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Have you been struggling to do Chakrasana, Kapotasana, or Ustrasana despite having the strength and flexibility? Is this the fear? Why is it so fearful to fall into back bends vs forward bends? Forward bends are something that we perform quite often in our day-to-day activities and also one can see where they are falling and have the security to land their palms safely versus in backbends which is not so the natural movement of the body and at the same time there is no visibility of where someone is falling and so there is always a fear of falling into the unknown. Most of us have this fraught relationship to backbends where the struggle is not only limited to flexibility and strength but also with our judging minds and…

International Yoga Day 2023 – Importance of International Day of Yoga International Yoga Day is celebrated all over the world on 21st June to raise the awareness of this ancient practice which helps to heal everyone in a holistic and natural way. The theme for this year selected by “The Ministry of Ayush” is “Yoga for Humanity”. In these testing times of Pandemic when this entire world has been through a lot of distress, yoga as a practice has gained a lot of significance in bringing the mental and physical peace that most of us seek. For most of us, Yoga is something that happens only on the mat in the form of asana practice. But in reality, it is much more than that, as asana is just a physical…

The upper back is the region between the neck (cervical spine) and lower back (lumbar spine) and is also called the thoracic spine. This is the most stable part of the spine and the range of motion in the upper back is limited due to its attachment to the ribs. Upper back tightness is usually due to the muscle tension caused by poor posture or looking downward for a long period of time. In our current lifestyle working on a computer for long hours of time or even spending more and more time on our mobile with a poor neck posture leads to tightness and tension in the muscles. To ensure good health of the upper back it is advised that one should include the below-mentioned stretching exercise regularly in…

A good yoga teacher is one who knows how to instruct you for adjustments and corrections by understanding your level and body type. However, this knowledge won’t come unless you are well informed about the joint movements, muscle engagements, and proper alignment of every posture. Besides these, there are other aspects of the human body like knock knee, hyperextended elbows and knees, etc which need special attention to ensure the strengthening of muscles without compromising the safety of joints.Having good anatomical knowledge not only reduces the risk of injuries but also prepares you to take on students who recovered from some injuries in a very safe and effective manner. A good practitioner will also be curious to gain this knowledge to dive deep into the postures and understand their own…

Hamstrings are the group of 3 muscles that run along the backside of the thighs connecting the pelvis to the knee. These muscles are used to flex the knees and extend the hips and are regularly used in our day-to-day life activities like walking, running, climbing stairs, jumping, squatting, coming up standing from a sitting position etc. The tight hamstring is a common complaint these days and it usually occurs due to nonactivity, repetitive movement or poor posture. Some of the common examples are marathon runners who don’t regularly stretch their hamstrings and suffer from a hamstring pull, a non-active person who spends most of his/her time sitting and working will have tight hamstrings which will further lead to back pain or sciatica. Yoga is to create space in the…

Chakras are the energy centers that move through our body from the crown of the head to the base of the spine. The Root chakra, also called Muladhara, is situated at the base of the spine. This chakra is associated with the earth element and linked to the ability to be firmly rooted or grounded. So, it is called the foundation of the physical structure or energy body and the foundation needs to be strong and stable to have good health and wellbeing.Anatomically, this chakra is located in the perineum, is closely associated with the genital area and has great implications relating to Life, childbirth and sexuality. This chakra is also closely related to organs of excretion like the large intestine, kidneys, rectum, and bladder. During Yoga practice, activating the…

The level of flexibility is determined by the ability to freely move the joints through a certain range of motion without any external help. Yoga is one of the best ways to improve flexibility as it works on the mobility of muscles and joints. Some common yoga postures for improving flexibility include Bhujangasana, Paschimottanasana, Dhanurasana, hanumansasana. But a good Yogi will adopt mental flexibility more than the physical one, for example, accepting where you are today with the range of motion of your joints is being flexible. Non-acceptance of the present situation and forcing it towards your goal is rigidity. Does this mean you can’t reach your goal of getting into that perfect hanumanasan or Chakrasan?? You sure can! Designing a good yoga sequence, with consistent practice and a little bit of…

Restorative Yoga also known as Yin Yoga is a set of slow-paced low-intensity yoga postures like setubandhasana (bridge pose), shashankasana (hare pose), shishosana (puppy pose), or any of the easy supine postures which are held with props like a blanket, bolster, blocks, etc for a longer period. These longer holds help to unwind the deeper layers of fascia unlike stressing the muscles in more dynamic movements thereby releasing the tension held in the body and mind. This could be morning yoga or bedtime Yoga or just relaxing yoga to make you feel good on rest and recovery days. Importance of Restorative Yoga All of us are always in fight and flight mode throughout the day in different ways. It could be either through physical exercises or through the mental and…

Yoga has gained a lot of relevance in recent times, as it plays a very important role to boost the immune system to fight off a variety of illnesses and infections. In 2021, the United nation recognized the importance of Yoga and had promoted International Yoga Day focusing on “Yoga for wellbeing” to raise awareness worldwide of the many benefits of practicing Yoga.However, the important question here is: if Yoga practice is enough to keep you fit?Well, if we look at our daily basic activities and movements, they are linked to the Yoga postures or asanas in some way or other, for example, Standing in Tadasana, if practiced properly will engage all the muscles from head to toe without any movement and will make you stand strong like a mountain…

Importance of good sleepSleep is an essential function that helps us to recharge our mind and body after entire day’s mental or physical hard work. Once you wake up after a great sleep, you feel really refreshed, energised and alert. It is the rest and digest phase where the parasympathetic nervous system activity is increased to make sure you are ready to relax and get the most out of your rest. This nervous system ensures that all the changes to your breathing, sweat production and heart rate happens gradually.There are a lot of benefits of a good sleep, some of which are: helps to maintain high energy levels throughout the day, helps to manage any blood pressure issues, keeps the heart healthy and young, helps to control diabetes and body…