Have you ever seen a stressed cat? They seem to practice yoga almost innately. In our world of double chai lattes and rush hour traffic, work deadlines, eighteen hour days, more than one job and a family, cell phones and the thousand emails to peruse every morning, stress relief is a big issue. Swami Shivapremananda dedicates an entire book to yoga and stress relief. Iyengar students have written books about yoga and stress relief. Corporations are utilizing yoga for stress relief in the office and finding side benefits of decreased absenteeism and higher productivity. How nice it would be to reside so peacefully ambivalent to the entire world's rushing mayhem like a cat stretched out in the sun on a warm summer day. It doesn't have to be just a wish. . .yoga can help you emulate this state of being.There are two main hormones which are released in the body when we are stressed. They are Cortisol and adrenaline. These were important hormones in human evolution as they helped to elevate our energy levels during possibly life-threatening situations. The problem is that these hormones are often released into the body far too often in today's stress-riddled societies. The brain is largely responsible for releasing these stress hormones, as well as good hormones like DHEA which help to elevate our mood and slow the aging process. The hypothalamus is activated through a combination of nerve and hormonal signals every time we have stress-response. This, in turn, sends a message to the adrenal glands just atop the kidneys to release Cortisol and adrenaline.
What is so wrong with these hormones if they once helped to save our lives? Good question. Cortisol alters our immune system responses and suppresses the digestive system, the reproductive system and growth processes. Additionally, more glucose is released into the bloodstream, causing diabetes and other ailments. Put simply, this means we cannot make babies when we want to and we are likely to gain weight. Our nervous system is also affected by the release of these hormones which means over time, after constantly releasing them due to stress, we will begin to feel depressed because they act as depressors on body after the initial boost of energy required to 'fight off lions and tigers' has passed.
Practices such as laughing meditations are also a great boost to the good hormones our brains produce when we are feeling happy. Over time, whenever we feel a joyful mood and peaceful feelings, the receptors in our brains which are responsible for releasing 'happy hormones' act more quickly and efficiently, thereby producing even more 'happy hormones'. It is a cycle of momentum to keep the mood elevated, and yoga helps to get it started. In fact, just the act of practicing certain asanas, often causes laughter to spontaneously erupt from many students. It can be quite humbling, and hilarious to try to find your ankles or bring your forehead the ground when you are extremely tense or inflexible. Just starting to release the body in many poses creates a new reality check. You cannot force your way into a yoga pose. The only way to do them is with a sense of humor and patience. These are both stress-reducing qualities.
Cortisol and adrenaline hormones are just the first physiological markers for stress that were named in association with the practice of yoga. In a recent study conducted by Boston University of Medicine, and Harvard Medical School, practicing yoga was found to raise GABA or gamma amino butyric acid, the primary inhibitor of certain neurotransmitters in the brain. Low GABA levels cause both depression and anxiety, the precursors to many psychological disorders associated with stress. In fact, Harvard has an entire week at its campus to help students and faculty learn to de-stress, and yoga is one of the central components.
Although many physical activities can reduce stress, some of them are better than others. One is yoga. Yoga not only causes the levels of Cortisol and adrenaline being released into the bloodstream to be reduced while practicing yoga, but apparently there are benefits for up to twenty four hours after a single yoga session. Additionally, many other exercises utilize white muscle fibers, or fast-twitch muscle fibers were work by consuming more oxygen. In order to create more oxygen for these muscles to use, the heart rate and respiratory rates have to increase. This causes more strain on the body, and easily leads to burnout of muscle fibers, and sometimes pain or inflammation. Yoga, practiced correctly, utilizes the red muscle fibers, the slow burners, that stretch and can sometimes elongate to more than twice their original size, all while consuming less oxygen, and glucose. Though the muscles are still working, they are doing so in a more efficient manner, causing less stress to the body.
Yoga nidra and meditation are other aspects of yoga which specifically target the stress-system in our bodies. Yoga nidra helps to clear out the chatter of our minds and replace stress-filled, worrying thoughts with more positive intentions. Meditation also focuses the mind and allows worried thought to pass like a current. It is an often used analogy that thoughts pass in the mind as if down a river, but when it comes to stress relief, it is similar to flushing them down the toilet.
Breathing exercises, or pranayama, help to calm the mind and reduce stress also. Just changing the breath from a shallow inhale and exhale, to a deep one, can have tremendous effects on our nervous systems. Have you ever noticed that when you are 'nervous' or worried, your breathing rate becomes much more rapid? If you can consciously practice pranayama, you can control your stress-reactions, and feel more at peace.
Dean Ornish states that "almost all stress relieving techniques derive from yoga." So keep stretching, practicing pranayama, doing meditation, and cleansing the body and you are likely to have much less stress in your life. Practicing Downward Facing Dog, you can be as relaxed as a house cat.
The Importance of Twisting Asana
Every yoga asana has its own set of benefits, but they are by products. The ultimate aim of every pose is to bring the practitioner closer to Samadhi by allowing the body to become strong, release its samskaras, or emotional blocks, and toxins and to eventually be able to sit in a meditative posture long enough to calm the mind completely. That being said, there is no harm in reaping the benefits of the various asanas.
Since there are so many different benefits, we will look at just a few poses from the twisted regimen and discover their specific benefits. Even among just a handful of these types of asanas, the benefits are great.
Let's start by looking at Bharadvajasana, a very easy twisting pose. To do this asana, begin by sitting on the floor with both legs straight out in front of you. Shift over onto your right buttock, bend your knees, and swing your legs to one side. Lay your feet on the floor outside your left hip. You should not be sitting on your feet, but the ankles should just barely be touching the buttocks. Take a deep breath and lengthen the spine. Place your left hand under your right knee and bring your right hand to the floor just beside your right buttock. (You will switch hands on each side dependant upon how your legs are situated, first practice on one side, and then the other) Twist the back shoulder away from the legs, allowing a deep opening in between the shoulder blades. You should feel a stretch in the spine and waist.
By practicing Bharadvajasana, you are stretching the spine shoulders and hips, three places there often neglected in our daily repertoire of movement. You are massaging the abdominal organs, readying them for the digestive process. This pose relieves lower back pain, neck pain and sciatica, relieves stress and is especially good for pregnant women during the second trimester of pregnancy.
The next asana you can practice is Cow Face Pose, or Gomukhasana. Start by sitting in Staff Pose, then bend your left leg underneath you so that your knee is centered just under the navel, then place the other leg on top of that one, stacking the knees. The heels should be equidistant from the hips and the shoulders and hips should be lined up, if possible. The buttocks should be resting easily on the floor. From this posture, stretch your right arm up and over the back of the shoulder as if trying to scratch an itch in the middle of the shoulder blades, and then take the right hand around the back side from underneath trying to grab the fingers. Try to roll the shoulders back and down and keep the neck aligned with the spine while gently tugging at the fingers to stretch the triceps of the upper arm. Take some deep breaths and try to elongate the spine. Hold the pose on this side for approximately one minute, then release by tacking the lower leg out in front of you first, then the upper leg and releasing the arms down to your sides. Then switch the legs so that the one that was on top is now on the bottom, restacking the knees on top of each other. And then take the opposite arm into the air dropping it behind your shoulder and again trying to grab the fingers with the other hand from around the waist and up the back. This asana stretches the ankles, hips and thighs, shoulders, armpits and triceps, as well as the chest. The knees are also made stronger. The hips, which hold much of our stress, get the majority of the stretch in this asana.
Finally, you can practice, Ardha Matsyendrasa, named after the famous Sage Matsyendrasana who use to hold the asana named in his likeness for up to three hours at a time. To begin this asana, sit on the floor in with both legs stretched straight out in front of you as if in preparation for seated forward bend. Bring the left foot over the right placing the foot flat on the floor and aligning the middle of the foot with the right knee. Bring the right leg around underneath you as if to sit Indian style, without sitting on the foot. The heel should just touch the buttocks. The left knee should be pointing directly up to the ceiling. Next, bring your right arm up and around the body, beginning to twist placing the right elbow inside the knee. Use the knee as gentle leverage to twist the body around. The left hand can be placed on the floor behind you for support, and the right hand will lay against the left shoulder, gently pushing the shoulder back into a further twist. The head should then be taken around to look as far over the shoulder as is possible while keeping the spine very straight. Release the pose in exact reverse, beginning with the face and neck, followed by the arms, then the lower leg, then the top leg until you are in seated position with two legs straight in front of you again. Repeat on the opposite side. With every inhale, focus on lengthening the spine and twisting a little more. This asana stimulates the liver and kidneys, starts the digestive enzymes which break down food, eliminates toxins accumulated in the spine, relieves menstrual cramps, lessens fatigue, sciatica and backache, and also helps to cure asthma and infertility. Additionally, Arhda Matsyendrasana increases appetite, destroys most deadly diseases and awakens Kundalini from the Mooladhara chakra.
Just practicing these three simple twisting/sitting postures can greatly enhance your physical and mental well being.
Since there are so many different benefits, we will look at just a few poses from the twisted regimen and discover their specific benefits. Even among just a handful of these types of asanas, the benefits are great.
Let's start by looking at Bharadvajasana, a very easy twisting pose. To do this asana, begin by sitting on the floor with both legs straight out in front of you. Shift over onto your right buttock, bend your knees, and swing your legs to one side. Lay your feet on the floor outside your left hip. You should not be sitting on your feet, but the ankles should just barely be touching the buttocks. Take a deep breath and lengthen the spine. Place your left hand under your right knee and bring your right hand to the floor just beside your right buttock. (You will switch hands on each side dependant upon how your legs are situated, first practice on one side, and then the other) Twist the back shoulder away from the legs, allowing a deep opening in between the shoulder blades. You should feel a stretch in the spine and waist.
By practicing Bharadvajasana, you are stretching the spine shoulders and hips, three places there often neglected in our daily repertoire of movement. You are massaging the abdominal organs, readying them for the digestive process. This pose relieves lower back pain, neck pain and sciatica, relieves stress and is especially good for pregnant women during the second trimester of pregnancy.
The next asana you can practice is Cow Face Pose, or Gomukhasana. Start by sitting in Staff Pose, then bend your left leg underneath you so that your knee is centered just under the navel, then place the other leg on top of that one, stacking the knees. The heels should be equidistant from the hips and the shoulders and hips should be lined up, if possible. The buttocks should be resting easily on the floor. From this posture, stretch your right arm up and over the back of the shoulder as if trying to scratch an itch in the middle of the shoulder blades, and then take the right hand around the back side from underneath trying to grab the fingers. Try to roll the shoulders back and down and keep the neck aligned with the spine while gently tugging at the fingers to stretch the triceps of the upper arm. Take some deep breaths and try to elongate the spine. Hold the pose on this side for approximately one minute, then release by tacking the lower leg out in front of you first, then the upper leg and releasing the arms down to your sides. Then switch the legs so that the one that was on top is now on the bottom, restacking the knees on top of each other. And then take the opposite arm into the air dropping it behind your shoulder and again trying to grab the fingers with the other hand from around the waist and up the back. This asana stretches the ankles, hips and thighs, shoulders, armpits and triceps, as well as the chest. The knees are also made stronger. The hips, which hold much of our stress, get the majority of the stretch in this asana.
Finally, you can practice, Ardha Matsyendrasa, named after the famous Sage Matsyendrasana who use to hold the asana named in his likeness for up to three hours at a time. To begin this asana, sit on the floor in with both legs stretched straight out in front of you as if in preparation for seated forward bend. Bring the left foot over the right placing the foot flat on the floor and aligning the middle of the foot with the right knee. Bring the right leg around underneath you as if to sit Indian style, without sitting on the foot. The heel should just touch the buttocks. The left knee should be pointing directly up to the ceiling. Next, bring your right arm up and around the body, beginning to twist placing the right elbow inside the knee. Use the knee as gentle leverage to twist the body around. The left hand can be placed on the floor behind you for support, and the right hand will lay against the left shoulder, gently pushing the shoulder back into a further twist. The head should then be taken around to look as far over the shoulder as is possible while keeping the spine very straight. Release the pose in exact reverse, beginning with the face and neck, followed by the arms, then the lower leg, then the top leg until you are in seated position with two legs straight in front of you again. Repeat on the opposite side. With every inhale, focus on lengthening the spine and twisting a little more. This asana stimulates the liver and kidneys, starts the digestive enzymes which break down food, eliminates toxins accumulated in the spine, relieves menstrual cramps, lessens fatigue, sciatica and backache, and also helps to cure asthma and infertility. Additionally, Arhda Matsyendrasana increases appetite, destroys most deadly diseases and awakens Kundalini from the Mooladhara chakra.
Just practicing these three simple twisting/sitting postures can greatly enhance your physical and mental well being.
(c) 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 Christina Sarich
Health-ideaas
Diseases conditions wellness information useful to both non-medical and health professionals.
Health-ideaas
Diseases conditions wellness information useful to both non-medical and health professionals.
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