Friday, October 3, 2008

Paschimothanasana

1.) Sit down with your legs stretched. The legs lie side by side and the toes point upwards. Stretch your lower back and raise your arms. Look forward, lengthen your back, and keep the chest and your breathing free.



2)Slowly bend forward, stretch your crown upward and try not to lose the supporting dynamism of the lower back. See to it that your legs do not move or tilt.



3)The moment you notice that you can only bend further by bending the lower back, move your hands to your lower legs, ankles or feet. Lightly pull your legs, ankles or feet and continue stretching.



4) Stretch out your arms forward.



5.Slowly raise your upper body. Keep your legs lying side by side and the toes pointing upwards.



Sit straight up again, just like your original position.

The Bow

This is somewhat similar to the previous asana. You start with lying on your stomach.



Bend your knees. Bring your heels near your buttocks.



Reach back with your arms and grasp your ankles. Let your weight rest on your stomach and not on your pelvis.



Raise your knees further by pulling your ankles with your hands. Continue breathing regularly and try to increase the stretching in the chest and the backward bend for a relaxed body and mind.

Bhujangasana

For this exercise, you start by lying on your stomach. Next place your hands underneath your shoulders



Raise your forehead, look upwards and stretch your hands backwards. Let your weight rest on your chest.



Now, raise your upper body off the ground by using your back muscles. Raise yourself until your head is upright



If you cannot raise your chest any further, put your hands and arms next to your chest on the mat without losing the bend. Stretch your arms so that they stand perpendicular on the floor and at the same time turn your arms a little inward. Relax your lower back and bear your weight with your arms.



Move your chest further upwards with every breathing out. Do this in a relaxed way instead of using force. You can tilt your head back. The shoulders are broad in front and the shoulder blades remain low.

Pavan-Muktasan

This is a stomach exercising asana. First lie on your back. You can opt for a towel or a mat to cushion your spine. Now bend both knees up to you chest until your thigh touches your stomach. Next, hug your knees in place and lock your fingers. Then lift up your head until your nose touches your knees. Take a deep breath and hold this position for thirty seconds. Now slowly release and lower yourself back to the starting position. You can also opt to do this exercise one leg at a time.










Yoga For Stomach

Practicing yoga can help you to reduce stress while at the same time exercise your body. You can also include yoga in your stomach exercises which specifically target the midsection. In yoga a number of positions or asanas exercise your stomach muscles. Do remember that in yoga there are many more advanced positions or asanas. As such you should always begin with the easier ones first before working your way to the more complex positions. Asses your skill and comfort level before you try a certain asana. Don't take any risks. Start with one that is simple and work your way up to ones that are more complex once you have the strength and flexibility. And as always, with any exercise routine, do consult a professional before you begin and always spare some time for warm up to avoid any injury.