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By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed As the coldness of winter begins to recede, you may be noticing that the pulsation of new life all around you is propelling you to dissolve and release stagnant energy. This stagnant energy is often located in the hips, shoulders and throughout the thoracic spinal area. You even find that there is quite a bit of stagnant energy in your home, after several months of spending your time indoors with the windows closed. In the same way that doing a deep spring cleaning of your home lightens up and energizes your living space, dissolving stagnant energy in your body will help to lift your spirits and revitalize your life force energy or prana.

By Bhavan Kumar How does Yoga help bone density? An increasing number of individuals are finding themselves suffering with ailments related to a weakening of the bones. Age is typically blamed for this decrease in bone density and strength, but in truth extreme bone weakness is not a normal side effect of aging. This new problem has only been an issue in recent years, and our current lifestyle is to blame. Postmenopausal women are most prone to bone weakness, but this problem is starting to extend to young women and even men. The bones are like anything else in the body and must be used in order to be strong and durable.

By Seema Deshpande Yoga can be practised in various forms - asanas or postures, meditation, positive affirmations, and pranayama or breathing exercises. All forms of yoga have countless advantages and can benefit human beings to the fullest if they practise any of these forms sincerely and consistently. In this article, we will specifically learn more about the benefits of practising pranayama, the safest and relatively easier forms of yoga. We will specifically examine if pranayama can help ease anxiety in people, which is the root cause of many psychological illnesses, and some physical disorders too.

By Seema Deshpande Practising yoga consistently can be extremely rewarding. Yoga can be practised in various forms such as pranayama or breathing exercises, meditation, and yogasanas or yoga postures. Furthermore, yoga can be practised by anyone - young or elderly, athlete or a normal person-yoga can be suitably modified to match everyone's need. While yoga can improve your physical and mental fitness significantly, research studies are being conducted to study the effectiveness of yoga in preventing and/or treating various physical and psychological disorders. In this research article, we will see whether yoga can lower blood sugar level in diabetic people.

By Kathryn Boland In a prior article I described how my father took me to a great little shop/art gallery down a windy and dusty road, and how that led me to reflect on the advantages of going "off the beaten bath" - exploring the unconventional for new knowledge, skill development, and enjoyable experiences. My father said something else while we were in that "arty" little store that led me to reflect on another general theme. He said something to the effect of (I paraphrase) "There's so much to see, it's almost overwhelming - but if you take a second time around the whole store, you'll see totally new and cool stuff."

By Virginia Iversen, M.Ed Although it is snowing today, the spring season is one week away and with the advent of a new season; many Yoga practitioners and teachers will be starting new projects, courses and various training programs. As the pace of life begins to shift from season to season, many of us can easily become overwhelmed with the increased number of items on our to-do list. As anxiety levels begin to escalate with the increased pace of life and number of daily obligations, irritation and even angry feelings may begin to arise.

By Faye Martins The human back is a miraculous assembly of bones, ligaments, tendons, muscles and nerves. Backs should be both incredibly strong and supremely flexible at the same time. The back supports the whole body from the neck, through the upper back into the lower and then to the bottom of the spine. We use it for every single movement we make. If your back is hurting nothing seems to go right. Your back is the entire support system for your body and keeping it strong and supple is important for your overall wellbeing.

By Avalon Hicks For years, yoga has been praised as a spiritual and physical practice able to increase flexibility in the body and help reduce stress. However, there are specialized programs that use yoga as a form of mental exercise designed to increase focus and clarity of thought. This type of Yoga has been used in several studies and has been shown to have significant results in both adults and children.

The human back is a miraculous assembly of bones, ligaments, tendons, muscles and nerves. Backs should be both incredibly strong and supremely flexible at the same time. The back supports the whole body from the neck, through the upper back into the lower and then to the bottom of the spine. We use it for every single movement we make. If your back is hurting nothing seems to go right. Your back is the entire support system for your body and keeping it strong and supple is important for your overall wellbeing.

By Kimaya Singh Yoga can be a great way for someone to recover from a variety of painful and debilitating injuries, such as pulled muscles, torn ligaments, and broken bones. The gentle, low-impact movements of yoga can help strengthen muscles, soothe the mind, regain full use of limbs, and reduce overall pain. However the practice, if done incorrectly, can exacerbate current injuries and even lead to new ones. It is all too easy for an inexperienced yoga practitioner to push him or herself too far or get into a pose incorrectly. As a yoga teacher, it's important to stay up-to-date on how to prevent student injuries in the classroom. There are many continuing education options for this topic, and they can help any yoga instructor avoid having student injuries occur in their classes.

By Narendra Maheshri The Salamba Sirsasana, or Headstand, is one of the poses most widely identified with yoga practice. Many practitioners view it as a pose that, while difficult, should be aspired to because of the mental and physical benefits it espouses. Many raw beginners worry that the pose is too advanced for them to master easily, and yet mastering several poses like Mountain Pose, Downward Facing Dog, and Shoulder stand can help prepare yogis for the shoulder lift and inversion of the more difficult Headstand.

By Faye Martins The practice of yoga is meant to calm both the body and the mind. With slow movements and a focus on breath, we learn to quiet the mind and focus on the present moment. Most often, we need to be calm enough to handle the stresses of daily life, regret over past actions, and worries about the future. It is easier than it sounds to think only of the present moment. Our minds wander quickly, and thoughts tend to "snowball" toward worst case scenarios.

By April Furanna Today, the increase in people being diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD) is quite alarming. As someone who has suffered from digestive problems my whole life and who has been diagnosed with Crohn's disease, I know all too well the complications of having a chronic digestive disease. It is debilitating on the physical body, but also the mind and spirit.

By Avalon Hicks Addictions in one form or another can help to slowly destroy anything and everything. From destroying relationships to destroying health and wealth, addictions have been notoriously found, to be at the center of all kinds of negativity. Most addictions start off as simply being part of a social experiment or a teenage dare, and for some, it stops at just this, but for the vast majority, the simple experiment eventually evolves into something more sinister and nasty. There are addictions that could have started out as medications necessary to treat certain health or mental conditions. There are also addictions that could have been a means or an immediate solution to a dedicate problem or a stressful work situation. Either way, any addiction usually spirals out of control and in more severe cases could result in death.

By Faye Martins The regular practice of sitting Yoga asanas can help trauma survivors to relax and release deeply held muscular and emotional tension. Trauma survivors often experience a rigid sense of holding in order to prevent themselves from remembering the painful experiences they have been through and to protect themselves from further pain and trauma. This holding or freezing is a basic instinctual reaction during a terrifying and painful situation.

By Kimaya Singh Wintertime is a season of great beauty, serenity and celebration. It is also a time when many of us find that we get a number of colds and are vulnerable to catching the flu. A regular practice of Yoga asanas and pranayama exercises will help to keep you in good physical and mental health. There are also Yoga asanas and pranayama exercises that are particularly beneficial for enhancing the functioning of the immune system. The immune system is "staffed" by white blood cells that are distributed throughout the body by the lymphatic system. Exercise in general will help to increase the functioning of the immune system by increasing the circulation of white blood cells throughout the entire body. Yoga asanas that turn the body upside down are known as inversions. Inversions will substantially support the efficient functioning of your immune system through the added power of gravity to increase circulation.

By Jenny Park Ironically, quantum physicists are now telling us the same thing that sages have said for thousands of years. We are living in a sea of energy that connects us to everything else in the universe. Ancient healing arts, such as Yoga, Reiki, and qigong, are all methods of harnessing this vital life force and bringing it into the body to promote wellness and healing. In recent years, many medical professionals and scientists have recognized the importance of energy work as a viable complement to traditional therapies, and the knowledge of these practices is no longer a mystery.

By Gopi Rao Distance learning Yoga courses have become more popular over the last decade, as educators and students become more adept at technology. Educators have learned to tweak and improve teaching methods, and are now able to offer quality-learning experiences without being physically present. Yoga distance learning refers to any yogic teaching and learning where time, distance, or both separate the students and teacher. It is emerging into mainstream methods of yoga education as technology improves, enabling anyone to easily access the resources required for distance learning.

By Faye Martins After successfully completing yoga teacher training, many people ask about remedies for every type of pain and ache. There are many pains that humans feel, but headaches might be one of the most common. Among the various types of headaches is migraine. In 2007, a study published in the scholarly journal Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain concluded that migraine sufferers who practiced yoga for three months were significantly more likely to report a reduction in headache severity, frequency and related symptoms like anxiety or depression. The authors of the study noted, too, that more research was warranted on the subject, and since then, several more studies have published results supporting the conclusion that yoga training can bring headache and migraine relief.

By Faye Martins Let's say you're a yoga instructor who never gets questions about hip pain. My guess is your students are fairly young and haven't experienced pains and aches that come with age and skeletal health. If you never covered maintenance and prevention for hip health during your 200-hour yoga teacher training course, it's time to dust off your instructor manual and write a new chapter.