or her experience and credentials.
Warm up thoroughly before a yoga session–cold muscles, tendons and ligaments are vulnerable to injury.
Wear appropriate clothing that allows for proper movement.
Beginners should start slowly and learn the basics first–such as breathing–rather than trying to stretch too far.
If you are unsure of a pose or movement, ask questions.
Know your limits. Do not try positions beyond your experience or comfort level.
Learn what type of yoga you are performing. There are hundreds of different forms of yoga, some more strenuous than others. It is important to learn which type of yoga will best suit your needs.
Keep hydrated by drinking plenty of fluids, especially if participating in Bikram or “hot” yoga.
Listen to your body. If you are experiencing pain or exhaustion while participating in yoga, stop or take a break. If pain persists, speak with a physician.
June 2006

source & courtesy:
http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/fact/thr_report.cfm?Thread_ID=519&topcategory=Injury%20Prevention

Yoga Clothing - Yoga Pants and Shirts

Yoga Pants
Yoga pants are useful not only for practicing Yoga but can also be used for Pilates, martial arts, dance, movement or exercise. Yoga Capri pants are better choice for yoga because they have very comfortable, loose cropped legs. Yoga pants are available in different materials including cotton, fleece, Lycra, CoolMax, Tactel etc.

Yoga Shirts
Like all other Yoga clothes, Yoga shirts should also be light-weight and comfortable to wear. Yoga shirts are made of different materials including cotton, fleece, Lycra and come in different colors. You can choose your color according to your taste.

When To Do The Asanas

asanas  best to do the asanas in the early morning or the earlSpiritualityfore the evening meal. Never exercise on a full stomach. Before exercising, wait at least three hours after eating a main meal, about one hour after eating a light snack such as a piece of fruit and about half an hour after drinking juices. After finishing the asanas, wait about a quarter of an hour before eating.

The best time to do the yoga postures is about one hour after getting up or in the early evening. Wait about 15 minutes before eating. Don’t exercise immediately after getting out of bed, since you’ll be too stiff. Wait at least one hour. It’s not advisable to do the asanas before bed, since their stimulating effect may prevent you from getting to sleep easily.

Don’t take a hot shower or bath immediately after yoga, since this draws blood away from the internal organs and glands to go to the skin. A shower which is just warm is all right, since this is neutral and will not affect the yoga exercises.

Where To Do The Asanas And What To Wear

Make sure you have good ventilation in the room where you exercise. Use a thick rug or about an inch thick firm foam. Don’t do them on the bed since it’s too soft, or on the floor without some padding, since that would be too hard.

Wear loose clothing, since tight clothes will restrict the circulation to some areas of the body. This would defeat one of the purposes of the asanas, that of increasing the circulation to various parts of the body.

Basic technique:
 Slowly, with no strain
 Breathe slowly and deeply with the abdomen only. When inhaling, push out; when exhaling, let it return
 Concentrate on the main organ or gland (with your eyes closed)
 Be regular - aim to do the routine six times a week.

Meaning, Properties & Functions Of Mind

It is very difficult to understand the nature of the mind because it has no physical existence. It is very subtle as well as hidden. But the existence of the mind can’t be denied, as many of our problems physical, mental and psychological are the outcome of our mental condition.
Mind exists in the body but it is distinct from the body and organs.

Mind is also distinct from the spiritual self, ‘the Knower’ as he just observes the mind and its functions. The Knower perceives the external objects through sense organs but with the help of the mind. Perception of any event is not possible without the presence of mind. So in every event of perception there is an external object, an organ of perception (ears, eyes, nose tongue or skin) and there is mind and the ‘Knower’ or ’self’. All these are connected very closely, inseparable but still distinct from each other.

The mind can multiply or divide the strength of the Body. The person can’t work if he is mentally not prepared for the work but a person can work with extra energy if he has mentally decided to work.

The mind has tremendous speed. It can travel from one point to another point at infinite distance within fraction of a second.
The mind interconnects the ‘Self’ with the physical body. The mind controls the physical organs through Brain, Autonomous Nervous System, and Endocrine Gland System.
We can summarise seven functions of the mind as follows.

Consciousness, Thoughts, Emotions, Perceptions, Memory, Intelligence and Judgment.

Meaning, Properties & Functions Of Mind

It is very difficult to understand the nature of the mind because it has no physical existence. It is very subtle as well as hidden. But the existence of the mind can’t be denied, as many of our problems physical, mental and psychological are the outcome of our mental condition.
Mind exists in the body but it is distinct from the body and organs.

Mind is also distinct from the spiritual self, ‘the Knower’ as he just observes the mind and its functions. The Knower perceives the external objects through sense organs but with the help of the mind. Perception of any event is not possible without the presence of mind. So in every event of perception there is an external object, an organ of perception (ears, eyes, nose tongue or skin) and there is mind and the ‘Knower’ or ’self’. All these are connected very closely, inseparable but still distinct from each other.

The mind can multiply or divide the strength of the Body. The person can’t work if he is mentally not prepared for the work but a person can work with extra energy if he has mentally decided to work.

The mind has tremendous speed. It can travel from one point to another point at infinite distance within fraction of a second.
The mind interconnects the ‘Self’ with the physical body. The mind controls the physical organs through Brain, Autonomous Nervous System, and Endocrine Gland System.
We can summarise seven functions of the mind as follows.

Consciousness, Thoughts, Emotions, Perceptions, Memory, Intelligence and Judgment.

The Condition Of Mind


Mind has no physical existence.
Existence of the mind can’t be denied.
The nature of the mind is to move from one point to another continuously.
The mind has tremendous speed.
It is clear from the points that the mind is very unstable. Mind doesn’t remain stable at any particular point or any object. It keeps moving all the time. Mind runs after the objects it likes but runs away from the objects that it dislikes

Spirituality and personal well-being

Spirituality, according to most adherents of the idea, forms an essential part of an individual’s holistic health and well-being.

Due to the broad scope and personal nature of spirituality, however, one can perhaps better understand it by focussing on key concepts that arise when people describe what spirituality means to them. Research by Martsolf and Mickley (1998) highlighted the following areas as worthy of consideration:

Meaning – significance of life; making sense of situations; deriving purpose.
Values – beliefs, standards and ethics that onee cherishes.
Transcendence – experience, awareness, and appreciation of a “transcendent dimension” to life beyond self.
Connecting – increased awareness of a connection with self, others, God/Spirit/Divine, and nature/Nature.
Becoming – an unfolding of life that demands reflection and experience; including a sense of who one is and how one knows.

The New Age Spirituality
The New Age Spirituality movement is very unique. There are many things about this type of spirituality that is very different from other spiritual groups. There is no central organization, holy text, creed, dogma, formal clergy or membership roles.

New Age Spirituality is a group of believers who share similar beliefs and they can add these beliefs to any formal religion they are a part of.

Some of the New Age Spirituality beliefs are as follows:

1. Everything that exists comes from a single source of divine energy. This is called Monism.

2. Panthesim is the belief that all that exists is God and God is all that exists. They believe that God is inside us and in the entire universe.

3. Panenthesim believers state that God is all that exists and God is the whole universe and also transcends the universe.

4. Those who believe in Reincarnation believe that they are reborn after death and live as another person. Reincarnation happens many times.

5. Karma is the belief that the good and bad things we do are kept track of and are added and subtracted continually. When a person dies they are punished or rewarded depending on the tally. They are either reincarnated to a good new life or a painful new life.

6. Many people who follow New Age Spirituality believe that everyone has an aura. An aura is an energy field that radiates from the body. Some say they can read people’s auras and determine their state of mind and their physical and spiritual health.

These are some of the New Age Spirituality beliefs. Others can be found in books and magazines that deal with spirituality. There are also many online sites that have information about spirituality.

Source: https://www.lugubaba.com

Myth and Spirituality
The myth is the words or story. Myths can be secular or religious. They can have divine authority or they can reinforce social taboos. All people have myths, all cultures and civilizations. There are historical myths to explain the origin of the world or the origin of a people. There are myths about heroes and sheroes, about events of significance in a people’s culture.

In summary, myth is the story, ritual is the enactment of the story or the drama. The myth is the word, ritual is the action. Nathaniel Turner took the Christian mythology to another level with his liberation theology and ritual slave revolt. Before and after ole prophet Nat, brothers and sisters enacted the myth/ritual of liberation. And this resistance continues to this day.

Spirituality that does not embrace total liberation from colonialism and neo-colonialism is merely religiosity, thus dysfunctional, whether Christian, Muslim, traditional African or New Age, New Thought.

Religiosity has not and will not lead to the national advancement of North American Africans, rather it keeps us stunted and retarded, instead of guiding us into the upper room of spiritual and political liberation. We shall not realize spiritual maturity until we achieve both.



Spirituality Without Faith

To what extent can secular humanists be spiritual? Can those of us with a more or less naturalistic view of the world, one that doesn’t involve spirits, gods, or ghosts, legitimately seek spiritual experience? There seems a prima facie difficulty here since traditional notions of spirituality often posit a non-physical realm categorically separate from the world described by science. Such dualism is of course the antithesis of naturalism, which understands existence to be of a piece, not split into the natural and supernatural. If for humanists the ultimate constituents of the world don’t include immaterial essences, souls, or spirits, then it might seem that spirituality is off limits.

If you look up the etymology of the word “spiritual,” you’ll find that it derives from the Latin “spiritus,” meaning “wind” or “breath.” Standard dictionary definitions of spiritual contrast it with physical or material, so dualism is more or less built into the ordinary conception of spirituality. But I will argue that just as we can be good without God, we can have spirituality without spirits. Even within the monistic view of the cosmos entailed by a commitment to scientific empiricism, we can avail ourselves of spiritual experience and take an authentically spiritual stance when appreciating our situation as fully physical creatures embedded in a material universe. I hope to show that in its dualism, the traditional notion of spirituality in effect sets up problems of existential alienation and cognitive dissonance that religions have wrestled with, more or less unsuccessfully, for millennia. At a stroke, naturalism cuts these problems off at the root, providing an emotionally satisfying and cognitively unified basis for feeling completely at home in the world.

Many humanists, of course, will not necessarily want to access what I will call the “spiritual response.” Even if I persuade them that there’s nothing conceptually incoherent about a naturalistic spirituality, they might be constitutionally disinclined to indulge in emotions or practices that even temporarily disengage the rational mind set. I won’t argue against such reluctance, since each of us has his or her own tastes in aesthetic experience, and varying “comfort levels” in letting go. But the spiritual response is there for those who wish to experience it. It’s intrinsically rewarding in its own right, and a valuable resource in getting us through tough times.

What would it mean to naturalize spirituality? What precisely would a naturalistic spirituality look like? Before turning to these questions, I want to briefly touch on some basic aspects and functions of spirituality, whatever its type, and then see how traditional spirituality fulfills (or tries to fulfill) these functions. This will set the stage for exploring how naturalism might work as well or better in grounding spiritual experience and in addressing our ultimate concerns

Why should we believe in God ?

Belief in God is an indispensable requisite for every human being. It is a sine qua non. Owing to the force of Avidya or ignorance, pain appears as pleasure. The world is full of miseries, troubles, difficulties and tribulations. The world is a ball of fire. The Antahkarana (mind, intellect, ego and the subconscious mind) charged with Raga (attachment), Dvesha (hatred), anger and jealousy is a blazing furnace. We have to free ourselves from birth, death, old age, disease and grief. This can be done only by faith in God. There is no other way. Money and power cannot give us real happiness. Even if we exercise suzerainty over the whole world, we cannot be free from care, worry, anxiety, fear, disappointment, etc. It is only faith in God and the consequent God-realization through meditation that can give us real, eternal happiness and free us from all kinds of fear and worries which torment us at every moment. Faith in God will force us to think of Him constantly and to meditate on Him and will eventually lead us on to God-realization.

Spirituality and Mental Health

Religious and spiritual beliefs are an important part of how many people deal with life’s joys and hardships. Faith can provide people with a sense of purpose and guidelines for living. When families face tough situations, including health problems, their religious beliefs and practices can help them fight feelings of helplessness, restore meaning and order to life situations, and promote regaining a sense of control. For some families, spirituality can be a powerful and important source of strength.

Medical studies have confirmed that spirituality can have a profound effect on mental states. In a study of men who were hospitalized, nearly half rated religion as helpful in coping with their illness. A second study showed that the more religious patients were, the more quickly they recovered from some disorders. A third study revealed that high levels of hope and optimism, key factors in fighting depression, were found among those who strictly practiced their religion.