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Search Results for: yoga

June 2, 2015 By Mohammed Tufail Qureshi Leave a Comment

WORKOUTS IN A 10 SQUARE FEET AREA

 

burpeeOne of the biggest reasons for not exercising is largely due to lack of time and not being able to make it to the gym. Reasons could be varied such as dislike to visit the gym and lift weights, especially for women. Well, it’s not necessary for you to go to the gym, you can work out at your own home, office cabin or at any place which is just no more than 10 square feet in measurement.

Yes , you heard it right. You can do your complete body workout in just 10 square feet area. Let’s have a detailed look at the different types of training you can do in a little place.

  1. You can do aerobic (cardio) exercises with your own body weight and also with a very basic equipment like a skipping rope.

You can do exercises like jumping jacks, mountain climbers, burpees, high knees, spot jogging, spot jumping, hot feets etc. These are few of the very basic and effective exercises to raise your heart beat up and build cardio vascular strength. Per session you can select 3-4 exercise as a part of the session and can do each exercise for 15-20 seconds and then take 5-10 seconds of rest between each exercise.

  1. You can do strength training with your own body weight or basic equipment like resistance tube or a pair of dumbells or barbells. You can do free hand body weight exercises like squats, jump squats, wall squats, push-ups, supported push-ups (on your knees), tricep dips on a chair or on the floor, leg raises , lunges, leg extensions on chair. Also with a pair of dumbbell or barbells or with resistance band you can do bicep curls , triceps extensions, shoulder presses, rowing , squats, lunges etc.
  2. You can do a specific core workout session which includes exercises to be done for lower back and abs. Core session is extremely important. Exercises like back extension, superman raises , child pose, cat & camel thrust , pelvic raises will strengthen and stretch your lower back. On the other hand, exercises like crunches, bicycle crunches, leg raises, scissor kicks, flutter kicks, planks, side planks etc. will work on your abdominal muscles.
  3. You can do stretching exercises, yoga, power yoga and different types of breathing exercises. Stretching exercises, Yoga, power yoga and breathing exercises will improve your flexibility and burn fats as well. Yes, that’s right. Oxygen burns fats, so the more you focus on breathing exercises the more you burn fat and keep your cells healthy by providing oxygen to your body.

These are the exercises which you can do in a very small place like 10 square feet area and, can still focus on your overall fitness by improving strength, stamina and flexibility. You can plan it well according to your schedule and do each of these variety exercises at least once in a week.

May 15, 2015 By Parwage Alam 2 Comments

Breathing: A source of life

deep-breathing

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of a doctor? I would imagine a stethoscope. Stethoscope is used to hear our heart beat or the voice of our breathing. Breathing sounds can indicate problems within the lungs such as obstructions, inflammation, or infection and is an important part of diagnosing many different medical conditions.

The quality of your breathing is a powerful determinant of your physical and emotional state of being. I would like to share some of my knowledge and experience with you.

There are different types of breathing techniques available, which you can do to make your body, mind and soul healthy and fit. When we are talking about breathing techniques “YOGA” word automatically occurs to you and while talking about yoga -Pranayama, Anuloma Viloma will automatically comes to our mind. I have been practicing yoga for several years and would like to share some of my experiences with you and help you understand about breathing better.

Pranayama breathing techniques: Pranayama also has different kinds of breathing techniques like Dirga Pranayama, Nadi Shodhana, Ujjayi Pranayama, Kumbhaka etc..

  1. Dirga Pranayama : It’s a basic technique which teaches us the various ways of breathing and how to breathe right – Deep Breathing. We usually breathe shallowly and use approximately one fourth portions of our lungs. This technique helps us to learn how to utilize the lungs properly for breathing. We have to breathe deeply so that our stomach fills with air, then our chest, till finally it seems like our shoulder blades are being displaced by the air you are breathing in. Dirga Pranayama is akin to filling up and emptying a vessel with water and replenishing the body and soul.
  1. Nadi Shodhana: Nadi Shodhana, also known as Alternate Nostril Breathing, is a powerful breathing practice with wide reaching benefits. Alternate Nostril breathing is a beautiful breathing technique that helps keep the mind calm, happy and peaceful by just practicing it for a few minutes.

In this you have to cover your right nostril using the thumb of your right hand and take deep breaths with the left nostril. In the pause between inhalation and exhalation, you release the right nostril and close your left nostril with the ring finger of your right hand. Once you finish exhaling fully, you inhale through the same nostril. In the pause between the inhalation and exhalation, you close your right nostril with your thumb while releasing the left nostril.

  1. Ujjayi Pranayama: The beauty of unifying breath and movement is truly majestic. More popularly the term Ujjayi Pranayama is known as ‘Ocean Breath’ or ‘Victorious Breath’. In this Inhale slowly from your nose and exhale from your mouth. When exhaling, produce the sound ‘HHHHHAAAA’ (ocean sound).

Now, try to keep your mouth closed while exhaling. Generate the same sound as before but, this time with your mouth closed. Inhalation and exhalation are both done through the nose. The position of your throat is unchanged and natural. Make sure the sound originates from your throat and not from your nose.

The “ocean sound” is created by moving the glottis as air passes in and out. As the throat passage is narrowed so, too, is the airway, the passage of air through which creates a “rushing” sound

Kumbhaka : This technique is an advanced level of Pranayama where you have to hold your breath either at the end of each inhalation, exhalation, or both. Do not practice this technique on your own but, only under the supervision of a learned practitioner.

You can also do Kapalabhati, which is most popular in Yoga. Kapāla means skull and Bhati means light. This exercise gets its name from the fact that when practicing the mind fills up with a bright light. This is due to the change in oxygen and energy levels received by the mind. It cleanses your nasal passage, lungs and your entire respiratory system or in short you are strengthening your lungs and stomach muscles.

In this technique, you take passive inhalations followed by forceful exhalations, by contracting your abdominal muscles quickly as you exhale rapidly through your nose. Try to learn this correctly from a certified yoga instructor, It will help you to avoid any drawbacks.

I would like to conclude by saying that you are still breathing, But, if you breath as per the above techniques, you can take your body, mind and soul to the another level of fitness.

 

April 17, 2015 By Amrozia Sayyed 2 Comments

For your eyes only!

Eyes

As fitness personnel, our focus is on one muscle of our body daily. Having said that I would say let’s   not neglect the very sensitive part of our body which is our beautiful eyes.

I remember as a kid attending yoga sessions in school during our physical training class. Our teachers took so much effort and tried bringing awareness of exercise among us at a very young age. Talking about school, the eye yoga session, I remember was something very funny we did and at the same time enjoyable and less time consuming. It was an easy exercise and we were sure to get some spare time in the end to play some outdoor games on our own.

As it is said eye is the Lamp of our body and it sure deserves some special attention and care. Few exercises will surely help to improve flexibility, strengthen the muscle and improve for better and sharper vision. Today, both children and adults are exposed a lot to television, computer, tab, mobile etc. Even our break time is all about browsing through internet, reading, whatsapping, etc.

A small 5 to 10 minutes break is all that is needed for your eyes!

Following are some exercises that you can try at your desk, before bed, during office break or anytime you want.

Right and left movement: Select a centre point as you sit and slowly move your eyes left, stretch, hold and back to center point. Do the same for the right side. Repeat the movement 4-5 times. Slowly close your eyes and relax.

Up and down movement: Keep your centre point and slowly move your eyes up , stretch and hold and back to center point. Now slowly move your sight downwards, stretch and hold and back to center point. Repeat the movement 4-5 times. Slowly close your eyes and relax.

Upper right & lower left and upper left & lower right: This is slant movement. From your center point to upper right hold and stretch. Back to center point and then slowly to the lower left. Hold and stretch. Repeat 4-5 times. Do the same for the other side that is upper left and lower right. Hold and stretch and repeat 4-5 times. At the end of it close your eyes and relax.

Circular motion : This movement is two types clockwise and anti clock direction. Make a big circle as big as possible. Repeat 4-5 times.

Near and far: keep your right hand straight at your eye level with thumbs up and make it as a center point. Now the movement is look at your nose, thumb. somewhere far, back to thumb, nose and repeat the same. At the end it close your eyes and relax.

Heat: Rub your palms slowly till little heat is generated. Place it over your eyes like a cup without touching the eye lids. Open your eyes slowly while your palms are still over your face. Feel the heat moving inside.

Pamper more if you have some extra time: Dip some cotton in sterilize rose water (if required put cold rose water) and place it over your eyes for some time. Eye pack can also be used at the end of the exercise as a treat.

March 24, 2015 By CHARMI GOGRI 8 Comments

Know the science behind acidic and alkaline foods

ph spectrum

pH balance in the body is extremely important in fact it is a matter of life and death if its imbalanced. The only people who don’t consider this alkaline/acidity balance as vital for better health are ignorant and pop in a pharmaceutical pill for every illness and bug in the body.

pH stands for power of hydrogen, which is a measurement of the hydrogen ion concentration in the body. The total pH scale ranges from 1 to 14, with 7 considered to be neutral. A pH less than 7 is said to be acidic and a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline. Human blood pH should be slightly alkaline ( 7.35 – 7.45 ).

 

acid alkaline

An acidic pH in the body can occur from, an acid forming diet, emotional stress, toxic overload or any process that deprives the cells of oxygen and other nutrients. The body will try to compensate for acidic pH by using alkaline minerals. If the diet does not contain enough minerals to compensate, a buildup of acids in the cells will occur. This when combined with an arena of other challenging environmental factors (such as lack of rest, psychological stress, and pharmaceutical drugs) will lead to chronic, degenerative illnesses or otherwise deadly conditions sooner or later for which modern medicine can’t claim 100% cure.

Acidic environment will decrease body’s ability to repair damaged cells, decrease its ability to detoxify heavy metals, make tumor cells thrive, and make it more susceptible to fatigue and illness. The reason acidosis is more common in today’s society is due to the drastic changes in the eating patterns as compared to our ancestors. Our food today is far too high in acid producing animal products like meat, eggs and dairy, and far too low in alkaline producing foods like fresh vegetables. Additionally, we eat acid producing processed foods like white flour and sugar and drink acid producing beverages like coffee and soft drinks.

We use too many drugs (for quick fixes), which are acid forming too. Chemical or artificial sweetners are extremely acid forming. On the other hand eating too many alkalizing foods can lead to its own fair share of complications over time, but the risk of this is seemingly less likely considering the current sorry state of today’s highly addictive people’s faulty diet as well as lifestyle.

One of the best things we can do to correct an acidic body is to clean up the diet and lifestyle. In order to maintain optimal health, the diet should consist of 60% alkaline forming foods and 40% acid forming foods. To restore health and reverse the damage caused by acidic body, the diet should consist of 80% alkaline forming foods and 20% acid forming foods.

A small explanation to make you understand things better, when a person ingests food to fuel the body, the digestive and metabolic process of the body breaks food into a kind of ash which is either acidic or alkaline. The laws of modern biochemistry further explains that it is not the organic matter (such as Carbohydrates, Proteins and Fat) of foods (whether the food itself is acidic or alkaline), but their inorganic matter (such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, sulfur, phosphorous; that is, how they break down in our bodies), that determines either the acidity or alkalinity of this ashy residue.

All foods in nature contain both acid and alkaline-forming elements, pH balance is either achieved or thwarted as a direct result of the foods we choose to eat. Broadly speaking alkaline foods includes most fruits, green vegetables, peas, beans, lentils, spices, herbs and seasonings as well as seeds and nuts. And, acid forming foods includes meat, fish, poultry, eggs, grains, and legumes along with all the processed commercial refined foods off course!

Here is the quick list of foods based on their alkalinity and acidity, Have a look at them and follow the tips attached beneath that to make your diets more alkaline.

Acidic and Alkaline foods

Source: energiserforlife.com

Tips :

  1. Cut out sugar completely. Avoid processed sugars as well – no corn syrup, no agave, no maltose, no aspartame (Check Food labels carefully)
  1. Having fresh vegetable juices in the morning will oxidise the nutrients present in the veggies.
  1. The regular practice of Yoga cleanses the acids from the joints and organs
  1. Avoid toxic fats like trans fats. Less known fact about coconut oil is it’s not acidic like all other oils when used for frying. Using coconut oil for cooking is the best recommendation.
  1. Stop using deodorants and creams. They have massive chemical load that makes body acidic, also they often suppress the body’s natural functions like sweating, which actually helps to eliminate acid, and pushes the acid back into the lymph nodes.
  1. Stop drinking fluoridated tap water. Tap water is bad, don’t even use it for cooking. Use water from water filter for drinking and cooking purpose.
  1. Highly alkalising foods- you can complement your meals with Wheat Grass, Lemon Grass, Apple cider Vinegar, Alfalfa Grass, Kamut Grass, Oat Grass, Broccoli, Kelp, Cayenne, Cucumber (best taken in the morning or lunch, not at night)
  1. Cut right down on meat. Meat is very acidic. Especially red meat.

Above all, the ultimate goal is balance. What you eat and drink will impact our body’s pH. So eat wisely.

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