The biggest learning of a yoga class

The biggest learning that a yoga class gives a student is awareness:

* Whether it is body awareness in the sense, feeling muscles you never knew existed
* Awareness of your breath...your most important, but most taken for granted life process
* Awareness of your body being made for activity, rather than cherished inactivity
* Awareness of the food that one consumes, and its impact on agitating or relaxing the body
* Awareness that we are really at peace only if we choose it, rather than reacting to every useless stimulus, which does nothing for our spiritual (meaningful growth)

Moon Salutation

The moon salutation can be understood by dividing it into 11 simple poses...
This is an elegant body exercise for the evenings, and are done with the following asanas...

1) Stitha prarthanasana
2) The Half-Moon Pose - Ardhachandra-asana (Tilt backwards till your maximum capacity)
3) HAstapadangushtasana
4) Chakrasana Namaskar
5) Adho mukho swanasana
6) Bhujangasana (break-point)
7) Adho mukho swanasana
8) Chakrasana
9) HAstapadangushtasana
10) Ardhachandra-asanaTilt backwards till your maximum capacity
11) Stitha prarthanasana

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0npZhN-p9io

Silence- is good

Isn't it a very common phenomenon, that youve had a bad day, and found everything looking worse than it seems. The result : you saysomething to people you wouldnt normally talk to, say things which you dint want to or didn't mean and wondered why everything was out of your control?
An unquiet mind spins at lightening speed, only to get routine tasks of the day accomplished. The stress of just completing what needs to get done is enough to make you voice your stress related thoughts, which were relevant for that time and moment, but mean nothing in the long run.
In such a scenario, what one needs to do is first gain control by just choosing not to speak. This will help normalize breath ( which becomes fast in due to anxiety), and further help you gain control.
This is difficult initially, but once practiced, the power of silence can help channelize energies in the right direction. Also, it is the first step and internalising one's energies and introspecting.
Once you get yourself to this stage, there will be an automatic control of one's energies and it will be easy to maneuvre oneself through the days challenges! :)

ASANA - S & S

Unlike Gymnasiums and Weight loss programs, or Power training, where an individual is pushed beyond his/her capacity to exercise, Yoga encourages one to be in sync with oneself while doing asanas.

You should not push yourself to the final position in any Asana or stretch which causes pain. Do slow, gentle movements, and as much as you can manage with minimal stress.

The attempt here is only to gain flexibility, agility and control of the breath. Once the body is flexible, one can move to higher challenges such as Final Asanas positions or Sadhana.

An asana should make the student feel steady, calm and happy. When that feeling is achieved, one is doing it right.

Asanas, for beginners, should always be done under supervision of a Certified Practitioner.

Breathe deep and free:

Become aware of your breathing patterns. It has been proved by Yoga and acknowledged by the scientific world that our breathing is a very good reflection of what is going on in our minds. Meditation and Pranayam (optimizing one’s breath) practice goes a long way in helping us develop our lung capacity, channeling our emotions and improving physical health thereby!

Eat what you Need

Command the three inches of muscle in your mouth (your tongue) to obey you rather than cause havoc to your physical health! Your grocery shopping must involve the purchase of complex and unrefined foods such as wholegrain cereals, unpolished rice, fruits and vegetables with edible skin, potatoes, peas, corn and carrots..
We must wean away from refined and simple sugars, refined flours, soft drinks, and foods cooked in excessive oil and butter. Developing a taste for foods low in saturated fat and trans fatty acids and high in calcium and fiber goes a long way. Take a calcium supplement, if necessary and certainly avoid red meat.