Yoga does not just change the way we see things, it transforms the person who sees.
For most people, music is a source of entertainment and enjoyment. However, recent studies have shown that there are more…
If you are going through a bad period or one of your loved ones is in crisis … If you…
Working in a group can be compelling but also demeaning when you find yourself teaming up with people who consciously…
For several years now, I have been practicing and teaching Yoga classes. I always felt the desire to merge this…
Sat Kriya is a fundamental Kriya of Kundalini Yoga, aimed directly at stimulating the awakening of the Kundalini energy. Its…
In these times of advanced technology that saves us time and physical effort, we are more tired than ever, more…
For most people, music is a source of entertainment and enjoyment. However, recent studies have shown that there are more benefits to listening to music than just feeling good. In fact, research has shown how certain types of music can actually affect the human brain in different ways. Let us look at what is the importance of music in our life.
If you are going through a bad period or one of your loved ones is in crisis … If you are wondering if it is a simple difficult moment or real depression … This is the article for you! You can’t help it. Sooner or later, everyone goes through moments in life when sadness takes over. The only thing you can do is know this problem and react in the best possible way.
The reaction in these cases is of fundamental importance because, if you know what to do, the depression can disappear in a short time. Otherwise, it can also last for long periods. In this article, you will find out what depression is, how it manifests itself, how yoga can help you overcome it, and what are other natural remedies can help you when you are feeling particularly sad.
Stress has been found to play an important role in the onset of this disease, and yoga has the characteristic of easing body and mind tension.
To use scientific terms, those with depression subconsciously put pressure on their sympathetic nervous system, thus producing high amounts of cortisol. It is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands that, in case of overproduction, can be lowered both with antidepressant drugs and with a constant practice of yoga.
Here they divided people with depressive syndrome into two groups: one group practiced yoga daily and the other took an antidepressant drug (imipramine). The result?
After only three months, the yoga group had the first great benefits and after six months, the problem was significantly reduced.
These studies are very interesting because they confirm that each person possesses an inner strength and incredible personal resources that help overcome most of the mood disorders.
These are innate inner resources, but they must be stimulated and solicited in the appropriate way and this is where yoga comes into play.
Unfortunately, the society in which we live does not adequately teach us to trust in our possibilities, but rather, too often, it makes us believe that we are pawns in the hands of destiny.
“In the west, it is believed that the mind of man is nothing but a receiving station subjected to the stimuli of the stimuli coming from the outside world. For yoga science, man is also a transmitting device […] he has the power within himself to radiate outside of himself.”
According to yoga, man also has the power to control the mind, that is, to be able to choose the type of experience he wishes to receive from the universe. All our experiences, both negative and positive, leave us something. They teach us something.
We need to put ourselves in the perspective of wanting to draw the best part from what happens to us and let go of the darkest part, even from the most terrible things … I know it’s difficult!
Here is a series of asanas to perform daily. As always, they are simple positions, which take no more than 20 minutes. I recommend that you do yoga in the morning as soon as you wake up to start off on the right foot.
Start in the cat position, on all fours with the shoulders above the wrists and the pelvis above the knees. As you exhale, press your hands to the ground and straighten your legs, bringing your buttocks to the sky. At this point, try to relax your back and bring all your weight back. If you can, bring your heels to the ground. Otherwise, keep them raised.
Start from dandasana, the position of the stick that is sitting with the legs extended frontally and the torso erect. Inhaling, stretch your hands upwards, and on the next exhalation, bend forward. If you can grab your toes with your hands, otherwise place them on your shins or ankles.
Once in the position, take a deep breath and try to reach forward, not down. Bending is only a consequence of a correct forward stretch.
Once out of paschimottanasana, roll onto your back and bring your feet over your head, straighten your legs and bring your buttocks to the sky. The hands instead go to the opposite side of the legs and the fingers intertwine. In this position, it is important to keep the chest open and to avoid tension in the shoulder area.
To facilitate the position, you can put a folded mat under the shoulders in order to make the bending to which the neck is subjected less intense.
At this point, rest your back on the ground, bring your knees to your chest and grab your feet with your hands. This position is called the happy child because it is very often taken by children when they play carefree.
Stay in this position for 20 deep breaths and try to remember when you were a child and played happily, without thoughts.
Finally, lie down on the ground and let the legs relax outwards. The hands are turned towards the sky and relax completely for 5 minutes in the final relaxation.
If you want to deepen your knowledge of the positions, I suggest you take a look at yogasana, the guide to the basic positions of yoga, thanks to which you will learn the execution, the simplified variations, the benefits, and much more on the basic positions of yoga. If, on the other hand, you want to start doing yoga, or you are a beginner, take a look at easy yoga, the guide to starting yoga in a simple and effective way.
Nutrition plays an important role in maintaining the general psychophysical well-being of the person. In the specific case of mood disorders and depressions, its role becomes fundamental since there are foods that have incredible properties and counteract those moods that make you feel grounded.
Below you will find a list of the main foods that we could trivially define as “Producers of happiness,” from the best known to the most unsuspected … Let’s find them all!
Among the most well-known, it is highly energetic and nutritious. Contains fats, proteins, and minerals. Thanks to theobromine (a substance similar to caffeine), it has a beneficial, stimulating effect on the central nervous system.
Fruit, whether dried or fresh, always does great good. It is one of the most vitamin-rich food groups ever, essential for various body functions, including stimulation of the nervous system. It is also rich in mineral salts, especially potassium, which helps the muscles.
From lentils to beans to peas to soy etc., they are all rich in nutrients, especially proteins. They rank first as energy foods.
All green vegetables are fine, but spinach contains 2 times more iron than others. They also contain b vitamins, mineral salts including phosphorus useful for bones, manganese against aging, and potassium for muscles.
Its lactic ferments contribute to the formation of the usual b vitamins, which balance the nervous system and also for the proper functioning of the liver. Furthermore, we also find here mineral salts, especially calcium. Eating a yogurt a day increases the body’s immune defenses against viruses and seasonal ailments.
It is really the disease of our time and the first difficulty lies in recognizing and admitting it in order to then be able to defeat it. I tried to explain in an exhaustive way what it is and how to diagnose it. I have illustrated a sequence of asanas that will surely help you, such as attention to the diet to follow.
Working in a group can be compelling but also demeaning when you find yourself teaming up with people who consciously choose to “slack off.” No matter how much effort and seriousness you put into it, if you have the misfortune of collaborating with a lazy, distracted or uninvolved colleague, it will be difficult (if not impossible) to bring home the required result.
But do not despair: once the problem has been identified, it is only necessary to find the solution. Experts have already done so, providing their recipes to mitigate the counter-effects of so-called “social laziness.” Which, at work, can set the jaws for important successes. Let’s find out together what it is.
By social laziness, we mean the behavior that pushes people to work less when in a group. Or if you prefer, the tendency of certain subjects to exert less effort, to achieve a goal, than when they are alone. In practice, it is not certain that they are slackers or lazy by profession, but of people who can lose their bite and motivation when they are called to work with others. And that, in a more or less conscious or more or less intentional way, can smash important projects.
Let’s take a practical example: if the boss assigns you a task involving other colleagues, you can guarantee the quality and punctuality of your performance, but you certainly can’t “put your hand on the fire” on seriousness and commitment. Of the others. What if you realize that your teammates are not doing their duty once the project is underway? What if you risk a “lecture” by the boss due to the disorganization of others? Don’t lose your head and try to think about what is best to do.
As mentioned above, the colleagues with whom you have to complete the project may not be inveterate time wasters, but only “social lazy,” who struggle to give their best when involved in collective projects. Try to approach the matter with clarity and explain to them your expectations: the result could be a lack of clarity or poor communication between you. If you do not come to a head, then it is the case to deepen the question and read up on social laziness. To which interesting studies have been dedicated that can help you “find the square.”
Therefore, assuming that “social laziness” can represent a serious problem for those who have to share tasks and responsibilities with colleagues, let’s try to understand how to prevent the virus of mistrust and sloth from destroying important projects. First of all, it is necessary to focus on:
Group organization: it is important that specific tasks are assigned to all team members and that everyone feels valued in the same way;
Clarity of the objectives to be achieved: all members of the group must have a clear idea of what they must do and within what time frame they must complete their tasks;
Involvement of collaborators: all work team members must understand that their contribution is fundamental to achieving the final goal. In short, they must take responsibility and realize that everyone’s success depends on their commitment and professionalism.
Selection of components: to avoid harmful dynamics within the group, it is good to select people carefully and avoid involving too many (max 10).
Scientific studies have shown that completing a task (especially if it is particularly onerous) provides a high physical and mental well-being connected to the release, by the brain, of a chemical substance called dopamine. Give yourself the pleasure of sharing success with colleagues and do your utmost to ensure that your career takes off and your business thrives. Checking an item from the to-do list is priceless, especially if you do it with others.
The first thing to understand is what drives people to give less when they work in a team. Among the main causes is the perception that their contribution is not essential to achieving the goal. This is the reasoning that those “social lazy” who have little regard for themselves and their abilities (who lack self-esteem) tend to make and who are convinced that their participation has no relevance.
According to experts, grows when the goal is perceived as achievable and of value and decreases when it appears unimportant and unachievable. Which very often also depends on the type of group that is formed. If within the team, there are collaborative people, respectful of others, and devoted to sacrifice, the rate of social laziness should go down; while if the group is mainly made up of lazy, distracted, and not very involved subjects, it is destined to rise.
And to hinder the achievement of the final result could also be the group size: the scholars have found that, in particularly large work teams, the probability that some members choose not to participate (convinced as they are that the others will take care of everything) is higher than in smaller groups where to coordinate they are few and selected people.
You may also like to read, How to start meditating daily? Avoid these mistakes
For several years now, I have been practicing and teaching Yoga classes. I always felt the desire to merge this discipline with dance, dance and training, which were the basis of all my training since I was little. That is why here I am, in my present, teaching both more traditional styles and other more modern ones and merging different types of movement with the wonderful world of Yoga.
From my experience, I discovered that this is the best combination and closure that we can give to a class:
Here I propose a Yoga Flow sequence to activate the energy and discover this dynamic and innovative style. Before we start, I want to tell you a little about what it is about.
It is a style of Yoga where sequences of interlaced postures are performed in a more dynamic way. Unlike other styles, each posture ( asana ) is not held for several breaths but is passed from one asana to another, taking movements of dance (be it classical, contemporary, or others) and of body, expression to make this class a true flow of energy, a “letting go” with movement.
They are dynamic classes, with elements of Yoga and meditation, but also with the influence of other disciplines that make it different and with a special touch. Yoga Flow invites you to flow with your body, to feel it, to release stored emotions, stagnant energies, accumulated tensions. Yoga Flow invites you to dance with your body. That is why I call it the “yoga dance.”
Being a branch of Yoga, it has the benefits of this ancient practice, and also, other specific and inherent to it are added. Below I mention some of them, from the most general to the most specific:
If you feel exhausted, or you find yourself at a time in your life where energy seems not to reach, the demands of daily activities are too great and your body screams for a pause, this sequence that I propose today will raise your energy and it will allow you to discover what you need.
Through the fluid and respectful movement of the body, we can go through every corner, recognizing our possibilities and limitations and, above all, accepting them. At the same time, we indulge in this conscious dance to mobilize each energy center and each muscle group, releasing tensions, obstacles, prejudices and, especially, that we can connect with enjoyment by being kind to our body and with everything.
Do you dare to do a sequence with me? Then I share it with you.
Before starting, try to be calm and in a pleasant environment. Choose a place in your house that you like and that gives you harmony. You can also take this sequence wherever you want. Take a few breaths to bring your attention back to your inner rhythm and come into awareness. You can do some gentle movements of joint mobility in the cervical area, shoulders, spine, and wrists.
Take time to prepare your body and be able to be present at that moment. It is not easy to leave thoughts behind, so respect your times and keep your breath soft so that it slowly helps you to feel yourself.
Standing with bent knees, inhale deeply and bring your arms to the sides, opening your chest. Exhaling, close your chest and bring your arms forward. Repeat this movement at the rate of your breath 3 times.
In a smooth movement accompanied by inhalation, bring your right leg back, taking a long step, and bending your left leg. On the exhale, bring your arms up to the side of the ears. Let them fall soft as hugging you to inhale again, opening the chest, extending your spine and taking arms to expand as much as you can.
Inhale deeply and bring your left forearm over your left thigh. Open your chest, free yourself as much as you need and extend your right arm (as if you were trying to look at the ceiling or the sky). Exhaling, bring your hands to the ground and then move into the tent posture, lengthening your spine. In the tent, raise your right leg, inhaling and exhaling flex the knee.
From the previous position, inhale deeply and when you exhale, bring your right knee to the ground between your hands. I repeated this movement 3 times. After this, continue towards the cobra pose, holding a breath, opening the chest and trying not to strain the neck.
Sat Kriya is a fundamental Kriya of Kundalini Yoga, aimed directly at stimulating the awakening of the Kundalini energy. Its practice alone is said to contain almost all the benefits of Kundalini Yoga. It is one of the most effective kriyas for repairing and reversing damage to the entire body through energy circulation, which helps clear the mind and heart. It is a true internal purification.
The breathing technique and the posture that forms the basis for the practice of Sat Kriya, should be done regularly on an empty stomach, in the morning, for at least 3 minutes each day when it is beginning. However, it is possible to perform this technique in yoga classes at different times of the day.
Sat Kriya can be performed individually. All the meditations of most kriyas are performed. During the practice, the mantra SAT NAM should be chanted.
The continuous movement of “contracting and releasing” the abdomen creates a powerful pump for the Kundalini energy. On the physical level, when Sat Kriya is done properly, this release gives the body the necessary energy to carry out a comprehensive regeneration of each organ and cell. On the other hand, Sat Kriya has a lot of field of influence is at the energetic level.
The way to perform Sat Kriya is as follows:
Sitting on the heels, placing some cushions to support the knees.
Lay your back completely straight.
The arms should be extended in the air, passing the elbows behind the ears straight so that the energy flows completely.
The chest should be out.
Join the palms and interlock all the fingers, except the index fingers of each hand, which must remain one against the other, extended towards the sky.
In that position, inhale, making a contraction of the navel in and up against the spine, powerfully changing the SAT out loud from the center of the navel until you feel pressure in the third chakra.
During the exhalation, relax the abdomen and recite the “NAM” this time, the voice should be softer and more relaxed.
Beginners should repeat this sequence for three minutes and maintain a moderate and steady pace.
Meanwhile, the spine remains straight and the only movement made by the arms is a slight up and down the stretch in each “SAT NAM.”
Rhythmic contractions and relaxations produce waves that flow, energize and heal the body.
Stand firmly on your heels during Sat Kriya’s movements.
It is important to ensure the correct opening of the thorax and a slight inclination of the chin to stretch the neck.
Concentration is focused on the third eye.
To finish, take a deep breath and hold it. Practice the root lock (mulbhand: contract the anus and sexual organs). Contract the pelvis, lifting the diaphragm and bringing the navel inward, closing the chin.
Stand for 8 to 10 seconds, depending on the capacity.
Repeat this sequence: inhale deeply, hold, squeeze, and exhale.
Finally, lie on your back in a relaxed position with your arms at your sides and your palms up.
The execution time varies. To begin to understand the exercise, it is good to practice with a minute. Then for the constant practice of beginners, you can start with three minutes in 40 days, during which time the habit is created and strengthening is achieved. Then gradually increase the time to 7, 11, 22, 31 in 90 days and a maximum of 62 minutes and 120 days. In case of failure on one of the days, the exercise must be started again from 7 minutes to completion of 62.
Experts say that by reaching 120 days of practice with 62 minutes continuously, mastery is achieved.
A constant question that comes up within groups as frustration is “When to inhale?” The answer is simple. Let the inhalation come naturally into the “release and squeeze” rhythm. This practice is not a deep breathing exercise. You have to let the breath come naturally.
As Sat Kriya, it is a process that works on all levels of being, both known and unknown. Many claims to be better able to respond to their subtlety and in their entirety.
The experience of practicing this exercise teaches us that with patience, consistency and moderation, the result is guaranteed. Those who have very little time and wish to have an effective practice to benefit from the results should make Sat Kriya a daily habit.
As we have already said in other articles about the chakras, they represent energy centers. The lower triangle chakras are involved in elimination and reduction and balance with the upper triangle chakras. Each chakra is a vision of the world, a perspective that organizes all our feelings, our thoughts and values, to satisfy the world and act in it.
Sat Kriya helps rebalance the lower triangle (the first 3 chakras). This lower triangle corresponds to the earliest stages of our human development. The first chakra is especially related to birth, childhood and fundamental security, being and belonging. By working on the lower triangle, you learn the power of excavating deep-seated wounds from our earliest years of life. That is why this practice is recommended to cure mental and psychological imbalances. Therefore, Sat Kriya is probably the best way to heal the psychic residue of improper training and severe childhood wounds.
The rhythmic contraction and relaxation practiced during this exercise produce waves of energy that heal the body. This technique raises the energy of the first three chakras through meditation obtained mainly in the breath.
Sat Kriya is presented as an excellent option for those who have both physical and mental health problems. Through its practice, it favors general health because, during rhythmic movements, all internal organs are involved.
Discipline, consistency and a firm attitude are essential and essential to ensure that you get all the benefits.
People who suffer from anguish and mental disturbance are too involved in the lower triangle (the first 3 chakras), so the Sat Kriya exercise is ideal in these cases.
Sat Kriya activates and directs Kundalini’s energy to feed the entire organism and awaken consciousness.
This regular practice improves the functioning of the digestive system, tones the kidneys and releases fears.
Strengthens the entire nervous system, channeling energy and creating a more conscious vision of true identity.
People with knee problems can sit on their heels but cross-legged to ease the pressure on the knees a bit. You should not drop your arms or allow your elbows to bend. It is important to learn to maintain the full trunk stretch to the fingertips and avoid fading to reap the full benefits. Do not allow the chest, shoulders and arms to move up and down while reciting the “SAT NAM.” Sat Kriya does not have to be the only Kundalini Yoga exercise practiced, but it guarantees a healthy, happy and optimal life when it becomes part of a daily practice.
In these times of advanced technology that saves us time and physical effort, we are more tired than ever, more stressed than before and sicker than previous generations. How can there be such a great paradox? The more physical effort we save, the more tired we are. Where does so much fatigue come from? What causes fatigue?
People are functioning at their highest limits. Instead of stopping to observe what is happening to them, they are looking for oxygen and ways to extract even more energy from themselves. So, to increase their capabilities, improve their performance, they conclude that all they need is “off time,” a free time where they do not need to think about anything at all. They can sleep soundly and forget tasks, commitments. Once “reset,” they return to the starting point, that is, to remain totally and completely occupied to end up stressed and exhausted again.
Everything indicates that the cause is the lack. Lack of time, sleep, confidence, self-knowledge, self-esteem, self-motivation, balance, direction.
But what does self-knowledge, self-esteem, self-confidence, balance have to do with all that?
Let’s go in parts:
When we seek self-observation through meditation, we begin to understand that all these qualities are connected. Because self-confidence is one of the characteristics of self-esteem. When we have self-esteem, we have respect for ourselves, accept ourselves the way we are, recognize our limits (be they physical, emotional or mental) and set ourselves challenges to grow and evolve. Well, self-esteem is the harmony between our qualities, our potentials and our difficulties.
Without that balance, without that moderation, we will not have good sense and we may try too hard to go beyond our limits. If we have balance, we walk on a solid foundation, a point of support and a starting point, which allows us to develop self-motivation. Therefore, not being aware of what motivates us, we feel very tired.
Because when we are unbalanced, the stimulus that makes us move comes from outside. It comes from external demand, from something or someone, beyond us. When that motivation comes from outside, we have no direction or direction. And we all need to move, get out of zero points, move on because that is part of human nature. So we fill our agendas with tasks, commitments, etc., to be “busy.” But, because we have no direction, we end up walking without direction.
Marching at random gives us a feeling of being involved with something, walking “forward,” engaged, doing something, which seems good and rewarding at first glance. On the other hand, this aimless march generates enormous fatigue, exhausting, because we waste energy in vain. We are not growing, learning, exchanging, and evolving. We are not fully aware of our potentials and challenges.
Walking without direction uses a lot of energy because there is a huge effort to get nowhere. Being busy for the simple purpose of occupying ourselves is the same as walking in circles. It serves to distract us. And all that work prevents us from coming into contact with our emotions, our true wills. And those internal yearnings are accumulating, filling space in our minds, wearing us down because they have to come out in some way. But if we don’t have time to empty ourselves, we are “very busy,” distracted from ourselves.
This conflict is a gap between the things that “we would like to do, but are usually impossible” and the things that we “HAVE” to do, which do not allow us time to be balanced and aware of our qualities and limitations.
It is as if we are jugglers trying to balance a game that is not ours. Sometimes we are very efficient at keeping the plates spinning, the balls bouncing, but this is very tiring. It drains our energies. And why so much effort, so much energy expenditure?
If our tasks are stimulated from the outside, there is no way to fulfill the tasks since we perceive them as demands and not as goals to be achieved. Without internal motivation, we are at the mercy of stimuli that may not come, of acknowledgments that may not be aligned with our expectations. Letting motivation come from outside imprisons us, worries us, wears us down, and leaves us unhappy and tired.
It is from a stable base that we develop self-motivation, which is the ability to create goals for ourselves and achieve them. By having balance, we can observe and recognize the tools that we possess. And in this way, we can transform difficulties into opportunities for change, optimization and growth. Self-motivation is the internal ability to observe ourselves, perceive what goals we want to achieve, draw up a plan, and obtain the momentum for the next step after each objective is achieved. Something that has a beginning, a middle and an end.
When we direct the energy of self-motivation in a single direction, we acquire persistence, resilience, new stimuli. As a consequence, we achieve the much-desired goals that previously seemed impossible. Our agendas are lighter. Our time is lengthening. There is space for leisure. And if there is still some fatigue, it will only be physical and not mental wear. That fatigue will be restored during sleep and the satisfaction of having completed a project, reaching a goal, will be the reward and new fuel to charge our energies towards a new ideal. And so, setting goals, gaining momentum, following our internal compass, we march forward!
The action of breathing corresponds to circulating the air to maintain life. This is probably the most trivial concept. However, from that of India, they teach us through some techniques that breathing acquires another dimension that drags the physical, the mental and the spiritual of life. This is summarized in that “breathing is the vital function par excellence.” In this article, we will talk about Pranayama, a wonderful technique that offers you the valuable opportunity to raise your quality of life by controlling your breathing.
Pranayama comes from the Sanskrit Prana (the breath and basic energy of existence) and Yama (control), which controls and expands the primary energy through our bodies, psyche, and soul.
The Greeks considered the breath as the mediator of the soul and the body. In India, it is considered the main spiritual technique called “the wisdom of breathing,” so for these cultures, the air has been for centuries and is currently an essential source of energy. This is how through their teachings, they show us that it is possible to considerably increase our energy if we breathe correctly. Since the 15th century, texts such as the Hatha Yoga Pradipika have been known that speak of pranayama techniques as healing methods.
The biggest problem encountered in yoga beginners is the tendency to push themselves beyond their limits. These exercises should be done in a way that is pleasant for those who practice them. Therefore, it is essential to learn to know your own limits. For this, there are a series of general principles that must be fulfilled when carrying out the practice of Pranayama. These are:
This simple, unmodified observation of the breath is the original means by which physical and mental relaxation is achieved. Without the perfection of this technique, the yoga nigraha prana exercises will not give positive results.
Introducing a natural breath count amplifies the effects of this observation by focusing the mind on a longer time. On the other hand, repeating “I know that I breathe” during inspiration and “I know that I breathe” during exhalation increases awareness. This particular attribute is an indispensable element in any pranayama.
This step is essential for a proper understanding of Pranayama and obtaining sustainable and conclusive effects on our state. To enter the psychic dimension of breath, the practitioner is required to consciously associate the flow of air with some area, such as along the nose, throat, or stomach. Spontaneous breathing takes on a different character and internalization becomes very easy. It is then that the prana that is perceived instead of the breath is purely physical.
Kapalabhati (cleaning breathing): It is a breathing technique used specifically for cleaning, mainly for those cases where there may be an accumulation of fluids obstructing the airways or tension and blockages in the chest. Then it is necessary to perform this step before starting Pranayama. During Kapalabhati, the breath is short, fast, and strong; We use the lungs as a pump, creating so much pressure to expel the air and remove all the waste from the lungs through the nostrils.
The complete yogic breath is vertical and horizontal; To carry it out, the abdominal phase must be promoted and work on awareness, rehabilitation and functioning of the diaphragm, the latter being the wall that separates the thorax from the abdomen and which plays a fundamental role in yoga breathing.
It all comes down to inspiration, whereby the lungs will be allowed to fill with air and push the belly forward until the abdomen is sufficiently free. In the end, it is passed under the ribs to expel the air. Diaphragmatic breathing is often scant or non-existent while promoting relaxation and respiratory efficiency. It is impossible to act directly on the diaphragm since it is made up of smooth muscle, but by perceiving its movements, we can amplify it considerably.
After filling the lower part of the lungs by a sharp movement of the diaphragm, the middle and upper parts of the lungs can be filled through the ribs. The clavicular phase must also be managed with care, as significant stresses often arise from inspired air.
In this complete yogic breathing, the equality of inhalation and exhalation is an essential part because it is what allows balancing vitality and relaxation. For this, it is necessary to have a stable rhythm of Oms sounds.
This is slight friction generated by a small contraction in the front part of the neck, causing a partial closure of the glottis. Often accompanies pranayama exercises as it promotes reflection of the mind. The sound that comes out should be similar to the soft snoring of a sleeping baby. It means that the practice is being done by force or lack of introversion if it is too strong.
With the complete breath, Ujjayi transforms into more subtle pranayama, especially if the attention is paid to the noise in the throat due to the friction of the air. This practice called ujjayi Pranayama is widely used in yoga therapy. It is also used in yoga, such as asanas, mantra yoga, meditation, kundalini yoga and kriya.
Because when we decide to practice yoga (whatever style we choose), usually, what we are looking for is not merely physical activity but something that helps us “Connect” and get to know ourselves more deeply.
Then, we discovered that there are other bodies such as emotional, mental and energetic, more subtle in addition to our physical, concrete and tangible body. And all these aspects are united in us. Neither party acts without affecting another. If I feel sad about a loss, I will have sensations in the body, such as a closed chest or the famous “Lump in the throat” added to painful thoughts. As well as, if I feel cheerful, my body posture will be more open, the organic smile and possibly my thoughts will also be rather positive. This is something that we can all experience and record as long as we know what is happening to us.
When we enter the study of yoga, among many other teachings, we find the chakras. These are energy centers, distributed along the spine, linked to certain parts of the physical body, the glandular system, and various areas of our lives.
On this occasion, I would like to focus on the heart chakra, located in the center of the chest. It is related to the heart and the thymus gland. It is where unconditional love and our true identity resides. That deep part of us, that purest and most authentic being. I will also propose a meditation exercise to activate the heart chakra and thus help you to connect with its energy.
“It is always good to remember where our truth resides, what is our center where we have the answers to everything that worries us and where our soul is.
In heaven is the mind, intuition, communication (the higher chakras). There we can create, visualize, perceive, communicate our wishes, make plans.
On earth are the basic instincts, sexuality, the will to action (the lower chakras). This is where we can carry out everything from heaven, bring it to “Reality,” manifest our dreams and projects in the matter.
Now, if heaven and earth do not pass and unite in the heart, then we will be living an imaginary life, where the “Truth” does not have many places. We choose for convenience or reasons that the mind gives us that have thousands of excuses to justify everything we do or stop doing.
However, in the heart, there are no doubts. There are no turns. There is only love and certainties. There we know what is best for us, our path to travel, and our true identity. Aligning ourselves is often a challenge. Learning to listen to the heart is a daily art. What I can attest to is that when the earth and heaven come together in the middle of the chest, the magic of the universe manifests itself and our life becomes bright like a polished diamond “(excerpt from my book” growing loving”).
Depending on how we are vibrating, we will feel one or the other emotions. We can define two large groups: emotions born from love and emotions born from fear.
When we vibrate in love, joy, calm, peace and all sensations of well-being are present. On the contrary, when we vibrate in fear, anger, anxiety, sadness, among others, are the emotions we experience.
It seems important to me to emphasize that no emotion is good or bad, nor should we reject any state because, as human beings, all emotions are part of our journey and learning. What allows us to recognize and accept our emotions is the possibility of choosing to transform them and learn from each one of them.
When we talk that yoga is a path of self-knowledge, we seek to discover the truths that will lead us to the best choices for each one of us. It is not about receiving magical and absolute recipes because I do not think they exist. Rather, it outlines our path as we move forward and learn to listen to ourselves. We can acquire techniques, receive guides, listen to experiences, but our answers will always be inside.
Meditation is a great tool to be able to sharpen our senses and be able to connect with that truth that I mentioned. In general, when we make decisions with the heart, there are no doubts. The sensation in the body is clear. We feel that “It is the right thing” beyond all other people’s opinions.
However, to access this internal space, we often have to undo paths and beliefs that we have built throughout our upbringing, our education, by social mandates and so many external judgments that have conditioned us to believe and create, many times from fear.
For this reason, the invitation is to practice meditation to activate the heart chakra to learn to listen to ourselves, to connect with self-love in the first instance so that day by day, we can create an increasingly authentic and truer version of ourselves.
I propose an approach to experience these words that you read, doing a meditation to activate the heart chakra.
Sit in an easy pose with a straight spine. Close your eyes. Place your left hand on your heart, in the center of your chest. The palm should be flat against the chest and the fingers, parallel to the ground, pointing to the right.
Do gian mudra with your right hand (touch the pad of your index finger with the pad of your thumb). Raise your right hand to shoulder level, palm forward and the other three fingers pointing up. The elbow should be relaxed, close to the thorax, with the forearm perpendicular to the ground. Concentrate on the flow of the breath.
Inhale slowly and deeply through both nostrils. Then hold your breath in and suspend your chest. Retain it as long as possible. Then breathe out slowly and completely.
With your lungs out of the air, hold back what is possible for you. Follow this rhythm for 3 minutes to start and up to 31 minutes in more advanced practices. Then inhale and exhale strong three times. Just relax.
True Meditation resides in raising the thought by focusing the mind in a subtle way through practical and concentrated methods. Likewise, scientific techniques of Meditation are applied, focused and aligned in the supra-consciousness (the pure mind).
This healthy discipline brings multiple internal and external benefits in the short and medium-term. Through the art of complete attention, translated as concentration (Dharana), you can reach inner calm and self-knowledge. Closing the “telephones” of the senses will help the internalization of the mind, which will be able to concentrate and reach the state of Meditation.
The steps towards the art of concentration are very simple and beneficial for health and the quality of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual life. It takes a strong conviction and determination to understand the scientific steps that bring us closer to the true state of inner peace and calm.
As an act of will, the art of concentration will balance and harmonize the day-to-day. The order of domestic life is of utmost importance to be able to enter the battlefield without worries: the physical body. Taking a consistent posture of body and mind, we will make ourselves available for practice.
Tips:
Taking a consistent posture of body and mind we will be available to practice meditation exercises and feel calm.
Sit in a chair with your back straight but not stiff, in a quiet place conducive to practice. Place the chin parallel to the ground, keeping the spine in line with the head.
The crown (top of the head) points towards the sky; the feet are barefoot (they can be in stockings), resting with the sole on the ground and, as far as possible, on a blanket. In the event that the feet do not reach the ground, they should be placed under them, for example, books or something that generates the height for support.
The knees must be parallel. You can also adopt another posture: that of Dhyana, with their legs crossed, sitting on the floor on a blanket. In both options (chair or Dhyana), you can rest your back on the back of the chair or on the wall if necessary. Place your hand’s palms up on your thighs or knees.
The eyes are semi-open, focused on a point in front of you (you can place a mandala or photo of Nature that generates calm and observe it). Stay here for 2-3 minutes.
Then, carefully observe your sensations to begin to inhale gently through the nose. Become aware of the nostrils, and exhale carefully through the nose.
As you breathe in slowly, say internally: “I breathe in slowly.” As you breathe out slowly, say internally: “breathe out slowly.” In this way, you will exercise for approximately 3 to 5 minutes. Then exhale 3 times through the mouth, purifying.
As you inhale, repeat internally: “I perceive the whole body,” and when exhaling, say internally: “I perceive the whole body.” Stay here for about 3 to 5 minutes. Always with semi-open eyes, observing the image of the mandala or photo. At the end of the aforementioned time, exhale 3 times through the mouth, purifying.
In this last part, close the fists with the thumb inside and rest the fists with the palms down on the knees. Perceiving a state of internal happiness, continue inhaling through the nose, repeating internally when inhaling: “thus I calm the mind. As you exhale, say internally: “This is how I calm my mind” for 3 to 5 minutes.
Then, in the end, exhale 3 times through the mouth, purifying. Thanking you for the practice, place your hands with your palms together in front of your chest in greeting, perceiving a refreshing feeling.
A well-done asana must be stable, firm and comfortable, a condition that is achieved thanks to the isotonic contractions of the muscles. Let’s see how to consciously perform this contraction.
One of the most recognized sutras in the world of yoga is Sthira Sukham Asanam. Let’s go back etymologically to the meaning of each word that composes it. We can understand that it refers to the qualities that asanas should possess: stability, firmness and softness, comfort. This condition of firmness and stability when we do an asana comes hand in hand with isotonic contractions.
Movement occurs when a muscle is stimulated, causing it to act, and giving rise to what is known as “isotonic contractions”. An isotonic contraction is an effect on the muscles that involve their fibers, creating tension in themselves.
We could say that it is a physiological process in which the muscles develop a certain tension, and shorten or lengthen and remain at the same length, depending on the type of contraction.
In concentric contraction, the muscle acts, generating tension to overcome a certain resistance. Thus, there is a shortening of the muscle fibers and later mobilizing some part of the body.
Eccentric contraction. In this case, faced with resistance, we exert tension on the muscle while lengthening it. In other words, it would be like “lengthening” it.
An Isotonic contraction is a static form of exercise in which a muscle contracts to produce force with no apparent change in muscle length and no appreciable joint movement.
When we practice Vinyasa, for example, when entering and leaving the asanas that make up the sequence, we apply the first two contractions: concentric and eccentric. But when we stay in the asana, we should consciously apply sustained isotonic contractions, but surely our mind does not incorporate it since attention is not usually paid.
In general, we tend to focus on the dynamics of our Vinyasa (transition between asanas) rather than permanence. It is more evident when we practice Hatha or Iyengar. But this does not mean that we cannot apply it in more dynamic styles like Vinyasa. That there is less time does not mean that we cannot do it.
Leaving aside that moment (apparently static) means not incorporating those patterns of stability and strength that our body needs to stay healthy.
Very rarely is a single muscle involved in the movement. To create stability around a joint and gain precision, it is necessary to generate coactivation in several muscles: in agonists (they are responsible for the main action of movement) and antagonists (they oppose movement but not enough to prevent movement).
This coactivation is achieved thanks to sustained isotonic contractions and is necessary to keep the axis of rotation around which the movement occurs stable, allowing smooth and controlled movement. This is especially important for the joints of the spine, pelvis, shoulders, and knees.
When a load is being supported, it is necessary to exercise this type of contraction, which will produce a muscular coactivation necessary to maintain the good health of our joints.
It is imperative to understand that just as we need to keep a joint stable when there is a load, it is also necessary for the joints to stress and move within their range of motion when there is no load. By finding this balance, the joints remain strong and healthy.
For example, in the shoulder joint, when we do the lateral plank (Vashistasana): do the test of pushing the hand that remains on the mat down and forward Isotonically (without movement), you will notice that the shoulder muscles are more strong, you will even feel that your pelvis weighs less.
This action of pushing your hand down and forward will produce isotonic contraction of the shoulder muscles, which creates stability for the glenohumeral joint. We will apply this action of rejecting the mat with our hands whenever we are bearing weight (against gravity) to prevent shoulder injuries, for example, Adhomukha Svanasana, Chaturanga, Phalakasana, etc.
In Virabhadrasana II (Warrior II), which needs a strong and stable foundation, the following isotonic contraction is made: once in the asana, imagine that the feet want to meet in the middle of your mat (your front foot pushes Isotonically towards the back and the back Isotonically forward).
Notice how your legs are empowered and how, in addition, your hip and knee joints are stabilized. This same contraction could be applied to all standing asanas and is very beneficial in preventing knee hyperextension (for example, in Trikonasana Parsvakonasana, Virabhadrasana I, etc.)
So to finish, whenever you find yourself staying in the asana, activate your muscles from the foundation. Not only will you feel that your body is empowered, but you will also feel more fluid in the transitions you make in your Vinyasa due to the conscious control of your body.