Posts Tagged ‘breathing techniques’

Breathing and Relaxing

You don’t need to fall into the stress mode of life. You can use breath to relax, rather than stress, your mind and body. Yoga helps you to relearn that natural state that your body and mind want to be in relaxation.

Deep breathing is both calming and energizing. The energy you feel from a few minutes of careful breathe is not nervous or hyper, but that calm, steady energy we all need. Slow, steady, and quiet breathing gives a message to your nervous system. Whole books have been written on yoga breathing. Here is one 5-minute Breath Break. (Read through the instructions several times before you try the practice). Read the rest of this entry »

Yoga exercises to reduce high blood pressure

yoga_blood_pressure

Hypertension is the clinical name for “high blood pressure”. There are two effective yoga exercises that helps lower the blood pressure:

1. Inverted Yoga.
Inverted yoga reverses the action of gravity on the body. In inverted poses, legs and abdomen are placed higher than the heart. In inverted poses, gravity causes the blood to flow easily back through the veins and this brings the blood pressure in the feet to a minimum. This in effect gives skeletal muscles a chance to rest. In Inverted poses, drainage of blood and waste from the lower body back to the heart is increased and disorders such as varicose veins and swollen ankles are relieved.

2. Rhythmic Breathing.
It’s time to learn about breathing, because inhaling and exhaling has the power to nourish the body and calm the mind. If you’re like most people, you take shallow breaths, pull in your stomach when you inhale and never empty your lungs of carbon dioxide when you exhale. Here’s the physiological explanation: Long, slow breaths are more efficient than short, fast ones. Read the rest of this entry »

The Principle behind Christian Yoga

Christian yoga is a spiritual practice of Christians most common in Eastern and Western Countries. It is a discipline that one practices to be much closer to God. Taking the path of Christian yoga can lead to healing of the mind and body. But perhaps even more important than that, it can lead to the discovery of what at the moment is only a potential within you. Many of classes in the U.S teach the practice of yoga, the physical discipline that focuses on postures or asana, and employ no religious teaching at all. Other yoga teachers have training in yoga schools.

Practitioners say that Christian yoga fills a need for believers who want the health benefits of yoga but are put off by the practice’s ancient Hindu roots. With this, it brings together the wonderful physical benefits of yoga within their spiritual beliefs. Read the rest of this entry »