Author: Yogacharya Dhakaram

Our smiling greetings to you all.

Walking One Step Toward Health and Happiness is encouraging people to take little steps toward better health and happiness.

Today we will discuss yoga and we are starting a series of yoga that will strengthen and grow our body, mind, and soul. Why yoga is important in our life. When I talk about yoga, I need not say about yoga, everyone knows what yoga is. I would like to tell all of you that yoga does not mean that we have broken and twisted the body. Yoga means the way to reach the ultimate bliss. Whatever work we do in life, we do it for the sake of happiness and peace, and this happiness and peace cannot give us another and we all find this happiness and peace in others.

Dear friends, we will discuss how to connect within ourselves. As soon as there is talk of yoga, one circumstance means connecting one and the other, then there are two, if we go according to the scriptures, then the union of the divine with the soul is yoga. But tell an ordinary person that I meet the soul with the divine, maybe people are not going to come so soon, then, first of all, we should meet our body, then in today’s life of running, where even more than physical Worried for mental relaxation. He is the only one who guides us in physical, mental, and spiritual development. Exercising, going to the gym, swimming, running, by walking, all happen up to our physical level. To be physically healthy is not to be healthy. We are more concerned with the mind than the body. Most of the diseases that are coming these days are mental because where does your mind reach in a second. We need pranayama, the longer and deeper the breath, the more healthy our mind will be, will remain happy and remain happy. When we do yoga, it has asanas, kriyas, pranayama, and meditation, then there is nothing in comparison to yoga to stay healthy at all three levels. You must have seen that even doctors talk about yoga during the Corona period. Talk about taking deep and long breaths. International Yoga Day was also celebrated all over the world. So why wait to celebrate Yoga Day for 1 day in a year. Include yoga in your daily routine. Must be in your routine. Before doing yoga, before breakfast, before eating, make sure that I will not do breakfast without yoga or will not eat food without yoga, when in this way we get connected with yoga, then our life will become happy. “One step from health to happiness” If we give one to one and a half hours to our body, then our twenty-two and a half hours are very beautiful, then dear friends, you do not have to do yoga, you have to take a peek inside you Twenty-two hours should not be pleasant. We are coming with a series of yoga in which you will do regular meditation sitting at your home.

Build physical strength, mental peace, and spiritual growth. Welcome to the series “Ek Kadam Swasthya Se Anand Ki Aur”.

Paschimottasana–

The popular forward bend pose will let you live a rejuvenated form of life!

Staying fit and healthy is the key to a satisfied and successful life. It is us who have to keep our bodies in proper health and shape as it is only us who will be affected adversely if any harm should occur. The ways to stay fit and healthy are – eating the right food and regular exercise. The process is easy but often we find ourselves too lazy or greedy and cannot keep up with the norms, which guide the process of healthy living. Leading a healthy life increases life expectancy. Life is peaceful and is free of woes and worries. 

Importance of yoga

There are various ways of keeping fit through exercise. One of the methods that have come down the generations to us is yogas. Yoga was originated in India. It is a form of exercise that heals both the body and the mind. It is extremely effective and helps in enhancing the fitness of a person. The different yoga poses or asanas are such that they are beneficial to more than one part of the body. It is so devised that it is often more effective than medicines. It is not only a cure but prevention for many diseases. The most important aspect of yoga is that you need to practice it regularly to get the best results.

Effectiveness of Paschimottasana

Here we talk about one of the most important and efficient yoga poses. The Paschimottasana is a very popular and common yoga pose. It has many advantages, which are listed as follows.

•     Stretches the hamstrings, spine, and shoulders, increasing flexibility
•    Calms the brain, relieve stress, and helps in combating depression
•     Aids better digestion
•     Stimulates the ovaries, uterus, kidneys, and the liver     
•     Fights insomnia, and sinusitis
•     Brings immense relief to the need to combat menstrual and menopausal symptoms.
•     Works wonders for bringing down high blood pressure fosters fertility
•     Reduces headache, anxiety and brings relief during fatigue
•     Increases appetite, contrastingly reduces obesity for those who need to lose weight, and also helps in curing diseases.

Things you need to keep in mind before starting with the asana

One of the most important pieces of advice that needs to be followed while practicing this asana is that you should not force yourself to bend more than you can. Once you start practicing on a regular basis, flexibility will automatically increase and you will be able to attain the perfect pose. If you try to be too hard on yourself, there are chances that you will end up hurting yourself. It can cause cramps in your muscles or put extra stress on the ligaments. So be careful while practicing this asana.

 It is always important that you know which asana is needed for you. So before, starting off with a particular asana always know, its benefits and requirements and its effects on the body. Make yourself fully informed and the process of getting such information is truly not difficult in this era where communication is the most simplified science. In this case, those with back pain, asthma, and diarrhea are advised not to practice this asana as it may not be safe for their health. 

Pregnancy Yoga is the stepping stone to a healthy motherhood

Yoga is an oriental form of ancient exercise which tries to achieve a union between the soul and the spirit or the individual consciousness and universal consciousness. The whole process is like a spiritual experience that relaxes the mind and the body. Pregnancy yoga is very necessary for the well being of the mother as well as the baby. No wonder celebrity mothers have launched their prenatal yoga DVDs to promote healthy pregnancies.

Why is Pregnancy Yoga important? How does it help?

The chief aim of pregnancy yoga is to bring your child into the world in the smoothest way possible and ensure you and your child’s good health. Here are some of the ways which suggest why pregnancy yoga is so important for women.

Pregnant women often suffer from sleeping problems. Yoga can help you to have better and undisturbed hours of long sleep
It is not an unknown fact that yoga in general relieves stress and anxiety. The same holds true for prenatal yoga too and absence of stress is very important during pregnancy
Most of the women suffer from headache, nausea, sickness and lower back pain during pregnancy. Yoga helps to reduce each of them providing a comparatively less painful and sickening pregnancy
Since yoga involves breathing techniques, prenatal yoga is good for those experiencing shortness of breath. It also helps in contractions during labour
Since yoga involves stretching certain parts of the body and moving your body to achieve certain positions, it increases the strength and flexibility of your muscles which is very important during childbirth. It also improves balance and blood circulation
Regular prenatal yoga release happy hormones called endorphins which prevents mood swings and erratic attitude and brings in positivity and energy

Results of Pregnancy Yoga

In a study involving 335 women at the Gunasheela Surgical and Maternity Hospital in Bangalore, India to know the effects of yoga on pregnancy, it was seen that the number of babies with greater birth weight was found in the group of women in the yoga group and Complications like Intra Uterine Growth Retardation and Pregnancy Induced Hypertension was very less in case of women in the yoga group.

Thus it can be safely concluded that prenatal yoga is beneficial for healthy mental and physical growth during pregnancy, it reduces complications, preterm labour, painful labour and increases body weight of baby. Proper yoga training under medical guidance is the best way to stay fit during the crucial nine months of pregnancy.

The classes are conducted for two hours ( 11:00 AM – 01:00 PM).

अर्थ-

इस आसन मेंशरीर की स्थिति वक्र (मरोडी हुई) होने के कारण इसे वक्रासन कहते है। यह अर्धमत्स्येन्द्रासन का ही एक सरल रूप होने पर भी उसके समान ही लाभदायक है।

विधि-

दण्डासन मंे बैठे। बायां पैर मोडकर बांये पैर के पंजे का मध्य भाग दायें घुटने के पास रखें। बांये घुटने का रूख आसमान की ओर रहेगा। दायें हाथ को बांई जांघ के उपर से बांये पैर के पार ले जाकर बांये पैर के पंजे को या टखने को पकड लें। शरीर को कमर से बांई ओर मरोडते हुये बांये हाथ को पीछे की तरफ जमीन पर रख दें। अब शरीर को ज्यादा से ज्यादा मरोड दें। गर्दन को भी बांई और मरोड कर ज्यादा से ज्यादा पीछे की ओर देखें। यथासंभव शरीर को (जमीन की तरफ नहीं झुकाकर) सीधा रखने का प्रयास करें। इस स्थिति में 1/2 से 1 मिनट तक रूकें। विपरीत क्रम में वापस आकर पैर बदल कर दुसरी ओर करें। समान समय तक करने के बाद विपरीत क्रम में वापस आकर दण्डासन में विश्राम करें।

लाभ-

इस आसन से मेरूदण्ड के जोड़ों को एवं उनकी पेशियों को मजबुती मिलती है। इससे पाचन एवं मल विसर्जन कार्य सुधरता है। पेट की चर्बी कम करने में सहायक है। यह बद्धकोष्ठता (कब्ज), आफरा, यकृत की दुर्बलता तथा स्नायु दुर्बलता को दूर करता है। यह मेरूदण्ड की कठोरता को कम करता है एवं कमर दर्द को दूर करता है। गुर्दे एवं पेट के अन्य रोगों में भी उपयोगी है। यह मधुमेह को नियंन्त्रित करने में अत्यन्त लाभकारी है।

सीमाये-

1.  सरवाईकल वाले व्यक्ति गर्दन न मोडं।
2. आसन की अन्तिम अवस्था में कमर, पीठ, गर्दन सीधी रखने की कोशिश करें एवं शारीरिक सामथ्र्य के अनुसार करें।
3. किसी कारणवश अगर अपने हाथ से टखने एवं पंजा पकड में नहीं आये तो कोई बात नहीं, आप अपने पेट एवं नाभि को ज्यादा से ज्यादा मरोडने का प्रयास करें। आप चाहे तो मसन्द या ऩाटे का सहारा लेकर भी कर सकते है।