Approximately 1 out of 4 adults experience low back pain. It is a growing problem. The cause of the pain can be physical, and aggravated by behavior. If you want to address more than the physical cause of the pain, yoga moves offers a holistic approach.

Types of Yoga Moves

In a typical class of say 60 minutes, you could practice 10 yoga postures. Typically a yoga class will have breathing exercises at the beginning or end of the class, and relaxation at the end of the poses. Postures would have to be adapted and modified to suit your ability and pain sensation.

While there is no set prescription of a combination of yoga poses for low back pain, the movement has been proven to work. In 10 poses you could cover a variety of movement: Lying on the back, lying on the stomach, kneeling, standing forward bend, sitting forward bend, back bend, and lateral bend. All postures appropriately arranged.

Quality of Movement

When a beginner to yoga is able to focus on the sensation present, the awareness allows for self-regulation: Softening the knee this moment, re-engaging the lower abdomen and solar plexus area to lengthen the spine, re-engaging the quadriceps and hamstrings.

Repetition a few times with the breath rather than holding the poses is often easier. For example: Exhaling bend and then inhaling extend; or raising and lowering the arms while lying.

To improve strength, over time poses can be held and made increasingly difficult.

While you may experience relief from pain in your first session, the benefits of yoga accumulate. Give yourself at least 6 weeks with the program. Four months is actually just the beginning.

Results

Yoga is a holistic therapy. You’ll experience more calm as well the physical benefits of reduced intensity of the low back pain, increased flexibility and strength. More mobility and even the complete absence of pain is also possible, depending on the cause of the pain. You might even reduce your use of medication. Posture will improve.

Some yoga classes include meditation, even if it is 1 minute of breath awareness at the end of the class when the mind is already significantly more quiet. Regular practice of yoga and meditation increases our ability to observe ourselves and regulate behaviour that would increase pain.

Heather Greaves helps yoga beginners and enthusiasts learn more even though their only teacher is a book. “To learn even more about something, teach it.” Since 2005 this Yoga Therapist and owner of Body Therapies Yoga Training has been training teachers in a Yoga Alliance certified program.

How can we bring yoga and meditation together? What are some of the techniques that work best for beginners to both meditation and yoga? What key elements of meditation techniques can be used in yoga?

The first meditation technique that comes to mind is mindfulness; paying attention to the task at hand. Precisely the problem for the scattered mind. Is this an impossible situation? How can key elements of this meditation technique work in a yoga practice?  With other meditation techniques the power of concentration is essential.

Let’s find simple ways to make the mind less noisy and more quiet, i.e. to make the mind meditative, using mindfulness and concentration  in a yoga asana practice.

Helpful Perception

Beginners practicing a meditation technique that requires concentration, experience frustration as the mind wanders time and again in far away places. Yet this is exactly why you are here in practice. So yes there is the wandering; and “my mind is being trained” is a more helpful perception of what is happening.

Yoga Asana Practice

Bring this awareness that the mind is being trained into your yoga asana practice. That as well as  training the body, there is training for the mind. Training happens through concentration. In fact, in Yoga’s 8 limb program, called Ashtanga in Sanskrit, concentration (Dharana) comes before meditation (Dhyana).

What can we concentrate on and what can we be aware of when practicing poses?

1. The Breath

For example, you are practicing raising and lowering your legs from lying. Synchronize the movement with the breath. In fact go further than this. Let the breath surround the movement. Begin to inhale before you raise the leg and end the movement first, then the inhalation. Begin to exhale and then start lowering the leg. Let the leg come to rest on the floor and then end the exhalation. Keep the breath in your awareness.

2. Keeping Track by Counting

When do you end the leg raising and lowering? Is it based on the number of repetitions or on how you feel? Maybe it is both. In any event, count mentally when your legs come to rest, after you have completed the round. To increase concentration, practice in this way.

3. The Place of Stretch

We want to anchor our yoga practice in the body. Where is the mind? Is it  looking around or judging yourself? Judging is in opposition to meditation. Bring awareness to the place where you feel the stretch. Let the mind be a humble Witness.

These interesting meditation techniques that can be practiced within yoga asana are: (1) a helpful perception that yoga postures train both body and mind; (2)  to concentrate in a variety of ways; (3) to be a witness and avoid the role of the judge.

Heather Greaves helps yoga beginners and enthusiasts learn even more yoga even though their only teacher is a book. They say, To master something, teach it. Since 2005 Heather has been training yoga teachers in a certified program. For more yoga tips and information visit Body Therapies Yoga Training http://www.yogatogo.com

Breathing becomes very shallow for the person with asthma. Sometimes a wheezing or whistling sound can be heard. There might be insomnia.  Medicine is prescribed for this chronic respiratory disease. In addition to medicine complementary therapies can be helpful.

There are 2 common myths surrounding asthma.

Myth 1 – Asthmatics should not exercise.

Asthmatics too will benefit from exercise. With proper medication asthmatics can exercise normally.

Myth 2 – You’ll grow out of it.

This is apparently both true and false. Some children do “out-grow” the disease. Some adults who have asthma did not have it as a child.

As a complementary therapy, Yoga can assist breathing in several ways.

1.Yoga Postures

Positions that expand the chest creating more space for lung expansion include the Camel. If you have never done yoga, you can still practice an easy version of any pose. If you cannot sit on the floor, sit on the edge of a chair with your feet planted firmly on the ground or prop. Extend your arms behind you and hold the back of the chair. Inhale and lift your chest fully, expanding it. Then lean your head backward to a place that’s comfortable for your neck.

Stay for 6 easier breaths.

2. Mudra (Hand Position)

Interlace, no actually curl or curve all the fingers as though to make a fist with thumbs on the outside and turn the back of the left hand toward the chest. Clasp fingers together. This is called Bear Grip in Kundalini Yoga.  Pull the fingers apart with moderate pressure while exhaling and release the pressure slightly when inhaling. Take about 7 breaths. Then repeat this time with the back of the right hand toward the chest. (This is not to be used in asthma crisis.) Please not if you have High Blood Pressure begin this practice slowly.

3. Yoga Restorative techniques

To gently energize, practice restorative postures. These postures lengthen the muscles without much effort on your part. Your body is supported by bolsters and blankets. The mind becomes calmer as you notice the gentle movement of the breath. If you like, create a visualize that supports easy breathing.

4. Yoga Stress Reduction techniques

For emotional health, yoga offers regular relaxation, and a very deep relaxation technique called yoga nidra. Anger and fear and all the shades of these 2 emotions, make breathing shallow. Regular practice of relaxation techniques do even more than calm emotions. It can give us a new perspective so that issues that created stress are seen as challenges.

5. The Experience of Stillness

After a practice of yoga postures, relaxation, breathing techniques and meditation, there is a stillness within; a feeling like you have come home. You have become a friend to your body, emotions and soul.

Heather Greaves helps yoga beginners and enthusiasts learn more yoga even though their only teacher is a book. They say, To learn more about something, teach it. Since 2005 Heather has been training yoga teachers in a certified program. For more yoga tips and information visit Body Therapies Yoga Training http://www.yogatogo.com  <a href=http://www.yogatogo.com>

Yoga is like your toothbrush. This strange thought occurred to me when I was thinking of just how personal yoga is. So I pondered how and came up with 3 reasons why. Here there are:

1. Very Personal

How do you choose your toothbrush. Is it primarily according to the quality of your gum, how sensitive it is and the impact the bristles will have on your gum? Or do you fall for how attractive the handle is, the color, design, or advertising?

Like toothbrushes, there are many types of Yoga to choose from. In the texts of this ancient tradition we’ll find a type of yoga for different personality types. In the type of yoga that is mostly physical, Hatha Yoga, there are again many different styles.

Yoga is so personal that even when you have decided on a type and style of yoga, the way you practice has to be adjusted according to your body type, health, age, lifestyle, and to be balanced it helps to take into account the bigger picture of the season of year.

2. Designed for Cleansing

What are we cleaning when we practice? The body and mind. Cleansing practices include breathing or pranayama. Pranayama can be both powerful and heating like kapalabhati and breath of fire; and gentle like alternate nostril breathing, nadi shodhana. You can even break out in a sweat with certain seemingly gentle breathing practices.

Asana or posture practice is also cleansing. Twisting, flexing, extending, holding, combined with conscious breathing help to flush the system, physically, emotionally and mentally.

3. More Effective When Used Twice Daily

If you can create space to practice yoga twice daily, you will notice quite a difference in your state of mind and body. Practice to bring balance. Energize In the morning to get going. Bring calm and closure at the end of the day.

Practicing 10 minutes a day is more effective than 60 minutes once a week. If your current practice is once weekly and works very well for you, by all means stick to it. And consider how you could include a short daily practice to support your life’s journey even more.

Three questions to know your better:

1.What are my reasons for practicing yoga?

2. How does my body and mind feel after a yoga practice?

3. How do I adjust my practice according to my changing bodily needs?

What are your best things to know about yoga? I’d like to know.

Author

Heather Greaves helps yoga enthusiasts learn more yoga even though their only teacher is a book. “To learn more about something, teach it.” Since 2005 Heather has been training yoga teachers in a certified program. For more beginner tips visit Body Therapies Yoga Training at  http://www.yogatogo.com

Just a few days ago, I witnessed more yoga enthusiasts completing the 200 hour yoga teacher training program to become certified yoga teachers. It is always very humbling to watch the changes that occur to us all as we journey together practising, practising and practising.

Here are the words of one of those recent graduates about her journey:

“In my journey through the IYT teacher training I have:

* learned about the amazing physical health benefits of yoga

* unlocked a door to meditation

* became fascinated with Ayurvedic medicine

* enjoyed experimenting with mudras

* strengthened my knowledge and ability level of asanas

* learned how to really be present

* learned how to structure a yoga class

* have enhanced the ability to laugh through my challenges

* to always do your practice alone even within a large group

I would like to share this knowledge and the feeling of peace that is possible thru the practice of self respect thru yoga.”

This is Judith’s final musings on what it means to be a teacher.

“To be a yoga teacher suggests that it is vital to respect both your learner and yourself equally and to think about how everyone fits into a global vision of health and spiritual integration.  Therefore it is important to incorporate these three key elements into the yoga facilitation and to remember yoga teaches that all personal experiences have value. Harmony. teacher=learner. An ethics of care also surfaces.

We all were nurtured as helpless babies and helping students find inner truth and the unconditioned self from that ethics of care perspective as a yoga teacher can be uplifting. Everyone that comes to learn in the class has a story and I hope to encourage the learners to share their stories and reflect on their worth. This will help them find that special place in the world they live in. I like the words of Michel Marriot who suggests Life’s journey is circular. The years do not carry us away from our forefathers…they return us to them.“