Yoga Forums: Yoga Poses, Teachers, Discussion, and Sangha » Benefits of Yoga

Yoga for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

admin — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 17:44:03 +0000

CFS, or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome can be debilitating. It causes all kinds of non-specific symptoms including weakness, impaired memory, and fatigue for no reason, loss of concentration, varied muscle pains, headaches, sore throat, insomnia and apathy. The list of ailments is also sometimes called Fibromyalgia, or ‘yuppie flu.’ Although the symptoms of CFS have not been conclusively agreed upon by physicians for diagnosis, the illness can last for years. To the added distress of the physician trying to diagnosis the illness, and the patient suffering from it, many of the symptoms are often indicative of other problems, and must be ruled out first, so the process of diagnosis can be slow in allopathic medicine. Many sufferers of CFS report having lowered physical and mental activity when symptoms are bad, and often lose hope of feeling better. Yogic medicine may succeed where allopathic medicine falls short, and be able to offer a cure for this troubling set of symptoms.

Some allopathic doctors might prescribe exercise to sufferers of CFS thinking that the patient needs…

The Incredible Power of Mantra

admin — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 17:42:47 +0000

The great yogic sage, Patanjali once described many yogic tools that could affect our internal systems. These included diet, movement, sleep, breath, and also the use of sound or chanting mantra. If we were to compare the human being to a highly evolved computer system, we would see that there are two ways in which programs are fed into the computer’s CPU, or central processing unit. Through a study in energetics and in the cognitive affect of archetypal images connected with sound, we could greatly control the output of our CPU. In short, sound creates form.

Lots of research has been conducted in the last twenty years regarding the affect of sound on the human brain. We now know that the brain is taken to different levels of cognition and awareness based on the frequency of a pitch. Sound is actually the interruption or disturbance of mechanical energy that propagates through physical objects as a wave. It is measured in Hz. There are more complex ways to measure sound that have to do with the amplitude of the wave, but for now, it is sufficient to know how sound occurs in our environment.

There are four different types of brain states that are affected by…

What Happens When We Stretch?

admin — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 16:20:51 +0000

What exactly happens when we stretch? We all know something gives. The longer we reach for our toes, the easier it is to grasp them.

What we’ve learned through science is that it isn’t just one thing. Stretching is actually pretty dang complicated.

First the Anatomy

Each muscle fiber is wrapped up in fascia, a material a little like the plastic wrap you could see surrounding a leftover chicken leg in the fridge. Each individual muscle fiber wrapped up in its fascia is then collected into a group with another coating of fascia holding the group together. Then several of those groups of muscle fibers are bundled together in one big group of muscle surrounded by a bigger, thicker layer of fascia.

As the muscle nears a bone, it thins and becomes tapered. The fascia covering each fiber as well as that surrounding the groups of fibers continues and becomes a tendon that forms the connection of muscle to bone. Scientists call this entire structure the muscle-tendon complex. It’s considered one unit because muscle and connective tissue (fascia and tendons) are so intimately connected and intertwined that studying only one or the other is difficult. Having said that, they’ve been able to tease out what is happening to each of them when we stretch.

The Muscle Component

Stretching muscle causes a reflex mechanism in the…

The Benefits of Prenatal Yoga

admin — Sat, 21 May 2011 19:20:48 +0000

Prenatal Yoga encourages healthy attitudes, utilizing easy exercises, and comfortable positions to accommodate a growing baby. In a prenatal yoga class relaxation and breath awareness to prepare for childbirth is a cornerstone. At a more subtle level, the baby is welcomed into the world and the mother is prepared for the rigors of motherhood.

Just as in a non-pregnant woman, yoga increases flexibility, strength, circulation and balance. From a purely physical aspect, prenatal yoga prepares a woman for the truly rigorous physical job of labor. It is no different, in many ways, than preparing a marathoner for a big race. In addition to the anticipation of great physical stress, prenatal yoga can prepare a woman to more easily accept the physical changes her body will go through during the course of her pregnancy. Prenatal yoga reduces blood pressure and benefits the central nervous and endocrine systems. It also increases lymph flow and blood circulation. Prenatal yoga reverses the negative effects of…

Yoga to Address the Frightening State of the World

admin — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 02:21:49 +0000

It is becoming obvious to people who are ‘awake.’ The facts mount from every conceivable discipline. Scientists, engineers, social architects, politicians, environmentalists, they all tell us the same thing. We are headed for one of the biggest crises in 5000 years of recorded evolution unless we do one small thing: change our minds.

Is it that easy to change the world? It is definitely possible. By changing our ideas, we change the way that we interact with everyone around us. We start with a fundamental restructuring of ourselves, and this affects the fabric of not only humankind, but all of earth’s sentient creatures. Why is this time so different than any other in human history? If we don’t change our minds, and find a new paradigm within which to insert civilization as we know it, then we face unsustainable outcomes.