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Yoga

Pose #3 for Women – Parsvakonasana

March 3, 2016

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Another standing asanas which I practice almost daily basis is the Parsvakonasana or the Side Angle Pose. Usually when I practice the standing asanas, I include this one also. It gives the hip joint that little bit of an extra stretch I usually transition from the Virbhadrasana II to the Parsvakonasana.

Benefits of the Parsvakonasana:

Great to strengthen the quads, knees and ankles. Basically good for the entire leg.
Opens up the hip joint. Therefore great to massage the reproductive and abdominal organs. So useful in conditions such as PCOS/PCOD.
Alleviates menstrual discomfort by providing a relaxing stretch.
Helps in toning the sides of the body.
Great to open up the shoulders and the lungs.

When practicing the Parsvakonasana remember:

To extend the arms outwards and engage even the fingertips!
Keep the knee stacked on top of the ankle for the front leg and make sure the inner edge of the foot is pushed into the floor. (Most people tend to put their weight on the outer edge of the foot.)
Pay lots of attention to the back leg. Ensure that the back foot is pushed firmly into the floor. Make sure you tighten the knee.
Sink your hips down.
Never ever let your chest collapse! (Keep the Warrior spirit going.)

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Yoga

Pose #2 for Women – Virbhadrasana 2

March 2, 2016

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Virbhadrasana 2 is another standing asana that I practice almost every single day. Just lifting my hands up and reaching out makes me feel powerful, like a Warrior. Something about this pose feels uplifting and in the final posture I always get this feeling of empowerment. As though I’m ready to face life with courage and power.

The benefits of Virbhadrasana II (Warrior II):

Expands the chest so enables better breathing. Better breathing leads to more oxygen being assimilated into the system. This leads to more toxins being flushed out. Which leads to better skin and hair, amongst other things.
Helps in treating and managing a slipped disc.
Great to stretch and tone the thighs.
Great to stretch and tone the hips (excess fat be gone!)
From personal experience I can say this helps in relieving lower backache. I instantly feel my lower back relaxing when I practice this pose.
Helps pregnant women deal with back ache!
Helps in opening up the hip joint and keeps the joint flexible and supple. So you are less likely to injure it.
Keeps the knees and ankles strong and supple as well.

A few things to remember when practicing this asana:

Open up the chest.
Relax the neck and shoulders.
Extend the hands out as much as possible, down to the fingertips.
Make sure the back knee is locked and thighs are tight.
The front thigh should be parallel to the floor.
The knee and the ankle of the front leg should be in one straight line.

And a very personal tip: When practicing this asana try to focus on the fact that this pose commemorates Virabhadra, the Warrior Shiva created to avenge Sati’s (his wife) death. Try and channelize your inner Warrior and watch how your struggles and hurdles melt away into insignificance.

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Yoga

Pose #1 for Women – Virbhadrasana 1

March 1, 2016

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Let’s start this series with a standing asana. When planning a yoga routine, it’s always good to throw in a couple of standing asanas because they increase strength and vitality. They also make you feel more energetic and warm the body up for the remaining session. Most standing asanas work on strengthening the legs. Along with this (because yogasanas work on multiple aspects at the same time), standing asanas work on balance and in Virbhdrasana 1 you are also working on opening up the hips. Which is why this pose is great for women. Any hip opener will work on toning and stretching the muscles of the lower back, which is imperative for pregnant women as well as for people who sit a lot.

The benefits of Virbhardasana 1 (Warrior 1):

strengthens the legs
strengthens the arms (yes! because you’re not only raising your arms up you are reaching up and spreading your fingers wide and ensuring that all the muscles of the arms are activated.)
opens the hips and ensures that blood circulation around the hip joint and abdominal organs is increased.
blood circulation to the reproductive organs is also increased, which is what helps in alleviating symptoms of PCOS/PCOD.
opens up the chest (in the final pose lift the sternum up). This helps in opening up the lungs, which helps in better quality of breath.
better breathing helps in more oxygen being assimilated into the system and this energizes the entire body.
improves balance (it looks easy but balancing in this asana can be a challenge for some)
with an improvement in balance comes an improvement in concentration levels.

This pose can be practiced by everyone, except those who are suffering from hip, knees, back or shoulder injuries. If you feel that you are not practicing this pose correctly, ask your teacher for help, or leave me a comment.

Also – pregnant and menstruating women can practice Virbhadrasana 1 too.

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Books Yoga

5 Books on Yoga Every Beginner Yogi Should Read

February 21, 2016

Important books on yoga for beginner yogis.

When Your Yoga Practice Calls You Deeper…

All yoga practitioners reach a point when they start to look beyond their yoga class for resources to explore more. Some look for more guidance and some for answers. Usually we turn to the internet and look up all the books on yoga and reviews we can find. We start to look for teachers and students see if we can find the light through the avenues which they are seeking answers.

There are many many books written on the subject of yoga. From coffee table books to instruction manuals. YouTube gives you access to teachers old and new. I’ve been through my fair share of texts. Some have been forgettable, some have been good and some I consider essential. The challenge for new yoga practitioners is finding books on yoga that resonate with them as beginner yogis. Academic texts and translations are often too obtuse, and other sources contain only rudimentary and superficial information.

The books below have not only given me food for thought, but have also helped with my asana practice, philosophy etc. I still have a bunch of books that I’m waiting to devour (birthday shopping), but until now, the below are books I consider indispensable for beginner yogis.

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Yoga

How Yoga Can Help Create a Better India…and a Better World

January 25, 2016

I’ve been watching a lot of videos of master teachers Saraswati and Sharath Jois lately to glean wisdom from their philosophy. Yoga is a living breathing philosophy. The way it was taught and practiced a hundred years ago was different from how it is being taught and practiced now. The world is changing. And with that, yoga’s role in this changing world.

Just 50 years ago perhaps the greatest challenge in the yoga world was the lack of awareness of the practice. Now the challenges are greater. Advances in science, increases in population, changes in lifestyle etc., have brought along an increase in stress and psychosomatic diseases. Which has resulted in an increase in crime.

Sharath Jois, in one of his many interviews says that besides asanas we have to practice Ahimsa and Satya. And if hundreds of people practiced Satya and Ahimsa, then it will be good for society. There will be no violence and no bad things happening. That’s the message that yoga is trying to give us. Sharath goes on to say that our responsibility is not only to think about ourselves but also to think about the plants and the animals and other living beings. I guess here he’s trying to tell us that to live in harmony is perhaps the best way to co-exist with each other and with the life around us. And if every one of us practices Satya and Ahimsa, we can change the world.

In recent years a lot of young people have started coming forward to drive change. Whether it’s in politics, entrepreneurship, social work, education etc., the youth has made an impact. However, at a deeper level, to make a change in the fabric of the social psyche itself, maybe we need to practice Ahimsa and Satya with ourselves. Know when to push forward and to hold ourselves back. To know which battles are worth fighting and which are just fueling our ego. To sometimes accept that though we tried our best, but our best wasn’t good enough. (Which is OK because there are too many more mountains to climb so wallowing in self pity isn’t a good idea.)

Sharath also says, “Life is very precious, life is very important. So how you lead your life is very important.”

A little more Satya and Ahimsa with the usual Asana will help us create a better world.

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