Font Size 
Web Ex: Yoga moves to kickstart your day | Pics: How to
Published on Sat, Aug 02, 2008 at 08:05, Updated on Sat, Aug 02, 2008 at 17:10 in 
Tags: 
Related Stories
Satyam founder Raju to be grilled by cops, SEBI - Satyam Saga: Ramalinga Raju surrenders, arrested
- Govt takes charge, disbands Satyam board
- Satyam blockbuster: Law of land vs Raju's love of land
- Bets are out: can Satyam survive crisis
- Not just Kasab, India asks Pak for all Mumbai suspects
- Four blasts rock Lahore, six injured
- Oil strike over, petrol pumps to resume after 36 hrs
- Two killed, four injured in Guwahati blast
- Biden to visit Pak | Don't flay Pak without proof: Mulford
Photogallery
 |  |
Physiotherapist Aditi Sharma can’t live without it. Architect Sumanto Sinha needs his daily dose. Interior decorator Monica Rao must do it everyday.
From Hema Malini to Shilpa Shetty, to starlets like Mallika Sherawat and Nisha Kothari, to muscle men like Suniel Shetty, they all need their everyday bout of the art of good living.
Hectic lifestyles and stressful work routines have left people with less time than ever to devote to exercise routines. In the race to get ahead in life, our well-being suffers adversely and people in demanding and taxing everyday lives are no longer taking health or fitness for granted.
Generation Next is rushing in droves to gyms, spas and Yoga studios to live a healthier life. Of the lot, Yoga has caught the fancy of the urban yuppie more than anything else. The art of Yoga no longer means having to grow a beard and living in the Himalayas; yet it is most effective in its traditional form.
But for those who cannot squeeze in a Yoga studio into their busy schedule, here are a few Yoga moves, by Yoga Guru Suneel Singh, to kickstart your mornings the healthy way.
OM MANTRA DHYAN (MEDITATION)
The root of word meditation owes to Sanskrit word Dhyeya which means right thinking.
Method: Sit in a comfortable position (preferably cross-legged) for Om¬ Mantra Meditation. Close your eyes. Both hands should be placed on the knee in Gyan Mudra position, wherein the tip of the index finger touches the thumb. Keep your back, neck and head in a straight line. Next, relax the muscles and do not move the body and begin inhaling deeply. While you inhale, chant Om focusing on the pronunciation of the word.
Benefits & Effects: This asana helps to lessen tension, constipation, gastric problems, weakness, stammering, mental tension, heart disease and anger.
The problem of stammering is cured by this practice. It relaxes mind and imparts us true knowledge. We encounter our being by this technique. It improves our aura. We learn to live in present. Om is the name of supreme God so by pronouncing it we invoke Brahma, Vishnu & Mahesh & adopt good qualities in us.
VAJRASANA
Method: Fold your legs in the reverse direction, sitting on your knees, with hips sticking out. The toes should be touching the ground, while the heel should be facing skyward. The thumbs of both the feet should be touching each other. Then, place both your palms on your thighs. Keep your waist, chest and neck in a straight line. Now, sit in this posture for a few minutes (begin with 2 minutes a day and increase as per your comfort). Breathe normally.
Benefits: This asana cures constipation. It also digests food easily. Yoga gurus say the posture is good for pregnant women to practice on for a normal delivery. The asana also improves blood circulation in the body.
Precaution: The asana is not advised for people suffering from severe rheumatism. Also, a new practitioner will feel some pain in the heel and the palate of the legs. After finishing the asana, Yoga gurus advise moving the legs a little to ease the pain. (The pain will not occur after continued practice).
YOGA FOR THE EYES
This one is for people who spend the entire day working in front of the computer. Here are a few simple steps to take care of tired eyes and enhancing the eyesight.
- First Step: Sit comfortably (can sit on a chair or in Padmasana) and try to move your eyeballs ten times to left and ten times to right alternatively, without moving your neck.
- Second step: Sit comfortably (can sit on a chair or in Padmasana). Roll your eyeballs first in the clockwise direction and then in the anti-clock wise direction. Do this for a few minutes.
- Third step: Sit in a comfortable position and try and focus both the eyes on the tip of the nose. If your eyes feel tired, then you must close your eyes and again try to repeat the step.
- Fourth step: Sit in a comfortable position and try and look at a spot in the middle of both the eyebrows. Do not blink your eyes. If you feel pressure or tears coming out of your eyes then close your eyes for sometime, rest for a couple of minutes and repeat the exercise.
- Fifth step: Sit in a comfortable position and blink your eyes as fast as you can between 50 and 100 times (can be increased as per comfort).
- Sixth step: Sit comfortably. Stretch your arm out in front of your eyes. Fold all your four fingers & then fix your gaze on the thumb tip. Slowly bring the thumb towards the eyes, maintaining the same height from the ground throughout. After bringing it almost level with the eye, move away the thumb tip to its original position. Do this at least for 10 times.
- Seventh step: Rub both your palms with each other, and once they become hot due to friction, place the palms gently on both your eyes, until they regain normal temperature. Repeat 10 times.
- Eighth step: Sit at ease, light a candle and place it at a distance of one-and-a-half yards in front of your eyes. Watch that flame until tears start forming in your eyes. Practice this exercise for five minutes daily.
- Ninth step: Walking on a garden barefoot for at least 10 minutes in the early morning is good for the eyes.
- Tenth step: Each morning, take some water in your mouth, hold it there and simultaneously, splash some cold water in your eyes. Do this for at least one to two minutes.
Benefits: All these exercises, strengthen the eye muscles, decrease stress, synchronize the eyeball movement and improve eyesight. They also increase the accommodating and focusing power of the eyes.
If we keep in mind certain other things, in addition to these exercises then we can have more gain for our eyesight.
FACIAL YOGA
Coping with tough and stressful conditions have almost become synonymous with the lives of the urban professionals. In such conditions, the face – the most integral part of our looks – tends to lose its shine, which is instead replaced with dry, dead and dull skin as well as wrinkles.
Yoga guru Suneel Singh prescribes a few exercises which can bring back the shine to the skin as well as reduce wrinkles, dark spots and stubborn forms of acne from the face. The exercise is called Kapol Shakti and has 10 steps to it.
- First Step: Sit comfortably (can sit on a chair or in Padmasana). Join the tips of the eight fingers and with the thumbs, close both nostrils. Inhale through the mouth filling up the cheeks like a balloon. Hold your breath for as long as you can and then exhale slowly, from the nose. This completes one cycle. Do this at least 20 times.
- Second step: Sit comfortably (can sit on a chair or in Padmasana). Chew as if there is something inside your mouth for a few minutes.
- Third step: Sit in a comfortable position and tap both your cheeks, alternatively with your fingers. Practice this for 5 minutes.
- Fourth step: Sit in a comfortable position and bend the neck backward. Then try touching the upper lip with the lower lip. Stay in this position for a minute or two and then slowly come back to your normal position. This completes one cycle and should be repeated 10 times.
- Fifth step: Sit in a comfortable position and on both hands, join your fingers (except the index finger) to the tip of your thumb. This is called Udaan Mudra and should be practiced for at least five minutes at a stretch.
- Sixth step: Sit comfortably. Put both thumbs inside your mouth and touch the upper jaw (palate). Next, spread your lips to stretch the muscles and then contract them to apply pressure on them. Do this at least five times.
- Seventh step: Raise your eyebrows as much as you can and open the eyes fully. Remain in this mudra for sometime and then lower your eyebrows slowly back to their normal position. Practice this at least five times.
- Eighth step: Sit in Vajrasana with your eyes open. Put your palms on your knees with your fingers spread out. Open your mouth to the full and inhale. Then stick out your tongue and then roar like a lion, while exhaling at the same time. Do this at least thrice.
- Ninth step: Sit in Vajrasana. Inhale deeply and stretch your hands skyward. Then exhale, bend forward and put your palms on the ground and touch your forehead to the ground as well. Stay in this position for a minute then come back up slowly. Repeat this exercise at least five times. (Caution: Patients suffering from back pain and heart problems are NOT ADVISED to practice this asana).
- Tenth step: Experts all over the world have concluded that laughing cures internal pressure and also relives the individual of many different ailments. Yoga experts have given separate recognition to “laughing Yoga”. Laugh loudly for a few minutes daily to increase your blood circulation as well as improve your digestive system. This will in turn ensure that wrinkles don’t show up on your skin too soon.
YOGA FOR THE STOMACH
Agnisaar Kriya: This can be done either in Padmasana or by sitting comfortably or in a standing position. Keep both your hands on your knees, exhale and pull your stomach inside. Hold your breath for as long as you can and then release your breath, at the same time expanding your stomach. Repeat this cycle 4-5 times initially and increase it as per your comfort.
Benefits: This exercise works like a panacea in constipation. It is also beneficial for menstrual problems as well as in controlling obesity.
Note: Do not be in hurry initially. Do not practice Agnisaar Kriya soon after you have eaten. The exercise is NOT ADVISED for people suffering from heart diseases and high blood pressure.
YOGA FOR THE BACK
Bhujangasana: In this asana, our body looks like a snake, with its hood rising. Hence, the name.
Method: Lie on your belly with the thighs, knees and feet touching each other. Stretch your toes outwardly and keep your palms near your armpits, elbows touching the ground. Now, lift your upper torso above the ground, with the support of your palms, with both elbows slightly bent and stretching your neck towards the back of your body. Keep your breathing normal. Hold the position till you can and then slowly come back to the original position on the ground. Repeat at least five times.
Benefits/Effects: This asana helps ease neck pain, sciatica pain as well as back pain. It helps keep tonsils at bay and cures stomach disorders, while strengthening the back, chest, heart, neck, and shoulder. The liver too is benefited and the asana helps control diabetes. In women it strengthens the ovary and uterus.
Precautions: People suffering from hernia, ulcers or heart problems should avoid this exercise. Pregnant women should practice it under the guidance of a Yoga guru.
YOGA FOR FORWARD BENDING
Shashank Asana:
Method: Sit in Vajrasana on the land, then take a long breath and raise both hands upwards with the palms open. Then exhale and folding your waist in a downward direction, bringing the palms of both hands on the ground. Bring your head to the ground while breathing normally. Stay in the asana as per your comfort and slowly raise your hands. This is one complete cycle. Practice this asana at least five times.
Benefits: The asana calms the mind, increasing concentration. It helps cure asthma, diseases of the heart and lungs. It also eases body ache.
Precautions: Pregnant women and rheumatic patients are NOT ADVISED to do this exercise without the consent of Yoga guru.
SHAVASAN
The body is in the position of a dead body and thus the name.
Method: Lie on your back, keeping all muscles relaxed. Inhale slowly and then exhale. Take deep breaths and loosen your body. Practice this asana for at least 10 minutes.
Benefits/Effects: This asana brings vigour and vitality in the body, while driving away stiffness from the body. It is good for people suffering from heart diseases as well as blood pressure.
Precautions: It should not be done in a semi-asleep state or immediately after waking up.
ABOUT YOGA GURU SUNEEL SINGH |
His yoga teachings are also being telecast by channels like IBN-7, Aaj Tak, Headlines Today, ZEE News, La7 (Italian National Network), Live India, DD National, Star News, Sahara National, S1, Total T.V, PTC (Punjabi), Pragya and Sahara NCR. Suneel Singh inherited yoga from his grandfather - who practiced yoga for seven decades - and has now been passing on the art to willing students for the last 21 years. He has been in training since his early school days. He has taken a tough Yoga course in Mantalai (Jammu & Kashmir), where he was awarded with a gold medal. He has also done a II Degree in the Japanese art of Zin Shin Do Rekhi. For more information log on to www.yogagurusuneelsingh.com |
Yoga Guru Suneel Singh, who has contributed his expertise to these articles has been conducting workshops for corporate-houses, leading modeling institutes, five star hotels, Multinational Companies and bureaucrats.
| Ads by Google |
| Related Ads: | |
Read Comment | Post Comment
Read more comment »