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A sign of aging is decreased strength in the legs. Have you stopped sitting on the floor because you fear not being able to get back up again? How about challenging yourself to increase leg strength with gentle leg exercises.
Assessment
How are you presently getting up from the floor?
- No use of hands, very steady and with no significant sway in the trunk. Very independent
- No use of hands, with unsteadiness and some sway
- Using one hand on thigh
- Using both hands on thighs
- With one hand on floor
- With both hands on floor
- With the help of a chair or table
- With someone standing by just in case, perhaps giving cues
- With little assistance as you make most effort (75% to 99%)
- More assistance required as you make less than 75% of physical effort
To strengthen the front of the thighs, quadriceps; To increase balance; To increase flexibility of the ankles
Feet - Standing well in Tadasana, breathe deeply in to the chest and abdomen. Begin the exhale by gently drawing the lower abdomen in. Continue for 6 breaths minimum releasing any unnecessary tension. Then shift your weight slowly from side to side, while breathing deep into the abdomen. Shift forward and backwards with the breath as well. Practice with the feet hip width apart and narrow your stance as you increase strength.
Toes - Massage your toes to help them lengthen on the ground when you stand. Practice lifting and spreading them apart while standing. Then try to lift just the big toes; then just the little toes. Feel the muscles in the lower legs workout.
Ankles - While sitting on the floor with arms supporting your body in Dandasana, knees can be bent, point toes forward as you inhale; exhale and flex foot back towards your body. You can curl the toes as you inhale and point, and spread them on the exhale. Continue for 6 breaths. Then rotate the ankles. This can also be done lying with knees bent and one leg in the air. Hold a belt around the ball of the foot.
The Warrior poses modified, Chair and a Balance pose against the wall strengthen thighs. While lying on the floor practice pelvic tilts for flexibility in the spine. Always end your session with relaxation.
Moderate the aging process by keeping the spine flexible, the legs strong and the heart happy.
And now, I’d like to invite you to claim your free download of guided relaxation when you visit http://www.yogatogo.com
Heather Greaves helps those interested in natural healing learn more therapeutic yoga even though their yoga teacher is a book. “To learn more about something, teach it.” Since 2005 this Yoga Therapist and owner of Body Therapies Yoga Training has been training teachers in a certified yoga teacher training program.
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
If you have to wait for the results of a medical test or for an operation, time can drag by. The long days can drag you through life. And life itself can become heavy.
If you wait by focusing only on that one moment in time in the future, you miss out on our life. You basically choose to abandon participating in your life in the present moment. Your whole world becomes the impending results, and your imagination will probably be quite overactive.
Yoga tools are actually quite simple, and can help you live your life with more pleasant moments. You can exercise your right to choose how you will be present with your life in any given moment.
Here are some suggestions on ways to use yoga tools:
Body Awareness – Listen as calmly as you can to the messages of the body by feeling the sensations: tingling, temperature, pressure, discomfort, etc.
Breath Awareness – Focus on the movement of the breath from neck to abdomen. Or listen to the sound of the breath.
Breathing Pattern – Become aware of the pause at the end of the exhalation, and comfortably extend it by a seconds or two.
Self Study – Journal on an experience. Choose a positive or negative experience.
Relationships - Ask a trusted friend to spend some time with you, and share your feelings with honesty.
I hope you capture many peaceful and pleasant moments. Do let me know how you fare.
Heather Greaves, Student of Yoga – heather@yogatogo.com
1. Shallow Chest Breathing
Is your breathing shallow? To check, place one hand on the chest, and the other just above the navel. If the hand on the chest moves more, then shallow breathing is your normal breathing pattern.
Shallow breathing, also called paradoxical breathing, creates tension in the shoulders, neck and thoracic spine and increases heart rate, breathing rate, muscle tension and metabolism.
Yoga Breathing Exercise: To correct chest breathing, practice the following exercise 10 – 20 minutes daily for several weeks until breathing from the diaphragm becomes natural and easy.
• Lie on your back with you knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
• Place a hard cover book or 10-15 lb sandbag on your abdomen around the area of the navel.
• As you inhale through the nose, lift the book. As you exhale through the nose, the book lowers.
2. Rough Breathing
Your breath is jerky. Sit comfortably with the spine lengthened. Notice your incoming and outgoing breath. Is it smooth?
Yoga Breathing Exercise: Place one hand about 4 inches away from your body. Move one finger from navel to chin as you inhale, then back down as you exhale. Practice with awareness of the breath.
3. Mouth Breathing
Mouth breathing exacerbates high blood pressure, asthma, heart disease, dry cough and many other medical problems.
Yoga Breathing Exercise: Sit comfortably for 3-5 minutes and practice breathing through the nose. You can also press one nostril closed with a finger or thumb and breathe slowly through the other nostril. Then change sides.
Yoga breathing exercises must be practiced without force.
