Tag: satyananda yoga

Three Easy Yoga Floor Exercises To Lose Belly Fat

Natural Remedies

Three Easy Yoga Exercises For Losing Tummy Fat And Losing Weight

Fat stomachs can be a problem for many. Women after childbirth often need to do stomach-firming exercises to flatten their tums.  Others, because of poor diet and not enough exercise, may also develop unwanted belly fat.

Even men, both young and old, often develop flabby bellies from consuming too much sugar, farrinaceous foods and dairy products, or over-indulging in beer or fizzy drinks.

With the right kind of exercise, and sensible eating, belly fat can easily be reduced.

Here are some very easy and straight-forward exercises which you can do to firm up the stomach muscles and reduce fat.  They come from the teachings of Satyananda, who had a yoga ashram in Auckland in the 1980’s.  I studied yoga at this ashram for three years, which is when I learned  the Satyananda style of Yoga, which includes these marvellous exercises.

You will find that by doing these tummy exercises on a regular basis, even if you do no more yoga than this, a beneficial effect on your nervous system and digestion and sense of well-being will be experienced.  They will help by enhancing your breathing technique, as well as in a physical sense.

Try to practice them every day.  Start with five minutes, and build up the time gradually.  Before long, you will be wanting to add other asanas to your yoga practice.

These yoga exercises for reducing tummy fat will also help you to trim your waist, hips and buttocks.  They are also very good for toning up the thigh muscles.

First Exercise:  Rowing The Boat

Nauka Sanchalana.  A Shakti Bandha energy block exercise.

This exercise frees up the energy flow. The prana, or energy, can get stuck in parts of the body, such as the joints and muscles, or vital organs.  An energy block can cause problems with digestion, with constipation, rheumatism and the like.  I have used these Shakti Bandha exercises to cure earache caused by congestion. They also help to relieve congestion in the lungs.

Rowing the Boat exercise massages all the muscles and organs in the stomach area.  It helps to remove constipation, helps eliminate toxins, and restores a natural energy flow around the body.  This exercise is supposed to be great for enhancing the endocrine functions.

Here is how you do it:

The main thing to remember is not to rush the exercise, but build up a smooth, even movement which co-ordinates with your breathing, which should be slow and deep.

Sit comfortably on the floor with your legs stretched out in front of you.  The knees should be straight if you can do that, with the feet together.

Now ‘row the boat’ by moving the hands forward to reach over, or towards, the toes.  As you move forward with the arms, you breathe out.  As you come back with the arms, rowing your boat and holding imaginary oars, breathe in.

Lean back with those imaginary oars so that you stretch the tummy muscles.

Breathe out again as you come forward with your arms to stretch out towards the toes.

Repeat until you have done ten rounds in this fashion.

Then do ten in the reverse direction.  Simply reverse the movement, so that you are breathing out as you move the hands close to the legs, reaching out for the toes, then breathing in as you take the arms upward while you bend back with the imaginary oars.

This exercise can be done by expectant mothers for the first three months only of pregnancy.

It is an excellent exercise to do AFTER childbirth.  It will help the stomach organs return to their proper places and develop muscle tone.  Note:  Do not do too many to start with, and not too soon after having your baby.  You should wait for at least a month before beginning an exercise programme, in my opinion.  Ask your doctor or naturopath for advice on when you can safely begin doing stomach-reducing exercises.

Exercise Two:  Churning The Mill

Chakki Chalana  is another sitting Shakti Bandha exercise to remove energy blockages.

For this exercise, the same breathing applies as above.  Take your time with the exercise, and breathe out slowly as you come forward, and breathe out as you move the body back.

Sit with the legs outstretched for this one.  Clasp the hands together.

Now – Take a deep breath and then exhale as you move the clasped hands forward over the right leg, down towards the toes.

Keep the movement going, heading towards the left foot.

Then, touch the left foot with the clasped hands and, breathing in, arms outstretched, bend backwards as you bring the hands up the left leg to the thigh.

Move the hands down the right leg again, as you breathe out.

Continue in the fashion, making a big continuous circle with the outstretched arms and clasped hands.

Breathe out as you move the arms forward and bend the body forward.

Breathe in as you move the body backwards, coming up from foot to upper thigh with the arms stretched outl

Try to keep the arms straight, as this means you have to bend back a good way with the arms at the top of the legs.  This bending back movement gives the stomach muscles a really good stretch.

Exercise Three:  Leg Raises.

Now, after having done the two Shakti Bandha exercises as above, lie down on the floor.

Arms loosely at the side of the body.

Legs out straight on the floor.  Releax.  Take a few breaths and watch the tummy rising with each inhalation, and falling back as you exhale.

Now take a deep breath in and hold the breath.

While you hold the breath, lift both legs slowly off the floor.

Still holding the breath, keep raising the legs upwards until the toes are pointing to the ceiling.

Now, while you keep the feet pointing to the ceiling, let the breath exhale.

Still holding the legs upward in this position, take a breath in and out.

Then take another deep breath in and hold the breath.

Slowly, very slowly, bring the legs down bit by bit until they touch the floor.

Keep holding the breath until the feet are down on the floor again.

Let the breath out, then take another deep breath in and hold the breath while you slowly lift the feet upwards again.

Do this exercise three times then stop.

This one is not recommended for people with high blood pressure or heart problems.  If you have health problems of any kind, then leave this exercise out and just do the first two exercises.

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Natural Constipation Cure With Water

Constipation should Be Avoided: Constipation causes toxins to sit around in the bowels, where they will be reabsorbed back into the blood. This causes auto-intoxication.

Adequate Water Is Necessary To Purify the Body,  prevent constipation, and keep the immune system strong. Constipation causes auto-intoxication, which results in sickness, and a generall weakening of the immune system.

Constipation Causes Cancer and Arthritis if it the condition is long-term. If the bowels are kept clean and regular, and free of constipation, then diseases such as cancer and arthritis do not usually develop, unless intoxication occurs from some other, external,  chemical poisoning.  Ten glasses of water should be taken by adults each day.  More than this is required if the weather is very hot, if you are physically active, and if you have a bigger than average  build.

Water is needed for a healthy bowel, and this is stressed by Dr Frank Hurdle in his book  ‘A Country Doctor’s Common Sense Health Manual’, which was published in1975 by Parker Publishing Company Inc., New York.

Dr Hurdle should know what he is talking about:  He  had a wealth of experience as a practicing physician before writing  his ‘Common Sense Health Manual’.  This experience includes 12 years in private practice, two years at Fort Logan Mental Health Centre,  two years in the United States Army Medical Corp, and several years working on research projects.

Dr Hurdle, who says that constipation is a world-wide problem, and that everybody suffers from this at some time in their lives,  cannot stress enough the importance of water  in preventing constipation and disease.  Here is what he has to say about the reasons for constipation, and the lack of water as a cause:

He gives a list of eight  ‘common things that provoke constipation’.  His list  reads:  1. Not enough fluids  2. Lack of abdominal muscle tone. 3. Not enough fluids  4. Lack of bulk in the diet.  5. Not enough fluids.  6. Nervous gut syndrome. 7. Not enough fluids.  8. Laxative habit.

Water is important for bowel function. The primary function of the large intestine is to reabsorb fluid from the digested food passing through.  You need to have adequate fluids in your diet so that there is enough fluid for the large intestine to absorb what it needs, and still leave enough moisture in the digested food so that it can pass through easily.  If your intake of water is too low, then you get constipated, simple as that.

Get Enough Exercise To Prevent Constipation:  Of course, exercise, and a healthy diet also play a part in the healthy digestion of food.  So make sure that you do get some regular exercise on a daily basis.  Light jogging,  or walking, or swimming, or tennis, or yoga, or skipping are all fun ways to exercise.

Eating a good breakfast is important to prevent constipation.  Breakfast starts the digestion working for the day, which includes intestinal function as well. If you have a habit of skipping breakfast, then you are shutting down your digestive system right at the time nature intends it to get cracking and start processing food.  This leads to constipation.

My friend Bernhard Petersen stresses that breakfast is very important. Eating a large bowl of cereal such as porridge with a grated apple on it, or a bowl of bran and yoghurt, or a plate of rice with dried fruits, followed by boiled eggs, or scrambled eggs, or some other nutritious food, is important for busy people.

Dr Dr Max Gerson worked out a very successful treatment for his cancer patients, and an important part of it was the eating of a large bowl of oatmeal porridge, taken with a raw grated apple each morning.

This porridge and apple formula was to provide bulk for the intestines, and to get the digestive and intestinal functions working optimally, as well as to provide nutrients.

His recovery programme for his cancer patients involved also the taking of 2 tablespoons of castor oil every second day, which was another bowel-cleansing technique.  Castor oil also detoxifies the liver, and reduces cancer tumours. This can be used by an otherwise healthy person once a week to detoxify liver and intestines. People treating degenerative disease such as cancer would need to take it more frequently, and on a regular  basis such as Dr Gerson recommended.

Coffee and tea drinkers take heed:  Drinking coffee or tea first thing in the morning can dull the appetite, leading you to think that it is OK to rush off to work or to child care or somewhere without that breakfast.  But this is very harmful to the body, bad for the nervous system,  bad for the general health, and will create constipation.  Too much coffee can also upset the acidophilus organisms in the bowel, which aid digestion. When these beneficial bacteria get killed off,  candida overgrowth can become a problem, and this can cause constipation, or diarrhoea in some cases.

Take Notice Of Your Bowel Impulses:  I believe that constipation exists in many people because they ignore the responses of the bowel:  When the bowel is stimulated and sending messages to go to the toilet in the morning, many people carry on with their hurrying, and pay no attention to the bowel responses.  If this is ignored, then the bowel will give up and probably not message you any more that day. You must respect your bowel, and give yourself time to use the toilet each morning.

Simple Water Cure For Detox and Constipation:  Enemas of course, are great for their immediate effect in clearing the bowels, and for supplying water to nourish and cleanse the intestines.  But here is a method for using water orally to clear the intestines of effete matter.  The method is to fast for three days, eating nothing except perhaps some stewed apple in the mornings.

Every hour throughout the day, take a cup of boiled water which is still hot, but sufficiently cooled to drink. Keep this practice up for three days.  About the third day, your bowels will clear themselves of any obstructions and effete matter. then you can begin eating again, starting with light meals of cooked vegetables and raw or stewed fruit, rice, and pulses.

Second Method  Using Water For Curing Non-Chronic Constipation

This is actually a Yoga exercise which can be found in Swami Satyananda Saraswati’ book ‘Asana, Pranayama, Mudra, Bandha’ published first in 1969, Bihar School of Yoga, India.

It is very simple to do, and you do not have to be practicing yoga for it to be beneficial.  Hopefully, if you are new to yoga,  this exercise might spark off a life-long study of yoga to aid your health.

Method:  First drink six cups of water in one sitting.  Then stand in the ‘Heavenly Stretch’ pose, or ‘Tadasana’.  This posture starts standing erect, the feet apart by several inches.  Clasp the fingers together and raise up the hands with fingers interlocked, above the head, palms facing upward.

Stretch the hands upward toward the sky, breathing in, and lift the heels off the floor.  Normally, you would do several motions, lifting the heels up off the floor, hands upward, as you breathe in, then breathing out, you would lower arms and heels together.  But we do this exercise a little differently  for the purpose of helping the bowels.

Instead of doing several up and down movements, you hold the pose on tip-toes, whilst you walk on tip-toe for 100 paces, holding the arms above the head, with hands upward to the sky.

Satyananda recommends this exercise for the first six months of pregnancy.  It helps keep the back strong, tones the legs, and stretches the intestines.

This alone is an effective cure for constipation  All the muscles in the lower abdomen get worked with the  combination of stretching upward and walking at the same time.  Drinking the water before you begin is important. This will usually encourage a bowel movement within a few hours.

How A Patient Was Cured Of Constipation and Laxative Dependency:  Dr Frank Hurdle gives some advice on how to avoid using laxatives, which weakens  the responses of the intestines.  He had a patient who had taken laxatives for many years, and who had what seemed an incurable dependency on these drugs.  Dr Hurdle devised a plan to get this man off the laxatives.  He told him to stop taking them and begin drinking plenty of water, for a start.   Next, he  advised him also to exercise on a daily basis.

The main dietary requirement was that the patient had to eat a large bowl of pure bran each morning, before eating anything else.  The fourth requisite was for his patient to tell himself each night at bed-time, that he would have a bowel movement first thing in the morning.  This affirmation was repeated every night faithfully, and the bowl of bran taken dutifully each morning, with plenty of fluids taken through the day.  The result was that the patient was cured of his ‘laxative habit’, and never had to resort to using laxatives ever again.

Chant To Soothe Your Nerves and Increase Energy

Singing and Chanting Is Music Therapy which is very healthful for mind,  body, and soul.  Thousands of books have been written about how to use chants and singing to improve the spiritual consciousness, and create a more healthful being. This article will tell you how to practice the OM chant, and give examples of several other chants.

Music Therapy is an age-old science:  Pythagoras, the Greek mathematician and philosopher, formulated ‘prescriptions’ of music for specific purposes around 2,500 years ago.  “Prescriptions’ of music were given to his students for the purposes of  increasing concentration, and to aid sleeping and relaxation.

Rudolph Steiner is one famous psychic and teacher of the last century to recognize the value of music in healing and to write about it.   He also formulated a music therapy which uses different combinations of notes to produce different effects in the body and psyche.

The Hindu and Buddhist traditions have hundreds of different chants and tunes which are sung because of their spiritually enhancing qualities.  Singing and Chanting are an integral part of all the great religions of the world, including the Christian faith,  and this is because singing, especially singing Praise, is one of the most beneficial things that we can do for the mind, the body, and the soul.

Religious chants,  soulful arias, and tuneful folk ditties are generally more effective for soothing the nerves than singing any rowdy pop song, of course.  The singing should be done sweetly to have a good effect on yourself and the people around you.

Chanting a mantra, which can be a traditional Indian mantra, or a phrase which uses just a few affirmative words, is especially soothing for the nerves and the mind:  If it is practiced for 20 minutes at a time on a daily basis, this will produce a deep tranquillity in mind body and spirit.  People have been healed of sickness through the singing of chants and mantras on a regular basis.

I will list just several of my favourite chants:  There are many, many more, but these ones I find to be wonderfully healing.   Whichever you choose, try to practice it for 20 minutes at a time, at least once a day:  Regular chanting and singing sessions of up to 20 minutes  per day will bring you good health and peace of mind.  If you are severely stressed, or seriously ill, then repeating the exercise twice a day might help, though you might have to start out with just a few OM chants to begin with, and build up gradually.  Your strength will improve with doing this exercise, whether you are sick or no. The secret in building up that Prana, or nervous energy, is to increase the time of chanting or singing gradually. If you are healthy, then, of course, a 20 minute session of OM chanting, or chanting some other mantra, would be quite manageable.

OM Chant For Peace Of Mind:  The Buddhist chant ‘OM’ is  one of the most effective sounds for soothing the nerves, increasing vital energy, called ‘prana’, and improving the soul.  This is a universal sound which has been sung for thousands of years.  The universal sound OM, when chanted for a length of time, produces vibrations up the spine, in the brain, and throughout the whole body.  This sound, when chanted, helps to unblock the channels of vital energy, and this is very beneficial for the nerves.

How To Do Your Om Chanting To Soothe the Nerves:   Sit down in a quiet place.  If you can, then sitting cross legged on the floor or the ground is good, and the lotus position even better.  But the chanting still has a beneficial effect even if you sit in a chair.  The main thing is that the back be straight.

Close your eyes, rest your hands gently on your thighs, take a long, slow, deep breath in, and release the breath with the sound of ‘OMMMMMMMMMM’.  Just let the air come out naturally, slowly and evenly in a long exhale, so that the OMMMM sound is increased for as long as the breath.

When the breath has fully exhaled, rest in that spot for a second, before inhaling again.  Let the inhalation be nicely drawn out too, so that the breath in is deeper than the usual inhalation.  Fill the lungs up with beautiful air, then repeat the ‘OMMMMMMMMMM’ chant again.

It is important not to overdo it.  If you are not used to Om chanting, or singing or chanting at all, then the rush of oxygen to your brain, nerves and blood might cause you to feel dizzy.  Take it easy.  Build up slowly.

Hindu Prayer Which Increases Vital Energy and Soothes Nerves:

This prayer is a chant which is sung repeatedly.  It is an especially beautiful thing, and is a favourite of mine.  I learned it at the Satyananda Yoga Institute in Auckland many years ago, when they had a centre in Grey Lynn.

The words are:  Sri Ram, Jaya Ram, Jaya Jaya Rama Ram

Sri Ram, Jaya Ram, Jaya Jaya Rama Ram.

The song is very rhythmic, and you might want to clap your hands with this one as you sing it.  Sit on the floor, legs crossed, if that is comfortable for you.  Otherwise, sing the chant in a chair.  Again – straight back is necessary.  The melody, as given in the key of C major will go:

E……E, D,      E     E   E    D,      E    E      F    G      F…E   E…….

Sri   Ra-m,    Ja-ya  Ra-m,     Ja-ya,  Ja-ya   Rama  Ram

D……D, C,     D     D   D     C,     D   C      D   ED    C…B     A

Major and Minor Keys:  This chant is interesting:  It begins in what we call, in western music, a major key, but it ends in the relative minor of that key.  In analysis, this is would have a very beneficial effect on the mind and body, because it is incorporating both the ‘sad’  but softer effect of the minor key with the more cheerful and bright major key.

Singing this chant regularly brings you closer to God and increases awareness of  the infinite.  It also, like the OM chant, increases energy flow and encourages spiritual aspirations.