Yoga Addicts

Home
India
Pune
Yoga Addicts

Yoga Addicts is for all interested in Power Yoga. This page has been formed by Sumit Lal - a Power Y These days, the news about yoga is everywhere. Guess what?

Celebrities, medical professionals, even your friends and neighbors are raving about the benefits of yoga. But you aren't sure. You have a busy, hectic life, and frankly, you like it that way. You thrive on the move, and although you occasionally wish for a few moments of peace, you think sitting in the lotus position for an hour sounds like a big bore. This isn't the yoga you thought you knew. This yoga moves, breathes, bends, arches, swings, sways, flows, and dances. This yoga speaks to you in a language you understand. In a world that moves as fast as this one does, where information is transmitted from continent to continent in a few seconds, where people eat on the run, work on the run, and then go running, few people feel they have the time to spend in a class that forces them to be still. We don't remember how to be still! Power Yoga allows us to move, work our muscles, and really get somewhere. Power Yoga builds strength and endurance fast, giving you the results you want quickly, but it also works another kind of magic on the hurried, frayed, overworked bodies and minds of those who practice it. Gradually, subtly, it teaches you how to slow down when you need to slow down. It gives you control over the body you thought had taken the reins of your life. It calms, clears, and brightens the mind so that you can work smart and live in a healthy way. It clarifies. Welcome to the new age yoga, the yoga for the twenty-first century: Power Yoga. You'll be glad you found us.....!

12/03/2013

Website: http://yogaaddicts.in/
Benefits of Power Yoga:
You can expect to gain many benefits from a regular practice of Power Yoga. Power Yoga strengthens and purifies the nervous system so it can reflect a greater degree of consciousness and our lives can become an increasingly positive force in the world. We can actually gain back the connection to Self and others as we are released from the restricted thinking, dull mind, and negativity resulting from a strained, tired nervous system. The healthier our nervous system, the healthier our body, mind, thoughts and actions.
Physically, you benefit from developing flexibility, strength and endurance. You will see an improvement in your posture. As with working out in general, you will feel less tension in your body and a greater release of any stress or anxiety after your Power Yoga workout.
Power Yoga is an excellent practice for weight loss and body toning.
Here are some great benefits that Power Yoga (Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga) provides:
Weight Management (weight loss or gain)
Body Toning
Removes body toxins through sweat
Increases the calorie burning capacity of body (metabolism)
Increases stamina, strength and flexibility of body
Improves blood circulation and immune system
Improves concentration and self-control
Manages symptoms of Thyroid disorders
Heals disorders like stomach acidity
Helps cope with insomnia and sinus
Helps to deal with hypertension
Helps deal with symtoms of Polycystic O***y Syndrome (PCOS) and other menstrual disorders
Manages symptoms of anxiety and depression
Manages symptoms of various addictions

07/03/2013

Link: http://yogaaddicts.in/alignments%20&%20bandhas%201-1.html
Website: http://yogaaddicts.in/
Revolved Crescent Lunge (Parivrtta Anjaneyasana)
Try asking some nonyogis what they think happens in a yoga class, and at least one will answer that people get "all twisted up like a pretzel." In fact, we yogis do twist a lot in a well-rounded yoga practice: We twist while sitting, standing, and standing on our heads. Because there is such an intriguing variety of twists, you might guess that twists provide an abundance of benefits. And they do. There are physiological benefits to the circulatory system and internal organs, structural benefits to the musculoskeletal system, and focusing benefits to your consciousness.

From the physiological standpoint, twists stimulate circulation and have a cleansing and refreshing effect on the torso organs and associated glands.

While these physiological benefits are undeniably valuable, in this write-up, I will focus primarily on the functions of and benefits to muscles and joints used in twists. Yoga twists involve the spine, as well as several major joints, including the hips and shoulders. In fact, full range of motion in spinal rotation is essential to many yoga poses. Unfortunately, many people lose full spinal rotation in the course of living a sedentary lifestyle. Some losses can occur if joints fuse due to trauma, surgery, or arthritis, but most range of motion loss comes from the shortening of soft tissues. If you don't lengthen the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and the connective tissues to their full length at least a few times a week, they will gradually shorten and limit the nearby joint's mobility. In the case of twisting, the limitation is usually in soft tissues around the spine, abdomen, rib cage, and hips. If you regularly practice yoga twists, there are some clear benefits to these same joints and soft tissues. Not only do you maintain the normal length and resilience of the soft tissues, but you also help to maintain the health of the discs and facet joints (the small pair of joints on the back of the spine where each two vertebrae overlap).

06/03/2013

Link: http://yogaaddicts.in/alignments%20&%20bandhas2.html
Website: http://yogaaddicts.in/
Parsvottanasana is an incredibly stabilizing pose. It is a standing forward fold that supports a powerful downward and outward flow of energy. Which would imply it's a pose about letting go, but is it? In practice, it is often experienced as an asana that guides us toward strength and stability in the midst of challenge, a way that we can seek balance and alignment to support our growth. The alignment of this pose is often a student's biggest challenge. Finding the right rotation of the thighs to stabilize joints, engaging the core in the right way to allow and support the lumbar curve, and sustaining the alignment of the hips and thighs can sometimes feel unreachable. Parsvottansana is sometimes called Pyramid, a pseudonym which emphasizes the powerful foundation and strength engendered in this pose.

The tendency is not to feel solid and balanced in this pose, which would cause a lack of strength and stability. So how can we use the inconsistencies or "mis" alignments of Parsvottanasana to bring clarity and direct us toward the path of strength and stability? Well, it doesn't begin with our hamstrings or even with the placement of our feet, but with our approach to the practice instead.

The way we approach our Parsvottanasana is very telling of how we approach our practice as a whole and maybe our lives as well (as is usually the case). If we find that balance is a challenge in this pose, then perhaps we notice a weak foundation in many of our asanas, and a general feeling of ungroundedness in our lives. Maybe we forgo the balance to strive for the deep forward fold, sacrificing all of the support that we can create for ourselves, and then at the completion of the pose, or the practice, or the life situation, we feel spent. Empty of any real benefit, and maybe a little bit pulled apart at the seams. When we practice Parsvottanasana in the most aware way, we find that it is incredibly balancing and stabilizing and offers us the potential to expand and grow into our chests in a way that supports breaking through self imposed boundaries and limitations.

As with any deep work, the process takes time and patience, and we simply can't bypass the importance of creating a strong foundation in order to reach the expansive feeling at the heart of this pose (intense side stretch). To build Parsvottansana from a place of strength and stability allows us the solid base that we need in order to grow and expand into new and sometimes frightening places. The practice of asana is training for the deeper and more intense work of Yoga, to dive deep into the places that we've guarded or hidden from ourselves in hopes of finding freedom. When we move from perfecting our pose and toward allowing the asana to unfold, we find strength and stability bubbles up from someplace deep inside. We are set free from the pattern of superficial strain and outward performance. In making that shift, the effort of the pose is greatly decreased and the elegant grace at its essence is attained. Alignment becomes more intuitive and accessible. We trade our exertion for elegance. We shift from accomplishing a pose to embodying an intention, and the experience becomes more fulfilling.

Ultimately the practice of Parsvottanasana leads us in the direction of this elegance. It guides us to stability, strength and balance so that we may expand to our fullest potential. Eventually, we are no longer distracted by our hamstrings, or discouraged by the alignment of our pelvis, and we are able to stretch deep into our chest and upper body and open the places that we so quickly and easily close to the world and to ourselves. In finding that space, we move from our mat and into our lives with the sense of ease and grace. We dance with life rather than wrestle with it.

04/03/2013

Link: http://yogaaddicts.in/alignments%20&%20bandhas3.html
Website: http://yogaaddicts.in/
Of all the many gifts of yoga, this is one of the sweetest: Yoga wakes us up to life. It saves us from sleepwalking through the beauty, the amazement, the raw sensations of our passing days. I don't know about you, but even when life hurts, I would rather feel its pain than feel nothing at all.
One of my favorite postures for awakening the senses to the here and now is Setu Bandha Asana (Bridge Pose), a beginning backbend that strengthens the legs and hips, massages the spine, and opens the heart. Methodical practice of this asana also offers an opportunity to explore the body and its movements with attention and care. In the process, the mind is calmed and the body becomes energized, leaving the practitioner feeling revitalized and refreshed.
As you explore Setu Bandha Asana, keep in mind a few important details. First, avoid the tendency to let the knees slant wider than the feet as you rise upward. At the same time, take care to keep the feet parallel to each other, with all four corners of each foot fully planted into the earth; you want to end up with even and symmetrical footprints in your mat, not cockeyed heel prints or toe prints. And finally, as your Bridge arches higher off the ground, re-adjust your upper back so you rest more on the shoulders than on the shoulder blades. As you rise up higher onto the shoulders, be mindful not to flatten the back of the neck into the ground. Instead, feel the muscles in the face, jaw, and neck soften and release. These few adjustments will help your body maintain integrity as you move farther and farther into the heart of the pose. Cross your palms by extending the arms behind the back, slanting your shoulders away from the ears towards the spine. Lift one leg off the floor with toes pointing towards the sky, and feel life at its fullest. And then the other leg..
When you feel your body giving way to fatigue, settle down toward the ground, taking care to lengthen the tailbone toward your feet as you do so to elongate the spine. Breathe comfortably and steadily, close your eyes, and drift back toward the center of the earth, softening every fiber of your body. Climb into the moment. Open all of your pores to the experience, like a dry sponge soaking up rainwater. Notice sensations of warmth or coolness within, as well as feelings of fatigue or exhilaration. Consider the sensations in your hips, your heart, and your head. Have you allowed yourself to be changed at all by your exploration?
As you grow more familiar with Setu Bandha Asana over weeks and months of practice, avoid falling into the trap of halfheartedly moving through the posture just to check it off your list and move on to the next. In fact, you might even choose to use this asana as a touchstone, a daily reminder to infuse all of your life with mindfulness and care.
Every time you encounter Setu Bandha Asana — in class, on a video, or in your personal practice — remind yourself that you have just been invited to reawaken every nerve fiber within, and to savor every breath, every stretch, every struggle, every wave of life as it passes through you. Let Setu Bandha Asana be a daily invocation that beckons you back into the heart of life — to the bright and dazzling moment right before your eyes.

27/02/2013

Link: http://yogaaddicts.in/alignments%20&%20bandhas.html
Website: http://yogaaddicts.in/
Backbending Poses
On a physical level, backbending postures have a lot to offer; the muscles of the back are made stronger and less rigid, the chest and lungs are stretched, legs and shoulders are strengthened, hips and internal organs are stretched and toned. All of these are benefits that can help us to live in our bodies with increasing comfort and with fewer aches and pains. This is a major goal of the asana (posture) practice. The more comfortable that we are in our bodies, the less time we spend worrying about physical distractions and disease. Instead, we are able to turn our minds toward more profound topics that are meaningful to us.

Backbends are exciting and often look very glamorous… so it is especially important to listen to your body and not your ego when practicing them! It is best to practice backbends when the body (& especially the spine) have been warmed up. It is often helpful to prepare for backbending by working with postures that open the shoulders, quadriceps, and hips. Starting with a few gentle backbends and working toward deeper poses is the safest approach. Afterwards, neutralize the spine with either downward dog or dandasana. Gentle twists and navasana (boat pose) are also good follow-ups.

As a yoga practitioner’s body becomes increasingly comfortable and confident with backbends, the benefits move beyond the realm of the physical. Backward bending requires both strength and flexibility. As these qualities are developing in one’s body, one’s overall sense of self also becomes more confident and more open. A yogini seeks to possess both the security of self-knowledge and the flexibility of receptivity.

The fronts of our bodies are used to present ourselves to the world. We greet people by facing them, looking into their eyes, shaking hands with them, and maybe offering a kiss on the cheek. We pick up produce at the market and examine it with our eyes and noses. We walk forward into new rooms and down new streets. So, the front body represents one’s external self and one’s future: the realm of the unknown and of undeveloped potential.

Backbends require a leap of faith into this realm – which is both terrifying and exhilarating. Initially, you may experience physical or mental reluctance to enter into backbends. However, the joy of overcoming this resistance reminds us of our ability to overcome all our fears and seek out the rewards of new opportunities. Backbends can open our hearts and unleash us into a way of being that is joyful and fearless. And that is certainly worth the effort!

This experience, even if very brief, can be quite exciting and energizing. Some people may even get so much energy from doing backbends that they experience insomnia after their practice. Other times people can experience a notable lifting of their spirits and overall outlook on their day. By giving ourselves a safe opportunity to face our fears of failure and impossibility, we prepare ourselves for other difficult situations in life. Gradually, a yogini learns to keep their breath steady, to give all that they have to offer, to work with persistence and patience, and to visualize a positive outcome. These are skills that we can use in all parts of our lives, well beyond the borders of our yoga mats.

21/02/2013

Link: http://yogaaddicts.in/alignments%20&%20bandhas5.html
Website: http://yogaaddicts.in/
Upward Facing Dog Pose (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana):
Urdhva mukha svanasana represents the three root words of the pose. In Sanskrit, urdhva means "upward", mukha means "face", and svana stands for "dog".
To get into the pose inhaling, push off the balls of your feet, rolling your feet forward over the tips of your toes. Straighten your arms, push your shoulders back towards the spine and pull your hips forward. Lift your chest up so that your whole body is raised completely off the floor. Point your toes and gaze straight ahead.
Benefits:
Calms the brain and helps relieve stress and depression, manic disorder
Energizes the body, Stimulates abdominal organs
Stretches the shoulders, hamstrings, calves, arches, and hands, firms the buttocks
Strengthens the arms and legs
Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause
Relieves menstrual discomfort when done with head supported
Helps prevent osteoporosis
Improves digestion
Relieves headache, insomnia, back pain, and fatigue
Therapeutic for high blood pressure, asthma, flat feet, sciatica - pain in lower back, buttock, or various parts of the leg and foot, sinusitis

21/02/2013

Link: http://yogaaddicts.in/pranayama.html
Website: http://yogaaddicts.in/
Jalandhara Bandha can be considered the throat lock that controls the flow of energy in the nerves and blood vessels of the neck. Jalandhara Bandha is normally performed in combination with specific breathing practices, and rarely done on its own. That said, it is immensely powerful, as it compresses the sinuses on the main arteries of the neck and in doing so helps regulate the circulatory and respiratory systems. The pressure on the throat helps to balance the thyroid and metabolism. And if no one is looking at you at work, engage Jalandhara Bandha as an instant trigger for mental relaxation as well as stress and anger relief.
To find Jalandhara Bandha sit up tall, either in a comfortable cross legged position or on your shins with your hips on your heels. Place the palm of your hands on your knees. Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose, then exhale and bring your chin towards your neck and lift your sternum ever so slightly. Press down on your hands and straighten your elbows, pull your chin back further, and retain as long as possible. To exit, inhale and lift your chin.

12/02/2013

Pune Mirror - 12 Feb 2013

03/02/2013

Link: http://yogaaddicts.in/alignments%20&%20bandhas3.html
Website: http://yogaaddicts.in/
Ashtanga Namaskara
The Ashtanga Namaskara forms the 6th position in the Surya Namaskar where 8 points of your body ('ashta' – eight, 'anga' – parts) are connected to the earth. Both your feet, both the knees, your chest, both palms and your chin or your forehead.
What it translates to is "Prostrations to Him who nourishes all", so it is but natural that you fall down and connect yourself to the energies of the earth. Apart from being part of the Surya Namaskar, it's also a namaskar you do to a revered swami, saint or temple god. It's your energy points connecting to the earth that truly leaves you feeling blessed and connected.

23/01/2013

Link: http://yogaaddicts.in/thoughts.html
Website: http://yogaaddicts.in/

23/01/2013

Jaggi Ayyangar
Excellent yoga class by Sumit Lal today. Sudden realization on why I like these classes. The perfect juxtaposition of bandhas and pranayama with asanas. Root lock (moola bandha) and navel lock (uddiyana bandha) and throat constriction (ujjayi) throughout the practice (except during Kapalabhati and Bhastrika pranayama). Strategic placement of pranayama throughout the Power Yoga practice - eg. Brahmari (bee) pranayama during downward dog, Kapalabhati during Utkatasan and plank poses! How smart!!

14/01/2013

Link: http://yogaaddicts.in/alignments%20&%20bandhas4.html
Website: http://yogaaddicts.in/
The Swan Sequence is a beautiful and graceful practice that poses some challenges for the beginner yogi. Keep your shoulders down and relaxed as you think of lifting through the chest and lengthening through the spine. Only go as far into each pose as you comfortably can. The link is third eye opening: a call for clarity of thought, insight and wisdom.

Address

Pune
411007

Website

http://www.yogaaddicts.in/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Yoga Addicts posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Yoga Addicts:

Shortcuts

Want your practice to be the top-listed Clinic in Pune?

Yoga Addicts

12/03/2013

07/03/2013

06/03/2013

04/03/2013

27/02/2013

21/02/2013

21/02/2013

12/02/2013

03/02/2013

23/01/2013

23/01/2013

14/01/2013

Address

Website

Alerts

Contact The Practice

Shortcuts

Share

Category