Yoga has been gaining immense popularity due to the short-term as well as long-term benefits that it provides.
Today Many Women
are spending their lifes with stress overload, due to their heavy
responsibilities at home and office. This can cause exhaustion,
depression, as well as numerous stress-related physical complaints.
Taking up yoga can help redress the balance, by instead, engaging the
parasympathetic (quietening) nervous system which produces the
‘relaxation response’.
Taking up yoga
provides Fitness and Flexibility to the body and provides solutions to
the Health Disorders and one can achieve an All-Round Development Of a
calm, stress-free mind.
Women can take up
yoga at any age and without being in top physical condition. It is a
relaxing experience, not an exhausting one and carries with it an
overall sense of well being. The psychological benefits of the practice
are as marked as the physical changes.
Yoga Benefits Women In Every Life Stage
The Importance of Yoga
Yoga have been
developed over centuries of research and experience. They have been
found to be extremely effective in Increasing flexibility of the body
which leads to a healthier body. Yoga also helps in losing excessing
flab and weight which is a major problem which women are facing now.
Yoga routines will vary depending on the purpose for which you seek to
do yoga - it may be for better fitness or for specific ailments. Yoga
can be a wonderful antidote to our stressful lives. The deep breathing,
stretching, and relaxation techniques not only help release tension in
the body, but can also quiet a busy mind.
Here are two simple yoga practices which keeps your mind and body relax.
1. ‘Legs up the Wall’ Pose
In this passive
inversion, you can’t help but relax as it nourishes the nervous system
and rejuvenates the circulation. Sit side on to a wall and then flip the
legs up the wall to lie on your back. Shuffle your bottom in as close
as possible to the wall. Have your arms to the side or bent up
overhead. Close your eyes and stay here for anywhere between 2 – 15
minutes. Breathe deeply and slowly.
2.‘Alternate Nostril’ Breath
I’ve coached
corporate groups in this breathing technique, and after just a few
rounds, people appear so much more relaxed and calm. It’s a great,
quick-fix way to centre yourself at any time when you are feeling
anxious – before that job interview, or difficult meeting, for example!
Sit up tall in a
comfortable position on the floor or in a chair. Close your eyes and
take a few deep breaths. Then place the index and middle fingers of
your right hand at the point between the two eyebrows. Close the right
nostril with the thumb and take a slow, gentle breath in through the
left nostril, then close the left nostril with the ring finger and
exhale without force through the right nostril. Inhale again through
the right nostril, and then, closing the right nostril and opening the
left nostril, exhale. That’s one round. Complete 5 – 15 rounds in your
own time. When finished, lower your hand to your lap and breathe
naturally for a few cycles before opening your eyes, and easing back
into your day .
To get the
maximum benefits of yoga one has to combine the practices of yogasanas,
pranayama and meditation.Regular practice of asanas, pranayama and
meditation can help such diverse ailments such as diabetes, blood
pressure, digestive disorders, arthritis, arteriosclerosis, chronic
fatigue, asthma, varicose veins and heart conditions.
According to
medical scientists, yoga therapy is successful because of the balance
created in the nervous and endocrine systems which directly influences
all the other systems and organs of the body. Yoga acts both as a
curative and preventive therapy. The very essence of yoga lies in
attaining mental peace, improved concentration powers, a relaxed state
of living and harmony in relationships.
Yoga and
Diet.Diet also plays a vital role in yoga It is said that our level of
development, mental and spiritual, is reflected in the kind of food we
take.
Some of the Food
to be taken for good health are Fresh fruits,vegetables,whole
grains,wheat and oats. Butter, ghee (clarified butter) and all good
natural plant-based oils like sesame, olive and sunflower. Dairy
products like milk, ghee, yogurt and cottage cheese from dairy animals
who`ve been treated well.Avoid taking meat,junk foods,alcohol,tobacco.
Yoga Meditation
Yogic meditation
is a means of training the being to tune itself to the workings of the
Divine Being. The central principle of such meditation is to
concentrate one`s mental faculties upon the object of quest. But it
requires long hours of practice for the mind to be able to attain such
sustainable levels of concentration and absorption. This discipline,
above everything else, is the essence of yoga meditation.
The success of
yogic meditation depends largely on the sincerity and strength of the
yogi behind it. It is not the duration but the intensity of the aspiring
consciousness, which is more important and ultimately effective.
Fatigue is to be avoided at all costs, since it weakens the power of
concentration and jades the mind.
Yoga meditation
puts the being of the meditating yogi in a condition of increased and
conscious receptivity to the workings of yoga shakti or the power of
yoga. With a deepening of this state of mind there is often a total
withdrawal from the external environment.
Yoga and Woman’s Life Stages
A regular yoga
practice is beneficial in every stage of life. When an individual goes
through changes, such as those associated with pregnancy, menstruation,
or menopause, illness or injury, yoga helps them approach life with
more equanimity. Yoga practitioners with depression, eating disorders,
arthritis, or bone loss find that yoga can contribute to their healing.
Special sequences of poses are available for a wide variety of health
conditions. A yoga practice is healing and preventative of many types
of illness. It can be emotionally balancing and spiritually nourishing.
Yoga can help women on a day-to-day basis by allowing time for inner
focus in a culture that is often hurried and which many women find
stressful.
Pregnancy Yoga
In pregnancy,
yoga helps bring your whole being into balance. Taking time out from a
busy life to process the changes you are experiencing is beneficial.
Yoga can also help you prepare emotionally and mentally for the
anticipated change in your life when you give birth. Emotions are calmed
and quieted with the practice of yoga poses and breathing exercises.
Breathing exercises develop your inner awareness and can help you give
birth by making it easier to consciously relax the body with breath.
Yoga postures help you become more adept at changing positions, which is
useful in the process of labor and childbirth. You will feel more
comfortable in your body which helps you feel better in pregnancy. Aches
and pains of pregnancy can be diminished or alleviated with a yoga
practice. You can work with your bodily changes to learn how to move
ergonomically, freeing your energy with better posture. You can more
easily tap into your instinctual self, which will assist you in the
birth process.
If you have ever
had a miscarriage, do not do yoga during your first trimester. These
early months are the most vulnerable time of pregnancy. Avoid standing
poses, inversions, twists, and backbends at this time. You can do
forward bends, preferably gentle ones over bolsters or pillows. As you
progress to the second trimester, you can vary the poses more. Twists
can be done very gently in the last two trimesters. Shavasana, the
relaxation pose in which you lie on your mat, can be done lying on your
side instead of your back. In the third trimester, modify the yoga
poses as your weight distribution changes. Your center of balance is
different. Don’t put pressure on or compress the belly to keep the baby
safe. The priority in prenatal yoga is not to put stress on the
baby-to-be. Learn to use yoga props to adapt poses so they are easier
for you to perform. Doing poses next to the wall or with a chair works
well, and a prenatal yoga teacher can show you how.
The yoga pose
that is considered the best preparation for childbirth is Baddha
Konasana, or Cobbler’s Pose, and is also called the Bound Angle Pose. It
is a hip opener that also works to open the pelvic area. Sit upright
on your yoga mat or a cushion. Place the soles of your feet together
and bring the heels toward your pelvic area. Your knees will splay out
to the sides. You will feel work in your upper thighs, next to the
groin area. Breathe and relax with the intensity so that you can
release it. If your knees don’t reach the floor, you can place a pillow
under each one. You can sit upright, or you can lean forward with your
chest supported on a bolster or two. A third way to do the pose is
reclining. Try leaning back onto a couple of bolsters with a small
extra pillow for your head. The reclining version helps if you are
getting up to urinate frequently at night. If you do this for 10
minutes or more at bedtime, it can help.
Pregnancy and
ashtanga yoga are an especially good match since this form of yoga
follows a well-defined set of movements to come into and out of poses in
a way that completely absorbs the consciousness while stilling the
thoughts.
Yoga for Menstruation
Women are cyclic
in their nature and physiology. Most sequences of poses for
menstruation include supported forward bends. Forward bends quiet the
brain and are perfect for this time in which one typically feels like
going inward. For health reasons, it is suggested that you avoid doing
inversions during menstruation. Some women also avoid standing poses or
backbends at this time. Having a regular practice with a variety of
yoga poses for the rest of the month is recommended for women, keeping
them healthy, fit and emotionally centered. Yoga helps a woman deal
with heavy or irregular menses and PMS. Special sequences exist for
these and other problems. Depending on why she is having difficulty
becoming pregnant, certain yoga poses may help women become more
fertile.
Overall, a woman
can balance her endocrine system, improve her blood circulation,
develop better posture, become more toned, have better physical
balance, increase her flexibility and strength, and build her immune
system through yoga practice. A lifelong and daily practice will
cultivate the many health benefits and spiritual growth possible with
yoga throughout all stages of life.
Some women have
found that a regular yoga routine will even out their periods and
alleviate the anxiety and depression common at "that time of the month."
Also, by strengthening the abdominal muscles, yoga has been found to
decrease painful cramping.
Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/womens-health-articles/yoga-for-women-1076387.html
