Surfan said:

ravindradixit said:

Modern life styles are most exacting because of long schedules and  sedentary nature of work. Add to this environmental pollution, junk food, late nights and wrong priorities, the body and mind are heavily taxed and crying for relief, but we fail to listen. Yoga is all about focus. Yoga asanas are body postures which we assume and retain for certain periods of time. No excessive force is used. After practicing an asana for a few days the joints and muscles slowly but surely become more supple and what appeared difficult becomes easy. Postures target specific glands say the spleen, thyroid or the pituitary. The health of our bodies is governed by the secretion of these glands. When we assume a certain posture, the functioning of the particular glandbeing addressed by that posture, is regulated and toned up. Any fault in the functioning is corrected by continued practice of the asana. Thus asanas have a protective and therapeutic action. Then asanas are retained for particular periods of time, say a one to ten minutes, during this period one focuses the mind on the part of the body being addressed, the breathing is regulated and in due course the practice of asanas leads to relaxation of mind and body. As the whole body systems aretoned up, a person is relieved of problems, that one had been suffering from for years. Say someone has chronic spondylitis, acidity or sinus problem, with practice of yoga such irritants are slowly but surely removed. With the removal of such problems one gains in peace of mind and composure.

Do intimate me your schedule and we could discuss specific postures.

Ravi

Thanks, R! Don't know what exactly you mean by my schedule. Be assured that I have time I can carve out of my schedule to accomplish this, and am willing to do so…I think what I have in mind now is a lengthening, a stretching of the entire frame, since my current job seems intent on foreshortening all. I am becoming compacted, for lack of a better term, I guess…

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I understand, by schedule I had meant your exercise schedule. 30 minutes of yoga followed by body weight exercises is fine. In fact a large number of yogic postures are body weight exercises. Say the Boat pose in which the legs and chest are lifted with the body resting on the butt is a strenuous body weight exercise. Similarly the locust, handstand, elbow stand, then dand asana which is nothing but doing a push up and then remaining in the half completed push-up position with the elbows bent is body weight. Thus quite a few yogic postures are resistance exercises against the body weight. Then the Surya Namaskar or Saluting the Sun God is a dynamic body weight exercise.  There are people who only do the Surya Namaskar for say 45' to an hour and by the time they are done, they have worked up a huge sweat.

I do not see any contradiction in incorporating body weight exercises with yoga. I have continued with chin-ups and dips for strengthening the upper body and have aerobic sessions three to four times a week. Please do pay attention to a few things:

• Whenever the body contracts or recoils, say touching the toes, breathe out. When the body opens up breathe in, while retaining a posture, say in head-stand or shoulder-stand breathe normally. In certain postures say the locust pose retain the breath inside the lungs. Breathing norms are given alongwith the write-ups about the postures.
• Large parts of the lungs do not recieve fresh air, and stale air remains in some parts especially the lower parts of the lungs, this faulty breathing pattern is true for almost everyone. It can be easily corrected by diaphragmatic breathing, while breathing in first breathe into the stomach, then the chest upto the shoulder bone or clavical. Try practicing this, it will be good.
• Yoga asanas should be done on an empty stomach. The food remains in the stomach for four hours, try and give a gap of four hours from the last meal. Beat is if yoga asanas are done prior to breakfast or three to four hours after lunch.
• Wear something loose and light which does not constrict body movements.
• Yoga should be done where there is a free flow of air, if it is very cold, do keep some fresh air inlet.
• Whatever time we give to ourselves, this time should be our own with minimal disturbance.

Do form a group of like minded people, this group helps us in being regular and also correcting us when we go wrong. Greenfitness is the right place to be in.

Ravi