How to perform Shavasana:
After awaking & at bed time lie down on your back, relax all part of the body and left to gravity. Release the tension from tips of toes to the forehead. Now concentrate on your breath then after 10 minutes slowly turn to your right side and open your eye slowly.
Lie down on your back, relax all the limbs and let the body be left to the gravity. Keep your attention on the different part of the body and check if these are relaxed. Attention is withdrawn gradually from the tips of the toes to the forehead. This is done slowly from below upwards as shown in the figure.
1. Lie on your back. Keep your feet 12” to 18” apart. Let each foot lie on its side in a comfortable position. Keep your arms 6” away from the body with your palms facing the sky and fingers half bend.
2. Bring your awareness to the feet and bend the toes towards the ground and then relax. Now forget the toes.
3. Stretch the muscles of the right leg from toes to hips lifting the leg a little off the ground. Feel the stretching of the muscles. Then relax. The leg will automatically fall to the ground. Now forget the right leg and repeat the same with the left leg.
4. Contract the muscles of the lower back and pelvic region (around the hip joints). Body will rise slightly off the ground. Relax and the body will come down automatically.
5. Contract the muscles of the chest while inhaling the air and raising the chest a little off the ground. Then relax. Chest will come down automatically.
6. Close the fist of the left arm. Contract the muscles of the whole arm up to the shoulder lifting the arm an little above the ground. Then relax. The arm will come down automatically to the ground. Repeat the same with right arm.
7. Rotate the neck from side to side gently as if somebody is holding the neck and moving it. Then relax keeping the neck in a comfortable position.
8. Open the lower jaw towards the chest and experience the stretching of the muscles of the jaws and the cheeks. Then relax, bringing the jaw back to the normal position.
9. Open the eyes gentle and fully, stretching the muscles of the eyes, brows and the forehead. Then relax these muscles letting the eyes close effortlessly.
Benefits of Deep Breathing & Pranayam:
- Improvement in the quality of the blood due to its increased oxygenation in the lungs. This aids in the elimination of toxins from the system.
- Increase in the digestion and assimilation of food. The digestive organs such as the stomach receive more oxygen, and hence operate more efficiently. The digestion is further enhanced by the fact that the food is oxygenated more.
- Improvement in the health of the nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord, nerve centers and nerves. This is due again to the increased oxygenation and hence nourishment of the nervous system. This improves the health of the whole body, since the nervous system communicates to all parts of the body.
- Rejuvenation of the glands, especially the pituitary and pineal glands. The brain has a special affinity for oxygen, requiring three times more oxygen than does the rest of the body. This has far-reaching effects on our well being.
- The movements of the diaphragm during the deep breathing exercise massage the abdominal organs - the stomach, small intestine, liver and pancreas. The upper movement of the diaphragm also massages the heart. This stimulates the blood circulation in these organs.
- The lungs become healthy and powerful, a good insurance against respiratory problems.
- Deep, slow, yoga breathing reduces the work load for the heart. The result is a more efficient, stronger heart that operates better and lasts longer. It also mean reduced blood pressure and less heart disease.
Abdominal Breathing:
Exhale air by slowly pressing stomach inward. Shut mouth and inhale air from nose by releasing stomach upward. Sit erect in a chair with spine, neck and head erect. Keep your eyes closed and rest your hands on the knees. Then exhale slowly, pulling your stomach inwards simultaneously. After full exhalation hold for a second and then start to inhale slowly and deeply stretching the muscles of the abdomen .Without any force or tension, breathing should be slow , deep, continuous and rhythmical. Again after inhaling hold for a second and exhale contracting the abdominal muscles. Repeat the process 10 to15 times. Do not immediately get up on finishing this pranayam. Benefits activate all the organs of the digestive system. It cures acidity, indigestion, constipation. It makes one cool and clam and free of tension. In short exhale air by slowly pressing stomaching inward .Shut your mouth and inhale air from nose by releasing stomach upward.
Pranayama –The Easy Way:
1ststep: Inhale the air counting 1- 2 – 3 – 4. 2ndstep: Then Hold air in the lung counting 1- 2 – 3 – 4. 3rdstep: Exhale the air counting 1- 2 – 3 – 4.4thstep: Pause do not inhale counting 1- 2 – 3 – 4
Please repeat this at least 10 to 15 times. Do such pranayama 4 to 10 times a day and with practice go on increasing the counting to about 10. During the pause only, the lung gets rest and are revitalized. This type of controlled breathing, called “Pranayama”, was tried on TB patients in a hospital in Chicago and the results were astounding. Once you reach counting 10 you may develop pranayama as under:
Inhale Counting (Up to) 10; Retain Counting (Up to) 20; Exhale Counting (Up to) 10; Pause Counting (Up to) 10 i.e. in the ratio of 1:2:1:1.
The healing Sound for kidney:
The technique for keeping, the kidney healthy and working efficiently. In five element theory, the kidneys control the water element. Water is pure Yin energy. It is cold energy as compared to its opposite the fire element which is pure Yang - hot energy. So the kidney controls the water element in our body. If we have too much heat in our kidneys, the obviously can’t work. Efficiently to regulate the water element and cool off the body. Each of the five elements is associated with certain negative emotions. The negative emotion associated with water and kidney is fear .The kidney sound will also release excessive cold from the kidneys and neutralize the fear.
1. Place your awareness on your 2 kidneys, fist - size organs located on either side of spine at the bottom of the rib cage on the back Try to visualize them or feel them or just image that they are there.
2. Sit up in a chair with your legs together , ankles and knees touching
3. Take a deep breath ( you can do Abdominal Breath)
4. As you inhale, bend the trunk of your body forward and hook your hands around your knees, clasping one hand with the other.
5. With hands clasped, pull back on your arms so that you feel a pull on your back where your kidneys are located.
6. Look upward with your eyes and slightly lean the head back without straining.
7. Exhale slowly and as silently as you can and make the healing sound CH – U – W – A – A – A – Y.
8. As you make the CH – U – W – A – A – A – Y sound, pull in on your stomach area between the bottom of your sternum (breast bone) and your navel. Pull toward the spine and imagine or feel the excess heat or the cold being squeezed out from the fascia surrounding the two kidneys.
9. Visualize both kidneys bathed in a sapphire blue colour and imagine any fear being expelled the kidneys as you exhale.
10. After exhale, sit up straight, close your eyes take a few easy breaths and concentrate on the exchange of energy in the kidney region, before doing another kidney healing sound.
11. Do the CH – U – W – A – A – A – Y sound at least 3 times.
