Lose Weight - Fitness Tips

1. Drink plenty of water. Our body needs a lot of water so give in to water. Water is not just way to flush out toxin but if you have more water in your body you will generally feel healthier and fitter. This it self will discourage any tendency to gorge. The best thing about water is that is has no calories at all.

2. Start your day with a glass of water. As soon as you wake up, gulp down a glass of cool water. It’s a wonderful way to start you day and you only need a lesser quantity of your breakfast drink after that. A glass of water lets out all your digestive juices and sort of lubricates the insides of your body. You may have your morning cup of tea but have it after a glass of water. It is good for you.

3. Drink a glass of water before you start the meal. Water naturally needs some space so that you feel fuller without actually having to stuff yourself.

4. Have another glass of water while you are having the meal. Again this is another great how to lose weight fast super tip and a way of making yourself full, another great weight loss tips, so that you can actually rise from the table eating less but feeling full just the same. Instead of drinking it one gulp, take sips after each morsel. It will help the food to settle faster so that you get that feeling that you are full faster. SIDENOTE: Water is such a remarkable thing, but seldom do we give it the credit that it deserves. Did you know that over 66% of your body weight is nothing but water’ It’s amazing! Water also plays a vital role in weight control, which is why I donated so much space to it, above.

5. Stay away from sweetened bottle drinks, especially sodas. Hey all those colas and fizzy drinks are sweetened with sugar and sugar means calories. The more you can cut out on these sweetened bottle drinks, the better for you. So if you must drink sodas, then stick to diet sodas.

6. Include in your diet things that contain more water like tomatoes and watermelons. These things contain 90 to 95 % water so that there is nothing that you have to lose by feasting on them. They fill you up without adding to the pounds.

7. Eat fresh fruit instead of drinking fruit juice. Juice is often sweetened but fresh fruits have natural sugars. When you eat fruit, you are taking in a lot of fiber, which is needed by the body, and fruits of course are an excellent source of vitamins.

8. If you do have a craving for fruit juice then go for fresh fruit juice instead of these that contain artificial flavors and colors. Or even better, try making your own fruit juice taking care not to sweeten it with too many calories.

9. Choose fresh fruit to processed fruits. Processed and canned fruits do not have as much fiber as fresh fruit and processed and canned fruits are nearly always sweetened.

10. Increase your fiber intake. Like I mentioned, the body needs a lot of fiber. So try to include in your diet as many fruits and vegetables as you can.

11. Go crazy on vegetables. Vegetables are your best bet when it comes to how to lose weight fast. Nature has a terrific spread when it comes to choosing vegetables. And the leafy green vegetables are your best bet. Try to include a salad in you diet always.

12. Eat intelligently. The difference between man and beast is that we are driven by intelligence while beasts are driven by instinct. Don’t just eat something because you feel like eating it. Ask you’re self whether your body really needs it.

13. Watch what you eat. Keep a watchful eye on every thing that goes in. Sometimes the garnishes can richer than the food itself. Accompaniments too can be very rich. Remember that it is the easiest thing in the world to eat something without realizing that it was something that you should not have eaten. Selective memory you know’

14. Control that sweet tooth. Remember that sweet things generally mean more calories. It is natural that we have cravings for sweet things especially chocolates and other confectionary. Take this weight loss tips seriously and go easy on theses things and each time you consume something sweet understand that it is going to add on somewhere.

15. Fix times to have meals and stick to it. Try to have food at fixed times of the day. You can stretch these times by half an hour, but anything more than that is going to affect your eating pattern, the result will either be a loss of appetite or that famished feeling which will make you stuff yourself with more than what is required the next time you eat.

16. Eat only when you are hungry. Bonus how to lose weight fast tips here–> (make sure you are not just thirsty!) Some of us have the tendency to eat whenever we see food. We use parties as an excuse to stuff our selves. Understand that the effect of a whole week of dieting can be wasted by just one day’s party food. Whenever you are offered something to eat do not decline it completely bit just break of a nibble so that you appear to mind your manners and at the same time can watch your diet.

17. Quit snacking in between meals. Do not fall for snacks in between meals. This is especially true for those who have to travel a lot. They feel that the only time they can get a bite to eat is snacks and junk food. The main problem with most snacks and junk food is that they are usually less filling and contain a lot of fat and calories. Just think about French fries tempting but terribly fattening.

18. Snack on vegetables if you must. You might get the pangs of hunger in between meals. It is something that you can very well control. Or even better, try munching on carrots. They are an excellent way to satisfy those hungry pangs and are good for your eyes and teeth. True, you might end up being called Bugs Bunny, but its miles better to be called Bugs Bunny than fatso.

A Review of Yoga Programs for Four Leading Risk Factors of Chronic Diseases Kyeongra Yang

Yoga, a form of physical activity, is rapidly gaining in popularity and has many health benefits.
Yet healthcare providers have been slow to recognize yoga for its ability to improve health
conditions, and few interventions have been developed that take full advantage of its benefits.
The purpose of this article is to review published studies using yoga programs and to determine
the effect of yoga interventions on common risk factors of chronic diseases (overweight,
hypertension, high glucose level and high cholesterol). A systematic search yielded 32 articles
published between 1980 and April 2007. The studies found that yoga interventions are generally
effective in reducing body weight, blood pressure, glucose level and high cholesterol, but only a
few studies examined long-term adherence. Additionally, not enough studies included diverse
populations at high risk for diabetes and its related common health problems.
Keywords: yoga – chronic disease – risk factors – overweight – hypertension – glucose – cholesterol
Chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke and
diabetes are leading causes of death in the US (1).
Common conditions for these chronic diseases are
overweight, high blood pressure (BP), high glucose and
high cholesterol. These conditions are commonly associated
with each other. According to a prospective cohort
study focusing on men (2), there were positive relationships
between body mass index (BMI) and hypertension
incidence. Men with a higher BMI have a higher likelihood
to have diabetes and high cholesterol. Another
study with men and women showed that overweight is
linked to type 2 diabetes (3). Even among patients newly
diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, the Hypertension in
Diabetes Study found that
40% had hypertension, and
that hypertension considerably increased mortality in
people with type 2 diabetes (4). Another recent study
found a 79% rate of hypertension in patients who had
received outpatient care for type 2 diabetes for at least
2 years (5). Individuals with impaired glucose tolerance
also are more likely to have risk factors for
cardiovascular disease such as elevated levels of triglycerides
and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and low levels of
high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (6).
Promising in this regard is appropriate physical activity
because it can reduce body weight, BP, glucose level and
cholesterol (7,8). Yoga, a form of physical activity
consisting of various postures (Asana) and breathing
and meditation techniques (Pranayama) (9), has been
shown to have therapeutic benefits for individuals with a
wide range of health conditions, including hypertension
(10) and diabetes (11). Yoga also appears to be effective
in reducing stress (12) and improving exercise tolerance
as it is related to cardiovascular response (13).
The number of people practicing yoga in the US
increased significantly between 1997 and 2002 (14).
According to the 2002 National Health Interview Survey
(14), 5% of American adults practiced yoga in the month
previous to the study. Yoga also is well received as a
therapeutic intervention; for example, participants in a
yoga intervention for insomnia found that it was easily
learned and performed (15). Despite its popularity and
positive physiologic effects, however, yoga has not been
widely recognized in efforts to prevent and treat major
chronic health conditions. The purpose of this article is to
For reprints and all correspondence: Kyeongra Yang, School of
Nursing, University of Pittsburgh, 415 Victoria Building, 3500 Victoria
Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA. Tel: +412-624-6943; Fax: +412-
383-7293; E-mail: yangk@pitt.edu

2007 The Author(s)
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.
review published studies using yoga practice to determine
the effects of yoga on common health problems, such as
overweight, hypertension, high glucose level and high
cholesterol.
Methods
Articles were retrieved from electronic databases
(CINAHL, Ovid MEDLINE and PsychInfo) using yoga
as a keyword. This initial retrieval, performed in April
2007, yielded 2349 articles, of which 861 have been
published since 1980. A search within those 861 articles,
using the keywords overweight, blood pressure, glucose and
cholesterol, identified 56 research articles. After the author
had read the full text of the 56 articles and identified those
that met the purpose of the study, 24 articles were excluded,
mainly because they described outcome variables and
characteristics of yoga that were irrelevant. Poor quality
was not a reason for exclusion, but studies were excluded if
they focused only on meditation or relaxation (Pranayama)
or if they were case studies. This process resulted in a final
total of 32 articles to be reviewed.
The review comprised studies involving yoga interventions
and using an experimental or quasi-experimental
design. In addition, observational studies were included
because they often supply important information beyond
the results of clinical trials (16). Studies that used yoga as a
control, not as an intervention, were included as long as
they provided evidence of the effectiveness of yoga on
variables of interest (overweight, BP, glucose and
cholesterol).
Findings
Of the 32 articles reviewed, 12 described experimental
studies, 18 described quasi-experimental studies and two
described observational studies. Only 2 of the 12 true
experimental studies (17,18) described the randomization
method. Even though risk factors for chronic health
conditions were used as keywords in the search strategy,
many of the studies used healthy adult samples; only half of
the 32 studies actually focused on subjects with diabetes
(19–23), hypertension (10,11,18,24–27), or cardiovascular
disease (28–31). Seven of the studies were conducted in the
US; the others, in India and other countries.
Content of Yoga Programs
Other than duration and frequency, most articles did not
describe the yoga sessions in detail. Only a few articles
(17,20,22,31,32) provided details of the yoga sequences
used. Some listed the names of postures and breathing
techniques. Of the few articles that identified the type
of yoga studied, the most common was Hatha yoga, a
popular form of yoga in the Western world.
The Compendium of Physical Activities, (33) a coding
scheme that classifies physical activity based on energy
expenditure, does not define energy expenditure while
performing various types of yoga. However, Hatha yoga
is classified as a conditioning exercise, in the same
category as stretching, which has a metabolic equivalent
(MET) of 2.5 (1 MET equals the amount of energy used
for resting). A recent study (34) found that when young
adult women (19 to 40-years old) performed a 30-min
session of Hatha yoga, the MET was 2.17. However, if
the session was made more active using Sun Salutations,
a flowing series of physical postures, the MET increased
to 3.74 (SD=0.70).
Frequency and Duration of Yoga Sessions
The total dose of yoga training, which depends on both the
duration and frequency of yoga sessions, also needs to
be considered in evaluating and comparing yoga studies.
The most common duration and frequency of yoga sessions
in the studies were 30–60 min per session and sessions
meeting daily for 4–10 weeks, but many studies used
sessions meeting 2–3 times per week for 8–12 weeks. Some
yoga programs met more frequently than others but for a
shorter time span. For example, in a study by Damodaran
et al. (24), persons with essential hypertension received 1 h
of yoga training daily for 3 months, which is counted as
84 h of training, whereas Ray et al. (32) studied healthy
young adults who received 1 h of yoga training three times a
week for 10 months, for a total of 120 h.
Some findings can be useful in trying to determine
effective durations of yoga sessions. For example, in one
study, 1 h daily yoga practice was associated with significant
reductions in body weight and cholesterol levels
after 4 weeks, and those significant effects lasted for
14 weeks (28). In a study of 20 patients with essential
hypertension, daily 30-min sessions of yoga led to a
decrease in BP by the fifth day (27).
Adherence to the Yoga Program
Any persistent benefits from yoga would rely on long-term
adherence, which was examined in only a few of the
reviewed studies. In some studies, after yoga training,
subjects were asked to continue their programs with daily
home practice (28,35). One of these (35) compared
adherence to yoga practice after a 10-week yoga intervention
between white and black American adults (mean age:
69 years for whites and 70 years for blacks). Although the
dropout rate did not differ significantly (16% for whites,
22% for blacks), the black participants did not engage in
yoga at home as frequently as whites. A different study (36)
found greater compliance with subsequent home practice
among participants in a yoga class that met three times
per week than in those who attended a weekly yoga
class (86% versus 65%, P<0.05). However, found no
488 Yoga
difference in compliance with home practice between
groups engaged in yoga or aerobic exercise (36).
Weight Decreased
According to a retrospective observational study of 15,550
adults aged 53–57 years (37), regular yoga practice for 4 or
more years was significantly associated with weight loss by
overweight participants. Several intervention studies
(10,26,29,31,38–41) also showed that yoga practice was
effective in reducing body weight. After 4-day residential
yoga practice followed by 14 weeks of 1 h daily home
practice, one study (28) found a significant loss in mean
body weight from 72.26 to 70.48 kg among subjects with risk
factors for coronary artery disease (CAD). Other studies
found that yoga was associated with significant weight loss
by subjects with CAD (29–31) and subjects without CAD
(30). Manchanda et al. (29) showed a 7% loss of body
weight among adult men with CAD after 1 year of yoga
practice, and in a study by Schmidt and colleagues, healthy
adults lost an average of 5.7 kg after 3 months of yoga
practice (39). All overweight adults studied by Yogendra
et al. reached a normal weight within 1 year after initiating
yoga-based lifestyle modifications (31). However, this
article did not show the effect size of this change.
Blood Glucose Level Lowered
Of the six studies that examined blood glucose, all found
that yoga was effective in reducing blood glucose level
(11,19–22,31). For example, after 4 months of yoga
practice, fasting glucose fell significantly (from 144 to
119 mg dl1, P<0.005) in a group of adults with type 2
diabetes, (19). Another sample of 24 adults with type 2
diabetes had significantly decreased fasting glucose (from
190.1 to 141.5 mg dl1, P<0.001) after 40 consecutive
days of yoga practice, (20). Adults with normal blood
glucose levels (11) also had significantly lower glucose
levels after 3–4 h of yoga practice for 8 days (P<0.001).
BP Decreased
This review found ample evidence that yoga was effective in
reducing BP. In a group of low-income elderly people,
effects on systolic BP did not differ between a yoga class
and an aerobic exercise class, both held three times a week
for 10 weeks (36). However, eight other studies found that
yoga practice was effective in lowering BP in healthy
samples, regardless of the type of yoga (13,32,38–44). Yoga
practice also significantly improved BP among people
with hypertension (10,11,18,24–27), cardiovascular disease
(28–31) or type 2 diabetes (19–23). For example, in 13
patients, aged 41–60 years, with essential hypertension (25),
BP dropped significantly during the third week of a 4-week
yoga program (1 h per day, 6 days per week), and it
fell further after the program. For example, systolic BP
dropped from 141.7 to 127.9mmHg by the third week and
to 120.7mmHg by the fourth week.
Cholesterol Level Improved
The practice of yoga was associated with significant
decreases in cholesterol among subjects with cardiovascular
disease (28,29), hypertension (11) or type 2 diabetes
(19). One study (28) examined a regimen involving 4 days
of a yoga program at a residential course, followed by 1
year of yoga practice at home. In both men with angina and
asymptomatic participants with CAD risk factors, all lipid
variables except HDL decreased beginning the fourth week
of yoga practice (e.g. total cholesterol fell from 206.6 to
193.6 mgdl1), and the level of total cholesterol continued
falling to 176.06 mg dl1 at 14 weeks. A study of subjects at
risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes (11) found
significant improvements (P<0.01) in total cholesterol,
triglycerides, LDL, HDL and very-LDL (VLDL, defined
as total cholesterol minus LDL minus HDL) after shortterm
intensive yoga practice (3–4 h per day for 8 days).
Notably, for subjects whose baseline total cholesterol was
200 mg dl1 or higher, the reduction in triglycerides
(from 151.548.9 to 132.750.5mg dl1, P<0.001)
and VLDL (from 36.713.8 to 30.214.6mg dl1,
P<0.001) was significantly greater than in subjects with
lower baseline total cholesterol (triglycerides falling from
113.646.5 to 110.538.1mg dl1, P>0.05; VLDL from
23.712.8 to 23.212.5mg dl1, P>0.05). Finally, a
study of healthy adults over 40 years old found that 5 years
of yoga practice reduced age-related deterioration in
cardiovascular functions (45). Although the article describing
this observational study did not detail the type of yoga
performed nor the frequency or intensity of the yoga
sessions, the data showed a long-term change indicating the
effectiveness of yoga on cardiovascular functioning.
Four studies used aerobic training as an intervention and
yoga as a control (38,43,46,47). One of these, a study of
healthy active people aged 65 years or older (38), found
that aerobic exercise produced no significant reduction in
weight or BP, whereas 4 weeks of yoga practice did lead to
some reduction in weight or BP (for example, systolic BP
decreased from 146 to 139 mmHg). DiPietro et al. (47)
found no change in glucose and insulin responses in their
yoga control group. However, the yoga control group was
monitored to ensure that pulse rates did not exceed 90 beats
per min during yoga practice (47). Therefore, this restriction
should be considered in interpreting this result.
Discussion
The reviews showed that yoga had beneficial effects on
body weight, BP, blood glucose level and cholesterol level
(Fig. 1). Nonetheless, several shortcomings in research on
eCAM 2007;4(4) 489
this topic need to be addressed, in order for clinical
programs to capitalize on these health benefits.
Of the articles describing interventions, only a few
provided details regarding the yoga programs or the
names and sequence of yoga postures. Asana and
Pranayama provide different types of health benefits, and
therapeutic yoga programs can involve various combinations
of these two components. An optimal comparison of
study results thus requires knowing the combination of
Asana and Pranayama used. The sequence of yoga postures
can be inferred from the list of posture names, but more
straightforward information is essential to future studies
seeking to replicate or generalize the results. A related issue
that remains to be resolved is how to standardize yoga
exercises for research purposes.
The optimal duration and intensity required to maximize
the effectiveness of yoga need to be determined, as does the
need for a booster to provide long-term effects. Because the
MET of yoga is low, increasing the frequency may increase
the benefits. However, these factors cannot be judged
from the reviews studies; many articles did not clearly
identify the dosage of the yoga program studied, and they
focused on the short-term health benefits of yoga. Only a
few studies included follow-up data beyond 6 months.
It also remains to be determined whether more intensive
training, that is, a greater dosage, improves the likelihood
of adopting and maintaining active behavior in the
long run.
The samples in the reviewed studies pose additional
dilemmas. It was not a surprise that a large portion of the
studies were conducted in India, where the philosophy and
practice of yoga originated. However, this focus on one
geographical region, where yoga is particularly ingrained
in the culture, limits the generalizability of results. Few
studies have addressed variables of interest specific to
minorities in the US (Blacks, Hispanics and Asians), which
are populations believed to be more vulnerable to type 2
diabetes (48,49) and physical inactivity (8).
Yoga has beneficial effects on various health conditions.
A large portion of the reviewed studies analyzed the
effects of yoga with healthy samples. There is evidence that
yoga practice was more effective in lowering triglycerides
among people with higher cholesterol than those with a
lower cholesterol level (11). Therefore, it is important to
consider participants’ health conditions because there are
possible differences in the effects of yoga by their health
severity.
Conclusions
Analyses of yoga intervention should be designed and
conducted to identify programs best suited for diverse
populations and for specific populations with high-risk
factors for chronic health conditions. Such studies could
guide the development of more practical and effective
interventions.
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YOGA Glucose level ↓
PRACTICE
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Received February 23, 2007; accepted September 5, 2007

Yoga – The Benefits

Yoga’s primary emphasis is upon general well-being. Although yoga has been shown to be beneficial in a variety of conditions, it is not considered a therapy for specific illnesses. Rather, yoga employs a broad holistic approach that focuses on teaching people a new lifestyle, way of thinking, and way of being in the world. In the process, however, it is also found to bring a myriad of healing effects. By attending to practices for improving, regaining or retaining general good health, a person is likely to find that some of his more specific difficulties tend to disappear. Many of the healing effects of yoga is clinically verified. We will look at the healing effects of yoga. However, one of the most important benefit of yoga is its application in relieving stress, fatigue, invigoration and vitality and its anti-aging properties and its application for relaxation therapy.

According to Swami Sivananda, the benefits of pranayama (yogic breathing practices) include:

"The body becomes strong and healthy. Too much fat is reduced. There is luster in the face. Eyes sparkle like diamonds. The practitioner becomes very handsome. Voice becomes sweet and melodious"

Asthma

Studies conducted at yoga institutions in India have reported impressive success in improving asthma. For example, one study of 255 people with asthma found that yoga resulted in improvement or cure in 74 percent of asthma patients. Another study of 114 patients treated over one year by yoga found a 76 percent rate of improvement or cure and that asthma attacks could usually be prevented by yoga methods without resorting to drugs.

Yet another Indian study of 15 people with asthma claims a 93 percent improvement rate over a 9-year period. That study found improvement was linked with improved concentration, and the addition of a meditative procedure made the treatment more effective than simple postures and pranayama. Yoga practice also resulted in greater reduction in anxiety scores than drug therapy. Its authors believe that yoga practice helps patients through enabling them to gain access to their own internal experience and increased self-awareness.

A study of 46 adolescents with asthma found that yoga practice resulted in a significant increase in pulmonary function and exercise capacity and led to fewer symptoms and medications. Patients were given daily training in yoga for 90 minutes in the morning and one hour in the evening for 40 days. Practice included yogic cleansing procedures (kriyas), maintenance of yogic body postures (asanas), and yogic breathing practices (pranayama).

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Respiration Problems - Bronchitis and Emphysema

In an experiment conducted in Western Australia, 22 male patients aged 52 to 65 were selected. They suffered severe breathing problems such as chronic bronchitis, emphysema - that made normal breathing impossible.

Half of the men underwent standard treatment: physiotherapy, that included relaxation techniques, breathing exercises and general workouts to improve stamina.

The other 11 men were given a yoga teacher instead of a physiotherapist. He taught them techniques of yoga breathing, which encouraged the use of all chest and abdominal muscles as well as ten yoga postures.

The patients practiced their particular exercises for nine months. Then they were reexamined at the hospital: a technician tested their lung function, a physician screened them closely to determine how their symptoms had changed, and a stationary exercise bicycle was used to measure their capacity for exercise.

The difference between the two groups was striking. The men who had practiced yoga showed a significant improvement in their ability to exercise, but the physiotherapy group did not. Eight or more out of the 11 patients who underwent yoga declared that they had definitely increased tolerance for exertion and that they recovered more quickly after exertion The physiotherapy group reported no similar improvement.

Best of all, the patients who had studied yoga apparently gained the ability to control their breathing problems. A significantly greater number of patients reported that "with the help of yogic breathing exercises, they could control an attack of severe shortness of breath without having to seek medical help," according to the study.

Doctors analyzing the results from the study postulate that, after the training, the breathing pattern of the patients in the yoga group changed to a slower and deeper cycle, allowing them to tolerate higher work loads. Patients in the physiotherapy group continued in their shallow rapid breathing pattern. This may explain the higher tolerance breathing problems by the yoga group.

Other studies have confirmed the beneficial effects of yoga for patients with respiratory problems.

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High Blood Pressure

The relaxation and exercise components of yoga have a major role to play in the treatment and prevention of high blood pressure (hypertension). A combination of biofeedback and yogic breathing and relaxation techniques has been found to lower blood pressure and reduce the need for high blood pressure medication in people suffering from high blood pressure. In 20 patients with high blood pressure who practiced biofeedback and yoga techniques, five were able to stop their blood pressure medication completely, five were able to reduce significantly the amount of medication they were taking, and another four had lower blood pressure than at the beginning of the three-month study.

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Pain Management

Yoga is believed to reduce pain by helping the brain's pain center regulate the gate-controlling mechanism located in the spinal cord and the secretion of natural painkillers in the body. Breathing exercises used in yoga can also reduce pain. Because muscles tend to relax when you exhale, lengthening the time of exhalation can help produce relaxation and reduce tension. Awareness of breathing helps to achieve calmer, slower respiration and aid in relaxation and pain management.

Yoga's inclusion of relaxation techniques and meditation can also help reduce pain. Part of the effectiveness of yoga in reducing pain is due to its focus on self-awareness. This self-awareness can have a protective effect and allow for early preventive action.

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Back Pain

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.

* 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.

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Self-Awareness

Yoga also strives to increase self-awareness on both a physical and psychological level. This allows people to take early collective action, such as adjusting posture, when discomfort is first noticed.

Patients who study yoga learn to induce relaxation and then can use the technique whenever pain appears. Practicing yoga can provide chronic pain sufferers with useful tools to actively cope with their pain and help counter feelings of helplessness and depression.

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Mental Performance

A common technique used in yoga is breathing through one nostril at a time. Electroencephalogram (EEG) studies of the electrical impulses of the brain have shown dial breathing through one nostril results in increased activity on the opposite side of the brain. Some experts suggest that the regular practice of breathing through one nostril may help improve communication between the right and left side of the brain.

Other studies show this increased brain activity is associated with better performance and suggest that yoga can enhance cognitive performance. For example, a study of 23 men found that breathing through one nostril resulted in better performance of tasks associated with the opposite side of the brain.

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Diabetes

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.

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Mood Change And Vitality

Mental health and physical energy are difficult to quantify, but virtually everyone who participates in yoga over a period of time reports a positive effect on outlook and energy level. A British study of 71 healthy volunteers aged 21 to 76 found that a 30minute program of yogic stretching and breathing exercises was simple to learn and resulted in a "markedly invigorating" effect on perceptions of both mental and physical energy and improved mood.

The study compared relaxation, Visualization and yoga. It found that the yoga group had a significantly greater increase in perceptions of mental and physical energy and feelings of alertness and enthusiasm than the other groups. Relaxation was found to make people more sleepy and sluggish after a session, and visualization made them more sluggish and less content than those in the yoga group.

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Arthritis

Yoga’s gentle exercises designed to provide relief to needed joints had been found to be very effective in relieving arthritis.

"Exercise has been recommended as treatment for arthritis for a long, long time -about 75 years," says Morris K Bowie, M.D., a rheumatologist at Bryn Mawr Hospital in Pennsylvania. "People were exercising their arthritic joints before yoga was ever introduced into this country. Exercise is very important to try to reestablish a complete range of motion. Of course, that doesn't mean you should induce a long continual strain. We encourage a moderate amount of non-strenuous, non-weight-bearing exercises tailored to the individual's needs. Some yoga postures are not tolerated well, particularly by those past 50."

Yoga’s slow-motion movements and gentle pressures reach deep into troubled joints. In addition, the easy stretches in conjunction with deep breathing exercises relieve the tension that binds up the muscles and further tightens the joints. Yoga is exercise and relaxation rolled into one - the perfect antiarthritis formula.

A major problem in prescribing exercise is in getting the patient to follow through. If an exercise program is painful and too strenuous, it isn’t likely to be continued. An arthritis sufferer probably will be startled at the mere mention of the word "exercise." Yoga eases you into exercise without causing strain or undue pain. Even if you are only able to move an inch and hold a position for five seconds, you are already enhancing your body's flexibility.

Some physicians have long recognized the advantages of yoga like exercises. Dr. Bowie recommends the pendulum, an arm-swinging exercise "devised by an orthopedic surgeon' for bursitis and shoulder stiffness. He also favors deep-breathing exercising for ankylosing spondylitis, an arthritis related condition affecting the joints of the spine.

It is important not to overdo these exercises. It will do more harm than good. Start with a few of the simple stretches. The simple leg pull, the chest expansion exercise, and the knee and thigh stretch are especially beneficial to the joints. If your arthritis is severe, use a modified version of these stretching exercises that suit your needs.

Then try some slow rotation exercises. Head circles performed in the yoga fashion - that is, slowly, with pauses in the forward, side and back positions - will help loosen up a stiff neck. Similarly, ankle rotation will improve arthritis conditions in those joints.

The Flower is a great yoga exercise for arthritic fingers. Whenever you think of it, make a tight fist and hold for five seconds. Then release and stretch your hand open as far as you can for an additional five seconds.

Ready to concentrate on those major problem areas? if your arthritis has come to rest in your spine, limber up that area with the seated spiral twist, the cobra, and the neck and shoulder stretch. Got it in the hips? Then lie down in bed and try some hip rolls.

Take a few days’ rest if the pain gets too intense. Resume again when you're feeling better.

Of course, on days that movement comes easy, don't overdo it. Overworked joints can be as painful as neglected ones. So, no matter how good the exercises feel, don't continue for more than a few minutes at a time. For people with severe arthritis, it's usually better to divide the daily yoga routine into about three or four segments of about five minutes each. Rest periods and deep-breathing exercises interspersed throughout the day's yoga sessions will help relax the muscles that tighten up joints.

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Anti-ageing Properties of Yoga: Remain Young Forever!

According to yoga philosophy, it's the flexibility of the spine, not the number of years, that determines a person's age. Yoga slows down the aging process by giving elasticity to the spine, firming up the skin, removing tension from the body, strengthening the abdominal muscles, eliminating the possibility of a double chin, improving the tone of flabby arm muscles, correcting poor posture, preventing dowager's hump and so on. Yoga lets you trade in characteristics of old age for characteristics of youth.

Yoga is dynamite to make you feel younger with heightened mental prowness. Longer life often result from following yogic ways of health maintenance. When both external dangers and internal diseases and habits leading to degeneration have been removed, one naturally lives longer

Swami Nikhilananda wrote in ‘Vivekananda: The Yogas and Other Works’, as follows:

"The result of hatha yoga is simply to make men live long. Health is the chief idea, the one goal of hatha yoga. He is determined not to fall sick, and he never does. He lives long. A hundred years is nothing for him; but he is quite young and fresh when he is one hundred and fifty, without one hair turned gray."

The following are some of the anti-ageing effects of yoga, according to Dr. Paul Galbraith, author of ‘Reversing Ageing’:

1. Live longer. Yoga affects all the important determinants of a long life: the brain, glands, spine and internal organs.
2. Increased resistance to disease. Yoga produces a healthy strong body with increased immunity against disease. This increased resistance extends from the common cold to serious diseases like cancer.
3. Increased vitality due to yoga's effect on the brain and glands.
4. Rejuvenation of the glands. Yoga has a marked effect on the pituitary, thyroid, adrenal and sex glands. This produces a feeling of well-being, prevents premature ageing and extends sexual virility well into old age.
5. Look and feel younger. Yoga reduces facial wrinkles and produces a natural 'face-lift'. This is mainly due to the inverted postures. By doing the inverted postures for a few minutes each day, we reverse the effect of gravity and use it to our advantage. The result is firmer facial muscles, which cause a reduction in wrinkles, and a natural face-lift.

The inverted yoga postures often convert gray hair back to its natural color and they will certainly delay the onset of gray hair. This is due to the inverted postures causing an increase in blood supply to the hair follicles in the scalp. Also, the increased flexibility of the neck produced by the asanas removes pressure on the blood vessels and nerves in the neck, causing an even greater blood supply to the scalp. The release of pressure on the nerves in the neck also causes the scalp muscles to relax, since the nerves in the neck supply the scalp muscles. This means that the hair follicles are better nourished and thicker healthier hair is the result.

Yoga will take years from your face and add years to your life. As you get older, you will take on an ageless appearance.

6. Vision and hearing improve. Normal vision and hearing depend to a large extent on the eyes and ears receiving a good nerve and blood supply. The nerves and blood vessels which supply the eyes and ears have to pass through the neck. As we get older, the neck becomes less flexible, like the rest of the spine, and there is a tendency for nerves and blood vessels to be encroached upon as they travel through the neck. This impairs the nerve and blood supply to the eyes and ears, affecting their function. Yoga postures and yoga neck exercises improve the condition of the neck, resulting in better eyesight and improved hearing.
7. Mental/emotional benefits. Because of yoga's rejuvenation effects on the glands and nervous system, including the brain, yoga results in a positive mental/emotional state. It will help you to feel more confident, enthusiastic and generally optimistic. You will also become more creative in your everyday life.

As you start to feet and took better and unfold more of your full potential, these positive mental and emotional states occur as a consequence.

Within a few weeks you will feel calmer and have better concentration. Within a few months, rejuvenation of the organs will start to occur.

You will take years from your face and add years to your life. As you get older, you will take on an ageless appearance.

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Yoga For Weight Reduction:

Does yoga help in weight management? Most definitely. There are a number of factors involved. Firstly, some of the asanas stimulate sluggish glands to increase their hormonal secretions. The thyroid gland, especially, has a big effect on our weight because it affects body metabolism. There are several asanas, such as the shoulder stand and the fish posture, which are specific for the thyroid gland. Fat metabolism is also increased, so fat is converted to muscle and energy. This means that, as well as losing fat, you will have better muscle tone and a higher vitality level.

Secondly, yoga deep breathing increases the oxygen intake to the body cells, including the fat cells. This causes increased oxidation or burning up of fat cells. ). Yogic exercises induce more continuous and deeper breathing which gradually burns, sometimes forcefully, many of the calories already ingested.

Thirdly, yogic practices that reduce anxiety tend to reduce anxious eating. When under nervous strain we tend to gulp our food without attaining much genuine satisfaction. We end up in eating more. If, on the other hand, we approach our meals with greater calmness of mood, whether produced by habits which have calmed our life or by yoga (like a pause for prayer before a meal), we tend to be less likely to overeat in a frantic effort to quiet our midday anxieties.

Lastly, yogic aids may be employed between meals whenever one becomes tempted to search for a snack. One may deliberately turn to yoga, rather than to the icebox or snack bar, when he feels the need for a lift or relief from restless nervousness. Practicing yoga may make you aware of your weight problem that may also act as a deterrent from overeating.

If you are not overweight, your weight will remain about the same. If you are underweight, you will gain weight. The weight you gain will be healthy firm tissue, not fat. That is, yoga will tend to produce the ideal weight for you. This is due to yoga's effect of 'normalizing' glandular activity.

An article that appeared in the San Francisco Examiner of October 13, 1959 shows that the weight reduction potential of yoga was recognized in the USA more than quarter of a century ago.

"Would you like to lose weight without resorting to the miseries of dieting? Well, try the miseries of Yoga exercises instead. One staunch advocate is Metropolitan Opera star Robert Merrill, who has been practicing these exercises for two years, and keeps trying to win converts. In those two years he has lost twenty pounds and now he's down to a trim, rhythmic-breathing one hundred and sixty, even though he continues to eat like a lumber jack. 'At one time I went on a lot of diets but just couldn't lose any weight,' he said. 'Then along came Yoga and look at me now.' He punched his hard flat stomach and started breathing through one nostril. And to further demonstrate what it's all about, he did a little flip and stood on his head. After that he showed the lotus position, legs scissored under the body. Was he still breathing through one nostril? Yes, the other one. 'If people weren't so lazy they wouldn't have to worry about diets,' he said."

For those whose eating habits, whether at meals or between meals, are believed to be due to feelings of weakness rather than anxieties, most yogic postures and breathing exercises are designed to increase one's strength. Hence, they may relieve feelings of weakness more effectively than additional eating. The exercises themselves, although consuming some energy, also store up energy which, when combined with oxidizing breathing, provide energy that is ready for use rather than for storage.

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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:

1. reduction of tension and
2. restoration of pliability.
3. "personal" and
4. "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

a. Avoidance of fear: Yoga is said to result in the reduction of a variety of mental ills. These may range all the way from vague feelings of frustration, persecution, insecurity, on the one hand, to acute and specific types of insanity, on the other.

Yoga is not a cure all for all conditions. But its attack upon, and diminution of, some basic mental ills may indeed be just enough to pay dividends that grow in magnitude.

If, through use of yogic techniques, we can merely halt and reverse some mental cancer, some compulsive complex that keeps us chained to unrelenting, omnipresent and gradually increasing anxiety, we may reset a course which will bring us around to a healthier adjustment. We are all at times insane. We are all, in some degree, insane. Overwhelming waves of tension and stress, which may catch us in periods of physical and mental exhaustion, can produce a spiritual explosion which leaves us so helpless that we are at a loss to know how it all came about.

By recurrent, regular efforts to reduce tension through yogic exercises, we may stay and finally reverse our tendencies toward insanity.

Most of us succumbs to fears and anxieties – some valid and some purely imaginary. For example, as one gets older, he begins to fear that his life has not been sufficiently worth while, that he has fallen short of his goals, that he has failed to attain his proper ambition, that he has lost out in the race to keep up with the Joneses or in his attempt to measure up "in the sight of God"-however he happens to conceive his shortcoming.

Thus, when Ramacharaka, in his ‘Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath’, says one may, by controlled breathing, "practically do away with fear and worry and the baser emotions," he refers to the growing ability of a devoted practitioner to diminish the power which both momentary and permanent fears have over us. One seeks to develop habits of resistance to the disturbing effects of excitement, ambition, antagonism and frustration.

The long-range goal of yoga is not just momentary relaxation, but the living of a relaxed life.

b. Acceptance of Faith in Life.

The goal of yoga is confident living. Its aim is to replace pessimism and its varieties such as cynicism with a "Yea-saying" appreciation of life, not only on any given day, but as a gracious, wonderful whole. When you achieve the yogic spirit, then you can say with the Stoics, "I accept the universe."

If you cannot accept all of it, because some problems remain unavoidably troublesome, then you will accept the troubles which you have as (1) yours and (2) enough for you, without wishing you had still more troubles.

Poise, serenity, contentedness, patience, assurance-all of these are positive mental values attainable by anyone who has achieved a willingness to be at peace with himself and the world. The confidence desired is not just enough to do the day's work but enough to live one's whole life and one can do his day's work more confidently if he has already predisposed himself to living his life with trustful serenity.

Thus a person seeks through yoga not merely momentary mental agility, but an agile life; not just momentary pliability, but a continuingly pliable existence; not just momentary relief from disturbance, but a permanently peaceful perspective.

Although not everyone who undertakes to experiment with yoga can expect to achieve or maintain the goal described by Shri Yogendra, Yoga: Personal Hygiene, as "exuberant and exultant health, he should notice the sun more often when it shines. Swami Sivananda pictures the goal as "ecstatic joy" (Yoga Asanas).

Dechanet, a Roman Catholic monk who was led into yoga by his Catholic predecessors, gives a vivid account of how he uses yogic techniques as aids to worship. He describes a "euphoria that pervades the story of my experiment. I wish to make it clear that this euphoria is real and lasting and spreads through the various levels of my daily life, physical, Psychical and spiritual" (Christian Yoga). Even though few of us will achieve anything like perpetual exuberance, ecstatic joy or euphoria, attainment of a more trusting outlook on life provides a spiritual soil from which spiritual roses have a better chance to grow. The pragmatic experimentalist will say: "Try it and see."

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Social Values

a. Yoga may reduce your annoyance with others and others' annoyance with you. If you become less irritable, you tend to irritate others less and tend to be less irritated by what others do when they present themselves as problems to you.

Your obdurate, demanding, insistent, morose attitudes can make you hard to get along with. Diminution of these should make you less difficult to deal with. The social effects-upon your colleagues and clients, superiors and inferiors, to say nothing of family, public officers and service specialists-could be overwhelming.

b. You tend to be easier to get along with and you tend to find others easier to get along with.

Or, if your personal improvement grows beyond mere contentment, to exuberant appreciation, you may find both more people liking you and you liking more people. You become more adaptable, reliable, steady, alert, responsive, ever-ready, patient, gentle and humane.

When this happens, you become recognized as a more desirable person to deal with.

If you develop a buoyant spirit, you will find that buoyancy is catching.

Others, seeing you as cheery, tend to respond in kind, reacting more cheerily to you.

Your rewards increase.

The effects of yoga upon character as noted by Dechanet in Christian Yoga.

"Yoga also produces a more active, willing and generous disposition. It quickens the life of faith, of love of God and our neighbor. It quickens our sense of duty and responsibility as men and, above all, as Christians". "It follows that Hatha Yoga influences character to the good. One man, after some weeks of practice, admits he no longer knows himself, and everyone notices a change in his bearing and reaction. He is gentler, more understanding. He faces experience calmly. He is content; the pinpricks of life affect him less or not at all. He is in command of his own will and goes about his studies without fear and anxiety. His whole personality has been altered and he himself feels it steadying and opening out; from this there arises an almost permanent condition of euphoria, of 'contentedness' ". "You will feel that gentleness and sympathy come more readily. You will not feel like venting your spleen on others as frequently as before, and if it should occur, you will regret it all the more. You will make a kind of pact of non-violence with yourself. You will still have fits of impatience often enough, and even of anger. But something will be telling you that this is not only bad but even useless, and that it really is not worth the trouble to fly out and get beside yourself for nothing. 'A great need for sincerity -will bring you to detest, more than others do, not only lying but all forms of duplicity and dissimulation. You will sense the more keenly whatever is not genuine, and even what is merely conventional in speeches and words, and also in attitudes that men think they can take up in order to edify, but more often they take up lest they should lose face"

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Yoga and Beauty

Beauty of figure, graceful carriage, melodious voice, glowing face and charming smile have all been mentioned as possible rewards of yogic practice.

Swami Sivananda says that "By practicing the Asanas regularly, men and women will acquire a figure which will enhance their beauty and that suppleness which gives them charm and elegance in every movement," and "be endowed with a peculiar glow in his face and eyes and a peculiar charm in his smile" (Yogic Home Exercises).

Clara Spring, expressing an American woman's point of view, reminds us that "A number of world-famous beauty courses contain certain exercises based on Yoga" (Yoga for Today).

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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.

Benefits of Yoga

Increasing Flexibility – yoga has positions that act upon the various joints of the body including those joints that are never really on the ‘radar screen’ let alone exercised.

Increasing lubrication of the joints, ligaments and tendons – likewise, the well-researched yoga positions exercise the different tendons and ligaments of the body.

Surprisingly it has been found that the body which may have been quite rigid starts experiencing a remarkable flexibility in even those parts which have not been consciously work upon. Why? It is here that the remarkable research behind yoga positions proves its mettle. Seemingly unrelated “non strenuous” yoga positions act upon certain parts of the body in an interrelated manner. When done together, they work in harmony to create a situation where flexibility is attained relatively easily.

Massaging of ALL Organs of the Body – Yoga is perhaps the only form of activity which massages all the internal glands and organs of the body in a thorough manner, including those – such as the prostate - that hardly get externally stimulated during our entire lifetime. Yoga acts in a wholesome manner on the various body parts. This stimulation and massage of the organs in turn benefits us by keeping away disease and providing a forewarning at the first possible instance of a likely onset of disease or disorder.

	One of the far-reaching benefits of yoga is the uncanny sense of awareness that it develops in the practitioner of an impending health disorder or infection. This in turn enables the person to take pre-emptive corrective action

Complete Detoxification – By gently stretching muscles and joints as well as massaging the various organs, yoga ensures the optimum blood supply to various parts of the body. This helps in the flushing out of toxins from every nook and cranny as well as providing nourishment up to the last point. This leads to benefits such as delayed ageing, energy and a remarkable zest for life.

Excellent toning of the muscles – Muscles that have become flaccid, weak or slothy are stimulated repeatedly to shed excess flab and flaccidity.