Fitness with Yoga Exercises - Energy Meditation Zeal Rigour Excercise

Exercises to de-stress your body

To de-stress your body, the spine must be made supple. In order to have a strong heart, you need to create a body that does not constantly demand more from the heart than it can supply. Our modern lifestyle puts so much strain on our system that almost every organ is over-worked. Today's posture increases your spine flexibility, massages your internal organs and rejuvenates your whole system.

EXERCISE 1

• Sit with your back straight and your legs stretched out
• Bend one leg and place it such that the heel touches the groin area
• Inhale and raise your arms
• Exhale, and bend forward to grasp the ankle or the foot and bring the forehead down to touch the knee
• Hold the position for 10-30 seconds
• Repeat with the other leg.

Exercise 1

EXERCISE 2

• Stand on your knees, keeping knees a little apart
• Raise your hands, reach back with the right hand and hold the right foot
• Stretch the left arm over the head and bend back
• Hold as long as you’re comfortable, breathing normally
• Slowly return to the starting position
• Repeat the same with the other hand.

1. EXERCISE 3

• Sit with your legs stretched out and back straight
• Bend one leg; place the ankle on the opposite thigh, close to the groin. Bend the other leg and place the ankle on the thigh of the bent leg, close to the groin
• Lean back on the elbows and slowly lower the head and the back to the floor
• Bend the elbows behind the head; place the palms on the floor, with fingers pointing towards the feet. Press down on the palms; raise your head and shoulders to rest on the crown of your head. Hold your toes
• Hold the position for 10-30 seconds
• Release the toes, press down on the elbows and raise the head and shoulders
• Prop yourself up on the elbows, straighten the elbows one at a time and return to the starting position.

Exercise 3

Exercises to improve blood circulation

Asanas or postures were developed by the yogis, to counter the negative effects of day-to-day life. When any negative emotion takes over your system, it literally creates toxins in your body. A posture creates a stretch as well as a pressure on your internal system. This speeds up the recovery process and you are back to your natural state, which is light and easy with no pains or aches anywhere. Today's postures will help you do this.

Exercise 1

• Lie on your back with your arms by your side
• Inhale, and raise your right leg
• Bend your right leg, clasp the right knee with your hands and exhale as you bring the knee to the chest
• Hold this position for 10-30 seconds and breathe normally
• Repeat with the left leg.

Exercise 2

• Lie on your back with arms by your side
• Inhale and raise both your legs
• Bend the knees; clasp them with your hands as shown, exhale as you bring your chin to the knees
• Hold for 10-30 seconds, breathing normally
• Straighten your legs, and slowly come back to the start position.

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

• Lie flat on your back, with arms by your side
• Slowly raise your legs to 90 degree position
• Lift your hips and support them with hands as shown
• Hold for 10-30 seconds
• Breathe normally
• Slowly come back to the start position.

Exercise 3

Exercises to improve blood circulation

When you face a difficult situation or problem, your heart rate goes up. This is because more blood is needed by the body and also because your blood vessels constrict. This puts unnecessary strain on the heart, over-working it and reducing its overall efficiency. Basic stretches are most effective in bringing your heart rate back to normal and improving your blood circulation.

Exercise 1

 Exercise 1

• Sit down bringing your heels together near the groin
• Interlock your hands and pull the feet inward, as shown
• Now gently move the knees down to the ground
• Repeat the cycle 10–15 times
• Breathe normally.

Exercise 2

• Sit down bringing your heels together near the groin
• Place your palms on the knee as shown
• Now gently move forward pushing your knees down
• Repeat the movement 10–15 times

Exercise 2

Exercises for warming up

The two most important factors due to which a heart weakens are lack of cardiovascular exercise and high levels of stress. Before we move to exercises we must release our stress with the following movements. It is important to bring the body to a relaxed and balanced state before it moves into any form of intensive exercise.

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

• Sit with your legs stretched out and back straight
• Bend one leg; place the ankle on the opposite thigh, close to groin
• Hold the toe for support with one hand and use the other to hold the knee and pull it towards the chest
• Repeat with the other leg.

Exercise 2

Postures to supply blood to the heart

Your brain is the centre of all logical activities but it is your heart that decides the direction of your life. Modern research is calling the heart the second brain and some are even saying that the heart is the real brain. Apart from serving a physical function of supplying blood to your whole body, it is also a decision maker in the most important choices of life. We start this series with the simplest exercises that everyone can do and we will gradually move to those which are more difficult.

• Exercise 1

• Sit straight with your legs stretched out. Keep the feet together
• Bring full awareness to all the muscles around the foot and ankle, relaxing the area
• Stretch the feet outwards and hold for few seconds
• Now stretch the feet inwards, hold it for few seconds
• Repeat the same movement for 10 to 15 times.

(L to R) Ex 2a, 2b, 2c

• Exercise 2

• Sit straight with your legs stretched out
• Bend left knee and rest the heel over the thigh of the right leg
• Hold the knee with left hand so that it is upright
• With the right hand stretch the foot down wards, upwards and side ways, feeling the stretch on the ankle
• Repeat the same with the other leg.

(L to R) Ex 2a, 2b, 2c

• Exercise 3

• Sit back on your heels
• Place palms on the knees
• Keep back straight, close your eyes
• Breathe slowly and gently, relaxing your self.

Exercise 3

Postures to relax the mind

Sleep is not necessarily relaxation as man dreams, or continues to remain restless during the night. Rest is needed not only by the body but the mind as it works continuously without our control. You cannot stop worrying about a problem even though you know that agonising will not solve it. One way to rest our mind and body is the practice of Yoga Nidra, where a man 'sleeps' and at the same time remains aware that he is sleeping.

Exercise 1

• Exercise 1

• Lie on your back on a mat or a hard mattress
• Concentrate on your breath. Breathe deeply from the abdomen and be aware of yourself inhaling and exhaling
• There are sixteen vital points in your body which can relax you totally, if you concentrate on them. Start concentrating on the forehead, move progressively to the nostrils, lips, chin, neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, fingertips, chest, abdomen, thighs, knees, calves, ankles and toes. Repeat this cycle twice or thrice
• Now imagine your limbs are detached from your body. Only the head, chest and abdominal area exist now. As you breathe in, feel the air entering your spine and cleansing it
• Concentrate on the different vital nerve plexus or nerve junctions called chakras’. Breathe in and out 5-10 times while concentrating on each point
• Start with the root plexus or mooladhara in the space between your anus and your genitals
• Move to the solar plexus or swadhisthan, four fingers above the navel
• Then to the midpoint of the chest, anahat
• Move to the throat, to visudhi
• Move to the point between the eyebrows, ajna
• Finally move to the crown, the suryachakra
• Imagine your limbs are once again attached to your body. Be aware of your whole body as one unit for about two minutes
• Slowly open your eyes, stretch and get up.

Postures to remove stress

When a man becomes unstable emotionally, it affects every aspect of his physical body—the posture, the breath, the organs, the heart rate and the joints. By improving any of these we give a positive effect to the others. If you relax your joints, your breathing will stabilise. And if you stabilise your breathing, your joints will relax. Today's breathing exercises, if done sincerely, will remove stress and pain from your neck region.

Exercise 1

• Keep your eyes closed, and your body relaxed. Gently insert your thumbs in your ears and place the fingers on the head as shown

• Inhale deeply, exhale slowly through your mouth making a humming sound like a bee

• Listen to the sound vibrations as they travel through the body

• Repeat three times.

Exercise 2

Exercise 2

• Sit in padmasan, with your palms resting on the knees, back straight, body relaxed, eyes closed

• Inhale very slowly and deeply as the abdomen expands fully

• Now start to expand the ribs and the chest, lifting it up and out. Feel the air enter and expand your lower lungs

• Keep inhaling slowly and now feel the air enter and expand your upper lungs, so that your shoulders and collar bone rise slightly

• Slowly and gradually exhale, relaxing the shoulders and collar bone, and the upper chest.