Fitness with Yoga Exercises - Energy Meditation Zeal Rigour Excercise

There is no human being on this planet who does not suffer from some form of anxiety. When things go out of a individual’s control, he or she feels that their world is collapsing around them. It could be something as simple as a lost mobile or being late to work but the physical imbalance that these situations can cause are in the long run harmful and toxic for the system. The simplest way to remove anxiety is by taking one or two deep breaths, but, modern life style has created so many sources of anxiety that sometimes this simple technique may not work. To tackle this problem from all angles we start this series with some simple techniques that relax and cool down your system. While practicing these techniques try to forget the source of your anxiety and simply be with your breath.

Caution: Those with high blood pressure, gynaecological problems, stomach ailments or who’ve had recent surgery, should consult their doctor before doing exercise two. 

 

 

Exercise 1, 1B

 

Exercise 1
• Sit in padmasan
• Roll your tongue as shown
• Slowly inhale to a count of five through the passage made by the tongue
• Exhale through the nostrils to a count of ten
• Repeat 10-15 times. Exercise 1b
(For those who may find exercise two difficult)
• Make a square shape with your lips, showing your teeth
• Slowly inhale to a count of five through your mouth with teeth clenched
• Exhale slowly through your nose
• Repeat 10-15 times. 
 

 

 

 

Exercise 2

Exercise 2
• Sit back on your heels as shown, place your palms on your knees as shown, keep your back straight and close your eyes
• Exhale forcefully and rapidly through the nose in quick succession, pulling the stomach in towards the spine as you exhale. Inhalation will be automatic and passive between every two exhalations
• Practice 50 exhalations at a stretch
• Repeat three times.

 

Exercise 3a, 3b, 3c

Exercise 3
• Stand straight your feet together, your palms joined in front of your chest
• Breathe normally
• Slowly inhale, keep your palms together and slowly bend your back, stretching your arms over your head
• Exhale and bend forward from your hip
• Place your palms on the floor and your head on your knees
• Keep your knees straight
• Slowly inhale, keep your palms together and slowly bend your back, stretching your arms over your head
• Repeat this cycle 10 times.

 

 

Yoga for detoxification – VII
 
According to yoga, there exists an invisible electric circuit in the body, which is made up of 72,000 units (the nadis). The three main nadis are Ida, Pingla and Sushunna, which run along the spine. In order to maintain and keep this electrical circuit problem-free, several techniques are practised that help balance and stabilise our system. It is said that all problems begin somewhere in this electrical circuit. "Nadi Shuddhi Kriya" strengthens the three main nadis, keeping your mind and body healthy enough to resist toxins that attack you all day long.

Exercise 1A, 1B

  
•  Exercise 1
• Sit in padmasana. Close your eyes
• Close one nostril with the thumb
• Inhale slowly with beej mantra "Ra" in your mind
• Exhale through the same nostril
• Repeat 15 - 20 times
• Practice the same by closing the other nostril.

  

Exercise 2

•  Exercise 2
• Sit in padmasana and close your eyes
• Take in a deep breath and feel the air going to the bottom of your spine
• Get fully aware of your spine
• Slowly exhale and relax.

Yoga for detoxification - VI

Meditative techniques
 The ancient yogis always came up with simple but powerful ways to clear the mind and body of impurities. They understood that a clear mind will result in a pure body. Certain kriyas (cleansing technique) target the mind to indirectly purify the body. The practice of Tratak (flame gazing technique) will help you with your concentration and focus and simultaneously rid your mind of negative thoughts which are the biggest cause of toxins in your body. This technique is also meditative as it silences your mind.

Exercise 1

*  EXERCISE 1

•  Place a lighted candle at arm's length on a table in front of you at eye level
•  Make sure there is no draft and the flame is steady
•  Sit in any meditative asana with the back straight
•  Close your eyes and relax the body
•  Then open your eyes and gaze steadily at the tip of the wick
•  Try not to blink or move your eyeballs
•  When the eyes get tired, close them and try to visualise the after-image of the candle flame in your mind
•  After a minute, open your eyes and continue to gaze at the flame
•  Repeat this cycle twice or thrice
•  Practise for a total of two minutes, slowly going up to ten minutes
•  As you finish, close your eyes and watch the dark space in front of your eyes. Be aware of and just watch any thoughts that come up.

Exercise 2

*  EXERCISE 2

•  Sit in Padmasana and close your eyes
•  Relax, close your ears with your thumb
•  Close your eyes with your index fingers
•  Close your nose with your middle fingers
•  Close your mouth by placing your ring fingers above and your little fingers below your mouth
•  Now release the pressure on the nostrils and take a deep breath, close your nostrils and retain the breath inside
•  Now just listen to the sounds you hear within
•  Practise this till you begin to hear more subtle sounds
•  Release slowly and relax.

Yoga for detoxification - V
Cleansing technique for internal organs
 Many parts of the body need to be actively stimulated with sudden movements and sudden changes in pressure. As exercise of the muscles involves an overload which the muscle group has to adapt to, similarly internal organs require changes in pressure in order to be stimulated and perform at their optimum level. Agnisar kriya stimulates your entire digestive system right from your stomach, your small intestine and your large intestine. It also promotes healthy secretion of gastric juices which break down food in your system.

Exercise 1

Exercise 1
•    Exercise 1
• Stand straight with your feet spread apart
• Bend the knees; place the palms on the thighs, fingers facing in as shown
• Exhale deeply through the mouth, hold your breath and move your abdominal muscles in and out as many times (10-50) as possible
• Repeat three times.

Exercise 2

•    Exercise 2
• Lie flat on your stomach, your head to one side
• Bend your arms at the elbow, the palm facing down — level with face, the shoulders relaxed
• Bend one leg at the hip and gently draw the knee up into a comfortable position as shown
• Close your eyes breathe normally and relax the body
• Repeat two to five minutes.

Yoga for detoxification - IV

Cleansing techniques for the abdomen
 
Yoga is the only form of exercise which uses techniques that massage and stimulate your internal organs As your muscles need stretching and contractions to remain healthy, so do your internal organs like your intestines, pancreas, stomach etc. Some form of pressure or movement on your internal organs keeps them fresh and healthy. Nauli Kriya is a technique by which we actually “hold the intestines” with our abdominal muscles and massage them with a circular movement. This helps in the elimination of all the waste in your abdominal cavity which needs to be removed from your system.

 

 

Exercise 1a

 

 

Exercise 1b

 

Exercise 1c

 
 

Exercise 1 (Nauli)

• Stand with your feet apart
• Take a deep breath and exhale through your mouth, emptying your lungs
• Bend your knees slightly. Rest your hands on your thighs
• Contract your abdominal muscles, as shown in the picture (Ex 1a)
• Now contract the muscles to the left and then rotate to the right
• Repeat in the other direction
• Finally contract the muscles in the centre
• Relax the muscles and stand upright and breathe in.

 

 

Exercise 2

  
Exercise 2 (abdominal breathing)

• Sit with the left leg stretched out.
• Bend the right leg and place the foot between the left thigh and the calf muscles
• Bend the left leg and place the left foot underneath the right thigh
• Keep the back straight
• Place the hands on the knees, the palms up, place the tip of the forefinger on the centre of the thumb
• Keep your stomach loose
• Inhale and expand your stomach. Exhale
• Bring complete awareness to the expansion and contraction of the stomach as you breathe.

Yoga for detoxification - III
 Cleansing technique for the lungs
 Our normal breathing is quite shallow and this results in accumulation of dirt in our lungs. Stale air remains in the lungs and the pollution in the air we breathe gets stuck to the inner walls of our lungs. This reduces the over all oxygen levels in the body making you dull and fatigued. Kapalbhati kriya not only purifies your lungs ridding it of carbon dioxide but also increases your lung capacity and directly affects the frontal lobe in your brain.

 

 

Exercise 1

  
•   Exercise 1
• Sit back on your heels as shown, place the palms on the knees as shown, keep the back straight and close your eyes
• Exhale forcefully  and rapidly through the nose in quick succession, pulling the stomach in towards the spine as you exhale. Inhalation will be automatic and passive between every two exhalations
• Practise 50 inhalations at a stretch
• Repeat three times.

 

Exercise 2

•  Exercise 2
• Lie flat on the stomach with the legs wide apart
• Bend one arm and place it under your forehead
• Fold the other arm and place it over the bent arm
• Rest the forehead on folded arms
• Close the eyes relax the body and focus on your breathing
• Do it for two to five minutes
 

Yoga for detoxification - II
 Cleansing Techniques
Yogis put a lot of emphasis on “Saucha” which means cleanliness. They understood that negative thoughts arise from an unclean system. For example, because of your sinus problem you might have a head ache and this makes you irritable. Sinus is a result of excessive mucus in your system and to remove it a powerful technique called “Jal Neti” can be practised to clear your nasal passage and make your breathing smooth and easy. This technique easily relieves your headache as well as migraine.

 

 

Exercise 1

 

•  Exercise 1

• Add one tsp of salt to half a litre of lukewarm water and fill the neti pot
• Stand relaxed with the legs apart, bend forward and tilt your head to one side as shown. Keep breathing deeply, exhaling through the mouth
• Place the nozzle of the neti pot in the nostril that is facing upwards and slowly pour water into it. The water will flow out through the other nostril
• Straighten up, blow your nose gently to remove any mucous
• Repeat with the other nostril
• Now close one nostril, and rapidly exhale 10-15 times through the other
• Repeat with the other side.

 

 

Exercise 2

 

•  Exercise 2

• Sit back on your heels as shown, place the palms on the knees as shown and keep the back straight
• Close one nostril with the thumb
• Exhale forcefully and rapidly through the other nostril in quick succession, pulling the stomach in towards the spine as you exhale. Inhalation will be automatic and passive between every two exhalations
• Practice 30-50 inhalations at a stretch
• Repeat the same technique by closing the other nostril.

Yoga for detoxification - Day One

Cleansing techniques
 
Yoga is the only science which believes in internal cleansing. We have soaps to clean our skin but we carry a tremendous amount of dirt in our bodies. For example, how would we clean the dirt inside our lungs and alimentary canal? The only way to look good is to feel good. That’s why you don’t feel fresh when you are constipated and it shows clearly on your face.

Kunjal Kriya is one such cleansing technique which cleans your whole stomach removing all the dirt and excessive mucus. It will cure you of acidity, indigestion, blotted stomach and gas. After you finish this technique simply lie down and relax.

Caution: Those with peptic or duodenal ulcers should not do exercise one. Those with high blood pressure, gynaecological problems, stomach ailments or who’ve had recent surgery, should consult their doctor before doing these exercises.

 

Exercise 1
 

EXERCISE 1

•  This should be done in the morning on an empty stomach and should be done once a week
•  Add two teaspoons of salt to two litres of lukewarm water and drink at least six glasses at a stretch
•  Make sure your hands and nails are clean. Stand near a sink with your legs apart, back bent forward. Place the index and middle fingers in the mouth and rub the back of the tongue.   This will induce the vomiting process and the water will gush out of your mouth. Ensure that all the water comes out
•  Relax, you can lie down if you want, and practise deep breathing for a while.

Exercise 2

EXERCISE 2

•  Lie on your back on a mat or on a hard mattress
•  Relax and try to concentrate on your breath
•  Breathe in and just be aware of yourself inhaling and exhaling.

Exercises to help you relax

The ancient yogis had a tremendous understanding that focusing your attention on any one aspect like sound, breath or posture works as a meditation, as it eliminates all irrelevant thoughts. Chanting uses our own natural voice to bring your complete attention to the vibration that originates inside you and moves into the air through your vocal chords. This cleanses the mind of all the negativities that accumulate during the day and bring a sense of relaxation and well being to your whole system. Your heart will naturally fall into a better rhythm as stress creates palpitations in the heart beat.

Exercise 1

• Exercise 1

• Sit as in padmasana, with your eyes closed, and your body relaxed
• Inhale. As you exhale, chant 'Om' emphasising the 'M' sound for as long as you can draw the breath out. Listen to the sound vibration of 'Om' in the body as you chant.

• Exercise 2

• Sit as in padmasana, with your eyes closed, and your body relaxed
• Inhale. As you exhale, chant letter 'E' emphasising the 'E' sound for as long as you can draw the breath out. Listen to the sound vibration in the body as you chant

Exercises to balance your system

The human system works on the basis of homeostasis or in simple words, finding a balance after it has been thrown off balance. For example, when you have fever, your temperature is off balance and your body does everything to return to its original state. To strengthen this mechanism, there are several techniques which can improve the body's ability. Today's breathing techniques work on your system to stabilize and balance it. Make sure that when you practice these, your awareness is on your breath and you do not do it in a mechanical way.

Exercise 1

• Close your eyes and inhale deeply as you count to five.
• Hold your breath; press your chin down on jugular notch (mid-point of the 2 collar bones under the chin).
• Raise your chin up 4 fingers above the jugular notch and make a humming sound like a bee from your throat. Slowly exhale as you hum.
• Listen to the sound vibrations as they travel up and spread through the head.
• Repeat three times.

Exercise 2 a

• Sit in padmasana
• Roll your tongue as shown.
• Slowly inhale to a count of 5 through this passage made by the tongue
• Exhale through the nostrils to the count of ten.
• Repeat 10-15 times.

Exercise 2 b

• Make a square shape with your lips, showing your teeth.
• Slowly inhale to a count of five through your mouth with teeth closed.
• Exhale slowly through your nose.
• Repeat 10-15 times