Yoga for Stress

Yoga has long been known to be a great antidote to stress. Yoga combines many popular stress-reducing techniques, including exercise and learning to control the breath, clear the mind, and relax the body. As yoga becomes increasingly popular, more and more people are discovering the benefits this ancient practice brings to their stressful lives.

Yoga in Pregnancy

When we think of yoga, our minds tend to envision someone dressed in black and sitting in a contorted position. Yoga is much more than this image.

Yoga has been used for centuries to help center a person and relive stress. In many countries yoga for pregnancy is considered the only option. Yoga can be a great way to stay flexible, relive stress and prepare for birth.

By using, stretching and cultivating the muscles for birth, you inherently make birth easier. The muscles are prepared by the yoga to do their job efficiently in labor. Not to mention the glorious relaxation skills that you can bring to your birth after the months of practicing.

Yoga can also alleviate the discomforts caused by pregnancy. There are poses for sciatic pain, round ligament pain, and yes, even morning sickness. Many women begin yoga for a life long activity during pregnancy, finding that returning to yoga is much simpler postpartum than many other fitness activities.

A yoga site for people and their doctors

Yoga is simultaneously: self-diagnosis, healing, prevention, and maintenance. Although it is not a replacement for your doctor, it has been developed and practiced safely and successfully by millions of people who never had doctors, for thousands of years. If you are under a doctor's care already, or are seriously out of shape, then by all means consult with your primary health care provider before beginning yoga practice! That way you can both monitor your progress. And your doctor will learn from you how beneficial yoga really is!

Think of "self-diagnosis" in this context: If you were perfectly healthy, you would be able to do most yoga postures and exercises easily with minimal effort! Therefore as you begin learning the basic stretches, you will immediately discover where your deficiencies are. Do not let yourself be discouraged by this. Your body has adapted itself as perfectly as possible to all of the things you have done (or not done) with it over the course of your entire life up until now. With a modest amount of care and pati
patience, yoga will trigger your body's natural adaptive and rejuvenating powers. If you don't use it you lose it. If you start using it again, you can get most of it back. Some people claim that yoga gave them more vitality than they ever had in their lives. Even those who began later in life. If you are still breathing, it is never too soon, or too late to start!

The Yoga of Alternative Therapy

I believe the best way to properly grasp the concept of alternative therapy is to compare it to modern medicine. Modern medicine shines in its ability to deal with the mechanical and structural aspects of our bodies. Repairing broken legs, stitching wounds, elevating low insulin levels and helping other demonstrable aspects of our physical system are effectively dealt with in hospitals and doctor offices today. Yet the medical fields underlying paradigm of life, is we are nothing but an interaction of chemicals that are orchestrated by our brains. This paradigm places medicine in a tightly closed box that refuses to acknowledge the role of the spirit and the mind as separate from the brain. So far has the pendulum swung today that unproven theories of chemical imbalances as the cause of everything from depression to Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and caused a proliferation of the consumption of medications to “resolve” the unproven causes of these “physical” diseases. As the beginning of the Zoloft commercial reminds us about depression; “while the cause is unknown a chemical imbalance could be the reason.” Could? So could lots of other things!

Yoga: The Path to Enlightenment

Throughout the ages, one of the most compelling aspects of the human race has been its quest for enlightenment. Ever since recorded history the profound questions of, “Who am I?” “Where do I belong in the grand scheme of things?” and, “what is the meaning of life?” has brewed within the depths of our minds. Philosophies, theologies, myths, legends and scientific theories have been created each seeking to answer these inquiries. Complex beliefs and rituals have evolved to satisfy our insatiable hunger to know the Truth. However, despite its noble intention it is this same quest that has also spawned the greatest tragedies of hatred, murder and war. Nevertheless, the failure to find a universal theology to provide a workable solution that brought about enlightenment has not curtailed the undisputed desire to know God, to obtain knowledge of our Divine Beingness and to achieve spiritual freedom.
Despite the vast variety of paths to enlightenment, perhaps Krishnamurti said it best “There’s only one path – the path of the heart”. He commented how finding that path was like walking through a field with a fresh covering of snow. The path is wherever your feet left marks

Yoga and Thyroid Disease

Yoga is an excellent alternative form of healing that is very suited to the needs of thyroid patients. For beginners, yoga's gentle stretching and emphasis on breathing can be done by almost anyone, and reaps immediate rewards in terms of energy, reduction of stress levels, flexibility and reduction of muscle and joint stiffness, and much much more in terms of peace of mind and general harmony.
Yoga can also be of tremendous help as a healing therapy for people with thyroid cancer. I invite you to read yoga instructor and thyroid cancer survivor Teresa Campana's excellent article on Yoga and Cancer, for a wonderful look at yoga and its role in healing and wellness for cancer patients. Teresa will also be on hand to talk more about yoga at the upcoming second annual Thyroid Cancer Survivor's Association (ThyCa) Conference in October of 1999.
I've personally been a practitioner of yoga for several years, and have found that it is an excellent way to tone muscles, eliminate aches and pains, dramatically reduce stress, and help breathing. While I've also tried to do aerobic exercise, I've found that I look forward to yoga -- unlike aerobics! -- and very quickly have very rapid results from practicing even a few times a week. For me, and for many others, yoga is much more than exercise -- it is bringing of mind and body and spirit into balance!

Seated Spinal Rotation

The seated spinal rotation, which is a lot like the Pilates Saw, is a great way to stretch the hamstrings and the back while engaging the core muscles. The ball offers extra support by elevating the body. This takes the pressure off tight hamstrings, allowing you to go deeper into the stretch. The ball also increases instability and requires you to engage your core and stability muscles, making this a great overall exercise for balance and flexibility.

1. Sit on the ball and extend the legs in front of you feet flexed.
2. Sit tall and keep the back straight as you stretch the arms out, leaning forward from the hips and feeling a stretch in the hamstrings.
3. Rotate the torso to the right and reach the left arm out and over the right foot. Keep the back straight rather than rounding over the leg.
4. Rotate back to center and then to the left, reaching right arm out and over the left foot.
5. Continue rotating, concentrating on lengthening the spine as you rotate.
6. Repeat for 5 to 8 reps on each side.