Body Awareness Since Starting Yoga and 200Hr YTT
Now that I’m practising yoga more regularly and eating healthier since about eight months now, I am more aware of the impact it has done towards my body. Physically, parts of my body has become stronger, I am now able to perform certain asanas that I was not able to perform previously, in particularly urdhva dhanurasana, or more commonly known as the wheel pose. Before this, I was not able to lift my head and chest off the floor and my upper back and shoulder joints were extremely tight. From this, I came to realise that my arms are slightly stronger now and my chest is more stretched out. My upper back spine and shoulders is not as tight as before as well. Apart from that, I have also realised how tough and challenging it is to get into the adho mukha swavasana, or better known as the downward facing dog pose. Before joining this 200 hr YTT class, I was not aware that my alignment for this pose was not right. I was not able to place both of my heels on the mat, my ham strings were very tight and literally, I was struggling and sweating each time I had to do this pose. I dreaded this pose at the very start of my YTT class. I also had a very rounded back, as if I’m hunching. It is only then that I was also made known by my Instructor that I have mild scoliosis and kyphosis, which are misalignments of the spine. Slowly with constant practise and without letting these imperfections hinder my progress, my body has begun to adapt to this pose and I am able to stretch deeper. I am very happy with this transformation. [Sharon Phang; 200 Hr YTT Hatha Vinyasa]
How Did I Come to Join Yoga
Ever since young, I have always been keen with sports activities such as cycling, badminton, and bowling. Nonetheless after joining the corporate world, time has always been a hindering factor for me to get into sports activities. I have only been doing off and on running, at least once a week, to de-stress and at the same time, tone up the body and reduce weight. But generally all along, yoga has never really come to my mind as an after-work activity option. Yoga seems to be boring, slow and draggy and I don’t sweat as much. However, I eventually came to know of hot yoga from the social media and was made known of its benefits. Apart from that, I was inspired by the advanced yoga poses posted on the social media by various yogis from different parts of the world. It’s pretty amazing to see what the body can do when your mind is still sceptical and says that it’s impossible. Thus, I took the very first step into the yoga journey by enrolling myself at a local yoga studio and started going for hot yoga sessions on a weekly basis. Not only did I manage to sweat it out, I have also slowly becoming more at peace and in control of my emotions internally. Yoga has eventually become part of my lifestyle and I hope to understand and be more aware of my body and the wonders that my body can do as I practise yoga at a more regular period now. [Sharon Phang; 200 Hr YTT Hatha Vinyasa]
Why I Love Yoga
I started practicing yoga when I was suffering from deep menstrual cramps. Soon after I was on the mat, I fall in love with yoga as not only some postures did help me relieving the intense pain but also I was overwhelmed by the feeling of relaxation and distressing after that. Nevertheless, after attending 200 hrs training class, I came to know that yoga is far more beyond than what I have initially taken it for. In my personal view, yoga teaches us how to master our body as well as our mind. In daily life, we actually are slave of our body. We pamper our body to the extent that we stay in our body’s limit to do things in life. Indeed, we never think of training our body nor test our body ability to do some movements which we think is beyond our reach. Moreover, lifestyles, environment factors, poor posture and tightness in the muscles around the shoulders, back and abdomen leads us to become habitual shallow breaths using only a small percentage of our lung capacity and keeping us from tapping into all health benefits that are available to us. I have learnt that Yoga is a system designed to tone the body inside and out. On the inside, yoga postures massage the internal organs, improving blood circulation and supporting body system functioning. On the outside, as yoga postures balance strength building and flexibility, it leads to fine posture and body tone relative to your body type. As you know that health & fitness go hand in hand, fitness promotes overall health. In addition to physical fitness, yoga can help increasing awareness and promoting emotional resilience, clarity and calm. In nature, we all are immersed in our thoughts of past and future. Our mind is never clear of things we have done and of things we will do in future. That is very clear when you practice your breathing exercises. As your awareness to breathing stable, you have a clear picture of your present state. Moreover, breathing practices promote health by enhancing lung capacity while oxygenating and energizing all body systems and promoting health circulation. In brief, practicing yoga is a miracle for me since postures, breathing and mindful awareness practices are training ground for optional physical functioning and psychological health. Thida (IHA Student)
Three Gunas And The Food
Guna is a Sanskrit word that means a quality or constituent of nature. There are three primary gunas that emerge creating the essential aspects of all nature – energy, matter and consciousness. They are Tamas (darkness), Rajas (activity), and Sattva (beingness). All three gunas are always present in all beings and objects surrounding us but vary in their relative amounts. We humans have the ability to alter the levels of gunas in our bodies and minds as they cannot be separated or removed in oneself. The different guna influence and are influenced by physical and psychological factors, food being one factor. Certain foods are conductive to certain qualities. Tamasic, when overweight, there is usually a Tamasic tendency in the diet. A Tamasic is energy depleting and lacks nutrition. It includes foods that are not fresh, may be highly processed, and heavy and oily. To reduce Tamas, avoid Tamasic foods, over sleeping, over eating, inactivity and fearful situation. Rajasic foods have a stimulating, heating effect on the body. They can promote fat-burning, but in excess can lead to digestive discomfort, ill-health and mental agitation. Examples are spicy foods, refined sugar and extreme flavor. When food is over-spiced, natural flavors will diminish. Physical exercise has a Rajasic effect on the body and if not over done, exercise can help the body from Tamasic to a sattvic state. To reduce rajas avoid rajasic foods, over exercising, overwork, loud music and excessive thinking. A sattvic diet promotes health and energy, mental clarity and a calm state of being conductive to emotional health. A sattvic diet is rich in fresh, natural foods, whole grains and legumes and fresh fruits and vegetables that grow above the ground and creates a slightly alkaline environment for optimal digestion and health. To increase sattva, reduce both rajas and tamas, eat sattvic foods and enjoy activities and environment that produce joy and positive thoughts. Thida (IHA Student)
How Yoga Helps In The Respiratory System
The respiratory system is one of the most important parts of the body since it is connected with the whole body and supplies oxygen to every cell. It includes lungs, nose, mouth, sinuses and all the passages through the body which transport oxygen through the blood.Oxygen is inhaled, then transformed into energy and carbon dioxide is exhaled. Additionally the air is used to produce sound through vibration of the vocal chords. Anything that causes lack of oxygen in the respiratory system has a series of negative results and in worst case, leads to death. This simple fact makes it clear how important it is to breathe correctly and to keep our lungs and respiratory system healthy. It seems that the practice of yoga exhibits a powerful and profound effect on the respiratory system. With ‘Pranayama’ breathing exercise in yoga, you can increase your intake of oxygen up to five times. The more oxygen rich blood to brain, heart, lungs and digestive organs will enable these organs work better and further bolster your health. Moreover, deep breathing can help you to improve the flow of your lymph system thereby helping the body to get rid of toxins. The regular practice of breathing exercises not only multiplies the efficiency of respiratory system but also can sort out me problems in respiratory system like sinus, asthma, hay fever, shortness of breath and allergies. Apart from breathing exercises, there are of cause also physical yoga poses that support the respiratory system in doing its work by expanding the lungs and giving them space to breath, by activating the different body parts and stimulating the blood flow so that Oxygen can be provided until the tips of your toes. Yoga asana such as backbends and some standing postures open up chest region not only relax the tight muscles that area but also one begins to use areas of the lungs which had formerly consisted of ‘dead space’ due to bad posture, emotional tension and environmental factors. By doing inverted postures, circulation throughout the body is radically altered and areas above the heart receive on increased supply of blood due to the effect of gravity. In conclusion, all of the systems of the body are closely related thus concentrating on yoga asanas which directly benefit one system will also influence other bodily system and the body as a whole. Thida (IHA Student)
How Yoga Helps In The Digestive System
A healthy digestive system is all about proper digestion, absorption and elimination. It not only ensure we effectively absorbs nutrients from our food but also extremely important for a healthy immune function. The digestive process begins primarily in the stomach and it includes the pancreas, the liver and biliary system. Various enzymes and bio acid combine with stomach acid work together to become the process of digesting food and absorbing nutrients. Additional nutrients are then absorbed in the middle and lower intestine and the remains are passed on through the colon. The toxins and wastes are eliminated and fluids are reabsorbed. Without healthy digestive system, our body cannot absorb maximum nutritional content from the food. Besides it can lead us as malnourished, it can also create problem to our immune system. Yoga asanas along with breathing exercises help us cleanse the body of toxic materials formed due to wrong diet, unhealthy and accumulated stress. It improves Agni, system. Forward bending asanas such as Paschimottanasana, uttanasana and pavamukhasana helps us to relieve the problems such as constipation and bloating by massaging the internal organs and releases trapped gases and gets the bowels moving. Twisting asanas wring out toxins and stress that allow fresh blood to enter the digestive system. They also massage and cleanse the liver. They are good for releasing gas pain, bloating and improving waste elimination. Gentle backbends such as camel pose, cobra pose, bow pose lift the diaphragm and extend the abdomen and increase blood supply to the abdominal organs and also massage and tone them. It also helps in digestion. Pranayama ‘breathing exercises’ also opens up blocked areas of energy, which can also be the cause of digestive problems. In addition to various functional improvement in our digestive system by doing yoga, it can also help us to attain a light and supple body, fat reduction and increased physical strength, improved appetite. So why don’t we do yoga and getting ourselves an opportunity to enhance our health. Thida (IHA Student)
Chakras And Yoga
The word “Chakra” is derived from the Sanskrit word meaning “wheel”. Literally translated from the Hindi, it means “wheel of spinning energy”. Within our bodies we have seven of these major energy centers and many more minor ones. They are Muladhara (root) chakra, Swadhishthana (sacral) chakra, Manipura (solar plexus) chakra, Anahata (heart) chakra, Vishuddha (throat) chakra, Ajna (third eye) chakra and Sahasrara (crown) chakra. Each chakra is associated with a certain part of the body and a certain organ to which it provides with the energy it needs to function. Our body is said to be balanced and we reach optimal mental and physical health only when energy flows through each chakra evenly. However, when one or more of our chakras are blocked, we can experience emotional and physical problems. In order to cleanse and balance the chakra system, yoga poses or asanas are a great way to look at. Not only does the stretching and strengthening help benefit the physical health, but also when in conjunction with pranayama, it helps to bring more oxygen and balance to our chakras in the body. Here is a brief list of poses to cleanse and balance the energy centers. As root chakra represents our foundation and feeling of being grounded, grounded yoga poses are best suitable for this chakra. (e.g Standing Poses, forward bends, reclining bound angle). Being sacral chakra represents the stable stage of sensuality and sexuality, hip opening yoga poses can be recommended. (E.g. Garland Pose, bound angle). Solar Plexus Chakra corresponds to ability to be confident and in control of our lives. (E.g. Twisting Asana, boat pose and wheel pose) are best suited for this chakra. Heart chakra corresponds to ability to love. Sample of poses which suit this chakra well are camel, cobra, chest opening poses. Throat chakra is corrected to ability to communicate and self-expression. Healing exercises are shoulder stand, fish pose and plough pose. Third eyes chakra is associated with ability to focus on and our intuition, wisdom. Inversion like headstand, handstand, and tripod are good at fixing the chakra if blocked. Crown chakra represents our ability to be fully corrected spiritually. Meditation is the best to open and heal the crown chakra. All in all, we should be eating a healthy, organic diet, and avoiding alcohol and drugs for optimal chakra function along with yoga. Thida (IHA Student)
How Yoga Helps In The Endocrine System
Endocrine system plays an important role in our body as it acts a principal of homeostasis which is standing still for proper balance of chemicals and other substances in our body and harmonious functioning and coordination of all various bodily processes and oxygen systems. Endocrine system consists primarily of adrenal cortex, the pituitary gland, the hypothalamus, the pancreas, the thyroid gland, the parathyroid glands and testes or ovaries. Hormones are chemical messengers that travel through our circulatory system to other part of the body in order to control or regulate our body process such as growth, temperature control, water retention. Some of the hormonal problems faced by both men and women are hormonal imbalance, underactive or overactive thyroid, increase cortisol level, insulin deficiency or insulin resistance and early menopause. Although yoga probably will not significantly alter functions of the endocrine system like growth and metabolism, it may have a beneficial effect on our stress response. Moreover, yoga poses pressurize and depressurize specific glands and these subtle compression and decompression can regulate secretions. Poses like Sirsasana, standing forward bend increases blood flow to brain which improves the functioning of brain and hypothalamus along with improving the functioning of pituitary and pineal gland. Poses like Halasana and shoulder stand improve the functioning of thyroid and parathyroid gland. Poses like Setu Bandhasana and Bhujangasana will stimulate testes and ovaries. In addition to yoga poses, yoga nidra is also great way to control stress and emotion. It is not about just sleeping but stays awake and controls your thoughts and your senses, replace negative thoughts with positive ones and relax, and energize your mind and body. It will also improve the functioning of brain. Pranayama “breathing exercise” initiates a relaxation response in the endocrine system and reduces muscle tension, lowers the heart rate and slows brain wave patterns. Thanks to yoga, you can enjoy the fruit of having your hormonal health improved alongside with your physical benefit such as sleep better, improve mood and relieve anxiety, cut cravings, fight fatigue, reduce and manage pain. Thida (IHA Student)
Chakras and Yoga
The word “Chakra” is derived from the Sanskrit word meaning “wheel”. Literally translated from the Hindi, it means “wheel of spinning energy”. Within our bodies we have seven of these major energy centers and many more minor ones. They are Muladhara (root) chakra, Swadhishthana (sacral) chakra, Manipura (solar plexus) chakra, Anahata (heart) chakra, Vishuddha (throat) chakra, Ajna (third eye) chakra and Sahasrara (crown) chakra. Each chakra is associated with a certain part of the body and a certain organ to which it provides with the energy it needs to function. Our body is said to be balanced and we reach optimal mental and physical health only when energy flows through each chakra evenly. However, when one or more of our chakras are blocked, we can experience emotional and physical problems. In order to cleanse and balance the chakra system, yoga poses or asanas are a great way to look at. Not only does the stretching and strengthening help benefit the physical health, but also when in conjunction with pranayama, it helps to bring more oxygen and balance to our chakras in the body. Here is a brief list of poses to cleanse and balance the energy centers. As root chakra represents our foundation and feeling of being grounded, grounded yoga poses are best suitable for this chakra. (e.g Standing Poses, forward bends, reclining bound angle). Being sacral chakra represents the stable stage of sensuality and sexuality, hip opening yoga poses can be recommended. (E.g. Garland Pose, bound angle). Solar Plexus Chakra corresponds to ability to be confident and in control of our lives. (E.g. Twisting Asana, boat pose and wheel pose) are best suited for this chakra. Heart chakra corresponds to ability to love. Sample of poses which suit this chakra well are camel, cobra, chest opening poses. Throat chakra is corrected to ability to communicate and self-expression. Healing exercises are shoulder stand, fish pose and plough pose. Third eyes chakra is associated with ability to focus on and our intuition, wisdom. Inversion like headstand, handstand, and tripod are good at fixing the chakra if blocked. Crown chakra represents our ability to be fully corrected spiritually. Meditation is the best to open and heal the crown chakra. All in all, we should be eating a healthy, organic diet, and avoiding alcohol and drugs for optimal chakra function along with yoga. Thida (IHA Student)
