Mar
13
It’s no wonder our eyes get tired, from the moment we wake until the time our heads hit the pillow, our eyes don’t stop working for us. Reading, working all day on a computer, and bright day light all take their toll. Your eyes take a lot of strain, and can ache, water and at times even develop a constant twitch!
If you are experiencing any of the symptoms of tired eyes, try this little remedy.
Either sitting comfortably with the legs crossed and the spine straight, or lying down:
- close your eyes
- hold your hands up in front of your face, fingers pointing up and palms towards you
- now place each palm over each eye so the eye sockets are covered (careful not to squeeze the nose, breathing is important!)
- if possible, the eye lid should gently touch the middle of the palm (make sure its just a light touch, no pressure at all on the eye)
- Sit for 5 minutes or longer if you can. The shoulders may start to hurt after a while, just gently move them around to relieve them.
The theory behind this is that the eyes radiate a thin, strong stream of energy outward. The palms redirect that energy back into the eyes, so refreshing!
Start observing the sensation around the eyes. You will start noticing some heat building up. As the heat builds up, the muscles around the eye sockets will start to relax. As they relax, tension will start releasing – nice huh?
Another beautiful benefit is that the energy is also directed back at the heart chakra, opening up the heart. So don’t be surprised if you move through the rest of your day with feelings of compassion towards every one you come across, and they will no doubt reflect those amazing feelings back towards you!
Enjoy
Feb
15
I often get people asking about how one should go about becoming a yoga teacher. Many people fall in love with yoga and decide that they want to quit their day job and teach yoga. Often these people have only been practicing for a short time and don’t really have the essence of yoga within them. My response to them is that they should need to spend more time practicing, incorporating a yoga lifestyle into their daily life. It is helpful to find a teacher who can show you the path.
Once the person feels that they have enough experience to teach, it is important to find a quality teacher training program. There are hundreds all over the world. The first question is if you can immerse yourself in a full time program, or would a part-time course be more suitable? Also it is important to decide how long the course is. Most yoga training are either 200, 350, or 500 hour courses. To become certified in Australia, one needs to do a 350 hour course. This is probably the minimum for someone series about teaching yoga. Then one needs to make the commitment, as it is a huge undertaking to become a yoga teacher.
Once you have completed the training, it is important to find someone who you can become an apprentice to. Someone who will teach the important aspects of yoga teaching and guide you and give you confidence. The last important ingredient is Karma, without Karma pointing you in the right direction, you will never be able to succeed as a yoga teacher.
Jan
08
a2zyoga is here to help people find out more about living a yogic lifestyle. This includes more than just the Yoga postures and meditation. It involves how we live our life: The decisions we make in everyday life, whether in our personal decisions or event the thoughts we choose. By growing in our understanding of what yoga is and how it applies to all aspects of life. We can overcome past karmas and become who we really are!
Nov
28
The risks of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) and Insulin Resistance Syndrome (IRS) go hand in hand. Current studies suggest that the more belly fat you carry, the more likely you are to succumb to one or both killer diseases. Couple that with our high stress, low downtime lifestyles, and most of us are ticking time bombs waiting to happen. But a recent review of scientific literature spanning over 30 years of research suggests that yoga may contain part of the solution to reducing this epidemic. At present 37% of all deaths are attributed to cardiovascular disease, so anything that shows promise of reversing that trend should be welcomed.
The Statistics
The statistics are startling and damming. As the Western world becomes more industrialized, the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other illnesses surrounding sedentary life and poor diet increase. Salt intake, junk food and low impact, low motion lifestyles coupled with stressful situations in family, life and work, all lead to increased risk factors and create a myriad of health problems such as high blood pressure, increased weight and time off sick due to illness, injury and general malaise.
A big issue for many people however is Insulin Resistance Syndrome – a disorder that makes you more likely to be diagnosed with cardiovascular disease and/or diabetes in the future, which is why current research is focusing tightly on prevention and cure.
IRS and CVD are eminently preventable, with lifestyle choices and exercise, but for various reasons many people struggle with exercise. They either find the high impact, ‘traditional’ aerobic exercise, such as running, classes or weight training too physically exerting and struggle with them, sometimes causing themselves greater injury, or experience minor injury that discourages them at the start of their routine. Coupled with the fact that many people with weight problems are also shown to suffer from self image and lack of confidence, and the problems with them taking up any kind of sport becomes one of both practicality and mental health.
Where does Yoga fit into the puzzle?
An overview of 70 studies between 1970 and 2004, conducted by Dr Innes, suggests that Yoga has a list of benefits that support its use in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and IRS. The result of these studies was astounding.
Of all the reviewed studies, 51 showed the greatest promise. They measured areas such as lipid profiles, weight lost, body composition, blood pressure, free radical production, and markers of cardiovagal functions. These studies also gave insight into insulin resistance and mental health.
42 studies suggested that Yoga had a positive effect on the vagal nerve, which controls the heart and breathing, and that respiratory function was improved. This may also have allowed for the reported increase in antioxidants, reducing free radical volume in the test subjects. This long term health benefit may also feed into the other results.
37 studies into blood pressure indicated that those undertaking Raja yoga and its coupled meditation (the ‘classic’ yoga), exhibited more than a 75% drop. This over 3/4s drop in their blood pressure was in their diastolic measure, indicating a better, stronger operation of the circulatory system and heart. This drop alone would indicate a major benefit for those with cardiovascular problems in the first place, as decreased pressure may mean they would see a reduction in other blood pressure based problems such as headaches.
These studies, spanning over 34 years, suggest that the average weight loss because of yoga practice was between 1.5 and 13.6% of initially body weight. Specifically, 18 clinical trials demonstrated that there was a marked improvement in body weight and body composition – The clinical trials, which took place in six countries, suggest that the weight loss benefit of yoga should not be ignored.
Lipid profiles were examined in 14 studies and the news was good there too. LDL cholesterol, associated with hypertension and CVD, dropped between 13 and 26%, which is a marked improvement. Additionally, an increase in good cholesterol was charted. This shows that yoga affects how the body metabolizes and stores fat and possibly makes us use the food we eat more efficiently. The overall reduction in cholesterol is specifically good news for those with high levels and facing coronary disease warnings, as yoga is easy for anyone to start, and has few barriers to learning.
Insulin resistance (where the body fails to use glucose in the blood for energy, causing diabetes) was examined in 13 studies. It was concluded that the markers of insulin resistance were improved significantly. In all but one of the eight studies, whether they lasted just over a month or up to 12 months, it was suggested that improvements were reported in type 2 diabetes. In health adults, fasting glucose levels were improved. A specific random control trial of diabetic adults in the UK showed a decline in fasting glucose and glycohemoglobin, a form of hemoglobin increased in diabetics. This is an especially positive finding as IRS causes serious health problems.
The evidence that Yoga is a solid form of both exercise and preventative support is mounting daily. Yoga is easy to get into and creates these favorable health conditions, alongside a reduction in stress response, which in turn leads to greater feelings of wellbeing, positivity and possibly healthy eating. Since there are no barriers to learning, and very few contraindications, yoga should be considered in anyone’s regimen for combating the issues caused by lifestyle, health and genetic choices.
These factors may or may not be changeable, but the message that these studies send is that Yoga, in any form, can create a solid base to start combating the factors that could contribute to severe illness and can support those people who may or may not otherwise manage to exercise in a healthy and traditional manner. As yoga increases in popularity, we can only hope that the benefits will become more and more apparent and that more people will discover their risk factors for these and other illnesses dropping. Until that happens, there is no reason that you couldn’t take up yoga to combat your own risks. There are no apparent side effects and even a few of the benefits shown in this trial could have a marked impact on your weight, which in turn will impact on your health, your wellness and your confidence.
Nov
11
The Breath is vital for human life and powers all the functions of the body. It has an effect on each and every cell in the body. We as humans breath over 16 times per minute and over 20,000 per day. Through the breath all the cells of the body gain oxygen, which fuels the respiration of the cells burning glucose and creating energy. The breath is linked intimately to every process of the body.
Most people are not aware of the way they breath and breath incorrectly, only using a small percentage of their lung capacity, depriving the body and organs with vital life force that they could be gaining. By breathing in a rhythmic deep way, we are able to have a tremendous effect on ourselves, benefiting the physical, emotional and spiritual bodies. We can calm and relax all aspects of the self. Yogis call this process of controlling and extending the breath Pranayama. Pran means ‘life force’ in Sanscrit and ‘ayama’ means to control or extend. The meaning of Pranayama is to extend and control the life force or qi.
Pranayama develops consistent breathing patterns which transforms the body and allows it to fully relax the body and mind. It reprograms the sub conscious mind and creates a link between what is normally fully unconscious with the conscious mind. Through the consistent practice of pranayama, energy trapped in the body can be harnessed to fully allow the individual to function on many levels.
One can immediately experience the benefits of the practice of pranayama by sitting quietly in a comfortable position. Then slowing the breath down and breathing deeply into the lungs. Doing this for about 5 minutes will have a profound effect.
Oct
25
Yoga can be used very successfully to treat Back Pain. There are many yoga asanas that you can use to Treat Back Pain. A simple posture you can do is to:
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and into your chest
- Place the left ankle on the right knee and thread both arms through your legs.
- Draw the right knee towards the body and hold there for 15 seconds while you breath deeply.
- Switch sides and repeat.
This yoga sequence is very effective to treat lower back pain as well as Sciatica.
Oct
17
We all need to get away from our busy lives on occasion! One great way is to go on retreat! People have been going on yoga retreats for age. One can use the time for deep transformation on both a physical and a spiritual level. Just the act of planning a yoga retreat can help to get someone out of the usual daily problems with life. Often, when does not know where to look for good yoga retreats. A great place to find yoga workshops is on the Australian Yoga Website. This is a great resource for all sorts of people and one can search for yoga according to style or location as well as by date. Have a look!
