Astanga Vinyasa Yoga

Astanga, or sometimes spelled ashtanga Yoga is actually taught today by a man named Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, in Mysore, India. He has brought astanga yoga to the west about 25 years ago and still teaches today at 91 years of age. Astanga yoga began with the rediscovery of the ancient manuscript Yoga Korunta. It describes a unique system of Hatha yoga as practiced and created by the ancient sage Vamana Rishi. It is believed to be the original asana practiced intended by Patanjali.

The Yoga Korunta emphasizes vinyasa, or breath-synchronized movement, where one practices a posture with specific breathing patterns associated with it. This breathing technique is called ujayyi pranayama, or the victorious breath, and it is a process that produces intense internal heat and a profuse sweat that purifies and detoxifies the muscles and organs. This also releases beneficial hormones and nutrients, and is usually massaged back into the body. The breath ensures efficient circulation of blood. The result is improved circulation, a light and strong body and a calm mind.

There is a proper sequence to follow when practicing Astanga yoga. One must graduate from one sequence of postures to move onto the next. The Primary Series (Yoga Chikitsa) detoxifies and aligns the body, purifying it so that toxins do not block. The Intermediate Series (Nadi Shodhana) purifies the nervous system by opening and clearing the energy channels, allowing energy to pass through easily. The Advanced Series A, B, C, and D (Sthira Bhaga) integrate the grace and stamina of the practice, which calls for intense flexibility.

It is best to find a trained and knowledgeable teacher to assist you through this discipline. It is an intense practice that is rigorous, six days a week. You are guaranteed to find inner peace and fulfillment with each breath you take.

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Generally as yoga is a form of relaxation and meditation it is very rare to find that yoga classes have background music playing.

But having no other distractions it is a lot easier to focus on your poses and stretching and to become more relaxed as you release the stress that many people appear to build up during the course of the working week.

Music in itself can cause stress particularly as the levels of sound increase and performing yoga exercises during a quiet time will only facilitate the reduction of your stress levels.

Having said that many people find that soothing music playing quietly in the background can assist them in becoming more relaxed and help them to forget about other things that are going on in their life.

Some people do find that it is easier for them to expel thoughts from their mind that can have a negative effect on their stress levels simply by having light background music playing.

You really need to do what suits you best and this is a lot easier if you are performing your Yoga exercises in your own home where you get to choose whether or not you prefer to have music playing.

It is unlikely you will need to be concerned about music if you are going to Yoga classes.

Certain types of music can bring about a relaxed state of mind and in particular some of the chanting that various races use in their music.

If you find this works for you then by all means use anything you can to help you unwind, release stress and improve your state of mind.

There are various different trains of thought regarding the use of music with Yoga and people on opposite sides of the fence have very strong opinions on what is best. The simple fact of the matter is that what is best for you is what you should do because it is all about making positive steps towards improving your life and if music does that then so be it.

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Many people are concerned that they will get injured performing yoga exercises. For those people who have never done any stretching in their life and are relatively inflexible it can be a concern because it is quite possible that they have already had many injuries due to their lack of flexibility.

The reality is that someone in that state will benefit more than ever from doing yoga.
They will however need to be very careful initially because, unless they are under the supervision of a trained yoga instructor it is possible to cause injury from over extending in the yoga poses.

Fortunately yoga can cater for all needs and all that is required is a little more care in the beginning to give the body time to adjust to what should be its natural state.

By taking your time and doing the poses slowly and not pushing the limits too far the progress should be reasonably rapid.

With the expert knowledge of a yoga instructor or by following a good yoga video or DVD you will make sure you have your posture correct when performing the exercises and reduce the chance of injury.

A usual series of yoga poses and exercises will assist the body in becoming more balanced and this in itself will reduce the chance of injury.

Also - yoga not only helps with flexibility but it also increases strength in the body and this will help to reduce injury too.

If you are using yoga specifically to address some problem that is already present then you might need to do specific exercises to assist in the recovery process and also you will find that many yoga poses can help to strengthen and stretch complimentary areas of the body that will help the injured area of the body to repair faster.

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One of the many benefits of yoga is the fact that it helps to improve your circulation and due to that there are many other aspects of your body health that will improve.

With improved circulation it can help to ward off illness and also help in the recovery of sickness and the repair of injury.

The state of your circulation system has a very important role to play in your overall state of health as it affects all areas of the body so anything that you can do to improve your circulation will have beneficial results on all areas of your body.

The exercises performed in yoga are particularly good at improving your circulation and most people will find that their levels of energy will increase quite considerably if they do yoga on a regular basis.

Yoga also helps to release toxins that are in your system and this is another process that will be helped by improved circulation.

When these toxins are released and eliminated from your system they can affect so many other areas of your health from your ability to lose weight to improvements in your lung function and heart function.

It can even help to lower your cholesterol.

You can spend a considerable amount of money buying supplements and other vitamins, minerals and herbal products to assist with the circulation and an hour or so of yoga a couple of times a week will give you a lot more benefit than many of these and other expensive health store products combined.

It is certainly well worth considering even if you do have excess money to spend on such supplements as this is a natural way to improve your health and it is a long-term answer to ensure that your health will remain better for many years to come.

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Many people are of the mistaken belief that incontinence is something that is inevitable with aging.

The true fact of the matter is that incontinence is the result of a weakening of certain muscles.

These muscles become weakened due to misuse and they can be strengthened by using various different exercises thereby reducing the problem of incontinence.

Yoga is particularly good at strengthening muscles throughout the body and in doing so it is a very effective way of reducing and eliminating incontinence for many people.

The yoga exercises that help with this problem are those that focus on the strengthening of the pelvic and abdominal muscles.

These exercises need to be done on a regular basis to ensure that you maintain good strength in those areas and thereby avoid becoming incontinent.

These exercises combined with good breathing techniques can have a rapid and dramatic effect on those who are suffering from incontinence whereby they regain their strength very quickly and gain back some of the freedom in their life that they have lost to this problem.

Even people who are confined to bed can use these muscle strengthening techniques on a regular basis, preferably a couple of times a day, until they have eliminated the problem.

The best exercise for this is in fact one that is done while lying on your back.

For a brief explanation;
Lie flat on your back with your legs bent and your feet flat on the floor.
Your arms should be stretched out by your side as you begin breathing in and out several times.

Next you will breathe out completely and then take a deep breath in through your nose and hold that breath for the count of three.
Finally breathe out completely as hard as you can and eliminating all the air and tightening your stomach muscles as you do so.

With all of the air expelled, suck in your stomach, pelvis and buttock muscles as hard as you can and once again hold for the count of three.
Release your muscles and repeat the exercise several times before having a rest.

This will help you to have more control and reduce the chance of becoming incontinent.

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