Rounded shoulders and the head forward of shoulders is a fairly common posture. Exaggerate this posture as you read this. How easy is it to breathe? What is the sensation in the back of your neck? Do you feel more or less energetic? Slowly straighten again.

Lengthening the Spine

To learn how to increase height first understand through experience the role of the spinal muscles to hold us erect. This group of 3 sets of muscles run parallel to the vertebral column and are aptly named the erector spinae. Explore the first exercise again. Round shoulders, protrude the chin. Now contract the erector spinae to straighten the spine.

A long flat muscle in the front of the body, the “washboard”, runs from the pubic bone to the bottom of the sternum. It is divided into four. Let’s explore again. While sitting gently contract these muscles. Begin by breathing consciously. Then gently draw the lower abdomen in and up and continue conscious breaths. Relax excess tension. Even more gently draw the solar plexus area in and up, continue breathing consciously.

There is one more muscle to engage. It’s the strap-like muscle located on both sides of the front of the neck from the sternum and clavicle to the skull behind the ear. Draw the chin in not down, and notice the chest lift slightly. Help the ribcage to lift evenly on all four sides. Relax shoulders.

Yoga Exercise

As you enter a yoga pose, lengthen the spine. While holding the pose, lengthen the spine again. Practicing yoga exercises in this way will keep the spine safe and increase your height in and out of the pose. Who would have thought of growing taller with yoga!

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

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>