Yoga and Sex

Yoga's view of sex is the same as of every other issue - moderation. Yoga considers sex to be a natural function, very beneficial in a loving relationship and, of course, essential for the continuation of the human race.

Yogis warn against overindulgence in sex since they consider this will deplete the life force. They state that the sexual secretions contain very concentrated life force and nutrients, since they contain the seeds of life. Depletion of life force results in a reduced vitality level and reduced resistance to disease. It also retards progress from the practice of yoga. A whole field of yoga called Tandric Yoga or Kundalini Yoga is concerned with harnessing the sexual power. Yoga enables one to get into meaningful relationships and enjoy the process, at the same time provides a path to use the powerful energy involved in sex.

The yogis consider that normal sexual function occurs when the reproductive system is in a state of optimum health. They have found that the most effective way of attaining this optimum health state is by doing yoga asanas and breathing exercises. Those who are physiologically weak and partially or wholly impotent may restore potency as they regain their physical health. Steadier practice of milder yogic exercises may yield results when more vigorous bodybuilding workouts end in undue exhaustion. Those who approach sexual matters nervously rather than relaxedly may profit from previous relaxing yogic exercises. 

Marriage counselors suggest that a relaxed condition is one of the essentials for a harmonious sex relationship because when hurried and strained it leaves the couple (the woman especially) dissatisfied and irritated, adversely affecting her entire well being. Indra Devi, author of many books on yoga, remarked that "The wives of several of my students have often told me that since their husbands had taken up Yoga exercises, their marital relationships had undergone remarkable changes."

It's true that advanced yogis practice celibacy. They need every ounce of their life force for their quest for cosmic consciousness. They also know that the realization of their goal produces eternal bliss, besides which the brief pleasure of sex pales into insignificance. Their minds have progressed so far that they are not prepared to settle for a watered-down version of happiness.

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Yoga and Mental Health

Those practicing yoga experiences a number of factors that results in a profound effect on their mental health. These can be classified under: 

reduction of tension and restoration of pliability. "personal" and "social." 

1. Reduction Of Tension

Many people who practice yoga speak of "freeing the mind from mental disturbances," "calming the spirit," or "steadying the mind." Reduction of nervousness, irritability and confusion, depression and mental fatigue are some of the benefits experienced. One experiences a relief from the pressure of his "compulsions." His nervousness, especially any jitteriness, should subside or disappear. 

The extent to which these benefits may be expected will depend in part upon whether or not one can approach and participate in them willingly and wholeheartedly; for one who tries to practice postures with anxiety cripples his chances for very much benefit.

2. Restoration Of Pliability

"The positive side of the benefits from a full round of yogic exercises may be described as renewal of mental agility. Both mood and capacity for alertness, attentiveness and willingness to tackle problems revive. One may not be able to rekindle boundless enthusiasm late in a working day; early morning, or even noonday, efforts to recharge mental energies can revive a full measure of willingness. Traditional phrases, such as restored "spiritual vitality," intend to convey the complex idea of mental spryness, agreeableness, resiliency, and feelings of confidence and self-sufficiency. Some even testify to attaining feelings of buoyancy and euphoria; these then provide a background or mood of well-being and assurance such that one naturally more fully enjoys both his ability and the worthiness of being more tolerant and generous." Archie Bahm, ‘Executive Yoga’ Personal Values

Diabetes and yoga

A study of 149 persons with non-insulin dependent diabetes found that 104 had lowered blood sugar and needed less oral antidiabetes medication after regularly practicing yoga. Because the patients were placed on a vegetarian diet during the study, however, the effect of yoga practice alone on blood sugar levels cannot be determined.

Regular practice of yoga does reduce blood sugar levels, the blood pressure, weight, the rate of progression to the complications, and the severity of the complications as well.

How Yoga works?

1. Many yogic postures do produce stretch on the pancreas, which is likely to stimulate the pancreatic function.

2. Yoga reduces adrenaline, noradrenalin and cortisol in blood, which are termed as ‘stress hormones’. This is a likely mechanism of improvement in insulin action.

3. Glucagons secretion is enhanced by stress. Yoga effectively reduces stress, thus reducing glucagons and possibly improving insulin action.

4. Blood pressure plays a great role in development of diabetic and related complications, which is proven to be benefited by yoga. The same holds true for increased cholesterol levels.

5. Muscular relaxation, development and improved blood supply to muscles might enhance insulin receptor expression on muscles causing increased glucose uptake by muscles and thus reducing blood sugar.

6. Weight loss induced by yoga is a well accepted mechanism.

Yoga and Back Pain

What a Good Yoga Teacher Can Do:

Back pain is the most common reason to seek medical attention. Yoga has consistently been used to cure and prevent back pain by enhancing strength and flexibility. Both acute and long-term stress can lead to muscle tension and exacerbate back problems. A number of components of yoga help to ease back pain: * Asanas (Postures)-Practicing of postures provides gentle stretching and movements that increase flexibility and help correct bad posture.

Doing yoga cultivates a balance between the flexibility and strength of the muscles of the body, often the real culprit in back pain. Most people are tight in key areas affecting the spine, for example in the hips and shoulders. A system such as yoga, which releases the tension in the muscles, should improve back pain. While the emphasis is on stretching and flexibility, yoga also develops muscle strength.

Yoga incorporates breathing techniques which can lead to stress relief as well as help you get through the challenge of the stretch. Often yoga classes have a spiritual basis, and may offer techniques and the environment to work on deeper levels of healing and resolution of pain.

Pranayama (Breathing Exercises) - Breathing patterns can affect the spine in various ways, such as movement of the ribs and changes in pressure within the chest and abdomen. Exhaling can help relax muscles.

Relaxation and Meditation - Relaxation provides a physiologic antidote to stress. Imaging techniques may also be used. For example, imagining a movement before it is actually performed makes it easier to move the muscles that are being used.

Yoga from Yogi's: Yoga can do only at the time of morning or evening...

Yoga from Yogi's: Yoga can do only at the time of morning or evening...: "Yoga can do only at the time of morning or evening. But mediation and energy rebuilding can do any time. But the concentration is an importa..."

Types Of Yoga

One of the features of yoga, which can be confusing at first, is that a variety of forms of yoga are practiced. Together, they are called yoga. While these share common elements, some focus more on postures and breathing exercises, whereas others have a greater focus on spirituality. Each emphasizes a particular path that comprises a certain set of beliefs, practices, and rituals. Yoga forms constitute a ladder of sorts, from the "lowest" form of Hatha yoga, with its focus on physical postures and breathing techniques, to the "highest" form known as Raja, or "union by mental mastery."

The most popular forms of yoga are:

• Hatha yoga ("the yoga of vitality') - The Foundation 
• Bhakti Yoga: The Yoga of Love
• Karma yoga ("the yoga of action") - the Yoga of Selfless Action
• Jnana Yoga: The Yoga of Knowledge
• Raja yoga- The Highest form of yoga
• Mantra yoga 
• Laya, Tantra or Kundalini yoga 
• Integral Yoga (Purna Yoga)

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Yoga can do only at the time of morning or evening

Yoga can do only at the time of morning or evening. But mediation and energy rebuilding can do any time. But the concentration is an important thing for meditation.

First step:-You have to sit in a relaxed position or lay down in a floor.

Step two:-close your eye, listen your hart beet and breathing very carefully.(after 5 minutes of watching this has make you a good feeling of concentration)If you are laying in floor relax your mussels and  loose your dress firstly

Third step:-Take a deep breath through left nose and count how much time you have to take this process. After taking long breath you have to imaging the good and powerful energy spread over your body. Keep this air one minute in your body.

Forth step:-Exhale slowly through right nose up to whole air going out.

Try to do Exhale and in hale time must be equal.

Fifth step:-Do the same processes through right nose first.

After 10 times repetitions, you just relax your mind and slowly open your eyes and wash your eyes, ear, and face with cool water.

If you can’t get the time for doing this exercise, please do the following item.

Step one:- sit in a relaxed position,

Step two:-Take long breath as much you can (fulfill your lungs), do inhale and exhale as much you can with out any inter well.

Step three:-Do this processes very slowly, you can feel a heat generated in your body.

Step four:-Do not to make any noise, when you are inhale or exhale.

Do it in very slowly. Done this 5 -10 times.

Yoga therapy begins with relaxation

Living in an age of anxiety, we are often unconscious of our tensions. We are often depressed, tired, and an easy victim of diseases. There are a number of reasons for our stressful life. Often it is lack of rest, anxiety, tension and fatigue. These are constantly draining our health energies continuously. Thus, the first priority is to get us into a relaxed state. Yoga employs asanas, pranayama (breathing exercises) and meditation and/or visualization.

Asanas (postures): Postures are gentle stretching movements designed to help balance the mind and body. The yoga postures are designed to rejuvenate the brain, spine, glands and internal organs. They work by increasing the blood and prana supply to these areas and by stimulating them with a gentle squeezing action

The asanas were designed with economy of time and effort in mind. Most of them work on more than one aspect of the body at the same time. For example, the twist asana benefits the spine, adrenal glands, liver, pancreas and kidneys.

The yoga asanas produce their beneficial effect on the organs and glands in three ways.:

1.The position of the asana causes an increase in blood circulation to the  specific target organ or gland.                                    

2.The position of the asana often produces a slight squeezing of the organ or  gland. This has the effect of massaging the organ or gland and stimulating it.

3.Deep breathing and visualizing the target area sends an extra supply of prana   to the area.

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Yoga Change the Life more...

The yogis consider that we are all searching for happiness and that this is everybody's main goal. It's just that most people settle for the brief, watered-down version of temporary pleasures. The yogis state that at some stage in our spiritual evolution over many lives we will become dissatisfied with brief, temporary pleasures and start our quest for eternal bliss. Methods to achieve this were developed and perfected by the yogis thousands of years ago. They consider that nature's laws are so designed that we must evolve.

The main mechanism nature uses in the early stages is pain. When we find that relationships, money or alcohol, for example, do not produce happiness or a sense of purpose, we will start looking more deeply into life.

 Yoga waits patiently for you to reach this stage in practice; yoga is an applied science of the mind and body. It comes from the Hindu Vedas (scriptures). Practice and study of it help to bring about a natural balance of body and mind in which the state of health can manifest itself.

Yoga itself does not create health; rather, it creates an internal environment that allows the individual to come to his own state of dynamic balance, or health. Basically, yoga teaches that a healthy person is a harmoniously integrated unit of body, mind and spirit. Therefore, good health requires a simple, natural diet, exercise in fresh air, a serene and untroubled mind and the awareness that main's deepest and highest self is identical with the spirit of God. As a result, to many devotees, yoga becomes a philosophy that offers instruction and insight into every aspect of life: the spiritual, the mental and the physical. Of course, because it is all-encompassing, people who want to pick and choose from its smorgasbord can do so without being disappointed. Yoga is equally satisfying as a physical therapy alone.

One basic assumption of the Yoga Sutras is that the body and the mind are part of one continuum of existence, the mind being more subtle than the body. This is the foundation of the yogic view of health. The interaction of body and mind is the central concern of the entire science. It is believed that as the body and mind are brought into balance and health, the individual will be able to perceive his true nature; this will allow life to be lived through him more freely and spontaneously.

Yoga first attempts to reach the mind, where health begins, for mental choices strongly affect the health of the body. Choices of food, types of exercise, which thoughts to think, etc. all affect the body. As practiced traditionally in India, yoga includes a set of ethical imperatives and moral precepts, including diet, exercise, and meditative aspects. In the West, yoga focuses primarily on postures (gentle stretching exercises), breathing exercises, and meditation. Yoga is frequently used in Western medicine to enhance health and treat chronic disease as well as stress.