Yoga poses to ease BACK PAIN

Five Yoga Poses to Ease Back Pain,

By Poras Yoga,

When your back is aching, the last thing you want to do is exercise. But there’s one type of workout that can do wonders: Yoga for back pain. It has enormous benefits when it comes to strengthening back muscles and stretching out knots and tension that causes pain. There are ways to practice and modify poses to ensure that those with injuries or impediments can still experience yoga that supports a healthy spine.

 "The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reported this year that 40 million U.S workers — that’s 26% of working Americans — experience lower back pain.Those in industries that demand greater strain on the back (standing for long periods, carrying or moving loads) and workers ages 45 to 64 report pain at much greater frequency."

Back pain is different for every person who experiences it, so just because people have the wrong pillow or Denise has weak abdominal muscles does not mean these are the sources of your own back pain. The first thing to do if your back pain has been ongoing, or if it prevents you from carrying out daily tasks like walking, carrying, work or leisure, is to see your GP. This ensures that they can give you the all clear to start a gym routine and a yoga practice with any warnings about what to avoid or focus on for optimal strength and health.

These yoga poses to help relieve back pain will do wonders to ease aches-

1. Cat/Cow pose

Balance on your hands and knees while alternately tilting the head and pelvis up so that the back dips. Then tuck the pelvis, drawing your chin towards your chest and round your back towards the roof and into an arch. This moves the back through flexion and extension.

2. Child’s pose

This is a safe, gentle way to stretch the spine into flexion too. Simply rest the torso over the kneeling legs with the head resting on a pillow or the mat. This is a forward folding position that is designed to create comfort and a sense of rest.

3. Cobra pose

A gentle, supported back extension, cobra stretches the abdominals and creates stretch through the upper and mid-back and also through the shoulders. A stronger back is more resilient to aches and pain since the muscles function optimally. Lying on your belly with your legs hip distance apart, place your elbows back by your waist and hands flat by your ribs, slowly lift the chest and head on an inhale while pressing the pelvis into the mat for support.

4. Twists

Twists are great for improving your range of movement and alleviating tension in the mid and lower back, but be careful to move slowly and always stop if you feel any sharp or strong pains. Lying on your back, raise your feet off the mat until your knees are over your hips so that you have a 90-degree angle at the hips and knees. With arms stretched out to your sides, take the knees to one side and release to the ground if you can (otherwise hover them as far as they’ll go) as you try to draw the opposite shoulder to the mat. Hold and breathe, letting gravity assist to deepen the stretch into the back without force. Then change sides.

5. Plank position

 A strong pelvic floor, abdominals and glutes will do wonders for supporting a healthy back, preventing and alleviating pain. Holding Plank pose , whether on your knees or toes, and the high-to-low push-up of chaturanga will build abdominal and leg strength over continued practice. Make sure to work at your own pace. If you can’t maintain head-hip-heels in a straight line yet, do plank on your knees. As important as building strength is, it is just as important to be patient as you build strength and skills.

Yoga Exercise For Relaxation In Less Time

Why simply lifting your legs against the wall for 20 minutes is good for you

This yoga pose is a must-do after a long day at work.

• By: Poras Yoga

Who doesn’t like to relax after a tiring day? But instead of putting your legs on the couch, try lifting them up against the wall — this pose will not only help you relax, but also benefit your body in many other ways. From improving blood circulation to boosting energy and relieving heel pain, the benefits of the pose — called Viparita Karani — are numerous. The exercise helps balance the body and aids in receptivity, which is the polar opposite of activity.

In fact, just 20 minutes of the exercise is considered helpful to calm the nervous system and lower stress and anxiety, if any. When blood circulation increases in the body, it elevates the venous drainage, relieves tension or fatigue from the legs, feet and even the hips.

What’s special about the pose?

It is a simple exercise that doesn’t require much flexibility or strength and can be done by most people unless under medical supervision.

Benefits

— Helps stretch the lower back and hamstrings.

— Is a great way to improve digestion and sleep.

— Helps relieve swollen feet and ankles caused by long periods of standing or sitting.

— Is considered to be a good exercise for relieving menstrual cramps.

How to do the Legs Up the Wall pose

*Lie down on the floor and place your hips closer to the wall.
*Now, lift your legs against the wall; ensure that both legs are pointed vertically facing the ceiling.
*As the legs are kept against the wall, try to consciously relax each part of the body.
*Close your eyes and breathe deeply. Maintain the position for at least 20 minutes.
*To come out of the pose, bend the knees first and push yourself away from the wall.

Who shouldn’t attempt it without medical supervision?

People with glaucoma, hypertension, pregnant women and people with hernia.

So are you all set to try the pose?

                                        (Picture;by sources)

Yoga’s Journey From Magic to ‘Wellness’

Yoga’s Long Journey From Magic to ‘Wellness’

In ancient India, practitioners were more interested in escaping the body than perfecting it.

By Poras Yoga,

In the last few decades, yoga has grown from an esoteric meditation practice into a global wellness industry worth $25 billion. In the U.S. alone, the number of people doing yoga shot from 4 million in 2001 to more than 37 million by 2016. But while today’s yoga has become a highly respectable pastime—synonymous with physical fitness, good health and clean living—its historical roots in ancient and medieval India were decidedly less anodyne.

Yoga is first discussed in the Upanishads, a series of Indian philosophical texts...

                                    (Yogacharya Poras, in picture)

Yoga(योग) - परिभाषा तथा इतिहास

(योग को भलीभांति समझने के लिए पोस्ट को पूरा पढ़े)
By Poras Yoga,

 शरीर, मन व आत्मा को एक साथ जोडना ही योग हैैं।
 शब्द - प्रक्रिया और धारणा - हिन्दू धर्म, जैन धर्म  और बौद्ध धर्म में ध्यान प्रक्रिया से सम्बन्धित है। योग शब्द भारत से बौद्ध धर्म के साथ तिब्बत, चीन, जापान, दक्षिण पूर्व एशिया तथा श्री लंका में भी फैल गया है और इस समय सारे सभ्य जगत‌ में लोग इससे परिचित हैं।

योग शब्द का शाब्दिक अर्थ – मिलना या जुड़ना होता हैं लेकिन अगर इसका व्यवहारिक अर्थ देखे तो यह बहुत विस्तृत विज्ञान रूप है | क्योंकि इसके सभी कर्म और क्रियाएँ मनुष्य को शारीरिक और आत्मिक रूप से पूर्ण योगी बनाती है अथवा यूँ कहे की आत्मा से परमात्मा करना योग में सिद्ध हो सकता है |

परिभाषाएं :- विभिन्न ऋषियों एवम् वेदों/शास्त्रों द्वारा योग की कुछ परिभाषा निम्नलिखित है -

१.पतंजलि योगदर्शन/योगसूत्र के अनुसार,
"योगश्चित्तवृतिनिरोध:" अर्थात चित्त की समस्त वृतियों का निरोध ही योग कहलाता है |”

२.श्री मद भगवदगीता के अनुसार,

"समत्वं योग उच्यते" (2/48) अथार्त सभी पदार्थो में समान भाव रखना ही योग हैं।

"योग: कर्मसु कौशलम्" (2/50) अर्थात कर्मो में कुशलता ही योग हैं।

३.सांख्य दर्शन के अनुसार,

पुरुषप्रकृत्योर्वियोगेपि योगइत्यमिधीयते। 

 अथार्त पुरुष एवम् प्रकृति के पार्थक्य को स्थापित कर पुरुष का स्व स्वरूप में अवस्थित होना ही योग है।

४.विष्णु पुराण के अनुसार -

"योगः संयोग इत्युक्तः जीवात्म परमात्मने" 

अर्थात् जीवात्मा तथा परमात्मा का पूर्णतया मिलन ही योग है।                       

योग का इतिहास -

योग को भारत के स्वर्ण युग (लगभग 26000 साल पहले) की देन माना जाता है। योग शब्द की उत्पत्ति संस्कृत धातु 'युज' से हुई है, जिसका अर्थ व्यक्तिगत चेतना या आत्मा का सार्वभौमिक चेतना या रूह से मिलना होता है। योग को हिंदु धर्म में बहुत महत्वपूर्ण माना जाता है। माना जाता है "योगसूत्र/योगदर्शन"को महर्षि पतंजलि ने 200 ई. पूर्व लिखा था। इस ग्रंथ को अब तक हजारों भाषा में लिखा जा चुका हैं।

योग हिन्दू धर्म के छह दर्शनों में से एक है। योग का ध्यान के साथ संयोजन होता है। योग बौद्ध धर्म में भी ध्यान के लिए अहम माना जाता है। योग का संबंध इस्लाम और ईसाई धर्म के साथ भी होता है।

महर्षि पतंजलि ने द्वितीय और तृतीय पाद में जिस अष्टांग योग साधना का उपदेश दिया है, उसके नाम इस प्रकार हैं-

 1. यम, 

2. नियम,

3. आसन, 

4. प्राणायाम,

 5. प्रत्याहार, 

6. धारणा, 

7. ध्यान और 

8. समाधि।

 उक्त 8 अंगों के अपने-अपने उप अंग भी हैं। 

वर्तमान में योग के 3 ही अंग प्रचलन में हैं- आसन, प्राणायाम और ध्यान।