5 Yoga Tricks to Help You Focus

 Yoga

In Hindu Philosophy,Yoga is one of six orthodox philosophical schools. While Yoga has been around for centuries, the Yoga Sutras of Patajali are the oldest Sanskrit texts which are the foundation of Yoga.
These treaties are based on the Vedanta Doctrine and the Hindu sacred writing, the Bhagavad Gita.

This book speaks on aphorisms dealing with philosophical aspects of the conscience mind, while emphasizing how to unite the individual conscience with God. The Yoga Sutras have had an enormous influence in the philosophy and practice of Yoga, and is just as relevant today as when it was first written.
The Sanskrit word Yoga refers to a state of mind in which thoughts and feelings are in suspense ("Nirodha" in Sanskrit).
The word Sutra means thread, or to thread. This refers to the threads of the Japa mala, (Hindu prayer beads), which is an analogy that sutras are strong like beads.
Although the Yoga Sutras date between 600 B.C. and 200 B.C., Yogi's have not as of yet been able to clearly determine the identity of its author nor the exact date of its composition. The Sutras are texts that do not appear to be unified, but rather as separate texts.

In to the year 300 A.D., Yogi Patajali, a Vedanta Hindu, compiled the Yoga Sutras and grouped them into eight parts which still remain in tact today. Hence, many people often refer to him as the founder of Yoga.
Mythologically, Hindu's consider Patajali as an incarnation of the divine snake Adi Sesha who is another aspect of the God Sankarshana (the first expansion of the God Vishn). In other words Patajali surrounds and maintains the universe in the shape of a cosmic ocean.
The Yoga-Sutra are 195 aphorisms (sutras), or short phrases formed with technical words and assembled under very strict grammatical rules. Each Sutra is the summary of a dialogue about "Darshana Yoga", maintained between a teacher and his student. The summaries of this conversation constitutes the text "Yoga Sutra".
The book is divided into four chapters or books (Sanskrit "Pada"):
Samadhi Pada: With 51 aphorisms, Smadhi Pada is dedicated to the general nature of Yoga and its techniques: "The complete internalization", its different forms, the obstacles, and the media . This allows it to be at the cessation of all the mental processes, which is the meaning the Yoga. It also refers to a blissful state where the Yogi is absorbed into one being. It is a matter of responding to the question: "What is Yoga?".

Sadhana Pada: "The practice". This section deals with conditions of human life and tries to answer the question concerning why we should practice Yoga. All of its impediments are exposed, their causes and their consequences; and finally, this section analyzes the external media, or the five first practices of Classical Yoga. It is comprised of 55 aphorisms.
Vibhuti Pada: (Sanskrit word for "power" or "manifestation"). Dedicated to "the exceptional faculties", this has 55 other aphorisms (or 56, according to some versions). This chapter exposes the internal media that completes the external part of eight steps Yoga. It also discusses in detail the "Siddhi" or extraordinary powers that challenge the laws of the science. Such powers are achieved involuntarily during the course of practice.
Kaivalya Pada: (Means "isolation", but as used in the sutras stands for emancipation, liberation).This chapter refers to "the independence or transcendental isolation"; with only 34 aphorisms, they treat philosophical problems implied in the study and practice of the system; specifically two fundamental questions of the metaphysics: the time and the nature of the knowledge. The Kaivalya Pada describes the nature of liberation and the reality of the transcendental self.
Patajali defines Yoga in his text as "the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind". After developing a meticulous study of the operations of human awareness, he enumerates on the eight steps, or stadiums, called Ashtanga (the Yoga of eight members).  To reach this objective, the Yogi should observe and practice rigorously. They are prescribed in the second Pada of the Yoga Sutras
- Yama: Universal ethical principles: do not lie, do no harm, sexual abstinence and renunciation.
- Niyama: Disciplines of individual conduct: Cleanliness or neatness, satisfaction or acceptance of personal reality, asceticism, study and devotion to one absolute thing.
- Pranayama: Breathing techniques. Beneficial to health, steadies the body and is highly conductive to mind concentration.
- Pratyahara: Orientation of the senses toward the interior. Concentrating the mind in a single point, they acknowledge that the senses be set apart from objects, and that the person be centered.
- Dharana: Concentration. Focusing the mind in a single point to avoid dispersion.
- Dhyana: Meditation: The act of meditation and object of meditation remain distinct and separate.
- Samadhi: State of upper awareness: subject and object both disappear in the same meditation.
This link gives us more information about The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and is also a link to a translation of the Sutras.

The Secrets of Yoga for Fertility 

 

Though you may know the voice of Brenda Strong from ABC's Desperate Housewives, you may not know her as yoga instructor—specifically, one who specializes in yoga for fertility. Through her personal battle with infertility, and her work with other women, she developed a yoga curriculum, Strong Yoga4Fertiliy, that utilizes poses to nourish the reproductive organs, calm the nervous system, relax the mind and body, and to help boost fertility.
"One of the wonderful benefits of yoga is it teaches you to respect your journey," says Strong. "It requires that you approach everything as a process." And while there are many types of yoga to choose from, she says, not all types are ideal for fertility.

How Does Yoga Help with Fertility?

The research is clear—chronic stress can lead to a variety of health issues, both physical and psychological. And yoga has long been recognized as an effective way to reduce stress and anxiety. But in addition, says Strong, certain yoga poses can help to detoxify the body while relaxing tight muscles and connective tissue.

Yoga for fertility focuses on improving blood flow and circulation to the low back (sacral plexus), hips, groins, and pelvis, which can aid in healthier gynecological function. As the body relaxes, the mind calms. Focused breathing aids the nervous system and helps lower stress hormones like cortisol, which can impede reproductive hormone function.

There are emotional benefits as well. Learning to listen to the body's natural rhythms through yoga and breathing can bring a deep sense of peace and connection to our own innate healing capacity, says Strong. A strong yoga practice can help women and couples feel more empowered on their journey toward conception.

The Best Fertility Poses

The yoga poses that best aid fertility have a few key things in common. The poses:

• increase circulation to the reproductive organs
• balance hormones
• reduce stress

You may have already heard that inversions like headstands and shoulder stands are powerful fertility aids—recommended because they can aid in balancing hormones. But since inversions and other advanced yoga poses require supervision, they don't make the top of Strong's list.

The following five yoga poses can be done safely, in the privacy of your own home:

• Reclining Bound Angle Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana)—a reclining pose that softens the internal organs, opens the pelvis, unburdens the heart, and calms the mind
• Double Pigeon Pose (Dwi Pada Rajakapotasana)—a sitting pose that helps to release stored emotional trauma in the periformis muscle, which guards the gateway of energy in the hips
• Reclining Half Pigeon (Thread the Needle)—a pose done on your back that helps relieve tightness in the body
• Cobbler's Pose (Baddha Konasana)—a sitting pose that helps to open the hips and increases circulation in the pelvis
• Seated Angle Pose (Upavistha Konasana)—a sitting pose that stretches the hamstrings and helps the blood to circulate properly in the pelvic region
• Legs Up the Wall Pose (Viparita Karani)—a restorative pose that helps calm the nervous system and heart rate

Yoga4Fertility

Brenda's Strong Yoga4Fertility classes are unique because she offers participants expert instruction in yoga asanas (poses) and pranayama (breathing techniques) that nourish the reproductive organs, calm the nervous system, and relax the mind and body, helping to release accumulated anxiety and stress.

She teaches the Four Fields of Fertility©, which enables students to understand the innate connection between the mind and body as they learn specific techniques that will help them shift away from fear based anxiety to empowered presence and the ability to embrace their inherent ability to receive Life in all its forms of fertility. She also has developed specific breathing and visualization techniques specifically for fertility.

 

5 Yoga Tricks to Help You Focus

Businessmanagementdaily.com recently posted a list of tips using yoga techniques to help productivity. It’s something I can definitely relate to as I sit at my desk on a Friday afternoon. It’s also a fabulous lesson in applying yoga to everyday life.

1. Drill your attention into the present moment.
People mostly accomplish this through meditation, but you can get
pretty close just by doing one thing at a time and focusing your full
attention on it.
2. Turn an everyday occurrence, like walking down stairs or crossing a street, into a reminder to concentrate on this moment and think about what you’re doing.
3. Breathe deeply a few times right before you go to sleep and when you wake up. Feel the oxygen spreading to your legs and brain.

4. Instead of drumming your fingers as you wait for a meeting to start, observe yourself and see how your thoughts and emotions affect your body.
5. Slow down.
I think the world would be a much better place if more offices encouraged their employees to slow down, breathe deeper, and live in the present moment. If it makes us more productive, that’s just icing on the cake.