Why practice Yogic Breathing Technique Pranayama

Breathing is a natural process where we don't have to think or make any extra effort. Due to this we don't give much importance to breathing technique. Scientific research shows that mindful breathing—paying attention to your breath and learning how to manipulate it—is one of the most effective ways to lower everyday stress levels and improve a variety of health factors ranging from mood to metabolism.
Therefore, here are a few reasons why we should practice pranayama...

Act of Breathing

The act of breathing is the movement caused in different parts of your trunk when you inhale and exhale. The movement does not mean that the inhaled air actually reaches these parts of your body. The air never goes anywhere but to the lungs. However the movement of different parts of the trunk do bring air into certain areas of lungs. For example, very shallow breathing uses the top of your lungs which causes only the first few ribs to move and abdominal breathing brings air into the base of your lungs which causes your abdomen to rise and fall with inhalation and exhalation.

Yoga for neck pain

Neck tension and pain is the most common problem that people face these days. This is also the most neglected part of our body workout. The most common cause of the neck pain is bad posture, stressful lifestyle, use of computer for a prolonged period of time, no exercise etc. Therefore it is important to take a little break everyday for at least 10 minutes to exercise your neck for a lasting relief of neck pain.

Here are a few neck exercises to stretch and strengthen your neck muscles:

The first four are strengthening exercises where you press the palm of your hand against the head on all four sides while keeping your head steady and strong.

The others are stretching exercises where you stretch your neck muscle on all four sides.

Half shoulder stand

Vipareeta Karani: Also known as the queen of asanas, Vipareeta Karani is used to treat almost every chronic ailment in yoga therapy. This posture stimulates the thyroid gland and revitalizes the cervical nerves. It increases the flow of blood to brain and ear, helps ease hearing related problems, headache and stress. It also stretches the spine and stimulates all the spinal nerves which improves circulation to the upper body and brain. Holding in an inverted position reverses the effects of gravity on the digestive organs and legs thus relieving  digestive problem and swollen legs issues.

The King of all Asanas

HEADSTAND is also called the King of all Asanas in yoga. Headstands stimulate and provide refreshed blood to the pituitary and hypothalamus glands. These glands are vital to our well-being, and are considered the master glands that regulate all other glands in the body (thyroid, pineal, and adrenals). Headstand relieves pressure in your lower back and your lower body’s veins, particularly those in your legs. Headstand gives your lungs a workout, making you breathe deeper. It makes you think clear and improves sleep. In yoga therapy headstand is also used to treat eye related problems.

Yogic Breathing, an introduction

Breathing is a natural process, one in which we don’t have to think or make any extra effort. Due to this, many people tend to not give much importance to breathing technique during yoga practices as we give to the postures (asanas). On the contrary, yogic breathing technique (Pranayama) is the essence of the yoga practice. Without pranayama one cannot get the true benefits of any yoga posture or prepare for meditation.
“Yogic breathing technique is at once a physical health practice, mental health practice, and meditation. It is not just breath training, it’s mind training that uses the breath as a vehicle,” says Roger Cole, PhD, Yoga teacher
Some of the important beginners’ yogic breathing techniques are:

Mindful Meditation

There are two methods of developing mindful meditation one is active meditation and the other is seated meditation.
Active meditation involves silent walking where one observes any sensation associated with walking in a quiet place. Sensation can be in physical or mental level example the heaviness in the legs, sound of your shoes against the ground or just your breath. With regular practice this activity can bring a profound bliss, feeling of complete relaxation, decrease any tension related problem like ulcer, insomnia, joint problems etc.

Detox Drink

You have to try it to believe it!
Apple and cinnamon water is one of the best detox drinks to not only flush out your LDL (bad cholesterol), boost energy, encourage weight loss but also is a zero-calorie flavourful replacement for your sugary juices and fizzy drinks.
This very simple Detox water recipe can change your life. Here's how:
You will need:
-    2 Apples thinly sliced (Don't peel the skin if it is organic)
-    2 Cinnamon sticks
-    A large glass pitcher (never use a metal one)
Drop the sliced Apples and Cinnamon sticks in a pitcher full of water (2 litres)
And let the water sit overnight in the refrigerator so that the water absorbs all the nutrients from the cinnamon and apples.
Remove it the next morning and drink the water throughout the day.
[Karma Chookela Bhutia hails from Rabongla, South Sikkim and is currently living in Belgium. She teaches different styles of yoga, breathing techniques and meditation in Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg. She has been working in collaboration with a Dutch organisation which specializes in reeducation program for people suffering from chronic ailments. She has undergone yoga training in three prestigious Indian yoga schools - Rishikesh Yoga Peeth, Shiva Yoga Peeth and Asana Andiappan college of Yoga and Research Centre in Chennai].

Yoga to improve eyesight

Lot of people has eyesight problems these days and many resort to lenses, glasses and laser surgery to clear or improve their vision. But as time passes, the glasses and lenses make the eyes worse than what they were and laser surgeries are risky.
Excluding disease such as glaucoma, trachoma and cataract caused by bacterial infection, the common eye disorders nowadays are short and long sightedness, squint and presbyopia caused by functional defects in the ocular muscles due to mental and emotional tension. Other small factors that contribute to poor eyesight are prolonged TV and computer use, poor diet, aging, bad lighting etc.