Tip :
"Include regular practice of yoga in your life. "
Here is why:
Yoga is the ancient health art developed over centuries by the wise men and sages of India. It is the most potent of all self improvement health disciplines. If done regularly and properly, yogic exercises ensures a state of physical as well as mental and spiritual well being. That's why it is often considered as a complete health
art Yoga
keeps body muscular, strong, stout, bones flexible, glandular system in perfect order, circulatory and digestive system extremely well,, excretory system in perfect condition and respiratory system without any defect.
Let us see why yoga is important for us in today's time.:
Most of us, the people of an urban civilization:
(1) Involves in mental work for a living.
(2) Do not have a strict daily routine
(3) Do not have the privilege of living in an open, airy and green
surrounding for living.
(4) Have to face immense mental pressure and stress at workplace
as well as at home on almost daily basis.
The above circumstances makes us vulnerable to diseases and nervous breakdown. Since we can't do much to change these
circumstances, the next best thing is to make some modification in our life style so that we can insure ourselves from their negative effects. This can easily be done them by adopting the practice of yoga in our life.
What is Yoga
It is derived from Sanskrit word ''Yog' which means to add. It means to unite the individual spirit with the Universal Spirit or God. Yoga is an art of self mastery. It is a huge and vast subject comprising many school of thought like Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga, Jnana (Gy'aan) Yoga and Hatha Yoga. Instead of going into the details of every Yoga, we will restrict ourselves to Hatha Yoga. It is in the Hatha Yoga that we find many physical and breathing exercises. The practice of asanas or postures is the most significant part of Hatha Yoga.
(You can read about these yogas like Bhakti yoga, Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Raja Yoga etc. in details
at here )
By doing some basic yogic Asana we can keep our body fit and healthy.
Yoga is a vast subject in Indian philosophy and includes many school of thoughts. However, for living a stress free and peaceful life, it is not necessary to delve deeper into various branch of yoga. Most of us can draw wonderful benefits from 'Hatha Yoga' itself.
'Hatha Yoga' is the branch of yoga that deals with various Asanas or postures and breathing exercise. The ultimate aim of 'Hatha Yoga' (or for that matter any other branch of yoga) is to purify the body & mind an prepare it for merging with the universal spirit. (that's why the name 'Yoga' which means 'to add'- the addition of individual spirit with the universal spirit of God.) There are many rules of conducts in Hatha Yoga which includes Ahimsa or harmlessness, Satya or truthfulness, Asteya or non-stealing,
Yoga itself is a full fledge philosophy of life which, if one is willing to follow completely, demands very high personal standards. However, for an ordinary lay person, it is neither necessary nor essential to go into such extremes. All of us can adopt some of the most basic and vital teaching of 'Hatha Yoga' for our benefits without making any drastic change in our present life.
Here I am introducing you to some of the most essential points of 'Hatha Yoga' which you can include in your life.
Three habits of Deep Breathing, Deep Relaxation and Deep Contraction
These three are the most fundamental and important aspect of 'Hatha Yoga' (From now onward I will refer it as Yoga only) . If you don't do anything and juts adopt these 3 habits in your daily routine, you will be amazed by the wonderful effects these almost magical habits have on you.
Deep Breathing: It simple means to breath deeply. From your nostril not from mouth . That's
it.
Breathing is an activity which is indispensable for our existence. Nobody can live without breathing as the oxygen is the life blood of all organisms on earth.
However, most of us breath in a very shallow manner. The inhalation and exhalation of air in and out of body occurs on a very superficial level in most of us. People just don’t care to inhale deeply since they don't find any compulsive urge to do so.
However it should be kept in mind that air
is nourishment to our bodies just as much as food and drink. Air gives
our blood the supply of oxygen it must have in order to feed itself so
that it may, in turn, feed the tissues, nerves, glands and vital organs.
Without it our skin, bones, teeth and hair could not remain in
condition. Our digestion-the process of utilizing the food we eat-fails
at once without a proper supply of oxygen to the blood. Even our
thinking processes are slowed down without
intake and exhalation of fresh air-which is the reason mental
sluggishness overtakes us in an ill-ventilated room
So
it is very important to adopt a habit of deep breathing in your life. It
is all the more important in our modern busy life of complexities and
chaos.
since
we are accustomed to shallow breath initially it is difficult to adopt a
habit of deep breathing. However, slowly through consistence practice we
can easily make it an unconscious continuous habit. Learn how you
can adopt a habit of breathing deeply in an unconscious manner : 
Deep Breathing
Deep Relaxation (Also known a Yog Nidra ): We all use physical and mental energy for our daily activities. The immense pressure at work place and demands of house hold can easily make anybody tired and bereft of any physical or mental energy. In such a situation, the technique of deep relaxation can magically restore our lost energy and make us fit, vibrant and
ticking in no time. I strongly recommend all of you to learn the art of deep relaxation which give us the ability to restore our lost energy by tapping into infinite source of energy. Learn
this highly effective relaxation technique here
Deep Relaxation
Deep Contraction: It means to contract and stretch our body deeply. All the asana / yogic postures are deep contraction exercise of Hatha Yoga. You can do them
easily with a little practice. Learn the art of deep
contraction
here
Deep
Contraction
The above three yogic
aids of Deep Breathing, Deep Relaxation and Deep Contraction are the
basic essence of yoga. You can derive almost all benefits of yoga from
them. They also serve as excellent aids in meditation. Read: Three
aids in meditation
There are also some excellent online resources
for learning yoga that provide you step by step instructions on
various Asana / yogic postures .
Yoga
Journal : An excellent website on Yoga with a great collection of
various yogic poses, all explained graphically in detailed manner. An
extremely informative website for beginners as well as for advanced
users. This is a yoga portal with many links to other useful yoga
resources.
Yoga
Site : A simple and easy instructions guide for yogic Postures.
Though not as detailed and graphically illustrated as in Yoga Journal,
this simple and informative website loads very fast and has an
effective, neatly written instructions material on yoga.
Santosha :
Another excellent resource for yogic postures. A simple and attractive
website with loads of quality material on yoga.
Suggested Reading
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Natural Food & nature cure- The panacea for all ills.
