PRANAYAMA (Alternate Breathing)

The fourth step is Pranayama. Pranayama is a conscious prolongation of inhalation, retention and exhalation. The aim of pranayama is to inspire, infuse, control, regulate and balance the prana shakti (vital energy) in the body. It is essential for the purification of the mind. Pranayama is controlling the normal breathing cycle. The lungs need to be kept clean and free from bacterial diseases by an efficient circulation of blood and lymph. Pranayama increases digestion, vitality, vigour, perception and memory. The most suitable time for Pranayama is the morning hours before the dawn when the atmosphere is clean and peaceful, free from dust and full of pure air. Inhalation is an active expansion of the chest by which the lungs are filled with fresh air. Exhalation is normal and passive recoil of the elastic chest wall. There are about 50 types of Pranayama. No.1-Nadisodhana Pranayama:- The term Nadisodhana means the purification of the nerves. Sit in any comfortable posture, (Padmasana, or Sukhasana) keeping the body erect but without any stiffness. Close your left nostril with your thumb and fill in the breath through the right nostril. After full inhalation, close the right nostril and exhale slowly and steadily through the left nostril. When the lungs feel completely empty, hold the breath for a few seconds and slowly inhale through the same (left) nostril. When the lungs are full block the left nostril completely, then lift the thump from the right nostril and exhale slowly repeat the process for ten to fifteen minutes. Relax.

ASANA

The third step is Asana (posture). The literal meaning of ‘asana’ is seat. Yoga is neither an exercise nor a gymnastic competition. Asanas bring health, strength, beauty, firmness, lightness, clarity of speech and expression, calmness of the nerves and a happy disposition. The daily Asanas are a must for keeping the body fit and pure, purification of veins and nerves and promotion of general health of body. It not only effects the way your body starts functioning but also the way people perceive your confidence levels by just observing your body language. The asanas are two types, 1). Meditation, 2).To gain physical health. Yogasanas are very effective in throwing out all our body wastes and in activating our glands, on the proper functioning of which depends our health and happiness. The body is made up of seven constituent elements. They are chyle, blood, bones, flesh, fat, marrow and semen. These keep the body immune from infection and diseases. The subtle or vital energy called wind prompts breathing, movement, action, excretion, and procreation. By achieving equanimity through asanas and pranayama (control of bio-energy) we control our senses as well as our breathing, which is capable of lengthening life-span.

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THE EIGHT-FOLD PATH OF YOGA

The first two steps are the Yama and the Niyama eight fold process to attain the purification of body,mind and soul as well as to achieve union with the supreme being. I-YAMA (Self-restraint) these are five in numbers. 1. Non-violence (Ahimsa) 2. Truthfulness (Satya) 3. Non stealing (Asteya) 4. Self control 5. Non greed (Aparigraha) a) Non-violence : love the entire creation, not to cause injury to any living being through thought,words or deeds. b) Truthfulness: What one sees with one's own eyes, hears with one's own ears and understands through one's own brain. c) Non-stealing : Not to steal anything and not to be greedy of others wealth or possessions. d) Self-control : To keep one's sense organs, including the organs of procreation, under control and not to be tempted by the lustful enjoyments through thought, words and deeds. e) Non-greed : It means non-covetousness. II- NIYAMA (Healthy observances) Niyama also five. 1. PURITY. 2. CONTENTMENT. 3. FORTITUDE. 4. SELF-STUDY. 5. SURRENDER TO THE WILL OF GOD. a). PURITY: It implies purity, internal and external. The purity of mind. The body can be kept clean and pure. Mind's purity is achieved through giving up of attachment, jealously so that man's thinking becomes pure and clean. b). CONTENTMENT : One should be content with what ever is acquired while doing one's duty truthfully or whatever is received through the grace of God. c). FORTITUDE : It means keeping the mind detached and under control and bear pleasure and pain, heat and cold, hunger and thirst with equanimity. d). SELF STUDY : It is the study of spiritual books to gain real knowledge and spending one's time in the company of good people and sages and exchanging ideas with them. e). SURRENDER TO THE WILL OF GOD : Worship of God chanting of his name, hearing about him and thinking of him as all pervasive, omnipresent and omniscient.

Relaxation

Relaxation Man is not only living being made of bones, flesh and blood. His unfilled desires, his joys of success, his sorrows and memories of all types remain buried in depths of his mind and it is they which contribute mostly towards the formation of his nature. Mind, it is active all the time with movements as swift as they are uncontrollable. The fleeting movement of the mind dissipates its energy. One who falls prey to the mischievous designs of mind can never stick to one’s decisions, because if one gives in once, one is lost forever. To effectively combat stress, we need to activate the body’s natural relaxation response. You can do this by practicing relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, rhythmic exercise, and yoga. Most stress experts recommend setting aside at least 10 to 15 minutes a day for your relaxation practice. If you’d like to get even more stress relief, aim for 30 minutes to an hour. A simple meditative posture is Padmasana or sukhasana (peaceful Pose), Sit in cross legged position. Maintain an erect spine and gently draw in the abdomen. In the beginning there may be some discomfort due to the friction of the mat on the floor or the strain of keeping the body erect. Breathe in through your nose. The hand on your stomach should rise. The hand on your chest should move very little. Exhale through your mouth, pushing out as much air as you can while contracting your abdominal muscles. The hand on your stomach should move in as you exhale, but your other hand should move very little. Continue to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Try to inhale enough so that your lower abdomen rises and falls. Count slowly as you exhale. With regular practice, relaxation gives you an intimate familiarity with what tension—as well as complete relaxation—feels like in different parts of the body.

Yoga protects against disease. HOW?

Yoga protects against disease. HOW? Yoga helps in achieving a higher state of consciousness on the evolutionary scale of individual development. It is the discipline of the body and mind. In other words the practice of Yoga postulates keeping the body healthy and the mind calm and peaceful, and sharp intellect, youthful looks, abundant energy, emotional maturity, composure, compassion and spiritual awareness. A health person is an individual whose thoughts and actions can find their equivalent in higher values. Yoga deals with the root cause of the problem. All problems originate from a state of imbalance between our physical, mental and spiritual levels. The Yogi trusts the five elements that constitute the external universe which are air (oxygen), water, fire, earth and either. The yoga practices of hygiene are based on utilizing these elements and relying on them. Yoga insists on organizing our behavior in the external world. When you achieve yoga, you find pure consciousness inaction and good health, resistance power, etc. when the heart works normally through the circulation of blood, it gets the blood purified by the lungs and keeps the digestive system in order, the various glands function and maintain the balance of body; and the mind works calmly and keeps the body functioning through the intricate nervous system. Yoga is a great dynamo of power which you have to tab to become a master of yourself and the world. The greatest power and energy is with you, not without you. The Yogasanas keep our brain and the whole nervous system active and functional. Lungs, Kidneys, skin, liver, spleen and many other glands help in the process of the purification of blood. The researchers analyzed, and they concluded that yoga may reduce insulin resistance syndrome-related cardiovascular (e.g. blood pressure, abnormal lipids, glucose intolerance) disease. Yoga may improve clinical outcomes and may be a useful adjunct in the management of cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance. So, there you go. Yoga may be helpful. If you have or are at risk for insulin resistance and you practice yoga, great. Keep on doing it…but, also be sure you have regular check-ups, “know your numbers” (blood pressure, glucose and lipid levels), eat right and maintain a weight that keeps you healthy.

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