Archive for the ‘Exercises’ Category
An Overview of Yoga
Evidence of the practice of yoga goes as far back as 3000 BC. Archaeologists have found seals of the Indus Valley Civilization depicting people as well as godlike entities in various forms of meditative and yogic poses. The word “yoga” comes from the Sanskrit yuj, which means to unionize. This is in reference to the way yoga unionizes the mind and the body.
The Purpose and Goals of Yoga
A young woman in a yoga stretch.
The original purpose of yoga was a spiritual one. While spirituality has almost disappeared from Western society we have still managed to find a place for yoga in our lives. A poll taken in 2006 revealed that over fifteen million Americans practice yoga on at least a semi-regular basis. Now people tend to treat yoga as another form of exercise, a way to improve flexibility and overall fitness, however without even realising many of these people will feel the mental benefits yoga provides. Through a combination of physical poses, breathing techniques and meditation yoga you will feel much more centred, calm and relaxed after you have practiced yoga.
The goals of yoga depend on the individual. Some practice yoga to loosen their muscles, others to find enlightenment, while others still do it to reduce their stress levels and relax after a busy day. Whatever your goal yoga can probably help you to achieve it. And the great thing about yoga is it can be tailored to anyone of any age, size or level of fitness.
Getting Started
It’s hard to describe many yoga positions or exercises textually which is why I posted a video earlier which contains a great beginners guide to yoga. You might like to try these exercises for a few weeks before purchasing a DVD full of yoga exercises or alternatively many leisure/rec centres and gyms hold regular yoga classes with fully qualified instructors.
Useful Yoga Resources
Here are a number of sites, articles and videos that you might to like to visit to find out a little more about yoga and its many positive effects.
Disabled Vet Walks Again Thanks to Yoga *MUST SEE*
Basic Yoga For Beginners
Yoga is an excellent skill to learn since it not only aids with relaxation but with flexibility as well as muscular strength. This video is for those of you who’s like to learn a little more about yoga whether you’re about to start looking for a yoga studio in your area or just interest in learning from home.
In this thirty minute video of basic yoga for beginners your instructor Susan Kenney will talk to you about what to expect from yoga, what you will need and she will teach you a few simple techniques that you can try right now at home.
I plan on writing my own overview of yoga within the next couple of weeks for all you Relaxation Haven readers but I feel a video may be of more use since it can be hard to describe yoga positions in words. Here the visual approach is much better.
How to Perform Self Hypnosis
The following instruction article has been kindly provided for us by Jon Rhodes of HypnoBusters.Com.
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Hypnotherapy is increasingly being regarded as a legitimate tool for therapeutic change. In 2001, the Professional Affairs Board of the British Psychological Society concluded that “Enough studies have now accumulated to suggest that the inclusion of hypnotic procedures may be beneficial in the management and treatment of a wide range of conditions and problems encountered in the practice of medicine, psychiatry and psychotherapy.” In other words hypnotherapy has been proven in many studies to help with many mental and physical problems.
Hypnotherapy can help with almost any aspect of our lives. It can help with issues such as stress, relaxation, anxiety, phobias, addictions, weight loss, and confidence issues. It is a wonderful resource for relaxation. Even when I am treating patients for issues such as smoking cessation, they often report what a wonderfully relaxing experience they had.
Hypnosis can be expensive, and a good hypnotherapist can sometimes be difficult to find for people in some areas. There are many professional and well trained hypnotherapists around, but unfortunately there are also a few charlatans that are inadequately trained. If you want to relax, then why should you stress yourself out trying to find a competent hypnotherapist? My good friend Kurt here doesn’t like doing anything more than he has to, so why should you?
Finding a competent hypnotherapist need not be a problem because it is entirely possible to hypnotise yourself. You do not actually need a hypnotherapist. A hypnotherapist does not hypnotise you on their own. They guide you, they help you to go into a hypnotic trance. However it is up to you to actually go into a trance, it’s you that ultimately makes it happen. It is perfectly possible to guide yourself into a hypnotic trance, and I will show you how.
First let’s discuss what a hypnotic trance is. The best way of describing it is like daydreaming. When you daydream you are actually going into a hypnotic trance. A hypnotic trance is a perfectly natural and normal state of mind that most of us slip into several times a day. We slip into a trance when we are engrossed in a book or TV, where people try to talk to us, or significant things happen around us that we remain blissfully unaware of because we are so deeply absorbed.
There is also the phenomena of ‘highway hypnosis’. This is where we slip into a hypnotic trance when driving. This is actually not as dangerous as it sounds. In fact we are probably better drivers when we are in this state of mind as it accesses our powerful subconscious mind. This is similar to the mindset that sportspeople often experience when they are ‘in the zone’. Have you ever driven a journey and daydreamed to the point of not being able to remember a significant portion of the route? If you have, then you will have slipped into a hypnotic trance. It is actually quite common, and perfectly safe.
With practice your skills of going into trance should increase. With a little patience and persistence you should soon be able to go into a hypnotic trance quickly and effortlessly.
Quick Tips
It is important to make sure that you will not be disturbed for about an hour. Turn off all phones, and tell family and friends not to bother you. If you don’t do this, then the possibility of you being disturbed may prey on your mind. Find a comfortable place. Subdue the lighting if this helps. You can be seated, or led down, whichever you prefer. Make sure that your legs are not crossed, as you could end up going numb after some time.
Now take your time, and follow these 5 simple steps.
Allow your mind to take you wherever you want.
1. Relax and close your eyes.
2. Take 5 slow deep breaths in through the nose, and out through the mouth. Say to yourself the word ‘Relax’ on each out breath.
3. Imagine yourself at the top of 10 steps with a door at the bottom. With every slow step you take down, feel yourself becoming deeper and deeper relaxed, until you finally reach the door.
4. When you reach the bottom open the door to your ideal place of relaxation. It could be a beach, a garden, anywhere you want. It could be somewhere real, or imagined – your own unique special relaxing haven.
5. Use as many of the senses as you can. Take a good look around. Pause and listen to any sounds. Perhaps you can hear the call of a bird, or the breeze gently blowing. Maybe you can smell the sweet scent of flowers, or the salt from the sea? Touch objects and make the experience as real as you can.
Explore your personal relaxation haven, and enjoy it for as long as you wish.
This is a great technique to help relaxation, and your ability to relax will improve the more you do this. Most of us do not relax anywhere near enough, and this can damage our health in many ways.
If you are struggling with this technique, persevere. Getting into a hypnotic state is a skill that will improve over time. Don’t expect too much. Hypnosis is not the ‘magical state’ that the media often portrays at as being. You will probably still be aware of what is going on around you, and may well think ‘is this it?’. However you will notice the difference when you wake up. It may be worthwhile visiting a clinical hypnotherapist, or buying a recording at least once, in order to experience the feeling of a trance. When you have experienced a trance a few times, you will be more informed as to what the state of mind is that you are seeking.
Enjoy!