Class Yoga - How Prenatal Yoga Can Help You During Your Pregnancy

By Patrick Attlee

Yoga originated in India more than 5000 years ago. The word yoga is derived from the Sanskrit word meaning union. A regular yoga practice can yield many benefits from increased relaxation to a stronger, more supple body. People who practice regularly also notice that their weight stabilizes.

People often ask if yoga is appropriate during pregnancy. As long as simple precautions and common sense are followed, prenatal yoga is a fantastic way of staying fit during your pregnancy and will help prepare you for labor.

Without doubt the most important thing to remember when performing yoga poses is to breathe. Few us breathe properly today, we are very uptight and constricted as a rule and tend to breathe from our chests. If you look at a sleeping baby, you will see her tummy rise and fall - this is where we have forgotten to breathe from. Yoga breathing fixes this, thereby relieving tension and ensuring that oxygen rich blood is circulating in your body which is obviously very beneficial for your baby. Yoga breathing can also make your labor much more manageable. When my wife was recently giving birth to our daughter, yoga breathing techniques were central to her strategy. She gave birth without any drugs, gas or air.

As with any physical exercise, you need to take general precautions when you are pregnant. Any poses that mean lying on your back for extended periods should be avoided. Unless you are accustomed to inversion postures, you should not practice them while pregnant. Deep forward or back bends may also not be appropriate, as they may put too much strain on the abdominal muscles. As with everything associated with pregnancy, listen to your body at all times and do not push yourself. You should finish a yoga session in a state of deep relaxation, not heading for the freezer to get an ice pack!

As your body changes in each trimester, you will want to adapt your yoga practice accordingly. In the first trimester, it will likely be possible to perform poses that involve deeper stretching. Standing postures are very beneficial as they will strengthen your legs and improve your circulation. Spine strengthening poses may also be tried. In the second and third trimesters you may want to look ato postures that will help open your hips, for example, Triangle Posture. At this point you should take with your back and forward bends. At all times listen to your body and focus on your breath - this cannot be overstated. Once your breathing is out of control while in a posture you are not receiving any benefits. Back off until your breath returns to normal. Yoga is not about how deep you go, someone in the full expression of the posture will be getting just the same benefits as someone who is only in the first 5 percent of a pose but is working up to their limit.

There are lots of resources that can help you embark on a safe prenatal yoga program from DVDs to books to online articles. With their help you can find a practice that is right for you and your baby.

Patrick Attlee practices yoga regularly and has been writing on the subject for over 5 years. You can find out more about pregnancy yoga at http://www.pregnancy-yoga-dvd.com

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Yoga Bikram - Ayurveda and Yoga, Ancient Sister Sciences

Ayurveda and Yoga are sister Vedic sciences that have been united for thousands of years for the sake of healing body, mind, and consciousness. Generally speaking, Ayurveda Treatment deals more with the health of the body, while yoga deals with purifying the mind and consciousness, but in reality they complement and embrace each other.

The ancient rishis (seers) were the original masters of all Vedic sciences. They understood that Super Health is a great asset on the path toward Self-realization. If the body is neglected it can easily become an obstacle to spiritual practice. Anyone who has practiced meditation for any length of time would agree to how difficult it can be to sit still for long periods of time without feeling discomfort and fatigue. Both yoga and Ayurveda are mutually supportive and offer many ways to prevent and heal various disorders as well as to cleanse and rejuvenate the body.

Besides sharing a philosophical foundation, both systems have many similarities in relation to attitude, vegetarian nutrition, diet, hygiene, exercise, cleansing practices, as well as spiritual practices. Traditionally, a student of yoga would first live close to and serve the guru for many years, during which time he would learn healthy habits. The basic Ayurvedic principles for health and longevity were past on in the lineage in oral form to serve as a foundation for a life of sadhana (spiritual practice).

Nowadays, the teachings of Spiritual Yoga are easily available to all, and whether prepared or not we can leap headlong into its practice. This has its blessings, in the sense that more people can be turned on to the teachings, although much is often lost without the parampara, or close guidance at the feet of an accomplished master. With this in mind, modern yoga practitioners would most certainly benefit from a basic knowledge of Ayurveda to help establish a healthy daily routine and adjust their practice according to the constitution, dosha imbalance, season, and so on, to prevent disease and promote longevity.

First, let’s take a look at the similarities between yoga and Ayurveda:

• Both are ancient Vedic teachings. Yoga originates in the Yajur Veda, while Ayurveda originates in the Atharva Veda and Rig Veda.
• Both recognize that keeping the body healthy is vital for fulfilling the four aims of life: Dharma (duty), Artha (wealth), Kama (desire), and Moksha (liberation).
• Both recognize that the balance of doshas (humors), dhatus (tissues), and malas (waste products) is essential for maintaining good health.
• Both share virtually the same metaphysical anatomy and physiology, which consists of 72,000 nadis (subtle channels), 7 main chakras (energy centers), 5 bodily sheaths, and the Kundalini Shakti (energy).
• Both advocate the use of diet, herbs, asana, pranayama, meditation, mantra, astrology, prayer, puja, and rituals for healing the entire being.
• Both encourage physical health as a good foundation for mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
• Both share the same view on psychology. Ayurveda embraces all six of the main schools of philosophy including the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and Vedanta (a non-dual philosophical and spiritual path). They both understand that the attachment to the body-mind complex is the root cause of all suffering and that the ultimate state of health is experienced when we abide in our true nature, which is total peace, regardless of the state of the physical body.
• Both use cleansing methods for the body, all of which encourage the removal of waste products and toxins through their natural routes of elimination. Ayurveda has panchakarma (five cleansing actions) and yoga uses Shat Karma (six purification measures).

http://ayurvedicremedies.brighterplanet.org/ayurvedic-remedies/ayurvedic-remedies-best-2-ayurvedic-herbs-for-weight-loss

In Ayurveda Treatment, there is the concept that everything is composed of five basic elements: ether/space, air, fire, water and earth. These are similar to elements in Chinese Medicine. The elements combine to form the metabolic body types, called doshas. To achieve the best results with any Ayurvedic weight loss program, it’s best to know your dosha.

http://ayurvedicremedies.brighterplanet.org/ayurvedic-remedies/ayurvedic-remedies-best-2-ayurvedic-herbs-for-weight-loss

Ayurvedic Remedies: Ayurvedic Treatment - Pregnancy

Ayurveda, a science of life, advises how the health of the pregnant woman is taken care of so that she is able to withstand the strain of labour and also give birth to a healthy offspring. It advises mother-to be, to take certain herbs to be taken during each month of pregnancy.

Ayurvedic Remedies: Ayurvedic Treatment - Pregnancy